Cam Recommends

Julianna Barwick’s Nepenthe is one of my favorite records and it got me through a particularly rough time in my life. Readers of the blog will know how much I adore Mary Lattimore (if I’m not on record yet stating that I think “Wawa By the Ocean” is maybe the best song ever written then consider this that record). So the prospect of a full length record from them instantly made their recent album, Tragic Magic, my most anticipated of 2026. And, ironically, even though both artist’s works themselves ask for patience, I didn’t have to wait at all for this, a most miraculous of projects. I want to highlight “The Four Sleeping Princesses,” though of the course the entire album is worth your time. Starting with an insistent chord progression, provided by Lattimore and her harp, the song builds on itself, layering in washes of Barwick’s ghostly vocals until it becomes a near unstoppable force by the midpoint. But then something interesting happens as that intensity very gradually fades away as the voices take center stage, briefly submerging the fraying harp in a sonic bath before all finally coalescing around one final note and fading into the aether. 

While the correct lyric appears to be “never let go of the joys of being pure at heart,” I think it’s easy to hear it as “never let go of the choice of being pure at heart.” In this unbelievably earnest–but still massively uplifting–track from indie-pop rockers Hachiku they encourage a retreat from cynicism and insularity. In an age where forces seek to set up barriers and exclude, the simple act of announcing that “there is room for everyone,” is revolutionary. And while that’s certainly a sad state of affairs in the grand scheme of things, in this micro-moment, Hachiku, along with the always awe-inspiring (like, literally in all senses of that word) Mary Lattimore, reminds us of our responsibility to each other in finding joy–and yes–choosing to make room for everybody.

A surprise Friday morning release, Mary Lattimore’s new track “Morning Song” is another stunning piece of music from one of our most talented working composers. She states that she wrote the song after having been forced to leave LA during this season’s horrific wildfires (and, indeed, proceeds from the purchase of the song are going to help those affected) but any of the fear and dread from that doesn’t make its way into the track. Instead, Lattimore deploys almost impossibly ebullient synths and sparkling looping harp runs to create something that feels like pure, but battleworn, hope. She even brings her own voice into the mix, an incredibly special element as, I believe, it’s the first time she’s included it this fully in any of her released work. The track is not only worth your time but also your money (it’s for a good cause!) so head on over to bandcamp and start your weekend off with some transcendent beauty.

1. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flight b741 

2. Slomosa - Tundra Rock

3. GUM & Ambrose Kenny-Smith - Ill Times

4. Donato Dozzy - Magda

5. Mary Lattimore & Walt McClements - Rain on the Road

6. Foxing - Foxing

7. Fabienne Debarre - Welcome to the Age of Broken Minds

8. Craven Faults - Bounds

9. Half Waif - See You At the Maypole

10. Vista House - They’ll See Light

11. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD

12. Charli XCX, et al. - Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat

13. Ben Luka Boysen - Alta Ripa

14. 36 - Exit All the Lights

15. KNEECAP - Fine Art

16. A.G. Cook - Britpop

17. Oval Angle - Figures of Speech

18. Los Bitchos - Talkie Talkie

19. Pom Pom Squad - Mirror Starts Moving Without Me

20. GIFT - Illuminator

Other notable releases: μ-Ziq’s Grush, Loula Yorke’s Volta, Jónsi’s First Light, Deerlady’s Greatest Hits, MILLY’s Your Own Becoming, Pye Corner Audio’s The Endless Echo, Anis Kitu’s Kaihola, Jack White’s NO NAME, MONO’s OATH, WHY?’s The Well I Fell Into, Loma’s How Will I Live Without A Body?, Blisspoint’s Dog, St. Vincent’s All Born Screaming, Goat’s Goat, Hawksmoor’s Oneironautics, Socks and Ballerina’s A Bit Jumpy., Xylitol’s, Anemones, Bogdan Raczynski’s You’re Only Young Once But You Can Be Stupid Forever, Nemahsis’s Verbathim, Kelly Lee Owen’s Dreamstate, Loscil’s Umbel, ORB’s Tailem Bend, Floating Points’s Cascade, Kiamos’s II, Frances Forever’s Lockjaw, O.’s WeirdOs, Discovery Zone’s Quantum Web, Prayer’s Loss of Meaning, Chihei Hatakeyama’s Thousand Oceans, Jonny From Space’s Back Then I Didn’t But Now I Do, Trees Speak’s TimeFold, Autechre's AE_2022--

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