April showers bring May flowers is a very common saying on the East Coast. April might shower us with tons of great albums to be released in May. We are smack down in the middle of the Spring season in terms of music. We are in the ending stages of the second quarter in terms of music releases. Many bands are announcing their albums that will come out in the third quarter of the year but what is there to look forward to in the last half on the second quarter?
Number Five: “MCIII” by Mikal Cronin. Mikal Cronin is most famously known for playing guitar in the band Ty Segall. He also has his own side career going of him being a solo musician. “MCIII” is set to be the third full length album by Mikal Cronin. “MCII” was a wonderful album full of pop sounding vocals with a dreamy guitar backing it the entire length of the album. This is going to go unfortunately under the radar for most music lovers. If you like the sound of Ty Segall you will defiantly like Mikal Cronin. He is continuing the power of the garage rock genre with “MCIII” coming out on May 4th on Merge Records. Check your local record stores or online to get the album.
Number Four: “City of Quartz” by Nick Diamonds. Nick Diamonds is a very busy musician in the underground/indie electronic scene. He is most known for his role in the band The Unicorns. He has also been involved in Islands and Mister Heavenly. “City of Quartz” will be the second full length album from the Canadian, Nick Diamonds. This is the follow up to “I am an Attic” which was released on his bandcamp page. That album was released about 4 years ago and people have been waiting patiently to hear from his solo act. “City of Quartz” is due out May 26th on Manque Music Records. This is going to be a very good, quiet, and hopefully catchy album from the Unicorns front man. Hopefully he will announce a small tour along with the new release.
Number Three: “Painted Shut” by Hop Along. Hop Along have quickly gained a following in the D.I.Y. punk scene that is primarily set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their release of their debut album “Get Disowned” which is one of my favorite records to emerge from 2012. “Painted Shut” is the sophomore album to be released by Hop Along. I do not see this being a sophomore slump for the band but an album that will break the band into a more mainstream band. Hop Along is lead by Frances Quinlan who writes all of the lyrics and has put her heart and soul into the second full length album from the band. They are going on a cross-country tour across the United States of America with Thin Lips, Field Mouse, and Lithuania. The album is set to release on May 4th on Saddle Creek Records.
Number Two: “Dark Bird is Home” by Tallest Man on Earth. Kristian Matsson is a Swedish Native who goes by the name Tallest Man on Earth. He is a singer/songwriter that primarily focuses upon the folk realm. “Dark Bird is Home” is the fourth album released by the Tallest Man on Earth. He has never changed his style just puts more and more effort into each album. “Dark Bird is Home” is the first album from Kristian Matsson in nearly three years for him. “There is No Leaving Now” was the album before this one. “Dark Bird is Home” has a little more instrumentation to it compared to his other albums which are mostly just him and his acoustic guitars. He is going to go on a massive world tour in support of the new album. “Dark Bird is Home” comes out May 12 on Dead Ocean Records which have put out 2 out of his 3 full length albums. Catch him on tour in the USA, Europe, and the United Kingdom
Number One: “New Alhambra” by Elvis Depressedly. Elvis Depressedly aka Mat Cothran is the bandcamp hero that has not made a splash into many people’s music tastes. I have a feeling that will change because Run For Cover Records picked him up and are releasing his new album. This is his first proper full length album. He has put out 6 ep’s on his personal bandcamp page. He is also the master mind behind the Coma Cinema side project. Elvis Depressedly was the one side project that took off for him. Cothran’s style is that of the void and distant, dreamy vocals. He is considered noise-pop but is on the primarily punk label out of Boston now. Make sure to not sleep on this record as it may lay in the underground realm which would be such a shame. “New Alhambra” comes out May 12th on Run For Cover Records. Elvis Depressedly just announced a US tour in support of the album with Mitski, and Eskimeaux
All of these albums are just some of the few that are going to be released each Tuesday in May. These are the albums that will go under appreciated but should be in everybody’s radar. Watch out each week for something new you might like.
FDRMX Eyes: Pacovolume is a French Indie Rock artist from Paris. Check out his video “Cookie Machine.”
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