Tuesday, March 24, 2026
how dare the morning look so peaceful/when it knows your fragile fate
how dare the morning look so peaceful/when it knows your fragile fate
Whenever I see Spiritual Cramp, for an hour or so, I'm convinced that they're the best live band on the planet and that's exactly how I felt on Tuesday at the Wise.
I like their three albums just fine, but there's something special about the six of then rocking out in the flesh.
Album of the week
Gladie - No Need to Be Lonely
I love the other two Gladie records, but I really love this Gladie record.
The songwriting is top notch across all three releases, but this batch of songs has a little more punch. The first two albums are a little more downtempo, a little more singer-songwriter, whereas No Need to Be Lonely fits alongside Joyce Manor and Remember Sports (two of my other favourite 2026 albums) and brings a little more punk to go with the pop. It's that same energy she brought in Cayetana, without sounding like a retread.
I've mentioned it here before, but one of my favourite things about Gladie--and honestly just music in general--is when Augusta Koch is singing so hard that her voice kinda breaks. It sounds like she meant that shit so much that she could barely get it out. That happens all the time on No Need to Be Lonely and it fucking rocks!
There's also so many great individual moments on this album.
On the opener, "Push Me Down," there's the way Koch's vocals go from sounding like they're on the radio in another room before the guitars kick in and she comes booming in full fidelity (shout out Jeff Rosenstock, who produced everything).
There's that quote that's the title of this post that opens track 2 ("Brace Yourself"), maybe the best couplet of 2026 so far.
But my favourite might be on "Future Spring," when a choir of friends that includes the other gals from Cayetana, Rosenstock, and Anika Pyle from Chumped/Katie Ellen join her, not for the chorus, but for the briefest refrain, right in the middle.
The songs on No Need to Be Lonely are about modern life. About happiness and sadness and the people we share it with. And there's just something about the way Koch sings the line by her lonesome at first, before her friends swell up around her that captures the whole album in one line: hey you're invited and we're glad you're here.
Song of the week
Sparkler - Come Today
Uhhh, welcome back MBV, I guess.
now playing: Joyce Manor - Live at Boston Common for Saturdays in the Park
