Holy smokes, a Recommended Albums that’s actually on time?? Well folks, this month’s post can definitely be considered a “COVID isolation activity”. I finally got the dang thing, breaking my legendary streak on my birthday of all days, and essentially shut me down to just listen to music that came out last month (although at a point early on I was so sick that even Grouper’s Ruins on the lowest volume hurt my feverish brain). All that to say, I got sick which helped me prioritize writing this post. The quality of the albums I’m featuring helped as well.

I listened to a lot of albums from October 2022. Around 40-45 I think, which is still meager to some music writers, but still. This seemed like a lot to me, especially since there seemed to be so many “high-profile” records out, both in the major and indie worlds. Most of my listening revolved around checking out September 2022 albums (I binged Shygirl’s Nymph a TON), continuing to absolutely blast The Sea and Cake at every chance I get, checking out a few new-to-me records (like Kruder & Dorfmeister’s K&D Sessions, Shuggie Otis’ Wings of Love, refreshing my memory of artists I saw live that month (caroline, Jessie Ware) and revisiting old favorites since I traveled a lot last month.

Not to mention, I also had a lot of fun listening to music that actually came out in October. My favorite of the bunch is definitely from Lucrecia Dalt, who I’ve been following now for what seems like a decade. I couldn’t be happier to see all the new attention she’s been getting on this album – super deserved! I had high expectations going into the Palm album and was a bit scared to listen to it, but the album not only met my stupid aspirations, it’s continuing to reveal weird new secrets upon each subsequent listen. And I would be remiss without mentioning the Canadian poets Shabason & Krgovich, whose album I’ve been loving for some time now, and applaud them for making such an awesome companion and stepping stone up from their similar collaborative album from 2020, Philadelphia.

There’s a lot more to October than just those three albums I mentioned. There’s actually even more than the full ten albums I have featured below. I’ve picked a few songs a bit further down which will give you hints at other records I enjoyed from the month, as well as a few loose treasures to adorn your ceremonial chalices with.

Brutus – Unison Life [Sargent House]
Charging the sword of destiny at the top of a mountain peak, bolts of lightning arcing around your clenching fists and reflecting off your high-level armor. You are ready to fight your demons.

Indigo Sparke – Hysteria [Sacred Bones]
An intricately sewn and patterned quilted sheet hangs on a clothesline over a salt marsh and billows in the incoming sea breeze.

Julianna Riolino – All Blue [You’ve Changed]
Kicking open double swinging doors to the local saloon, triumphantly entering, seeing multiple ex-lovers sitting inside, getting embarrassed and getting smacked by the doors coming back around.

Lucrecia Dalt – ¡Ay! [RVNG Intl.]
Wrapping yourself and your belongings up in several layers of cellophane and attempting to live your life as normal.

Mabe Fratti – Se Ve Desde Aquí [Unheard of Hope]
A sturdy wooden door appears in a vast field and opens without a sound. The smell of flowers and old book pages delicately waft from the opening, and the sounds of two people having a conversation at the bottom of a stairwell can be heard.

Mali Obomsawin – Sweet Tooth [Out Of Your Head]
A flooding plain on the top floor of a tall structure; fluctuating waterfalls follow the moon’s pull as the days go by.

Nosaj Thing – Continua [LuckyMe]
The colors of an early morning sky with the sunrise just barely sneaking through a dense thicket of rain clouds: a smear of dark gray, faint blue, faded orange and milky white.

Palm – Nicks & Grazes [Saddle Creek]
Getting really nervous and overwhelmed by the really intense rules and lore while following along with some neighborhood kids fantasy roleplay games on the cul-de-sac playground.

PVA – BLUSH [Ninja Tune]
You have the ability to run endlessly without fatigue, but there’s always someone running after you and they only show up in reflections.

Shabason & Krgovich – At Scaramouche [Idée Fixe]
Rediscovering your favorite cup in the back of the cupboard and periodically drinking juice out of it throughout a Saturday where you don’t have anything particular to do.

GR8 TRACKS OF OCTOBER 2022::

Here’s a Spotify playlist. Sorry in advance – HERE.

• Alvvays – “Easy On Your Own?”
• Alvvays – “Pharmacist”
• Alvvays – “Pressed”
• Aoife Nessa Frances – “Chariot”
• Babehoven – “I’m On Your Team”
• Bibio – “Rain and Shine”
• Brutus – “Brave”
• Brutus – “Liar”
• Brutus – “Victoria”
• Carly Rae Jepsen – “Talking To Yourself”
• Daphni – “Mania”
• Daphni – “Mona”
• Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn – “Cerulean”
• Disq – “(With Respect To) Loyal Serfs”
• Disq – “This Time”
• Drugdealer – “Pictures of You (feat. Kate Bollinger)”
• Drugdealer – “Valentine”
• Dry Cleaning – “Don’t Press Me”
• Dry Cleaning – “Gary Ashby”
• Dungen – “Var Har du Varit?”
• Fazerdaze – “Break!”
• Frankie Cosmos – “Empty Head”
• Indigo Sparke – “God Is A Woman’s Name”
• Indigo Sparke – “Hysteria”
• Indigo Sparke – “Time Gets Eaten”
• Julianna Riolino – “Isn’t It A Pity”
• Julianna Riolino – “Lone Ranger”
• Junior Boys – “Yes II”
• Kelela – “Happy Ending”
• Kornél Kovacs – “Castles (feat. Kamohelo)”
• Kornél Kovacs – “Follow You (feat. Aluna)”
• Louis Cole – “I’m Tight”
• Lucrecia Dalt – “Contenida”
• Lucrecia Dalt – “Enviada”
• Mabe Fratti – “Cada Músculo”
• Mabe Fratti – “No Se Ve Desde Acá”
• Mali Obomsawin – “Lineage”
• Mali Obomsawin – “Wawasitn8da”
• Moin – “Knuckle”
• Mr Twin Sister – “Resort”
• Natalia Fourcade – “De todas las flores”
• Nick Hakim – “M1”
• Nick Hakim – “Vertigo”
• Nosaj Thing – “Condition (feat. Toro y Moi)”
• Nosaj Thing – “Woodland (feat. serpentwithfeet)”
• Palm – “Feathers”
• Palm – “Mirrors”
• Palm – “Tumbleboy”
• Plains – “Problem With It”
• PVA – “Bad Dad”
• PVA – “Hero Man”
• PVA – “Kim”
• PVA – “Untethered”
• Ribbon Stage – “Stone Heart Blue”
• Sam Gendel – “Toridasuki”
• Say She She – “Apple of My Eye”
• Say She She – “Prism”
• Shabason & Krgovich – “Drinks at Scaramouche”
• Shabason & Krgovich – “I Am So Happy With My Little Dog”
• Shabason & Krgovich – “I’m Dancing”
• Sorry – “There’s So Many People That Want To Be Loved”
• They Are Gutting A Body of Water – “behind the waterfall”
• TSHA – “Dancing In The Shadows (feat. Clementine Douglas)”
• TSHA – “Giving Up (feat. Mafro)”
• Winter – “kind of blue”
• Winter – “mr. on-my-mind”
• Winter – “sunday”