Ugly Duckling Union, Lowertown (9/10)

This album fuckkkkks. By far my favorite record put out this year thus far. I'd really liked all the singles they dropped (especially "I Like You A Lot"), and I also love that there's absolute bangers on the record that they didn't put out as singles to keep me on my toes. These days I feel like sometimes when a band releases an album and there's so much lead up with the singles, I'm disappointed by the rest of the record, but this was the exact opposite. It wields a sprawling range of songs with a strong (to me) influence of Alex G in the best way possible, meaning in their willingness to risk and experiment and push past genre expectations. Also meaning in excellent guitar and bass. To me, the record is about crushing love, and I feel it gets at it through a variety of affects and sounds all relating: anger, sadness, joy and connection. It's what's raw about love, and the sound is raw to match. Exceeded my expectations, and I've had it on repeat for the last 24 hours. Favorite tracks:  Op: Lowertown released it yesterday (5/22/26). Favorite tracks: (I Like To Play) With Mutts, I Like You A Lot,  Anything Good Takes Blood, Cover You

Oh and they recorded/produced it themselves! 

Also, I'd check out their bandcamp page which has a really wonderful description of the album's making.