Photo of Pokey LaFarge by Danielle Head.
First Thought Fridays is a (mostly) weekly column offering quick-hit takes on some of the albums released this week, serving up first impressions, favorite or least favorite songs, and whether or not they’re worth a second listen. Check back for more each Friday night or Saturday morning.
At the end of August, this column celebrated it’s first birthday! In that one year, I managed to churn out 58 columns and a whopping 203 (!) reviews. Not bad for just one guy! I meant to do something special to mark the occasion, but the start of school proved too hectic to squeeze it in. But this week I’m finally back at it, not only with a new column, but with this epic, nearly 2,000-word review of this week’s AC/DC-Foo Fighters concert.
I’ve also spent some time during the two-week break watching the discourse surrounding Stella Lefty, whose debut album I gave a mostly favorable review in the last edition of First Thought Fridays. And I did like it! Even though the album dropped with a little over a week left in August, it ended up being my third-most-streamed album for the month, and she was my fifth-most-streamed artist. But let’s just say that the rest of the hipster music reviewing community is very much not there with me, with Stereogum saying she has “a personality vacuum” while closely monitoring her many plagiarism accusations, Pitchfork called her hit “Boston” a cliché “that recalls the worst impulses of fellow silver-spooned Swiftie Gracie Abrams,” and Paste giving her album a D-. It’s a little weird to feel this connected from the conventional wisdom, but I don’t know…sometimes the ear just likes what it likes, right?
Speaking of liking stuff, there were quite a few new releases from the last couple weeks that I enjoyed. There’s a lot more than what is in this column, but when you write 2,000 words about AC/DC, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for everything else. Like, say, explaining why the Jayhawks’ Sanctuary Park just might be their best album in nearly a quarter century. Which it is! But I’ll have to prove that to you another time. For now, let’s dive into what I did get to, shall we?
Judah & the Lion, I Am a Prism (Dualtone): Judah & the Lion started out as a quartet that blended massive hip-hop-inspired beats with acoustic guitar, mandolin, and banjo, forming a sort of unholy hybrid of Imagine Dragons and stomp-clap-hey folk revival that was much better than it sounds on paper. (“Take It All Back” was definitely a jam.) Officially whittled down to a duo, singer-guitarist Judah Akers and mandolinist Brian Macdonald offer up a sixth album that still has stadium-sized ambitions but isn’t quite as maximalist about it, and the folk elements are dialed down to more of a general strummy, countrified vibe than the very specific sound the band had on earlier records. The results are fine, but other than “As the Crow,” none of the songs really grabbed my attention. Will I Listen Again?: Probably not.
Chat Pile, Who Loves the Sun (The Flenser): Don’t confiscate my hipster music critic card, but I’m not all that familiar with Chat Pile; I mostly know them as the kind of band that gets written up a lot on the various music websites I read. (My massive music tracking spreadsheet tells me I listened to In the Earth Again, their 2025 collaborative album with Hayden Pedigo, but I don’t recall anything about it, really.) It’s easy to see the appeal in the thunderous rhythm section, the huge guitars, and Raygun Busch’s passionate, throaty scream. Occasionally the band pushed their sludge metal sound into territory that was a little too abrasive for me, but it seemed like each time that happened, they would soon after settle into this galloping groove with all the sonic elements locked into each other in a way that was just unstoppable. On this first listen, though, most of the songs didn’t strike me as particularly memorable, with only “Intruder” sinking a hook in deep enough to make me want to look up the song title. This is probably showing (1) my age and (2) the particularity of my taste in metal, but I don’t think this band is for me, even though they clearly have a lot to offer if you’re into music that’s as abrasive as it is passionate. Will I Listen Again?: Probably not.
Dying 4, Perish Songs (Practise Music): I very rarely click on the new release tab in Apple Music, but if this is the kind of stuff hiding in there, I might have to do it more often. Dying 4 is the new side project from Joseph Nash, guitarist for London-based indie rockers Blue Bendy. I’ve never heard Blue Bendy, but this I dig, mopey indie rock built from soft, brittle, even slightly woozy synths and (heavily processed) guitars atop skittering beats. It plays like a blend of the softer sides of Broken Social Scene and LCD Soundsystem mushed together. “Sweetheart Grips,” the final song on this four-track EP, adds Tottenham rapper TaliaBle to the proceedings with a couple of vaguely dancehall verses, which ups the aggression but doesn’t harsh Nash’s swirling, gently hypnotic vibe. Will I Listen Again?: Definitely.
Pokey LaFarge, Rent Money (ONErpm): Former St. Louis mainstay Pokey LaFarge has tried on a lot of sounds since he started out making scratchy, old-timey folk/Americana records for a modern audience in the mid-Aughts, but his latest might just be the best fit for him yet. Rent Money pairs LaFarge’s trademark twang with the retro bluesy swing of the Black Keys, with some sonic nods to early rock n’ roll like Buddy Holly, Elvis, and Chuck Berry to boot. The songs are short, sweet, witty, and catchy. Hopefully LaFarge plays plenty of the new tunes at his homecoming album release show Saturday night at Delmar Hall. Favorite tracks: “The Thing,” “My Baby Loves Me,” “Rent Money,” “Stranger,” “Big Boss Man.” Favorite couplet, from the title track: “The good Lord giveth/ The landlord taketh away.” Will I Listen Again?: Yes.
Angela Autumn, Believer (Gar Hole Records): Angela Autumn first gained notoriety by playing Appalachian folk tunes on the clawhammer banjo, earning herself the nickname “The Rose of Appalachia.” On her sophomore LP Believer, though, Autumn teams with producer Isaiah Beard (a.k.a. Baerd) and broadens her sonic palette into indie rock territory without losing her folksy charms. The strummier tunes recall Waxahatchee but others add Wilco-esque shuffling grooves and noodly leads, all while Autumn’s warbly drawl of a voice conjures up Adrianne Lenker and Ratboys’ Julia Steiner. Believer was largely written in the wake of a breakup, and Autumn’s tender tunes and intimate vocals expertly document the emotional devastation. Best songs: “Millionaire Money,” “Sage Bundle,” “Believer,” and “Electric Lizard” (a 2023 standalone single that first earned Autumn widespread visibility). Will I Listen Again?: Yes. | Jason Green
