My Favorite Releases of February

I hope it's not too late to post this

---

“Open Wide” - Inhaler

Inhaler is one of my favorite bands, especially of this decade. I started listening to them a couple years ago either in 2020 or 2021, their sound is similar to those of Fontaines D.C., Wunderhorse, and Sam Fender (who I’ll talk about in just a minute). The indie rock band of four has been on my radar for quite a while, though I’m yet to see them live — hopefully this year! — their sound is very 80’s inspired which is especially shown through this album. They have this sort of glam post-punk vibe to them which puts them in a unique position when next to other “similar” artists, they manage to stand out and create their own sound. Overall, the album was a new experience to me, as I hadn’t heard them in a hot minute, but it was a refreshing sound that’ll definitely be in my rotation for spring.

“Kansas Anymore: The Longest Goodbye” - Role Model

Role Model, another artist I’ve been listening to for the better half of a decade now, just released the deluxe version of his 2024 album, Kansas Anymore, and it absolutely broke me to pieces. Tucker's work, since 2019, has fluctuated between genres going from rap, to pop, to now this sort of country sound that he has. This latest album looks back at a recent breakup and — as I've also gone through a recent break up — I find that I have a relate to this album and every song in it, especially these new deluxe songs. They hit just as hard as the original tracks, possibly more, and really made me feel those feelings that he was trying to portray. While definitely a more sadder choice, it will for sure stay in my rotation for a while.

“Ghostholding” - Venturing

Venturing, Jane Remover’s side project, released their first full length album on Valentine's Day of this year. It features 13 songs of the iconic Jane Remover style of music — very techno electronica, sort of dariacore music that she has cultivated all on her own — this style is really shown throughout this album, along with the rest of her music but especially in songs such as Believe and Dead Forever. The sound is so unique. I'm thinking about making a YouTube video for it later this week, but in general the entirety of the album is very Jane Remover-eque is really the only way that I can explain it. Her music has been in my rotation for quite a while now, especially her main work, but this side project is definitely a new venture (no pun intended) and it's very enjoyable to listen to.

“People Watching” - Sam Fender

Sam Fender, another European artist I've been listening to quite a bit lately, has just released his junior album at the end of February. His music hasn't been on my rotation as much as of late. Until this album was released I had listened to him on occasion when the singles came out, but I'd only listened to them probably once or twice after they had released and kind of just forgot about it. Once this album was released I gave it a full listen, it is something a little bit out of my comfort zone, something I wouldn't normally dive into. His music is kind of a sad pop vibe to it, similar to artist like Inhaler and Wunderhorse -- as I stated earlier when talking about Inhaler, see I told you we’d talk about it again -- but he's also very similar to artists like Catfish & the Bottlemen or even The Kooks. This folk rock sound that he has going in his recent work, as well as his other music, is definitely working for him. It's not exactly something I would reach for or at least not in the spring time but it has been an album that I've been enjoying quite a bit lately.

“So Close To What” - Tate McRae

Tate McRae is an artist that's been on my radar for quite a while now since I think around 2020-ish when I first listened to her EP, all the things i never said, and I've been listening to her music for years since then. Her “sophomore” — technically her junior album but she's treating it as if it’s her sophomore album — So Close To What was just released, and it solidified her as a 2020’s pop girl in my opinion. It has a very distinct sound to it though the songs themselves all sound the same, if that makes sense? The album sounds like a Tate McRae album, but if you were to ask me to pick out a specific song I would struggle because they all sound very similar. Although the songs are very good my two favorites would be Revolving Door and Greenlight (aside from the singles). I'll definitely have to listen to this album a couple more times to really let it sink into me as it only came out about a week or two ago, but it's definitely going to be in my rotation for albums to be listening to at least for a little while.