Stream: New albums from John Errol, Bachelor, Poolside and Spooky Tavi

on
0
From left: John Errol (by Lili Peper); Bachelor (by Tonje Thiesen); Poolside (by David Wynn); Spooky Tavi (by David Lekach)

Post-holiday weekend catch-up, with new albums from John Errol, Bachelor, Poolside and Spooky Tavi (of HOTT MT) …

JOHN ERROL, “Inferno”

John Errol’s “Inferno” is never not burning; here’s where the squishy ’80s meets industrial-strength bombast meets every-production-trick-in-the-books modern pop. Early singles such as “Knock Knock,” “Dead Man Walking” and “Sometimes” make for marvelous short-attention-span theater. “S.W.I.M.” drowns in distortion, and it’s followed by the more minimalist, jittery title track. “Unbelievable” might be the album’s fulcrum, though, sounding like ELO in a mental health crisis as Errol confesses that amid “a million lies,” “my head keeps spinning.” So does ours.

BACHELOR, “Doomin’ Sun”

As singles such as “Sick of Spiraling,” “Stay in the Car” and “Anything at All” attest, the union of the talents of Jay Som’s Melina Duterte and Palehound’s Ellen Kempner yield some indie-rock gold. “Doomin’ Sun” shines with a tough-n-tender sonic sprawl, keen lyrics and emotional depth. Those two weeks in Topanga that the duo spent creating this album were well-spent. (Bachelor opens for Lucy Dacus on Sept. 24 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel.)

POOLSIDE, “High Season”

Jeffrey Paradise’s “daytime disco” has become the theme music for summertime in some circles, so Poolside’s “High Season” has double the cachet, arriving at the start of summer and as the pandemic wanes (fingers remain crossed). “High Season” comes advertised as a companion album to last year’s “Low Season,” and highlighted by the DRAMA feature “I Feel High” (and the same song, only with L’Impératrice), it’s a signal that you’re free to move about your pool parties.

SPOOKY TAVI, “Hyperdrive”

Spooky Tavi is one-half of the extravagantly named duo Hour of the Time, Majesty Twelve (HOTT MT), who once famously crashed Wayne Coyne’s house, runs the underground performance space Non Plus Ultra and fearlessly explore the cosmos. His second solo album, “Hyperdrive,” is psychic/psychedelic pop with the vast weirdness of somebody who doesn’t know when to rein himself in — and absolutely shouldn’t. Start with “Rewind” and stay for “Lost in Space.”