Pickled Priest 2025 New Music Mixtape #3: "Pure Pope For Now People"

Pope Diplo II

SIDE A

Intro: "Two-Love" | Le Volume Courbe ft. Noel Gallagher

From Le Volume Courbe's new album Planet Ping Pong—an early frontrunner for best album title of the year and also a finalist for my eventual retirement locale—here's a really cool intro for our papally-blessed new mixtape—a perk of being from the new Pope's birthplace. The band's name is French for "The Volume Curve" and that makes sense. "Two-Love" is one of those peculiar tracks that would really slap at high wattage. So it's settled: I'm retiring to a small apartment on Planet Ping Ping, somewhere on the sunny side of the volume curve, where the air is either heavy or light, but the music sounds as cool as this. Oh, and if you ask me, they could've left off the unnoticeable Noel Gallagher cameo, but if that's what it takes to get some much deserved exposure, so be it.

01 "Feel Good Now" | The Loft

I don’t want to feel good tomorrow

Want to feel good now

The musical universe continues to mystify me and this tape's mind-boggling revelation is London's the Loft, a band from the earliest roster of Creation Records circa 1985 that broke up live onstage after just a couple strong singles for the now venerable label. What a crying shame that decision was, especially knowing what I know now. Fast-forward forty years and here we have their debut full-length album, Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same, with all original members present and able. And no, this isn't some old guy overvaluing a band from his youth. I didn't know they existed back then, but I know a good record when I hear one. The included video for "Feel Good Now" shows the band decades beyond the fresh-faced version of themselves (humorously, also shown), but the music sounds as vital as ever. I'm in love with this band of aging geezers with bad teeth and I don't care who knows it. The biggest and most pleasant surprise of 2025 so far.

02 "Pōkaia Rā te Marama" | Marlon Williams

File this one under unexpected pleasures. I've been a fan of New Zealand singer/songwriter Marlon Williams since 2018's Make Way for Love, which contained one of the best songs ever written about love, "Love is a Terrible Thing." Compulsory listening, especially for naive teenagers. Never one to be predictable, Marlon is back in 2025 with a record nobody expected him to make, him included I bet, a full LP of songs sung in Māori, the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand. The language isn't completely foreign to me as a couple years ago Australian Jen Cloher released a great record with several Maori tracks on I Am the River, the River is Me, from 2023 (our #41 record from that year). Some languages just work well when sung and some don't. While German always falls gesplät on its face, Maori has an inherent rhythmic quality that sounds like it developed to encourage soothing music for hot exotic nights in Polynesia. So consider Te Whare Tīwekaweka (translated as "The Messy House") the ultimate warm weather patio record for this year. It's been one of the joys of my year so far and it's only now just getting warm out.

03 "Crying in My Sleep" | M Ross Perkins

Three years ago we became strangely drawn to the 60's-influenced songs of M Ross Perkins, even putting one of his songs, "Mr. Marble Eyes (Marbles for His Eyes)," on our Top 50 songs of 2022 list. Our love of that record has only increased over time and I am delighted to report that he's back with the best record of his career so far. As with the last one, What's the Matter, M Ross? is full of classic pop filtered through Perkins' peculiar lens. It sounds familiar, yes, but it's still left of center. It's not surprising that he grew up a few doors down from Robert Pollard in Dayton, Ohio, for his music has a similar affection for rock history without outright mimicking it. "Crying in My Sleep" is an accessible but fresh slice of jangly folk-pop that'll make you ache for those days when the Byrds populated the airwaves. One of my favorite records of 2025 so far.

04 "Sorry" | The Number Ones

With thousands of power-pop bands populating the globe, how did one of them not think to name themselves The Number Ones before this Dublin band locked it down? It was just sitting there for the taking. Oh well, it's good to see Ireland has got some power-pop blood coursing through its veins. A nice boutique scene happening, but a scene nonetheless. "Sorry" is pure power-pop, but it also has the swing of a 50's Broadway number, too, even a little 1960's Four Seasons tossed in for the fuck of it. Nothing that's gonna change the world in two-minutes, of course, I mean how could a simple pop song do that?

05 "Clueless" | Beach Bunny

There are shit-ton of great new Chicago bands these days, but don't pass on the new Beach Bunny record just because they're now veterans, I guess? With Tunnel Vision, they remain among the most interesting bands in town. They do it by sticking to what they do best; snapping off clever, well-written pop-punk songs. But this just in: they're maturing. It's been a while since they debuted and they're not at the kids table anymore; friends are moving away, making new friends, or starting careers, and for no particular reason you find yourself crying in the DMV (not uncommon) or the supermarket. "Growing pains are growing / It's a new reality" sings Lili Trifilio, wondering how somebody could've flipped that "adult" switch without her realizing. But good news Lili; writing songs like "Clueless" will keep you forever young.

06 "Simon Says" | Eraser

89-seconds is all you need to get to know Philadelphia's Eraser, a machine-enhanced, spoken-word post-punk experience with a minimalist bent, but the whole album only runs 15 minutes, so you'll want to stay around for the whole thing just to be sure. With just guitar, drums, bass, and synth, these girls remind me of some early progenitors of their sound, with Pere Ubu and Kleenex (LiLiPUT) oft name-checked by the plagiaristic music press, an honor I'm not quite ready to bestow. I am willing to foist some high expectations on them for the future, however. They have all the indications of a band that could gain a loyal cult audience.

07 "I Knew Love" | Sunflower Bean

I'll be the first to admit that I can be fickle. I've been on a rollercoaster with New York's terribly-named Sunflower Bean (sounds like a insufferable, trendy coffee shop in Williamsburg) since our first meeting. They're like that girl on Seinfeld who looks good one day and not the next (aka "Two Face"). In 2018, I was all-in on Twentytwo in Blue. Really loved it. But for 2022's Headful of Sugar, I didn't find what I liked about them in the first place. So where do we land in 2025, then? The jury isn't back fully on Mortal Primetime, but exit polling so far is positive, especially based on the Jenny Lewis-esque ballad "I Knew Love," and a few other tracks (particularly "Take Out Your Insides"). This is a group at the very least worth a test ride. But warning: this ride has a tendency to go up and down erratically.

08 "Sugar Water" | Gigi Perez

I was pleased to "discover" Gigi Perez on my own without any knowledge of her past history, but apparently I'm last to this table, for she's a viral star with a song, "Sailor Song" to be specific, that everyone under the age of 25 has probably seen a million times already. My bad, I live in a social media cave. Indeed, the song is as worthy of the attention as any, pretty great even. Her new album, complete with "Sailor Song," is out now, titled At the Beach, In Every Life, and it shows genuine promise. To pick the song that made her famous would be a waste of time, but try out "Sugar Water," too. It's got the same magic and in my opinion, is even better.

09 "How Glad I Am" | Galactic & Irma Thomas

Galactic has been a New Orleans mainstay for almost thirty years because they are a constantly evolving creative force. They’ve made the most of their home city, blending a vast array of cultures, styles, and sounds into one big gumbo pot and it has served them well over the years. It turns out that immense talent, impeccable influences, and deep historical appreciation is one way to build up a Rolodex of big-name collaborators like Macy Gray, Allen Toussaint, Boots Riley (The Coup), Corey Glover (Living Colour), and Mavis Staples, to name just a few or their past hookups. So it’s no surprise the band would jump at the chance to work with The Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas. If there was ever a match made in heaven, this is it, and the band doesn’t waste their chance to work with the 84-year-old Nawlins legend. Miraculously, Irma is in great voice throughout, showing wear but not weakness, and the song selection is fantastic. You can feel the love in the room on these tracks. Much of it emanating from Irma herself. She's happy to be alive, still singing, and thankful for all of her many blessings and it shows. “How Glad I Am” is a love song to life and her spirit is infectious. I know I’m glad I found this album, an album of pure intention and bursting heart.

10 "Bury Me" | Jason Isbell

I’m not sure where this song ranks in the Jason Isbell canon, but I mainly like how he uses different kinds of bars in the lyrics: bars of steel, bars to sing, bars with swinging doors for the time between (but how many bars still have “swinging doors”?). It’s a distinctly Isbellian approach that we now take for granted, but here it’s gold. What’s not gold is the first verse where he says, “Bury me where the wind don’t blow, where the dust won’t cover me, where the tall grass grows.” Who puts such ludicrous parameters on their final resting place unless they are intentionally trying to frustrate their loved ones? This would be a tall order, I would think. I found some tall grass and there’s not much dust here, but the wind is blowing. Fuck! To confuse matters, his next line is “Oh, bury me right where I fall.” Which is it, Jason? Because that seems way easier to me than finding a dustless, windless, grass-packed plot somewhere. Make up your goddamned mind.

11 "Norwegian Shag" | Mei Simones

I’m always up for some modern Brazilian bossa nova and Mei Simones' new album is a little summer breeze of a record that’ll surely sound good when beach season arrives. Also, let’s shine a light on this excellent song title while we have the chance. Makes me imagine what John Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood” might’ve sounded like if he wrote it in the 1970s, post Beatles breakup.

I once had a girl

Or should I say she once had me

She showed me her room

Isn’t it swag, Norwegian shag

12 "Uno II" | Viagra Boys

Here at Pickled Priest, 42% of our non-work, non-family, non-music discretionary free time is spent either hanging out with our dog or scrolling through X and Instagram in search of dog videos—amusing, touching, bizarre, we don’t care. Sweden’s delightfully demented Viagra Boys combine two of our main passions in one on “Uno II” which is about singer Sebastien Murphy’s dog, an Italian greyhound with significant dental issues. Written from the perspective of Uno, a frequent visitor to the vet’s office, we get some interesting hot takes from him as he navigates his current health situation. He’s found a crouton under a futon (my favorite rhyme), but he can’t eat it because his teeth are gone. He is paranoid about his ability to converse about Swedish politics and is suspicious of his Croatian Veterinarian, Bogdan. As he is mysteriously relocated while under sedation, he wonders if Bogdan is, in fact, his enemy, if he wants the best for him, or if he’s selling his missing teeth on the black market. We don’t know what’s in any dog’s mind other than food, but if I'm going to believe anyone, I’ll stick with Viagra Boys. it's more fun this way.

13 "The JB's Tribute Pastor P" | Bootsy Collins

Bootsy Collins has ambitiously named his latest record Album of the Year #1 Funkateer, and why not? What harm will it do to anyone? No, it's not the Album of the Year and he knows it. But #1 Funkateer? There’s no need to even discuss it. He’s been the genre’s most endearing and outlandish AmBASSador for decades now, living his life on the one, always up for the down stroke. He was once a member of James Brown’s infamous backing band, The JB’s, so if anyone has the credentials to trot out a tribute song to said band, it’s Bootsy. Suffice it to say, it's a total hoot, too, as is everything Bootsy. If you let it do its thing, and let your ass follow, you’ll be much less tight (and you're tight). Don’t overthink it and you’ll have a blast. Cameos from JB legends Daru Jones on drums and Fred Wesley on trombone come free of charge. Internet rapper extraordinaire, Harry Mack, also chips in some historical content so it’s both educational and funkutational at the same time.  

SIDE B

14 "Great!" | The Ex

Side B begins with five rippers in a row. Let’s start with The Ex. I’m no ex-pert on the band, but they seem to have ex-panded their sound since they first formed in the Netherlands in 1979. These days, we can just classify them as post-everything and leave it at that. Ex has more ex-members than your average band over their long lifespan, with enough former bandmates to populate a small town in the Dutch countryside. For their first record in seven years, they’ve given us If Your Mirror Breaks, a pretty vital sounding record that makes a very strong case for the band’s continued relevance. Sure, their lead singer (G.W. Sok) of 30 years is long gone, but this record doesn’t sound like a band that’s hanging on to past glory. They’re making new glory and “Great!” is a evidence of that and, conveniently, a one word review of their new album all in one. Ex-cellent! is more like it. 

15 "Max Haslam" | Dead Things

We see dead people. That should be the motto of this London punk band, at least if their new 10-minute EP, Rum Do, is any indication. Each song is based on the story of an English murderer from the early 20th century and the tales can be harrowing—“Max Haslam” is about a psycho dwarf who killed a "well to do" 74-year-old woman and, sadly, her dog, in shocking fashion in 1937. All for a fucking jewelry collection, no less. The music, thankfully, doesn’t come off as exploitative. In fact, I hear a type of incredulous anger, with key facts repeated again and again almost in disbelief. This all amounts to riveting punk music, but I hope their next album isn’t more of the same idea. The concept is a brilliant one for a short EP, but let’s not beat it to death.

16 "D.P.D." | DBA!

One of those search engine-defying bands, Liverpool's DBA! is worth the extra effort based on single “D.P.D.” alone, a garage punk lightning strike with a slide-guitar twist. The rest of their new EP, skip! worried, is just as promising. They seem to have that reckless rock band X-factor that I crave—sounding in control and out of control simultaneously. Keep them on your radar and if there’s more like this in the offing, we may have something significant brewing in the land of the Fab Four.

17 "Ain't No Saint" | Fan Club

This is the second new music mixtape appearance from Seattle’s Fan Club thanks to a seemingly endless supply of crackalacking EPs. Ain’t No Saint is their third in the last 12 months or so and this time the title track is the main reason for staying tuned. It’s an age-old rock axiom—rockers coming clean about their adopted lifestyles—coughed up as if in a confessional booth. It’s raw and fast and just punk enough to become a mini anthem for some rebellious Northwestern outcasts.

18 "Cool to Drive" | Gallus

This band of feral Scots tackle everything with gusto and a sense of humor, two things I greatly appreciate. In fact, I’ve built this whole blog around those principles. I’m not surprised to hear of their reputation as a great live act either—they seem thrilled to be a rock band. One of their members looks like Lester Bangs circa 1973. They are promoted by Marshall Amplifiers. They’re self-deprecating, often calling themselves “Big Dumb Idiots” in interviews. They named their band after a bar they were (semi?) banned from in Glasgow, the ultimate payback. All this and they create quite a rock and roll bluster the old-fashioned way; by working hard and playing hard. What else would you possibly need to give them a chance?

19 "Repeat After Me" | Kneebody

I don’t go for traditional jazz very often, so NY-LA hybrid Kneebody are right up my alley. For the same reasons I was digging the Messthetics/James Brandon Lewis collab in 2024, I also dig Reach, the band’s new album. It’s got a rock edge to it at times that makes it feel like some kind of fusion to be named later. There’s no slow build-up to the album either, which I like; right from the get-go the first song, “Repeat After Me” kicks right into gear. I don’t like waiting for the good stuff and this song delivers. The rest of the record brings a similar energy, too, which makes this a sleeper record for 2025.

20 "Barely Driving" | Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet

When he goes electric, Bill Orcutt’s guitar sounds like a fishtailing electrical cable downed in the middle of a thunderstorm. This approach sounds "live" even when recorded in a studio. A prolific SOB, he’s now released a live performance, HausLive 4 (on cassette), recorded at Chicago’s Constellation performance space, under his Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet project, which as you might guess, features three additional genre-pushing counterparts, all known for their improvisational abilities and out-of-the-box creativity. You might recognize Ava Mendoza from a past fawning Pickled Priest entry, but the combo also includes Wendy Eisenberg and Shane Parish, no slouches in their own right. Orcutt’s playing is always mesmerizing, but the Quartet fills out the clanging, metal-twisting industrial sound perfectly on “Barely Driving.” Based on this, it’s gonna be harder to find tickets to future performances of this formidable guitar army.

21 "Out of the Shadows" | Anika

When you title your album Abyss things aren't likely to be light and cheerful. Substitute dark and intense and you have Anika's new album which was, to its great benefit, recorded live with minimal overdubs. Clearly she wanted to capture the urgency of these songs in the moment. There's a similar heavy but galvanizing thrust to her songs that reminds me positively of Jhenny Beth from Savages, another artist you couldn't take your eyes or ears off of. Anika, like Jhenny, has a lot to say, but she says it with real memorable songs, not relying on just raw emotion. "Out of the Shadows" is a good example of what she's capable of, even if it's not the best song on the album necessarily. Here, she lashes out at the patriarchy, instead demanding, almost in the guise of a petulant teenager, "her own room" in this world. It's a striking analogy, but it works brilliantly. There's real defiance and anger here, delivered with an ominous punk energy and it's just the right amount of unnerving. Almost like a teenage girl who one day decides to paint her bedroom walls black.

22 "Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)" | Car Seat Headrest

No thanks. I don't want a 70-minute rock opera right now with three songs clocking in a 10:52, 11:14, and jesus fuck, 18:52 respectively. And I am not going to stay around to decipher the convoluted plot, which I've read about and have no real interest in dissecting. I simply do not have that kind of time. Or do I? So far, the return of Will Toledo and band has impressed me significantly despite some lukewarm first responders. I was immediately drawn to The Scholars' eight-minute opener "CCF (I'm Gonna Stay With You)" and then I was over the moon about "Catastrophe," which opens with a sweet acoustic guitar part, but then recaptures that reckless rock and roll abandon that made me love the band to begin with, complete with putting "the ram in the ramalamadingdong" (rarely a bad thing). Mental note: Have my secretary (me) free up some time on my schedule. I'm thinking of going in deep. This sounds too good to regret the extra effort needed. Will report back.

23 "Middle of the Night" | Pearl Charles

OK, I realize I've put you through the ringer on Side B, so let's calm things down a bit and spend some time with L.A. songwriter Pearl Charles, who has a knack for mixing classic 1970s AM radio pop with a bit of a roller disco vibe, a mood that was so appealing to me I put one of her songs ("Only For Tonight") on my Best of 2021 songs list with the comment that she should could write material for the reformed ABBA. Well, she's back with a record, Desert Queen, that's got some Americana dust coating the tracks this time. "Middle of the Night," in particular, hits my sweet spot and takes me back to a more innocent time.

24 "Black Iris on a Burning Quilt" | Eli Winter

Eli Winter smartly moved from Houston to Chicago a while back and now calls the city home. I mean, which locale is more suited to someone with the last name Winter anyhow? He’s a natural fit. And our music scene here is teeming with phenomenal instrumentalists of his caliber which encourages collaboration. I think the city's fertile creative environment is one of the stars of his stunning new record, A Trick of the Light (not a reference to the Who song, I believe). The interaction between the players is a wonder to behold, particularly the drumming of Tyler Damon, who has to be one of the best residing within the city limits right now. The whole record is mandatory listening, but check out “Black Iris on a Burning Quilt” which includes much of what makes this record a legitimate threat come list-making season.

25 "People Person" | Mclusky

Finally, a full record from Mclusky after some terrific advance singles dating back to last year (one of them made our Top Songs of 2024 list already)! “People Person” fully delivers the hysterics we relish from Andy Falkous, although confirming he’s not a “People Person” is like telling somebody that Donald Trump has an ego. Is that so? Still, this record has the demented humor and wild intensity I’ve come to love from Mclusky, with no loss of unpredictability after 25+ years in business. What I particularly love about them is that you’ll never expect the shit that comes out of Falkous’s mouth. Case in point: Exploding kids, exploding kids, exploding kids can kill the mood / Can kill the mood if kid explosions aren’t your heart’s desire. I'm not a people person either, so count me in!

26 "Heavy Water" | Ugly Mug

Sydney, Australia strikes again! I was getting a little concerned that an Aussie band might not make our new mixtape, but this is no concession to keep the streak alive. Ugly Mug’s new EP, Ugly Mug II, is an essential 25-minutes of listening if you like your mind melted now and then like we do. Bong encouraged. While Google searches for the band will serve up an endless string of coffee houses and brew pubs (kill me), a more refined set of search words will lead you to the band responsible for “Heavy Water,” that rare nine-minute epic that justifies all of its run time. The track isn’t just a guitar freak-out, it structures its time wisely, employing shifting dynamics masterfully. It opens with the band floating through a cosmic wilderness until a sitar joins in to accelerate and expand the trip just when we were settling in for a peaceful space voyage. From there, an unexpected vocal segues into the song’s final third, which brings on the stomping crunch until its city-smashing conclusion. My bad for missing Ugly Mug I, but rest assured, I will not miss Ugly Mug III, that I can guarantee you.

Outro: "Oh, Joy" | Paco Cathcart

l am more and more using the "Outro" spot (initially used as a feeble excuse to jam in one more song) to slot a song that really puts me into a different headspace. A song that leaves me with a feeling I want to carry for the rest of the day, week, or year. New York singer/songwriter Paco Cathcart's transporting first solo album (he's released a boatload of music as The Cradle previously) is that album for me right now. It's a New York album in that it was inspired by its surroundings, but Paco doesn't see things like most New Yorkers do; he slows things down to get deep into the heart of the matter. "Oh, Joy" manages to take what seems to be a sad song and injects some hope and promise into it, like there's still something to salvage from all of this bullshit we endure. The song's simple, understated, triumphant chorus makes that all seem possible.

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See ya the next time 26 songs come together to form something resembling a mixtape.

Cheers,

The Priest