This week felt a bit slow in terms of new music being announced (I’m also not getting as many emails with further notice about things coming out TODAY from publicists), so if anything BIG comes out today that’s not included here, uhh blame them I guess! I’m out of the loop! I am but a simple music blog, for instance! I have something for sure locked in for next week’s post, but other than that, I am but a humble little blogger, please take pity upon me. (Please don’t, that’s how we got the 2008 financial crisis. It was the bloggers all along).

What I have included below are some STELLAR tracks, though! First are foremost is a highlight to the great Just Cause Vol. 2 compilation that you should definitely check out, along with new music from Robber Robber, runo plum, Nalan, Loukeman and more. Plus some older tracks like a standout from Boards of Canada’s 2013 album, some 2022 magic from The Zenmenn & John Moods, and a reissued Ted Lucas rarity. Dig in, and feel free to add your email to my mailing list. I don’t post that often! And I have credible evidence that each post of mine is of A+ inbox-filling quality. You can trust me!

Ben Seretan – “life is merely” [Just Cause]
Two vocal and lovely voices in the NYC and DIY scene beyond, Evan Welsh and Cody DeFalco, recently released a second installment in their ambitious Just Cause compilation series. These two have collected tracks from artists they find vital to the creative and passionate worlds that inspire them (and that they’ve helped cultivate) (63 tracks, in fact), and put them together for this benefit compilation, with the funds in this case going to the Immigrant Defense Project, which you can find more information about HERE. Assembled are names like Wendy Eisenberg, The Soft Pink Truth, M. Sage, Lucy Liyou, Giant Claw, Allegra Krieger and so many more that I have no awareness of. But that’s what’s great about this comp: I know that the artists I listed are both for the heads, but very adept, poignant songwriters and composers in their own ways. Evan and Cody know their shit, they’re out at nearly every show in NYC each night, and so many artists know and love them. They’re the most plugged-in guys out there – put some trust in their work. So launch over some of your dolla billz to Just Cause Vol. 2 via the Bandcamp link above, help out a good cause, and introduce yourself to a whole trough of great new musicians. Oh yeah and this Ben Seretan track is really great. He has a new album out I still need to dig into, so perhaps more on him later. 

Boards of Canada – “Jacquard Causeway” [Warp]
With news of something new from Boards of Canada coming (via mysterious VHS tapes sent to random fans), I revisited their most recent album, 2013’s Tomorrow’s Harvest, and rekindled my love for the single “Jacquard Causeway.” Y’all: you do not understand how much Boards of Canada I listened to in 2013. Some of these songs from the album I hadn’t heard in 10 or so years and they transported me right back to that summer, working on an empty school campus, living in a dingy house crawling with bugs, and binging music like my life depended on it. “Jacquard Causeway” still hits with its huge, loose snare hits and overall eerie vibe. Potentially the soundtrack to a skate video by grey aliens.

Chloé Jara-Buto – “jennifer” [Le Backstore]
Shout out to New Commute, where I found this. Montreal-based musician Chloé Jara-Buto recently released an album om-om, stuffed with fuzzy, fizzy, peculiar, catchy little morsels of melody, being plopped into the same sonic realms as bands like Broadcast and Stereolab. Those two are bands that virtually everyone likes. Why not have more of that sound? Plug into this light-up world and explore a bit, it doesn’t take too long.

Larrison – “Moonplay” [Freedom To Spend]
Shout out to my buddy Sam Goldner for reviewing this on Pitchfork the other day, because it likely would have passed me by until the end of the year when I see people including it on their Best of 2026 lists. Larrison Seidle recorded dozens of tracks to cassettes in the early to mid 90s using a simple Casio CZ-5000 keyboard, and they recently resurfaced in the archivists / reissue savants Freedom To Spend’s hands, and are now publicly available for the first time via album Connectors Vol. 1. Did I know who this Larrison guy is? No, and I doubt many people do, but the little universes he created in his own world on this collection are lovely to get lost in. Ultra-charming, no pretension or expectations: just bite-sized snow globes of wonder.

Loukeman – “To The Sky” [September]
Toronto-based electronic musician Loukeman intrigued me with his 2024 album Sd-2 and has been buzzing around my consciousness since with a few singles here and there, maybe a remix or two. He’s got a new album Sd-3 coming April 24th, and while I didn’t really care for the first two singles, its newest, “To The Sky” is more my speed. It’s got a great rhythm and wavering vibe, with its reflective melody bent in and out of phasors, or whatever technical term you’d like to call that. Basically it’s a dreamy, peppy, warbly song that sounds like being in a good mood on a grey, misty day of early spring when it’s not quite warm yet, but you’re still happy it’s no longer winter. The better days are coming.

Nalan – “Ok” [Mansions and Millions]
Truthfully I was brought in because the cover art for Nalan’s upcoming album, 2009, is so spooky. Also since it was being put out on Mansions and Millions, I thought there was no way this could be that bad. Surely enough, the newest single from 2009, out April 24th, is pretty “OK.” It’s anchored by a knotty, high-pressure synth bumper that fills in the skeleton of a simple drum pattern and dreamy synths, and matches the pulsing anxiety that the lyrics illustrate: a push-pull battle between helping a friend and maintaining yourself, and the emotional toll that follows. I haven’t listened to the other singles from 2009, hoping to keep it a fresh surprise, but I’m definitely looking forward to it!

Robber Robber – “New Year’s Eve” [Fire Talk]
Robber Robber mentioned. Delightfully crunchy and chewy indie rock from the Burlington, VT-based quartet + their new album Two Wheels Move The Soul, out now. Bathed in a nice fuzz and VHS static lies a solid pop song with solid vocals + performances. I haven’t listened to much of this new album, but looking forward to digging in more.

runo plum – “pink moon” [Winspear]
At my actual job, I’ve learned that college radio kids really love runo plum. This is an artist that I didn’t know of, but saw blowing up in the scene where I emerged from. In my own twisted mind, I said “ok well I’m not going to listen to that then.” This week I caved and sure enough, I’m loving this single “pink moon,” a slice of smoky, smeared folk with pristine, understated vocals. It’s a peaceful and healing environment, a song to play in a rainstorm with the windows open. runo plum has a new EP, Bloom Again, coming May 8th. Keep an eye out, and check out Patching, her album that came out last year.

Ted Lucas – “Rainy Days” [Third Man]
I must not have been paying attention, because all of the sudden there’s a “new” lost album from Ted Lucas, Rainy Days, put out back in March via Third Man. In fact, they’re putting out a whole box set of lost Ted Lucas music from his own solo works to random bands he was in. You know I had to order that stuff – if you haven’t heard his self-titled album, please close this post and go check that out now. “Rainy Days” doesn’t immediately hit the highs his self-titled album does, but it’s great to hear his voice on another track that I’m not familiar with in-and-out. Excited to dig into this album more and I await my box set arriving some time in May. Shout out Wayne State.

The Zenmenn & John Moods – “Into The Heart Of The Matter” [Music From Memory]
The lone iPod shuffle find on the list this week (I only went into the office one time, and the other travel necessitated earbuds), but it was a good one. Downloaded in a random binge of Music From Memory records (incredible label), and listened in a car home after a concert, a rainy night in New York city as the car traveled over the Queensboro bridge felt silkier than ever. This is some groovy, groovy stuff.