let's spin some tunes

the last remaining light - far caspian

holding on to something that never comes, beating out the wall

my first full album listen of 2025, and it's only reinforcing my belief that music will always find you at the time it's meant to. i've had this in my to-listen list for the better part of a year now but finally decided to spin it today, and i'm absolutely delighted.

it's hopeful, it's melancholic, it's shoegaze with a mild to moderate amount of the accompanying pretension. it sounds green, and lively, and perfectly dreamy.

highly recommend this record. what a great start to a great year. :)

i want you to know that there is always hope - i was a cub scout

is there anything else left to go wrong?

me and my 1000 homies still throw it back to our smallest adventures.

but honestly, this is up there as one of my favorite albums of all time. william bowerman (later of brontide) is my favorite drummer, just an absolute and hugely underappreciated powerhouse. i think he shines best on their 7" single teenage skin, but since they only ever released the one album, i'm a bit limited on what i can spotlight.

i gotta say, owning iwytkttiah and the teenage skin/pink squares split is probably the most painfully indie i'll ever be in my adult life. worth it, though.

i want you to know that there is always hope is introspective, navel-gazing 2000s synth-pop of the highest order. it's exactly what you'd expect for the time, comforting in that it meets expectations - but while the lyricism and vocals don't stand out, the musicianship definitely will.

hope this clears things up - moosecreek park

collide with the stars, i'll crash my car

another 2023 release, with most of the same merits as always cloudy - enough talent to stand out (note favorite tracks ok dylan and dash o'fish) but doesn't necessarily break the mold of another midwest revival. still absolutely worth a listen, and maybe another when you're done with that one.

always cloudy - saturdays at your place

i don't wanna go home yet

released in 2023, always cloudy is saturdays at your place's sophmore effort - a peppy, upbeat take on midwest emo's recent resurgence.

while tarot cards is the band's biggest hit, eat me alive stands out as en energetic release to end the album.