Exclaim!'s Staff Picks for August 15, 2022: CHAI, Heaps, Domo Genesis

Photos (clockwise from top left): Heaps by Mike Neal, Florist by Carl Solether, CHAI by Yoshio Nakaiso, Domo Genesis by Alan-Michael Duval

BY Exclaim! StaffPublished Aug 15, 2022

As Harry Styles prepares to make (one city in) Canada his house tonight, we've got some more in-house new music selections to share. Here, you'll find some albums and songs that are perhaps appropriate for listening to in a sushi restaurant or while drinking a dirty (filthy, rotten) chai latte in the park — or better yet, while becoming the moon.

As always, you can see what's new in our album reviews section for deep dives into even more recent musical releases.

Badge Époque Ensemble
"Conspiring with Nature"
(Telephone Explosion)


On "Conspiring with Nature," Badge Époque Ensemble continue on their pathway of soft yet winding psychedelia. The latest taste of their upcoming record Clouds of Joy oscillates between airy harmonies and flowing instrumental sections — occupying each of the track's seven minutes with purpose. If a sunny afternoon with a coffee in the park is calling your name, this may be your perfect soundtrack.
Sydney Brasil

CHAI
"MY DREAM"
(Sub Pop)


Even when CHAI sing about insecurity or loneliness or societal ills, the effervescent Japanese quartet are always in search of that little spot of sunlight. Forget rose-coloured glasses — CHAI prefer candy-coated, their bright-eyed worldview built on immaculate grooves and puzzle-box melodies. On the chugging, hopeful "My Dream," CHAI ponder the future with all the bravery and wonder that they're known for, tackling the unknown with a sense of grace and fearlessness.
Kaelen Bell

Domo Genesis
Intros, Outros & Interludes
(Bigger Picture)
 

Ever a consistent, contemplative voice with Odd Future at their peak, Domo Genesis continues to uphold stately, stoned rumination on Intros, Outros & Interludes, his second outing entirely produced by Evidence. Compared to their 2018 debut Aren't U Glad You, the rhymes are sharper and the blurry instrumental loops are taut, the product of a chemistry burning brighter than before. It's clear the Californian feels it too, sharing on closer "Tallulah," "I'm more so in that duffle than I ever been."
Calum Slingerland

Florist
Florist
(Double Double Whammy)


Born of a concoction of love, loss and the power of family and friendship, Florist's new self-titled effort — 19 tracks recorded over several hazy summer nights in Hudson Valley — finds the band at the intersection of staking out new ground and falling in love with each other all over again. Reuniting for the first time since Emily Sprague's Emily Alone solo project, the band sings of hard-won lessons in catharsis, leaving unpolished edges to play out like a candid moment in time. 
Kayla Higgins

Heaps
Little Blue
(Independent)


Growing up together in Kawartha Lakes, Heaps (Tanner Paré, Fred Kwon and Warren Frank, formerly of the Kents) carry themselves with a casual confidence in knowing who they've become in each other's company. They look back over their shoulders at the question they first begged on their 2020 debut What Is Heaps? with a breezy clarity on their new EP, where gleaming dream-pop guitar on "Didn't Matter Anyway" gives way to the understated soul mantra of "Laid Back" before the latter mutates into a glitchy post-rocker ahead of its second minute.
Megan LaPierre

Tony Molina
Into the Fade
(Run for Cover / Summer Shade)


Power pop miniaturist Tony Molina is back with another batch of minute-long masterpieces, stylistically falling somewhere in between the Weezer cribbing of 2014's Dissed and Dismissed and the '60s pop classicism of 2016's Confront the Truth.
Alex Hudson

Tedeschi Trucks Band 
I Am the Moon: III. The Fall 
(Fantasy Records)


Third in their four-part I Am the Moon project comprising both albums and films, III. The Fall shows Tedeschi Trucks Band distilled in their pure form. Each of this chapter's six tracks — which will naturally morph and stretch as the group perform them live on tour after the collection is completed later this month with IV. Farewell — establishes itself as a showcase for the legendary jam band's various genre influences, moving through blues, soul, rock, roots, funk and elements of psychedelia, all in under 30 minutes.
Allie Gregory

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