Le Poisson

Musical reckoning

[reckonslepoisson]

Fake Train, Unwound (1993)

You get the feeling that any mistakes in the musicianship on Fake Train only added to the quality of the overall art. This is well-written, pop-inclined but fairly unspectacular post-hardcore of the Big Black and Sonic Youth schools but its critical thrill is its looseness. Guitar music prone to collapse at any moment. 

Pick: ‘Kantina’

[reckonslepoisson]

The Sophtware Slump, Grandaddy (2000)

Every era has its luddite classics and the 2000s had no shortage of ’em. Alongside the likes of Kid A and, erm, Muse in its scepticism of modern life was Grandaddy’s The Sophtware Slump, which anxiously spiralled about the promises, impacts and disappointments of technology. Much of the same themes remain totally on-the-nose today, but why get depressed about it? Instead, celebrate the longevity of an indie classic!

Pick: ‘He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot’

[reckonslepoisson]

Axxess & Ace, Songs: Ohia (1999)

Impala, the first Songs: Ohia foray into hi-fi and full-band, was somewhat shy and awkward, its clumsy organ more a forced artistic shift than Jason Molina’s own instinct. Axxess & Ace, by contrast, embellished and elaborated upon Molina’s art. Restrained when required but sprawling with electrics, strings and backing vocals when not, it both accentuated Molina’s songwriting and made it more open and accessible. 

Pick: ‘Goodnight Lover’

[reckonslepoisson]

Trying Times, James Blake (2026)

These are trying times indeed, made all the more trying by subpar new James Blake music. Blake is essentially known for two things, the distinction of his electronic production and the power of his songwriting. Trying Times half-asses both. The electronics are tepid, even nondescript, the writing rife with boring sop and the sort of mindless platitudes one so often gets from the detached celebrity class. 

Pick: ‘I Had a Dream She Took My Hand’

[reckonslepoisson]

Living, Mark William Lewis (2023)

Living does not persuade me that Mark William Lewis is any more worthy of fame or celebration than any other Hackney hobbyist. He audibly loves Dean Blunt, just like everyone else in this city right now.

Pick: ‘The Power’

[reckonslepoisson]

Supernova, Ralphie Choo (2023)

Ralphie Choo puts so much effort into concocting an atmosphere; mellow, dreamlike pop smothering the whimsy of Tyler, croons of Frank, latin tinges of Rosalía and a few dashes of trap. But that effort is deceptive: too often these textures are no more than a palette, rarely particularly purposeful or well explored. It is easy to get convinced that there is more to Supernova than there is. 

Pick: ‘NHF’

[reckonslepoisson]

The Ones Ahead, Beverley Glenn-Copeland (2023)

In the 2020s the way Beverley Glenn-Copeland expressed his spirituality shifted. Less of The Ones Ahead is in a new age style and even less is communicated with poetic, abstract lyrics. Instead the subjects are joy, love, belief – all of which, I’m sure most will agree, are often at their greatest power when expressed with unwavering directness.

Pick: ‘Love Takes All’

[reckonslepoisson]

Play Me, Kim Gordon (2026)

Kim Gordon’s first trap record The Collective swaggeringly fashioned its own version of the genre. Play Me is more varied but less bold and more clearly tied to trap norms; Gordon is now participating in a genre rather than redefining it. It’s still cool and well done, just less potent.

Pick: ‘Play Me’

[reckonslepoisson]

Halo, Juana Molina (2017)

Much of the same krauty folk loops as 2008’s Un día and with similar appeal, though with a little more ambient space, a few more meanders and much fuckin’ weirder album cover.

Pick: ‘In the lassa’

[reckonslepoisson]

Wild One, 9090gate [Fakemink] & Mag (2024)

Fakemink’s most besotted are as here for the production as the lyrics; even when the beats are not his own, they’re a marvel of weightless patter and post-bloghouse shimmer.

Pick: ‘Blow Me’

[reckonslepoisson]

Laugh Tracks, Knocked Loose (2016)

Knocked Loose are foremostly extraordinary entertainers. In so many tracks here it is obvious that the band are restlessly eager to keep you engaged. The siren-like bit in ‘Oblivions Peak’, glittering riff of ‘Blood Will Have Blood’, metal scratching in ‘Counting Worms’, drawn out sludge of ‘Billy No Mates’, swaggering few glam chords in ‘No Thanks’, weird outro soul in ‘Deadringer’ – all are flourishes of a band that is determined never to be dull. 

Pick: ‘Oblivions Peak’

[reckonslepoisson]

I Guess U Had to Be There, ELUCID & Sebb Bash (2026)

Another ELUCID release with all the usual insights and poetics, in other words another mighty achievement of modern hip-hop, though that isn’t the whole appeal; I Guess U Had to Be There also contains several of his most entertaining raps ever.

Pick: ‘Cantata’

[reckonslepoisson]

Westside Trapped, heavensouls (2026)

A sense of uplift in music is the ultimate aim of so many, but few can truly achieve it. EDM producers attempt to manufacture the sensation but can only simulate it, a distinction handily blurred by chemical stimulation. Westside Trapped, however, is the real deal. The bedrock, that is the earthliness, of this record are elements of jazz and R&B and soul and latin and warm music, all of which ensure the experience is of the heart. Westside Trapper then tears open the chest, takes hold of that organ, aims for the above and leaves you there. A very special musical experience. 

Pick: ‘shed a tear for me’

[reckonslepoisson]

Open This Wall, Berlioz (2024)

‘If Matisse made house music’ is Berlioz’s Insta bio. Well, if Matisse made art for bank foyers, perhaps. An insult not just to jazz and house musics, but to dear old Henri too.

[reckonslepoisson]

The Pleasure Is Yours, GENA (2026)

One of those records that listens exactly as you’d expect it to. GENA is very much Liv.e enlivened by the Madlib and Dilla-infused percussion of Karriem Riggins, R&B that is prone to eclectic sounds and deviations from the norm (and is all the better for it). 

Pick: ‘Circlesz’

[reckonslepoisson]

The New Eve Is Rising, The New Eves (2025)

The New Eve Is Rising resembles – well, I imagine, not from experience – being tied to a stake, encircled by those about to justly but doubtless mercilessly avenge the crimes of my gender. All in a good way, of course. 

Pick: ‘Mary’

[reckonslepoisson]

Somersaults, Deathcrash (2026)

I’ve seen deathcrash live a few times and I know in my heart that this band is a good band. That knowledge now colours my listening of their records, even if the content remains flawed. Somersaults is more immediate and less derivative than the Slintist rock of deathcrash’s first two, combining slowcore and alt-rock in a way this band perhaps always should have. Lyrically Tiernan Banks now openly attempts Isaac Wood’s early-20-something bourgeois poetics, landing the ponderings sometimes but mostly not. The band is still nowhere near as original or good as they think they are, but gets some sort of emotional response out of me. And that’s not to be dismissed. 

Pick: ‘Somersaults’