Jams and Tea

It feels like only yesterday that we finished all nine episodes of our Björk Retrospective series, yet here we are again with a brand new album from one of music's most idiosyncratic and enigmatic visionaries: FOSSORA! Join Jake, Jakob, and Ryley as they break down everything this bizarre and brilliant new record has to offer, and consider where it fits amongst all its established older siblings....

For this week's Record Club, we're doing a double Lanegan following last week's Queens of the Stone Age review and talking about the legendary grunge staple Screaming Trees, Lanegan's most influential band and arguably his principle project in the early years of his storied career, but also a band that remains woefully underrated in comparison to their contemporaries. Today we celebrate the 30th a...

For this week's main episode, Jake, Ryley, and Morgan are excited to review the newest album from podcast favorite band The Wonder Years, THE HUM GOES ON FOREVER. Also on the docket this week is Alex G's genre-bending new album GOD SAVE THE ANIMALS, plus we talk deep cut favs from Brand New, Okkervil River, and Mount Eerie, while Ryley shouts out under-the-radar new releases from the world of jazz...

For this week's Record Club, we are (belatedly) celebrating the 20th anniversary of one of the great rock records of the modern era, the booze-soaked and ferociously raucous Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age, an album that has charted our development as rock record reviewers and enjoyers, and still stands the test of time. Let us know what this record means to you in the comments! Watc...

On this week's Jam-packed main episode we are reviewing no less than four major new releases, all of which are fascinating and worth your time even as some prove divisive and others less successful. In mini-segments we touch on the fantastically punchy new record from New Zealand's own The Beths, plus Rina Sawayama's heavily-anticipated sophomore record Hold the Girl. Then, of course, in our main...

For this week's (belated) main episode, Jake and Ryley are breaking down the exciting new albums from Built to Spill and Preoccupations, two established rock acts in the alternative worlds that have persevered to deliver some of their most invigorated music in several album cycles. We also discuss the entire discography of Oneohtrix Point Never, the exciting new record from Sudan Archives, and muc...

For this week's Record Club, we're celebrating a somewhat controversial but still widely beloved masterpiece of '80s jangle-pop and post-punk, The Smiths' remarkable The Queen Is Dead... which is definitely not timely in any way at all. Join us as we break down nearly every song on this special record and reflect on the legacy of one of the 80s' biggest bands, over three decades on. Watch the vide...

This week on the show, Jake, Morgan, and Ryley are reviewing the exciting and bewildering new album from metalcore up-and-comers The Callous Daoboys, CELEBRITY THERAPIST, an album which defies description as much as it addictively pulls you back for more. We also talk thrash metal, and specifically Megadeth, who are back with their umpteenth record, the bloated but forgivable THE SICK, THE DYING,...

On this week's unconventional Record Club, August leads us in a discussion of 2010 one-time hitmaker Taio Cruz, whose sophomore album Rokstarr blessed us with the memorably awful hit singles Break My Heart, Dirty Picture, Higher, and Dynamite. Join us as we reflect on a regrettable but important chapter in pop's recent history, and peer beneath the mask of one of the charts' most forgettable anti-...

It's that time again, and for episode 104, Ryley and Jake are joined by guest Jen to discuss two immense new revival records from vastly different artists. First up is J.I.D's long-simmering and consistently stunning The Forever Story, which is unquestionably one of the year's finest hip-hop releases. We follow this up with a more contentious probing of Muse's latest set of revolution soundtracks...

For this week's Record Club, we have a special double-feature episode on both studio albums proper of the short-lived but unfathomably influential Joy Division, the band that set the standard for the 'post-punk' sound and scene, but themselves pulled from and reacted against so much of what was happening in the world of music in the late 70s. Today we discuss the band's unique and captivating soun...

This week on the show we're excited to discuss yet another new Mountain Goats album, as one of our favourite and most reliable bands return with a swagger in their step with the heavy and raucous BLEED OUT! Also, we discuss the music of one Mr. Brendan Urie as he returns to revive Panic! at the Disco yet again for a surprisingly organic effort with the mixed bag of VIVA LAS VENGEANCE. Watch the vi...

For the 104th Record Club, we break down the minimalist one-man jazz of Colin Stetson, the idiosyncratic and incredibly powerful saxophonist who has carved out one of the most distinct presences in the modern era of the instrument. We discuss his techniques, the bizarre and multi-layered sounds he is able to pull out of the saxophone through sheer physical commitment, and the way these sounds mani...

This week we're breaking down two exciting new records involving artists that are alone talented, but bring out extra strength in each other through the power of collaboration: first up is the new LP from Danger Mouse and Black Thought, CHEAT CODES, one of the year's finest and slickest hip-hop records that showcase both producer and MC at the top of their games. Secondly, we have the latest of ma...

This week on Record Club we discuss the legendary Brooklyn post-hardcore outfit Gospel and their jazz and prog-inflected 2005 masterpiece The Moon Is a Dead World, which remained their sole release until this year's equally fantastic The Loser. Join us as we discuss what makes this band special and their debut one of the great masterpieces of heavy music in the 2000s. Watch the video version of th...

This weekend we are joined by friend and first-time guest (as well as unofficial Beyhive representative) Cole to discuss the queen of pop, Beyoncé herself, and her latest long-awaited offering, RENAISSANCE, a thrilling house-inflected slice of brilliance that marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the artist. Also, we talk the new Chat Pile album God’s Country, a raw and serrated slice of...

After two years and three months of regular weekly uploads, we have finally made it to 100 episodes of our main weekly show, where we typically review two new releases and chat about what we've been listening to. Fittingly, to celebrate, we are doing neither of those things, and instead looking back at some of our favourite moments, episodes, and experiences making this gloriously self-indulgent b...

For this week's Record Club, Jake and Ryley are pitting two beloved sleeper hit concept albums from bands masterminded by the prolific Damon Albarn: Blur's bleary, deconstructive breakup album 13, and Gorillaz' environmentally-minded swampy disco trip Plastic Beach. How do the two records compare, what do they tell us about Albarn's approach to building a record around a core theme, and what is it...

This Sunday we are joined by special guest Brett to tackle the long-awaited new album from Joey Bada$$, 2000, the sequel to his breakthrough mixtape 1999 (one of the best hip-hop mixtapes ever). We also talk the death metal / jazz fusion band Imperial Triumphant’s blistering and brilliant new record Spirit of Ecstasy, plus August joins us to run through regrettable records from Editors, Linkin Par...

For our 100th episode of Record Club, Jake, Morgan, and Ryley are breaking down a staple of pop-punk, emo, heartland rock, indie rock, and everything in between: The Wonder Years' genre-transcending masterpiece The Greatest Generation, one of the great rock records of the 2010s and a staple for an era that defined our coming-of-age. As this fantastic album approaches its tenth anniversary next yea...

This week we are thrilled to be joined once again by the wonderful AdequateEmily to discuss the ostentatious, delightfully absurd, heady maximalism of Black Midi's highly-hyped new record HELLFIRE - but how does Hellfire hold up? We also discuss the thoroughly bonkers new album Special from late '10s pop sensation Lizzo, explore the weird and wild oeuvre of Marilyn Manson, check in on new efforts...

This week on Record Club we revisit a dour and sensational classic of nu-metal, Slipknot's uncompromising sophomore effort IOWA, one of the ugliest and most brutal metal records to ever achieve mainstream popularity and chart success. How does it hold up now, and why do Slipknot remain one of the era's best-sounding and most well-aged bands? Watch the video version of this episode and subscribe to...

This week on the show we are breaking down an acclaimed release from a contemporary Swedish punk band Viagra Boys, their latest record CAVE WORLD! It's not an album we're particularly fond of, and so we attempt to make an impassioned case for why it represents the worst impulses of many contemporary bands attempting to infuse relevant, hard-hitting social commentary into their records, and whether...

This week on Record Club, Jake, Morgan, and Ryley are discussing one of their most beloved contemporary singer-songwriters, Phoebe Bridgers, focusing in on her wonderful 2017 debut Stranger in the Alps to discuss the elements of songwriting that she lays out with confidence here, what the songs are about, and why they mean so much to us and so many people across the world. Watch the video version...

This week we are reviewing two very exciting, very dense, and very great new records from artists who should be on your radar. First up is the beginning of a new story from progressive rock band The Dear Hunter, who shift their sound to adopting more pop and R&B stylings in crafting a new world and the first chapter of a new story. Following that, the main attraction is abstract hip-hop artist...