August 2025 Music Roundup
Ooooh, August. What did I listen, what did I buy?
New Music Immediate Impressions
Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Massage Parlor (Bandcamp)
Wow, August was a real lull month, huh? The only album of interest that arrived was this side tract of soft, instrumental piano/new age versions of songs from Jenkins' (incredible) album from last year. But that said, as "filler" like as this is, I really dig this - I've been in such a mood for gentle, calming music these days and this absolutely hits the spot in a way you wouldn't believe. Pure background music for sure, but perfectly so. Sounds to sink into and to relax your busy mind with when the thoughts get a little too much from time to time.
Live!
Perhaps most excitingly in my August's music happenings, I went to see Matt Berninger live. His latest solo album Get Sunk has risen to be one of the year's top listens, and so I was very excited for the concert. Wasn't disappointed: Berninger is such a top class performer who's simply magnetic to watch, the performances of the solo material was thoroughly excellent all around, we got treated a couple of brand new songs (I think we might get a follow-up EP or a deluxe edition in the coming months) and even to a few National cuts that I wasn't expecting, and the encore featured an electrifying cover of "Blue Monday" that worked shockingly well. I had a blast, and Berninger clearly had too - if Get Sunk is a lot about trying to shake off the 'sad dad' reputation, then he was showing that distinction loud and clear with his cheery and wryly funny antics.
Hoard Updates
CD
- David Bowie - Station to Station (1976 - 2019 reissue, no extra material)
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - B-Sides & Rarities Vol. II (2021)
- Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs EP (Japanese edition with extra tracks) (2001)
- Robyn - Honey (2018)
- Youth Group - The Night Is Ours (2008)
Digital
- BeÃcoli - Laika: Aged Through Blood OST (2023) (BC)
- Keep It Together - Gate 23 (2024) (BC)
- Shinichiro Yokota - Ultimate Yokota 1991-2019 (2019) (BC)
Bit of a quiet month for purchases too, though I did actually buy a few more - but those other albums are still in transit/waiting to be shipped, so I'll count them here once they're with me. Most of the CDs were the result of an impromptu trip to Vinyl Exchange in Manchester when I had a few hours to kill, and I'm glad to continue my tradition of picking up Bowie albums I don't own yet physically whenever I do a random record shop detour. The only CD bought outside that trip is the Youth Group album, which I ordered to complete the discography (ahead of the new album later this year, anyway).
The digital purchases were Bandcamp Friday grabs, mostly pretty random choices this time around - Keep It Together because of their excellent album this year, the Laika OST because I played through the game recently, and the Yokota one on a whim (funky house and very 90s beats, kind of Sonic CD-esque which is why it was recommended to me by a friend to begin with).
Music reviews
This month I finished off the Pinegrove discography reviews, and started catching up on The National reviews before I move onto new discographies - with a Sonical detour.
- The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein (2023)
- Pinegrove - Amperland, NY (2021)
- Pinegrove - 11:11 (2022)
- Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic the Hedgehog Original Sound Track (2007)
Most played song of the month according to Last.FM
Pinegrove's 11:11 hogs up basically the entire top ten of my top listens, courtesy of getting really obsessed about it during the review cycle. So may as well go with my favourite song from it (and one of my favourite Pinegrove songs overall), with its wonderful video.