Photo of Snocaps by Chris Black
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.
I posted last week’s column in the wee hours of Saturday night, then woke up in the morning and remembered: ah, crap! I was going to include Snocaps in that writeup! And I never even got around to listening to the new Florence + the Machine! So insanity got the better of me and I decided, what the heck, why not do two in one week! So here are some more great new releases from Halloween New Music Friday, in the order in which I listened to ‘em. Hopefully I didn’t wear myself out and I’ll have a few November 7th releases ready for you in a couple days.
Snocaps, self-titled (Anti-): Halloween is usually the day for jump scares, but this year offered up a much more pleasant surprise: the previously unannounced reunion of Katie and Allison Crutchfield for a new LP. The twin sisters performed together as the impeccably named punk band P.S. Eliot from 2007 to 2011 before splintering apart—as Katie related to Stereogum, she was the band’s songwriter, Allison was seeking a songwriting outlet, and they ultimately decided to channel their creativity apart, with Katie crafting the solo project Waxahatchee and Allison forming the band Swearin’. There was no bad blood—the sisters would tour their new projects together and even had a P.S. Eliot reunion tour in 2016—but no new music from the two of them together appeared to be forthcoming.
And then, out of nowhere, Snocaps: a new album under a new name featuring songwriting contributions from both sisters, the pair backed by indie rock renaissance man MJ Lenderman and Waxahatchee producer Brad Cook. I’ll be honest and say that I’ve never explored Allison Crutchfield’s work and I’ve enjoyed Waxahatchee but never considered myself a huge fan. But this? This I love. Snocaps is basically platonic ideal alt-country, with a straightforward rhythm section backing countrified electric guitars and slightly twangy vocals singing impeccably observed, relatable lyrics, the sound of Drive-By Truckers or Wednesday (one of Lenderman’s many other gigs) with the Sonic Youth-inspired noise stripped away.
The best songs are the ones with the biggest alt-country kick, where the Crutchfield sisters’ harmonized vocals lock in like “Heathcliff” and “Over Our Heads.” But there’s also enough musical variety to keep things from getting stale—check the Byrdsy/Matthew Sweety jangling guitars of “Brand New City” and “Avalanche,” or “Hide,” which rides quiet, pulsing guitar chords straight out of U2’s “All I Want Is You.” “You in Rehab” closes the album on a peak, a textbook example of how to use happy music to deploy depressing-as-hell lyrics with a spoonful of sugar. I was not expecting this album, and when I heard about it, I was certainly not expecting to love it as much as I did. But here I am with a new album leaping into the running for a slot as one of my favorite albums of 2025. Will I Listen Again?: Absolutely.
The Belair Lip Bombs, Again (Third Man Records): An indie rock quartet from Melbourne, Australia, the Belair Lip Bombs received the stamp of approval from Joe White of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (who signed on to produce this sophomore record) and Jack White of the White Stripes (whose Third Man Records is releasing it). The most appealing thing about the album is the guitars, with singer Maisie Everett’s rhythm guitar hitting a rollicking groove as Mike Bradvica’s leads slice and jab across them; the way they intertwine reminds me of Television but played faster and a little looser.
This album shows the limit of the “listen to it once or twice then write about it” format of this column in that it was the seventh new album I listened to last week and it didn’t really catch my ear at first. But as I kept spinning it while trying to figure out what to say about it, I found I liked it more the fourth time than I did the first, and I like it even more listening to it the fifth time as I type this. Will I Listen Again?: Definitely.
Ashes and Diamonds, Are Forever (Cleopatra Records): Supergroups are always a dicey proposition, but they seem to be most likely to succeed when the members’ previous gigs are the least like each other. Case in point, Ashes and Diamonds is made up of Bauhaus guitarist/Love and Rockets singer Daniel Ash, Sade bassist Paul Spencer Denman, and Public Image Ltd/The Pop Group drummer Bruce Smith. Those résumés may be all over the place, but the results are anything but: this album is a dark wave album sure to appeal to fans of Depeche Mode’s Violator, Nitzer Ebb’s Ebbhead, and, yes, early solo records by Ash’s old Bauhaus bandmate Peter Murphy, with a heaping helping of David Bowie on top. There’s one clunker—”The Ice Queen” is undone by some very corny lyrics—but otherwise, this is one solid album of dark, sexy, gothy vibes. Will I Listen Again?: Probably.
Florence + the Machine, Everybody Scream (Polydor): When it was released as a single, the title track for Everybody Scream not only delivered what it said on the tin (i.e. lots of screaming), it also indicated exactly we were in for with the ensuing album: the band’s weirdest, witchiest, and most warped album yet—hell, on “Witch Dance,” Welch sings about a sexual liaison with Death itself Alongside new contributors Aaron Dessner (of the National) and Mark Bowen (of Idles), the opening tracks offer gritty, strutting guitars, and as Florence Welch’s voice bobs and weaves and soars and dives, the vibe is like Annie Lennox fronting the Velvet Underground. “Perfume and Milk” arrives in the middle as a more stereotypical F+tM song, albeit an excellent one, with the instruments slowly building as Welch’s powerful vibrato ebbs and flows. Closer to the end, “You Can Have It All” features background vocals that wail like a banshee’s cries.
Welch’s lyrics are especially wordy this time out, but there are a number of lyrical doozies to be had, my favorites coming from the songs that skewer musical heroes: “You’re my second-favourite frontman/ And you could have me if you weren’t so afraid of me/ It’s funny how men don’t find power very sexy/ So this one’s for the ladies” (“One of the Greats”) and “‘Cos I know how to fall in love, I do it constantly/ I fall in love with everyone I meet for ten minutes at least/ But then comes the work, the resentments and the hurt/ Picking at your haircut and that stupid band t-shirt” (“Music by Men”). “Drink Deep” is the one track that didn’t grab me, otherwise this is an exceptional set of richly varies songs. There’s also a “Chamber Version” of the album that adds four alternate recordings with more organic instrumentation; the Chamber Version of “The Old Religion” is particularly stunning, as lilting and gorgeous as a hymn. Will I Listen Again?: Yes.
Ship Says Om, Dream Journal (Native Cat): Jenny Gillespie Mason pretty much completely reinvents herself with each new release under the moniker Sis (soon to be Sis and the Lower Wisdom on a new release coming in January; read my review of her excellent 2022 EP Gnani here). But she’s exploring all new sonic territory on Ship Says Om, her new ambient side project. This six-song, 17-minute EP offers up a mix of pulsating electronics and more organic tracks based around gently plucked acoustic guitars, with only the occasional (mostly) wordless vocal. I’m far from an expert in ambient music, but this is a pleasant listen, often quite pretty, and cinematic enough that most of the tracks would fit well on the soundtrack of an indie drama film, or serve as your own personal soundtrack for a gray, rainy day. Will I Listen Again?: Maybe.
