2023 Writing Portfolio
A collection of reviews and interviews for Pitchfork, Billboard, and more from the last two years.
PITCHFORK:
Ezra Furman — All Of Us Flames: The bluesy chord progression of opener “Train Comes Through” enters into folk’s long tradition of train songs, but Furman’s lyrics advocate for those written out of history: “It’s not written in your Bibles/It’s a verse behind the verse/Only visible to an obsessive detail-oriented heathen Jew.” In the absence of a sacred text, she resolves to write her own in “Book of Our Names,” continuing a parallel from her past music between trans oppression and Jewish Exodus.
Daughter — Stereo Mind Game: For a microgeneration of angsty teens, the music of London indie folk trio Daughter was a formative soundtrack to aimless Tumblr scrolling and late nights aching for connection. In particular, the band’s 2011 breakout “Youth” provided solace to struggling adolescents with its trembly vocals and tormented lyrics comparing romantic disappointment to “heaving through corrupted lungs.”
Isomonstrosity — Isomonstrosity: On this record, though, the incorporation of different elements feels surface-level; tinny, hyperpop-inspired percussion and tense string swells are signifiers lacking the substance of the trio’s individual work… “I’m just staring at my breakfast all day/Listening to Brahms and Beyoncé,” Johan Lenox laments on “Careful What You Wish For,” but neither influence is particularly audible.
GRAMMY.COM
Everything Everything’s AI-Derived ‘Raw Data Feel’ Tackles Mental Health, Conspiracy Theories: GRAMMY.com unpacks Everything Everything’s extensive lore, their shift towards poppier music, and the way Higgs addresses mental health. When asked about the origins of EE’s fascination with conspiracies and hate groups, the Zoom video started glitching out, and the error somehow felt on-brand.
BILLBOARD:
Must-Hear Indie Artist of the Month: Young Fathers: It feels organic while listening, but try describing their sound and it gets a lot more complicated: it’s too intricate to be lo-fi, too raw to be hi-fi, too poppy to be “alternative hip-hop,” too harsh for easy listening. The most frequent comparison is TV on the Radio, but that doesn’t quite work, because Young Fathers aren’t really a rock band, either.
MEDIUM:
Hannah Versus: The Japanese House’s “Boyhood” and Ruston Kelly’s The Weakness: Sonically, The Weakness is an album that feels trapped in a computer, aching for connection but unable to reach out. The multitracked vocals give even the more acoustic songs a metallic sheen, like he’s singing in time-stretched slow-motion. This leads to some awkward moments: For whatever strengths “St. Jupiter” and John Feldmann co-write “Holy Shit” have, they still sound like Blues Traveler lead by a text-to-speech program.
Contact me at hannahjocelync@gmail.com if you want to work together!
