Summer Recap: Three Albums You May Have Missed

By Tomas Parzuchowski

Music Columnist

2023 has been an interesting year for music so far, with releases from notable artists such as Daniel Caesar, Laufey, Paramore, and Travis Scott. This past summer has been particularly fruitful for music, but summer releases are often overlooked due to busy schedules or long vacations. To make the process of revisiting these missed treasures easier, we have compiled a list of 3 essential albums that came out this summer. These albums are each clearly unique in their presence, and we feel that they encapsulate the diverse spectrum of music that has been released in the past year.

The Patience by Mick Jenkins

The Patience is a Rap album released on August 18th, 2023 by Mick Jenkins, a rapper based in Chicago, whose collaborators include JID, Joey Bada$$, Saba, Ghostface Killah, and many others. Mick Jenkins is an American rapper whose early influences range from neosoul to the contemporary gospel music his father would play for him, and on his 4th studio album, his sound has reached new heights.

The tracklist is made up of jazz and soul-inspired instrumentals, with Jenkins’ contemplative rapping overtop. Throughout the album, the majority of the tracks come from a perspective of observance. Jenkins critiques the ways in which in the current social and political landscape opinions are often treated as facts, and how the line between the two has become increasingly understated. Though in the first half of this album, he manages to maintain his patience. As the tracklist progresses his urgency becomes clear–this is evident in cuts like the effortlessly smooth “007”, to the theatrical “Pasta” where Mick Jenkins raps intensely over an imposing and climactic instrumental.

The album ends with an introspective monologue where Jenkins voices his struggle to be patient with himself and with the life around him, a sentiment that he displayed with acute clarity throughout this album.

Girl with Fish by Feeble Little Horse

Girl with Fish is the second fulllength studio album of indie rock band Feeble Little Horse, whose style is eclectic, unique, cohesive, and anything but rigid or monotonous.

While being only their second studio album, Girl with Fish displays impressive experimentation, building upon ideas proposed in their 2021 debut Hayday. During the 26-minute playtime, the band explores elements of shoegaze, garage rock, and noise-pop, with clear influence from the indie folk of the late 90s and early 2000s. Even with that influence being present, it does not cause the album to feel boring or similar, instead, it feels familiar and fun, as they use the familiarity of the style to persuade the audience to consume their uniqueness wholly.

On the track “Steamroller”, non sequitur lyrics compliment the instrumental, which almost sounds like a cut from a “My Bloody Valentine” record, with its suffocating guitar distortion and wailing synths poking through. The next song on the album, “Heaven,” is much more soft and tender, its melancholic guitar melody and vulnerable shaky vocals being reminiscent of an album by Duster. The last song of the album, “Heavy Water,” is a compelling depiction of their ability to remain softly sentimental, while still maintaining their forceful and passionate attitude.

Fountain Baby by Amaarae

Fountain Baby, a pop album by Ghanaian-American Singer/ Songwriter Amaarae, is an elegant record displaying the clear stylistic versatility of a truly singular artist.

For Amaarae, born in the Bronx, New York, music has always been an integral part of her identity, and 16 years after writing her first song at the age of 13, she has reached remarkable heights as a musician. Fountain Baby is a synthesis of pop, afrobeats, hip-hop, and punk styles, and it expresses these influences in the most tasteful and luxurious way. It’s rhythmic and danceable, but calling it merely feel-good music would be an oversimplification.

The song “Angels in Tibet” is a distinct example of this indefinable feeling, with its infatuating string instrumental and entrancing percussion, brought together by the glossy vocals of Amaarae. In the song “Princess Going Digital,” lush synths support the catchy vocals, and an arp pans across ambiently.

Amaarae’s musical presence is intoxicating, and this album is one of the most stylish expressions of a unique lane in pop music in the past few years. Amaarae’s musical presence is intoxicating, and this album is one of the most stylish expressions of a unique lane in pop music in the past few years.