It has become an annual tradition that during Pride Month, I only recognize works by LGBTQ+ representing acts. In an effort to show just how widespread our community's reach is across the musical landscape, stylistic variety, inclusivity, modern works, and historical touchstones are all taken into consideration when selecting a group of projects. This year, I think I managed to cover a set of records that fulfills all the criteria. So, without further ado, let's take a look back at what we talked about over the course of June.
We kicked things off with Agriculture's The Spiritual Sound, a record I initially tasted last year to unsavoury ends. The desire to find some recent metal representation brought me back to it. After a more honest effort absorbing the material here, I surprisingly wound up loving it. It has those familiar transcendental black metal tropes, but what sets Agriculture apart from an increasingly saturated field are the flashy guitar heroics from Richard Chowenhill and the very daring, almost jarring musical detours the band injects into their songwriting and structures. I said that 2025 was a fantastic year for heavy music, and The Spiritual Sound is just further evidence of that.
Another missed release that came out at the tail end of 2025 was this EP from pop-punk outfit Meet Me @ the Altar. I learned that the band had gone through quite a lot since their last album: losing their guitar player and songwriter TÊa Campbell as well as leaving their label, Fueled By Ramen. With their new found independence, I was hoping that the now duo would return to the heavier easycore sound that I initially enjoyed on an earlier EP, and they did. Although, it didn't quite meet my expectations. Instrumentally, it felt a little by the numbers and uninspired, while lyrically, it felt steeped in immature bitterness. Despite it not being to my liking, I'm happy to see the band overcome challenges and continue representing intersectional identities in a genre where they are glaringly underrepresented.
Next, we took a look at Frank Ocean's commercial debut, channel ORANGE, a significant record in the landscape of alternative R&B. I always considered myself more of a blonde guy because I liked how understated and sparse that record was. However, after revisiting channel ORANGE, I realized its production is actually not that far off. Sparse doesn't mean uninteresting though as I see the intention and feel the impact behind a lot of the sounds. They do a great job of propping up Ocean's vivid storytelling. While there are some duds in the second half, and a missed opportunity with Pyramids, the first half of the record is really stellar.
We also talked about Hi-NRG and disco pioneer Patrick Cowley, specifically a Dark Entries compilation that collects some of the compositions he had provided to gay adult entertainment company Fox Studio. Music in adult film doesn't have the greatest reputation; unseasoned funk made with unimaginative stock sounds. Cowley's compositions are certainly a cut above with intricate rhythms, genuinely catchy melodies, and a surprising amount of experimentation when it comes to effects and sound design. Even though this is material that Cowley just had laying around, it's still easy to tell why he's regarded as an important figure in the development of electronic music.
June saw the release of the 30th anniversary, RE:CREATED edition, of Placebo's debut album. While I'm not so much interested in reviewing reissues, this one felt special given the Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal's approach. It's not a remix/remaster, or a completely new production, but rather a hybrid of both. Building on top of the original master tapes, they expanded the production, offering a version of their debut that reflects the experience gained and live evolution that occurred over the past thirty years. In my opinion, it is the definitive version. The drums are more impactful, the record is more dynamic, and true to the band's vision, it does sound cinematically wider. And yet, as different as it sounds, it is also comfortingly familiar. Going forward, RE:CREATED should be the standard for any band wanting to update their formative works.
Sticking with new releases, we also got a brand new EP from Big Freedia, which notably features production from the late, great SOPHIE. Originally conceived ten years ago, Released At Last obviously references the long stretch of time that it took for it to finally come out, but the title also speaks to that freak that rests dormant inside all of us. Like a militaristic drill sergeant, Big Freedia commands you to let that inner freak out and shake the perky thing enshrined on the cover. The energy is infectiously undeniable, SOPHIE's production instantly takes you back to the mind-bending PRODUCT era, and the only bad thing I can say is that their collaboration only spawned three tracks.
Lastly, we highlighted this unlikely pairing of Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson. Together as The Uncluded, the two collectively process their grief and unpack social anxieties not through a series of personal anecdotes, but rather through incredibly dense storytelling. Like these heavy emotions, the material on Hokey Fright is messy, sometimes incoherent, and thrives on the occasional absurd distraction. The sometimes awkward fusion of Dawson's lo-fi, homespun, anti-folk aesthetic and Aesop Rock's slightly more pristine, mechanical hip-hop production only amplifies the messy qualities even more. It is certainly a unique record, and given their falling out after a subsequent tour, we likely won't hear something quite like this again.