Top8 - 05/12/25

Welcome back to Top8, I hope everyone has had a good Mother's Day Weekend. I also hope that if holidays like this are weird for you, like they are for a lot of people, that you found some peace.

This is going to be short(ish) and sweet this week because I have poorly managed my time this weekend. Send all your excuses to wtsq.org/contact

Midwife - Signs

Last time we talked about Midwife was back in September when she did this sick cover of Autoluminescent by Rowland S. Howard. "Signs" is an unreleased B-side. I should probably save precious Top8 real estate for EPs and albums. However, I love "Signs" and I love Midwife. This is extremely minimalist, reverby shoegaze. There's a real ambient thing happening here. Think Mazzy Star but more whispery and with guitar closer to classic pj harvey.

Nourished by Time - Max Potential

Weirdo soulful R&B is alive and well. There's actually a lot of great indie/alt/etc R&B out there, but none of it is better than Nourished by Time. "Max Potential" combines several different elements into a melange that feels both nostalgic and modern. What more can you ask for?

Smerz - Roll The Dice

Here's one Lou turned me on to. Smerz comes in with a lot of electro-clash energy and I am extremely here for it. If you liked Peaches, you'll like Smerz. Some of her tracks lean more into a intentionally primitive rap vibe, but "Roll The Dice" flirts with saudade ennui, before opting for a smirking boredom. This hits for me. It's extremely catchy and fun to listen to. If your summer is spent after dark, this could be the song of it.

Preoccupations - Retrograde

Preoccupations is a Canadian post-punk act that, mystifyingly, used to be called Viet Cong. Regardless of the name, they lean heavily into the darkwave side of post-punk. You may catch occasional notes of Depeche Mode or even Clan of Xymox here. "Retrograde" is from the new album "Ill At Ease" and it is required listening.

Frankie Cosmos - Bitch Heart

Frankie Cosmos is here with a genuine lament for, among other things, the loss of an (ostensibly) more innocent, pre-smartphone life. What do we lose with the safety of consumer life? This act is an indie classic. If you're not into Frankie Cosmos, this is as good a place as any to get started.

Water-Mall - Curses (from the corner of the room)

There's an alternate universe where Radiohead never made their lauded "left turn" into Kid A following The Bends (which was excellent on its own merits). In that world, "Curses (from the corner of the room)" could have been a late b-side from a Mirror Universe Radiohead. This probably sounds like I am being dismissive – I am not. I like old Radiohead, and I like this.

The Wild Shoats - Moonshiner

Out of the Morgantownish area, The Wild Shoats play mostly unadulterated Appalachian string band music. Pretty much all of this sounds like something you could hear at a WV family reunion at any point in the last century or so. Folk music is supposed to be timeless, and "Moonshiner" certainly is. You'll hear a lot of celtic sounds and rhythms in this mountain music. I heard these sounds growing up so often that they are in my bones. If you're like me, there's a part of you that rises to meet these songs the moment you hear them. Just gorgeous stuff. The album is "Yell in the Shoats" and it features a couple tracks where the band stretches their legs a bit in a sort of Local Honeys way. Still ends up sounding like hill music though, as it should.

New Candys - Crime Wave

New Candys bio says that they are "concocted with the darkest deviant rock'n'roll ethos". Ok, sure. Anyhow, this does have a dark aesthetic reminiscent of The Murder Capital but with more of a Brian Jonestown Massacre swag. "Crime Wave" would be a good sound track to a wave of crime.

And this week's extra innings, just a few other things that I am listening to. I should have included the new Babymetal in this week's Top8. Maybe next week. To be honest, I have mostly been listening to Mei Semones.

Babymetal - from me to u (ft. Poppy)

Rocket - Sugarcoated

Philip Glass - Knee Play 4 (performed by Bruce Brubaker)

And a playlist with everything. 

Thank you all for reading and listening. 

-emily