Ryan Dillon

It is another bright, sunny, beautiful day down here on Caustic Avenue, the home of the Old Caustic Factory. Located just outside of the city limits, the Old Caustic Factory has never operated at this level, as we continue to revamp our machinery to keep up with the busy year we’ve been facing. Busy, in the best sense possible, as we have another grand list of fresh releases for you to explore. This week, we have fresh albums from alt-country heroes, contemporary jazz greats, and refreshing explorations on the limits of shoegaze. You can also find some new singles from modern soul heavyweights and Hip-hop genre-pushers.

From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth is the latest release from synth-pop giants Future Islands. The twenty-song LP comprises rare songs, previously unstreamable cuts, and B-sides from the first twenty years of the band’s career, opting out of your typical “greatest hits” albums in place of a more thoughtful, honed retrospective. A song for each year, a way for the four-piece to peel back the layers of mystique that have cloaked their discography for the first two decades, and the results are as sprawling as we’ve come to expect from Future Islands. Leaping from hyperactive anthems to apocalyptic balladry, From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth is a defining release from a generational act seeking to be seen in the innovative light they were always meant to shine.

Stepping outside of yourself is sometimes the best way to discover something new. When one becomes too insular, the muscles used for self-analysis and decision-making begin to atrophy, leaving someone as a skeleton of memories and unheard thoughts that enter the void as soon as they enter the mind. One must look at the bigger picture and find themselves in it to properly evolve as a person, and artistically, one may need an outside source to encourage their lofty visions. Car Seat Headrest, the veteran indie rock outfit, took a few years to apply this thinking to their music, but once they did, a whole new dimension of the band’s sound was unlocked, and their career trajectory shifted drastically.

For this Golden Age Thursday, we have yet another example of a composition so potent and intoxicating that multiple parts have been used throughout Hip-hop history. These special types of tunes offer a rare, detailed look into the varying styles of some of the most recognizable producers the genre has produced, a chance to unearth nuances of their singularity. Ironically, the song we have for you on this beautiful Thursday does the same, as a legendary keyboardist steps into the blinding almighty solo spotlight and emerges with a piece of fusion mastery that can be heard as far back as 1986 and as recently as 2015.

Spring is the season of inclement weather, but that’s not stopping the great people at the Old Caustic Factory from showing up bright and early. We are fully-staffed with our hardest workers on this glorious New Music Friday, as we have a long list of incredible releases here for you today. On our menu is a wide array of sonic terrains, including raw, folksy balladry, daring Hip-hop, innovative synth-pop, and nostalgic country. Whatever your flavor, we’re confident we can find what you’re looking for, as we welcome all to enjoy the fine products spit out on the other end of our conveyor belts.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, represents a plethora of things to many people from many different walks of life. Some see it as the destination of their morning commute from the suburbs, while others see it as the place their rival sports team houses its stars. For a lot of people, though, including the incomparable Kurt Vile, Philly is home, a place of solace to retreat from the stir of fans and pleased critics that have attached themselves to Vile’s undeniable discography. Philadelphia has been home to Vile since the beginning, with the singer being raised in the suburbs outside of the City of Brotherly Love.

Jana Bahrich, the mastermind behind the emotional and epic music by Francis of Delrium, is growing up before our very eyes. With the artist’s debut EP arriving just as the multi-hyphenate was graduating high school in 2020, and thanks to her prolific nature, fans have seen her grow into an unabashed poet, more akin to a troubadour than to any other artist on the alt-pop/indie rock spectrum. That busy release schedule, though, is not for appearances, nor is it an attempt to keep up with the dwindling attention span of a generation chronically online. Bahrich makes ethereal music meant to be felt as a whole, with each complex emotion broken down and every sonic trick felt from the minute it touches your ears to the moment it reaches your soul, and she has our full attention heading into Run, Run Pure Beauty.

The contemporary soul revival scene is due for a renaissance. Much like how The Temptations and Norman Whitfield began adding hints of psychedelia to the pop-tinted Motown sound in the late sixties, it is time for modern soul acts to enter into a similar phase of experimentation. With a plethora of new artists joining the fray and a focus on the “revival” part a bit too heavily, the modern soul scene is slipping into a repetitive sound that is sure to fizzle out unless a touch of innovation is applied. Thankfully, a new voice is emerging, not an unfamiliar one, but a refreshing reimagining from an artist looking to be the beacon of light his peers flock to.

Throughout this column, we have explored how songs from the past and other genres have infiltrated Hip-hop through the meticulous art of sampling. From funk to jazz to prog-rock, Hip-hop has manipulated tunes time and time again until it lands on a sound it can call its own. This week, though, the call is coming from inside the house, as we take a look at a heavily used Hip-hop sample from one of the very first Hip-hop groups to break genre barriers. While the hard-hitting funk of James Brown and the twinkling strings from movie soundtracks are a producer’s best friend, one of the most recognizable Hip-hop performances has become a source for future generations of the genre, a means to pay homage to the pioneers that made the genre, and this column, possible.

It’s time to shake the sleep out of our eyes and strap up those work boots; there is a welcoming chaos to the lineup of new releases this week. As we wave goodbye to May, the month that was already prolific, we find that we were left with a few presents before it all wraps up next week. Our final New Music Friday of the month explodes with welcomed, exhilarating returns from long-standing legends and future heroes of their respective scenes, along with a collection of innovative LPs that are sure to stick to the sides of your brain. From nostalgic outlaw country from one of its founders, to refreshing contemporary alt-rock, and hints of experimentation, this might be one of the busiest weeks The Old Caustic Factory has seen, but we’re up to the task. If not now, then when; if not us, then who?