Second albums are always a challenge, especially if your debut happens to be among the best ones of the current decade, but Courtney Barnett has pulled it off in spectacular fashion with "Tell Me How You Really Feel".
Her new offering, which comes only months after "Lotta Sea Lice", her fine collaborative effort with Kurt Vile, lyrically deals with the anxieties and insecurities of the author ("Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence" is a very revealing song title) but the music in contrast sounds relaxed and self-assured, creating another strong batch of breezy indie pop songs that give further proof of Courtney Barnett's songwriting genius!
Parquet Courts' sixth full-length "Wide Awaaaaake!" continues the band's amazing run of top-notch punk-influenced rock records, but this time the spectrum of influences has widened further to include funk and dance-pop elements.
Without sacrificing the rough edges of their sound, Parquet Courts are broadening their musical horizons and with the help of producer Danger Mouse, they have created their most diverse sounding record to date, where post punk, indie pop and funk coexist peacefully and create a powerful whole.
Among the rest of the albums that stood out for us in the last couple of months you will find the long-awaited, excellent debut by promising London post-punk quartet Goat Girl, Tune-Yard's techno-influenced fourth LP "I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life", the ambitious "Microshift", the third full-length effort by Hookworms where psych-pop meets krautrock, the full-on punk rockin' return of Hot Snakes and Superchunk, and some fine pop melodies by britpop heroes Arctic Monkeys and New York hopefuls Sunflower Bean.
Check out below our Top 12 Albums for April - May 2018 and have a listen to our Top 15 Tracks on the Spotify playlist:
Check out below our Top 12 Albums for April - May 2018 and have a listen to our Top 15 Tracks on the Spotify playlist:
Top 12 Albums
1. Tell Me How You Really Feel - COURTNEY BARNETT
2. Wide Awaaaaake! - PARQUET COURTS
3. Goat Girl - GOAT GIRL
4. I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life - TUNE-YARDS
5. Microshift - HOOKWORMS
6. Jericho Sirens - HOT SNAKES
7. What A Time To Be Alive - SUPERCHUNK
8. Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino - ARCTIC MONKEYS
9. Twentytwo In Blue - SUNFLOWER BEAN
10. Felt - SUUNS
11. The Official Body - SHOPPING
12. Robyn Hitchcock - ROBYN HITCHCOCK
Top 15 Tracks
1. Need a Little Time - COURTNEY BARNETT
2. Four Out Of Five - ARCTIC MONKEYS
3. Mardi Gras Beads - PARQUET COURTS
4. The Man - GOAT GIRL
5. Mx Liberty - THURSTON MOORE
6. Violations EP - SNAPPED ANKLES
7. Look at Your Hands - TUNE-YARDS
8. Static Resistance - HOOKWORMS
9. Six Wave Hold-Down - HOT SNAKES
10. What a Time to Be Alive - SUPERCHUNK
11. The Hype - SHOPPING
12. I Was a Fool - SUNFLOWER BEAN
13. Look No Further - SUUNS
14. Virginia Woolf - ROBYN HITCHCOCK
15. The Seeker - BUFFALO TOM
Courtney Barnett - Need A Little Time
