Eye on Indie is a weekly column in which Emerald writer Alex Ruby provides his picks for the best indie albums to watch for in the coming week. This week’s selections include releases from Justice, Thee Oh Sees and Kevin Abstract.
Justice: Woman (Ed Banger Records)
The French electronic duo Justice has been making music for 13 years and is finally releasing its third album, Woman. Cross, the duo’s debut, was nominated for a Grammy for its eclectic mix of punk-rock aesthetics and booming house beats. Their followup, Audio, Video, Disco, was released four years later with similar acclaim.
Woman is looking to be their funkiest and poppiest record yet, especially with the lead single “Safe and Sound” basically being an electronic boogie track backed with a choir. On BBC Radio 1, Xavier de Rosnay described it as if you were listening to it “in the car with your best friend and your lover and your kids.” It’s undeniably fun to listen to, with bright techno beats and entrancing lyrics. Justice doesn’t exactly change its formula for the third album, but it remains classic electronic dance music. It’s repetitive, it’s catchy and disco-tinged as hell, but all in a good way.
Listen if you like: Daft Punk, Ratatat, Crystal Castles, Chromeo
Thee Oh Sees: An Odd Entrances (Castle Face Records)
Over the course of just eight years, San Francisco garage rock band Thee Oh Sees have put out 11 full-length albums and its newest one, An Odd Entrances, is being released just three months after its last record, A Weird Exits. However, where A Weird Exits was fast, rollicking and filled with crunchy guitar riffs, An Odd Entrances is slower-moving and psychedelic. Out of six songs, three of them are instrumentals, making it a pretty trippy album. On one such track, “Jammed Exit,” synths warble in and out as a flute flutters in the background. Then, on “At The End, On The Stairs,” John Dwyer and crew sound like a new version of classic psych-rock bands like Love or The Zombies with airy vocals and jam band-esque instrumentation.
An Odd Entrances is all over the place, but that’s what makes it so enjoyable to listen to. You’ll find something new to pick up on with every listen. If you have 30 minutes to watch a Netflix television show, why not spend 30 minutes listening to Thee Oh Sees instead?
Listen if you like: Wavves, King Tuff, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Jay Reatard
Kevin Abstract: American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story (BROCKHAMPTON Records)
Following his critically-acclaimed debut album, MTV1987, Kevin Abstract is back with a follow-up, American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story. The 20-year-old Texas native has a wide range of influences, from Vanessa Carlton to Kurt Cobain or Kanye West, and it’s evident in his new album. There are pure R&B pop songs like “Empty” as well as soulful indie-pop tracks like “Yellow.”
Out of all his influences, however, Frank Ocean is probably the biggest one. In an interview with The Fader, Abstract talks about Ocean’s letter from 2012 where he opens up about his sexuality. “It was just like, ‘Thank you.’ It saved me,” he says. More than ever, Kevin Abstract’s own sexuality is extremely prominent on American Boyfriend, like when he says “My boyfriend saved me/My mother’s homophobic/I’m stuck in the closet/I’m so claustrophobic” on “Miserable America.”
If anything, American Boyfriend is one of the most real hip hop albums of the year. His beats take a backseat so his lyrics about sexuality, race, emotional struggles, heartbreak. More can shine through and touch his listener’s hearts in a way most other hip hop music cannot. Watch out for Kevin Abstract, because he’s going places — whether it be to our souls or to the top of the charts.
Listen if you like: Frank Ocean, Domo Genesis, GoldLink, Rejjie Snow
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