This week: new albums from The National, Fake Names and Metallica.
Also: ABBA commercials, party political statements, compromising photos, why people take drugs, OK boomer, Suzuki Mighty Boys, unexplored literary references, Spoon men, the high floor of pop punk, my mourning song, no need for term two, self-help for teens, getting value from your CD-R, power dirges, snare sounds solved, no-repeat weekends, compensating for incompetence, a looming presence from the bottom end, worse versions done more expensively, #toomanyhashtags, next week previewed, whose side are you on, Powerball sponsorships, Ron Markson and getting your old ducks in a row.

Next week: Olivia Jean | Danava | Fred Again… + Brian Eno
Spotify playlists: Current albums | 2023 mixtape
The archive: 2015-2022 review albums and year-end top 5 lists
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