Nathaniel Clark 

Staff Writer

nuc5002@psu.edu 

On April 8th, over 30 albums were released onto streaming services. Coming from a plethora of artists and a variety of genres, music fans rejoiced at the sight of this avalanche of new material. With many of these projects being some of my most anticipated releases of the year, I have decided that rather than covering only one of these 30 projects, I will be covering 4 of them instead. Let us begin: 

Wet Leg – Wet Leg

Rating: 8.4

Genre: Indie Rock 

Wet Leg is the highly anticipated debut album of British rock band Wet Leg. Consisting of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, the band has developed a sudden fan base since the release of their first single “Chaise Longue” in June of 2021. Since then, Wet Leg has put out 4 more all in the lead up to this record. While I found some of the singles better than others at their time of release, all of them work exceedingly well in the context of the album. The project carries with it the mixture of energetic indie rock and humorous, deadpan vocal delivery that has made many enjoy the band. 

This mixture is in full force on “Ur Mum.” In the song, the band discusses how much of an embarrassment they see that this man has become, attempting to get him to leave them. The track ends with this spectacular scream from Rhian as the instrumental launches itself back into the chorus. 

Wet Leg is an excellent debut album from the band and shows the listener what they’re capable of crafting. I cannot wait to see what they do next.

HEALTH – DISCO4 :: PART II 

Rating: 8.2

Genre: Post-Industrial 

HEALTH has finally released the second half of its feature-heavy DISCO4. With its first half being released back in 2020, this new piece finishes off this project in a fantastical format. In my opinion, PART II pushes itself far above PART I due to its choice of features and overall production. While not having features such as hyperpop duo 100 Gecs or JPEGMAFIA, PART II instead goes for collaborators who work considerably better in HEALTH’s previously established post-industrial lane. We’re talking collaborations with industrial icons Nine Inch Nails, experimental rock’s Poppy, and more who all work perfectly with HEALTH’s desired sound. 

One of my favorite songs has to be “STILL BREATHING” with dream-pop musician EKKSTACY. The song acts as a quiet moment on the album with delicate strumming that is cut between depressing whisper-esque vocals. 

DISCO4 :: PART II was a project that I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did. A great piece of post-industrial collaboration. 

Father John Misty – Chloё and the Next 20th Century 

Rating: 7.8

Genre: Traditional Pop, Singer-Songwriter 

Chloё and the Next 20th Century is the first Father John Misty (real name Josh Tillman) since 2018s God’s Favorite Customer. With this record, Tillman moves away from the chamber pop found on his previous release and towards a more traditional sound. While this is a very interesting change compared to the rest of his discography, the sound fits the musician quite

well. My biggest problem with the project though is its level of sameness and length. With a project being over 50 minutes long, this constant amount of similar-sounding instrumentals can begin to feel taxing and boring in some instances. 

While I did enjoy a good number of these songs, my favorite has to be the first single “Funny Girl.” With some beautiful orchestration, Tillman details the story of a female comedian and their rise and downfall. There’s something in this orchestration that makes everything feel so vaudevillian and lackadaisical. The instrumental break is something I could listen to for hours. 

While Chloё and the Next 20th Century does have some very great tracks, the album’s overall length and instances of instrumental sameness make it a record I don’t see myself returning to as much as Father John Misty’s other projects. 

Orville Peck – Bronco 

Rating: 6.3

Genre: Contemporary Country 

In essence, I find Bronco to be wasted potential. This is Orville Peck’s first album since his smash debut Pony in 2019. While I did enjoy that record on release and in the coming years, I hoped that Orville would be able to refine and continue the shadowy atmosphere and persona. With this release, that is sadly not delivered. Rather than the alternative country and singer-songwriting found on Pony, the audience is instead given a more contemporary country sound. From my perception, it seems as if Orville is aiming for a more mainstream spotlight on this project, but the album pales in comparison to its shadowy predecessor 

With that being said, I still find the album to be fine. I did quite enjoy a couple of the tracks throughout its lengthy 54-minute runtime. Specifically, I found “C’mon Baby, Cry” to be an excellent story of vulnerability with Peck’s powerful vocal delivery and building instrumentals. 

Bronco is a more mainstream version of Orville Peck. While it’s not my preferred version of his music, I could understand why someone may find this better.