Mike Adams At His Honest Weight, “Pressing Mesh”
[Joyful Noise, April 4]
Mike Adams At His Honest Weight is a breath of the freshest damn air. This week, the Indiana-based outfit announced its fourth LP, There Is No Feeling Better, a record whose title belies the bright, optimistic air of its namesake singer’s heart-on-sleeve retro-pop. Just listen to swooning lead single “Pressing Mesh,” which sets Adams’ uplifting croon against punchy guitars and a hopeful sigh of violin. Adams says the song tracks his journey toward a “Moral Denominator,” one that can help him “build my thoughts on a positive, trustworthy foundation.” That’s some high-minded shit, but also the kind of thing that makes his infectious melodies more satisfying with each listen. The 11-track release is due out on June 14 via Joyful Noise. [Randall Colburn]
Laura Stevenson, The Big Freeze
[Don Giovanni, March 29]
Laura Stevenson’s fifth solo LP is lovely and harrowing, an immersive dive into topics that range from loneliness to self-harm to the mundanities of age. There are fewer adornments here than on previous albums, with Stevenson’s rippling vocals and bold lyrics taking center stage over folk-rock guitars, cello, and twinkles of piano. It’s a good thing, too, as many of The Big Freeze’s best moments unfold in repetition, be it in melodies or lyrics. “There’s a sweetness to that,” she asserts again and again on album opener “Lay Back, Arms Out,” while “Big Deep” finds the singer positively blossoming with every soaring utterance of “I am honest.” There’s a muscular quality to it all, one that suits the album’s themes of struggle; Stevenson sounds as if she’s willing herself out of depression and toward whatever light shines on the other side. [Randall Colburn]