TRACKS OF THE WEEK – 5/27/2021 Edition

Welcome back to another Tracks, getting the ball rolling with Shannon Lay and her new Sub Pop single “Rare To Wake”. Having previously captured our hearts as part of the LA band Feels, it’s Lay’s solo work, hypnotic and dialed back and even more intense for its use of space, that has come to serve as an internal soundtrack. As California girds itself to reopen, her ode to change never felt more relevant.

Continuing the subject of change, Anjimile’s new Reunion EP on Father/Daughter features orchestral recastings of songs from last year’s debut Giver/Taker, spun sideways with the addition of guest vocalists. In this case, we get Lomelda’s thrilling take on “1978”.

The Acharis are back and the Oakland duo’s new LP Blue Sky/Grey Heaven is forthcoming this October on French label Cranes Records. Mila Puccini’s video for their new single “Jesus Thrill” contains footage from the SF-based Prelinger Archives, brought to life by the pulsating gem that veers off into a pleasing tonal shift towards the noisier.

Finishing off with a bang, Seoul and boy bands dominate the conversation when the topic is South Korea, and rightly so in the Gross National Product sense, but heads know Daegu is where the action is, boasting a scrappy independent scene. Drinking Boys and Girls Choir have unleashed “There Is No Spring”, accompanied by a Pallo directed video, from their second LP Marriage License, out 7/21 on Electric Muse & Damnably.