Cast your eyes back through the release calendar for 2018, and there really hasn’t been a duff 7-day stretch since the beginning of the year. July’s been a mixed bag – as you’ll see from the exceptionally eclectic playlist this month – with a blend of summertime tropical house, acerbic punk and full-on, experimental metal darkness.
Is Childish Gambino’s ‘Summertime Magic’ as politically compelling as last month’s ‘This Is America’? No. Is his Summer Pack single set-up an irresistible slice of sunshine? Most certainly. The Internet returned this month, completing their transformation from inconsistent Odd Future oddballs into a real threat on album number four, Hive Mind, while Ty Segall – surely one of the most prolific artists in rock right now, continues a winning streak on Joy, his second LP of 2018 so far.
July might have brought a heatwave with it, but there’s an unilluminated abyss to be found if you go looking. New sounds from Pig Destroyer and Secret Cutter give this month’s Pimms-spattered playlist a deliciously bitter aftertaste.