It probably says something about this particular June (hot, sticky, infuriating) when the best album is Graham Coxon's archival release.
Castle Park was recorded back in 2011 while Coxon was working on A+E but for reasons not entirely clear it had remained unreleased for 15 years. Well, he did say something about this music being unfashionable, but come on. It's not like Graham Coxon has been in fashion at any point since the mid-90s (I'm saying this affectionately, of course). Castle Park is not much but it is a very tasteful, Britpop adjacent collection of pop rock tunes. I'm particularly fond of the short and snappy "When You Find Out" and the galloping "Dripping Soul" that oozes Coxon's effortless melodic charm. The whole thing ends in a somewhat inconsequential way, though, with a classical instrumental and a brittle lo-fi ballad, which betrays a certain lack of interest on Coxon's part.
Otherwise, it's been a drab month with new albums by indie veterans Death Cab For Cutie (boring!), Modest Mouse (mediocre!) and of Montreal (uninspired!). Really meek, toothless stuff, with the artists having so little to say you have to wonder why they even bothered. At the very least, Olivia Rodrigo's new album sounds like she cared. Not that I do - no, not even with a song called "The Cure" and Robert Smith himself guesting on "What's Wrong With Me" (at the very least, his feature is a lot more prominent than in the case of the new Rolling Stones single).
Songs of the Month:
"Pure Michigan" by Kiwi Jr.
"Dripping Soul" by Graham Coxon
"I Belong To The Sky" by Peter Gabriel
"30 Degrees" by The Fall
"Jealous Lover" by The Rolling Stones
"Jesus Never Had No Porno" by Alex Cameron
"Keeping Our Heads Above Water" by The Jayhawks
"Pizza Mind" by Benjamin Clementine
"See Out Loud" by Interpol
