New Music Friday: 13th Floor New Album Picks: September 1, 2023

New Music Friday is with us once more. And we’ve picked five brand new releases for you to make your weekend that much better.

There are relatively slim pickin’s this week as it is a holiday weekend in The States, but have no fear, we’ve got the goods…check out these five new albums as chosen for you by The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda.

1. 

   The Paper Kites – At The Roadhouse (Nettwerk) Aussie band’s 6th album was recorded in an old roadside property they rennovated and and called The Roadhouse. “The atmosphere was immersive and electric, the songs emotionally charged with the tradition of storytelling. The evenings became a sort of communion, powerful and significant within the walls – and those who found themselves at The Roadhouse realised they had stumbled upon a moment.” Click here to watch the 13th Floor MusicTalk interview with bandleader Sam Bentley.

2. Slowdive – Everything Is Alive (Dead Oceans) Fifth album for the British quintet who performed at Auckland’s Powerstation in July.  “There were some profound shifts for some of us personally,” vocalist-guitarist Rachel Goswell shared in a statement, alluding to the 2020 passing of her mother and drummer Simon Scott’s father, both to whom the album is dedicated. “Those crossroads are reflected in the many-layered emotional tenor of Slowdive’s music; everything is alive is heavy with experience, but each note is poised, wise, and necessarily pitched to hope. Its unique alchemy subtly embodies both sadness and gratitude, groundedness and uplift.”

3. Swallow The Rat – South Locust (Shifting Sounds) Auckland post-punk trio Swallow the Rat (guitarist Brian Purington, drummer/vocalist Hayden Fritchley, bassist/vocalist Stephen Horsley) bring a dual vocal attack, where voices soar, growl or reassure, while the stripped down format provides for space and dynamics.

4. Chris Pierce – Let All Who Will (Friends At Work/Downtown) The LA singer-songwriter follow’s 2021’s American Silence. Co-produced by Niko Bolas (Neil Young, The Mavericks) and Dave Resnik (Sonia Dada, Mavis Staples), Let All Who Will was recorded in Hollywood, CA at the legendary Sunset Sound. The new album is packed with intense storytelling, intuitive spontaneity, and powerful performances that capture a vivid snapshot of the kinship at the sessions, all supporting Pierce’s unmistakable and soulfully dynamic vocals.

. Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Data Doom (Greenway) Get psyched! The LA psych-rock band is back with a new lineup. “There was no pressure and no real-time constraint for this record,” vocalist Dylan Sizemore said in a statement. “Because of that the creativity flowed in a very free way that probably wouldn’t have happened if we’d been on the clock in a studio. It showed us that the more we take the time to communicate and share our ideas with each other, the more it feeds our creative energy and helps us to make something we’re all really excited about.”