Nirosta Steel - MY SKYSCRAPER - glittering lost treasure dance pop, arthur russell-adjacent, needs its own thread

out of nowhere a "lost treasure" kind of release and one of the brightest i've ever heard. weightless queer joy as fgti and ivy point out on the arthur russell thread. i think this release and mr. steel deserve their own thread.

https://ulyssa.bandcamp.com/album/my-skyscraper

Adore this - there's a delightful August-Darnell-but-sloppy vibe running through this.

I love the casual asides and improv quips sprinkled throughout, when I listen again I will note some faves

this EP is really great too:

https://buddhistarmy.bandcamp.com/album/foxy-pup

and this collection of 80s/90s tracks
https://buddhistarmy.bandcamp.com/album/dry-ice

Truly exceptional. Lots of mystery/intrigue/courage I find missing from much left field pop at the moment. 100% addicted.

Real dereliction of duty that Pitchfork hasn’t reviewed this yet.

A 40 min version of this record would be truly tip top.

So smitten with this totally weird and beautiful record

when I listen again I will note some faves

- wacky falsetto on "YHEMA" and the line "you have eaten my sister" lol wtf

- "you think you're so funky, I can smell you from here"

- "I got news for you, you're not that cool.... well maybe"

- "we got a million DJs, young and sporty guys"

I also wanna note that Peter Zummo's trombone is absolutely exquisite on these tracks

great interview with joshua minsoo kim

https://toneglow.substack.com/p/tone-glow-231-nirosta-steel

thanks

The other big influence was Al Green, his album Belle (1977). It was produced in his home, and he’s playing acoustic guitar on that and it’s the most amazing guitar playing.

OK I gotta hear this

Love this album.

I was expecting the Russell similarities production/arrangement wise, but the resemblance in vocal approach can be truly startling at times.