April 2025 (Part 3)

It's almost June so it's probably best to finally publish a bunch of thoughts about the last chunk of songs on the playlist of things I liked listening to in April! Check out Part 1and Part 2 if you missed those, otherwise let's dive in:

porch kiss - “i don’t want this to end (feat. Beach Vacation)”
porch kiss' nothing feels the same came out in December but sounds like it was released on Woodsist in 2009. This track and “i think i’m getting better” are specifically unbelievably my shit but there’s a lot to enjoy throughout the whole LP. I love how the vocals sound like they were recorded from the room next door, the mopey indie rock version of Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes’ Music for Saxofone and Bass Guitar.

Ida - “Maybelle”
I was checking in on Numero Group’s insanely over the top 103 track reissue of Ida's Will You Find Me and thought this song specifically was really good. Watch this space, maybe I’ll circle back in a few months with a more obscure cut, some 45 second demo track pulled from the depths of disc 4 or 5 or whatever.

DjRUM - “A Tune For Us”
Lots of interesting stuff on the new DjRUM album but for me you can't beat the opening track! Sounds like if someone did an EDM edit of one of The Necks’ hourlong atmospheric exercises, which, to me, rocks.

Satomimagae - “Tonbo”
I’m mostly gonna always check out any/all RVNG INTL. new releases I come across, they've got a pretty high hit rate for unique and compelling records, for example this homemade ambient folk album from Satomimagae. Blurry song sketches punctuated by field recordings and other hard-to-discern textures with the occasional quiet banger like “Tonbo.”

Colin Miller - “Thunder Road”
I'll go on the record right now and guarantee this Colin Miller album a spot on my top albums of 2025, absolutely unreal stuff from a longtime member of MJ Lenderman & the Wind. I can’t stop listening to it and I think a lot of other people will be on board after seeing Colin open a string of MJ shows this summer. Now’s your chance to buy low on Colin Miller’s Losin’!

Maria Somerville - “Spring”
This new Maria Somerville record, Luster, is a must-listen for any/all self respecting dream pop heads out there. Densely layered and timeless, I’m really looking forward to hanging with this LP over the next few months.

Wishy - “Chaser”
Not sure if there’s a band that’s been featured on the last few years of these monthly playlists more than Wishy. They’re really good at three or four different subgenres of indie rock that I really like and the shiny y2k pop production on “Chaser” from the new Planet Popstar EP is a cool new layer to their whole deal! 

Avalon Emerson - “Treat Mode”
I absolutely loved Avalon Emerson’s & The Charm, her 2023 detour into sad indie pop, but it’s like, radically different from her work as a producer and DJ that came before and after. That said I'm enjoying “Treat Mode” for what it is, a weird, wide-ranging track from a new collection called Perpetual Emotion Machine, which compiles pieces she’s made for DJ sets over the years.

TOPS - “ICU2”
First new TOPS song since 2020, welcome back TOPS! We love you TOPS!

Masakatsu Takagi - “Marginalia #171”
I recently read that Gia Margaret cited Masakatsu Takagi as an influence on Romantic Piano (a certified classic in my home) which was all the excuse I needed to wade into his huge body of work. Takagi has shared over 200 pieces as a part of his ongoing Marginalia project, daily recordings of improvised piano pieces accompanied by nature sounds captured through the open window of his home studio. Always nice to discover an eccentric and prolific guy chasing after a very specific vibe across hours and hours of material!

Here's the full playlist, back soon to tell you all about the stuff I liked in May!