Islands in the Stream: 2/13/25

"Another Movie," dark satellite
It's exceedingly rare for this type of thing to have more than a minute or two of real entertainment value, and by "this type of thing," I most definitely mean "artists doing their absolute damndest to sound exactly like other artists." Given that dark satellite is biting large and hard from the Steely Dan apple here, the odds of success would seem to be that much slimmer — and yet I listened to their entire album and dug the hell out of it. I suspect even hardcore Dan fans would be obliged to admit The Modern Illusion is more entertaining than, say, Everything Must Go.

"BE LIKE ME," cosmorat
Not much to say here other than that I am aware this is about the thousandth track I've recommended because it hits the sweet, crunchy spot between Sleigh Bells and the Ting Tings. Sounds like a cheer squad laughing while your pants fall down, which is an endorsement, as bizarre as that might seem.

"Kill," Star 99
At some point between the day I dropped this track in the post draft and today, Star 99 crossed the 10,000 monthly listener barrier, which should make them ineligible — but I'm here and so are they, and I don't feel like holding off on this post while I search for another island in the stream, so I'm breaking my own rule. If you miss vintage Letters to Cleo and/or Veruca Salt, you'll probably dig "Kill."

"Dial Tone," Robber Robber
There's a serrated new wave edge to Robber Robber's noisy pop workouts, and a sexy push-and-pull rhythm to "Dial Tone" in particular. This probably would have lit up the switchboards if it had aired on 120 Minutes back in the day, which is a variation on a theme that seems to come up around here with increasing regularity. I don't know what it says about me that I'm enjoying the '90s more the second time around, but whatever.

"Talking Backwards," Gentle Hen
The '90s revival continues with Gentle Hen. "Talking Backwards" has more of a CMJ sampler disc vibe than a 120 Minutes vibe, but the basic rules still apply — if you miss the days when rock songs still sounded like musicians in a room, and you also miss the days before rampant pitch correction shaved the wool off every major-label release, this will surely float your boat.

"Wait All Week," Kora Puckett
The artwork for the "Wait All Week" single is a photo of a guitar case lying in a field, and that's kinda what this song sounds like — not in a "singer-songwriter crooning at birds and flowers" kind of way, but in a "sunny midtempo rock track with a pleasantly bucolic feel" way. I have no idea how many other gears Kora Puckett has, but even if this is the only one, I'd still be willing to check out an entire record. (Side note: Why the fuck don't bands have websites anymore? I keep checking for links, and all I'm getting are Facebook pages. I refuse.)

"Different Sound," Sawpaw
Sawpaw claim they offer "southern-tinged rock and roll stomp," which is definitely fair. I'm tempted to say this is recommended if you like Neil Young, but I like it and I don't particularly like Neil Young, which creates a bit of a conundrum.

"Yr Gonna Be Happy," Silver Synthetic
There's a strong '60s harmony group vibe here, which sort of tends not to be my bag, but in this case, the songwriting and performances are solid enough to give me something to hang onto. It also doesn't hurt that there's a heavy layer of shaggy garage rock grime preventing those harmonies from getting too sunny.

"i used to feel different," MAITA
A taut, fat-free pop number with a chugging groove topped off with whining analog synths and vocals that are as comfily cool as the other side of the pillow. I'd like to hear more!

"Go with You," Aerial
These guys have apparently been kicking around since the late '90s, and have shared stages with the likes of Snow Patrol, and yet they currently have a paltry 138 monthly listeners on Spotify. One listen to "Go with You" should be enough to soundly convince you of the injustice here — this is an outstanding slice of harmony-buttressed power pop, and the type of song that makes a person feel like throwing the windows open to feel the sunshine and a warm breeze even in the dead of winter. Score another one for Scotland.