Dustin's Best of 2017, #13: Lemuria - 'Recreational Hate'

Getting to hear new music by bands that I like rules. It's consistently one of the things that I look forward to every year. Even if I don't end up liking the new music as much as I thought I might, I'm always excited by the idea of listening to it for the first time.

You know what's even better though? Getting to listen to new music by a band that I like that I didn't even know was coming. Sure, sometimes EPs and LPs will slip by me and I don't hear about them until months later, but other times they're unleashed unto the world with little to no announcements. AJJ's Back in the Jazz Coffin was one such release this year. Lemuria's Recreational Hate is another. A few months ago, Lemuria started selling mystery LP and CD bundles on their website, which I think most people assumed was some sort of demos or rarities collection (or at least I assumed that). It was an exciting idea to hear something kind of new by a band that's been relatively quiet for the last four years, so I bought one about two weeks after they put up the bundles.

As it turns out, the mystery bundle wasn't some mere compilation LP: it was a brand new album. My copy took a little bit longer to arrive in the mail than I had hoped (by the time it arrived, the album was available digitally for everyone) but the wait paid off. This album is a joy to listen to and has what I think will become some of my favorite Lemuria songs (they even re-recorded "Christine Perfect" which I fell in love with about a year ago). I honestly would have been perfectly content with demos of The Distance Is So Big era tracks, but the fact that Recreational Hate ended up being more than that only makes me appreciate it more.

Listen to Recreational Hate below.

Recommended tracks; "Sliver of Change," "Christine Perfect," "Wanted to Be Yours," "Marigold," "Best Extra"


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