Every week, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries live on 88Nine at 10 p.m. every Monday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.
For anyone who’s a big fan of Sharp Pins — a jangly project equally indebted to ’60s pop and Guided By Voices — get stoked. The Chicago project just announced a new album called Balloon Balloon Balloon, although that may not actually be news to the band’s Milwaukee supporters.
Sharp Pins-heads got treated to an in-store earlier this year thanks to Irving Place Records, as well as a show at X-Ray Arcade. So there are a few folks in our area who already know how great this album’s going to be.
The Chicago project led by Kai Slater of post-punk band Lifeguard turns out a more bedroom-warbly pop-rock sound than Lifeguard’s harder one. You can hear it clearly on the slow-fi and sweet sound of “(I Wanna) Be Your Girl.” It’s one of my favorite songs that Slater has turned out to this point, and we’re going to get 20 additional tracks from Balloon Balloon Balloon, which will float our way Nov. 21 via K Records.
Hear “(I Wanna) Be Your Girl” from Sharp Pins by listening to the latest episode of What’s All This via the player at the top of the page. Then tune into the show at our new time as I bring you all the best new music at 10 p.m. every Monday on 88Nine.
Best new indie music this week
- Geese, "100 Horses"
- Golden Apples, "Freeeee"
- Courtney Hartman, "Bright Eye (ft. The Nunnery)"
- Hannah Jadagu, "Doing Now"
- Joe Westerlund, "Tem"
- S. Carey, "Watercress"
- runo plum, "Sickness"
- Bright Eyes, "Dyslexic Palindrome (ft. Hurray For the Riff Raff)"
- Sharp Pins, "(I Wanna) Be Your Girl"
- Joyer, "Spell"
- Packaging, "In Your Pocket (ft. Flaural & Spirit Award)"
- Bruiser and Bicycle, "Waterfight"
