With a run of new releases extending between now and the holiday season, now is the time to get acquainted with Teni Rane, an artist you will surely be hearing a lot more from.
There are a few reasons to be excited about Songs of Ascent, the latest project from jazz trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas.
Seattle-based psychedelic rock outfit Black Nite Crash present “Sugarwave”, a high energy single with a driving, melodic take on indie-rock influenced post-punk, the second single from their album Washed in the Sound with Black Nite Crash, mixed by longtime collaborator Matt Brown (Trespassers William) and mastered by Adam Straney.
As both a leader and a prolific session musician, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson has had a long and productive career since attending the University of Miami at the same time as Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorious.
Iconic shoegaze / postpunk outfit A Shoreline Dream has released their Loveblind album via Latenight Weeknight Records. Their sixth full-length record, here they dives into recollections and past desires while looking forward in a wash of soundwaves pointing towards a blinding future.
Portuguese jazz singer Maria Mendes finds a distinctive blend that combines elements of her past and her present on Saudade, Colour of Love, recorded live in Amsterdam.
Post-punk new romantics Candy Coffins presents “Seaside Girls”, the second taster from the band’s new album Once Do It With Feeling’, a loaded 10-track collection that arrives two years after the band’s latest Somehow Misplaced EP.
Born in New Jersey and based in Montreal, pianist Taurey Butler plays in a style that bespeaks a couple of other locales: New York and New Orleans.
UK-based artist Black Market Karma presents their tenth full-length album Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas, released via London boutique label Flower Power Records.
Amazingly for a jazz pianist, John Escreent has recorded eight previous albums, but Seismic Shift is his first with a trio.
An underrated Nashville genius takes the spotlight in a dozen reissues.
Brooklyn-based artist Ronan Conroy presents his new single “Dark Paradise”, a clever goth-rock rendition of the Lana Del Rey classic. This is the second taster of his album The Slow Death of the LoveMyth, complemented by a fascinating video created by NYC artist Hypnodoll and featuring a sword-swallowing performance by La Reine The Thrill.
Originally released at the turn of the Reagan years, Dead Kennedys’ incendiary debut Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is a certifiable American punk rock classic – no question.
Manchester indie rock outfit The Speed Of Sound presents the double A-side single “Virtual Reality 123 / Charlotte 12” Version”, reimagining two of the tunes from their acclaimed 2021 album Museum Of Tomorrow, marking one year since its release via Big Stir Records. Just like a classic 12” single, each track clocks in at over 6 minutes – double the running time of the album originals.
For bassist and composer William Parker, the term “universal tonality” means, simply, “if we’re all breathing together, we’re singing together.”
UK-based indie pop duo Karamelien present their second single, called “Lionhearts”. A sumptuous, uplifting track about love and unity in difficult times, this was produced by Ride frontman Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound near Oxford.
Consistency, thy name is Thumbscrew.
Montreal-based indie rock / post-punk quartet The Ember Glows has released their new EP Where Spirits Play, a 4-track offering recorded at Closet Studios in Montreal with elements of Simple Minds, The Cult, Echo and the Bunnymen, early U2, Nick Cave and The Mission at the fore.
Students of the American Civil Rights movement will find this album, widely considered to be the Staples’ best fusion of Gospel fervor and pop appeal, to be a joyous component of the syllabus.
UK indie-rock veterans Vernons Future will be releasing their new album Aquaplaning in early October, using the lead-time wisely by previewing lead track “Call To Arms”. Perhaps their most overtly (small ‘p’) political song, it’s also a plea to save the planet.
Recorded in 2011 at Roulette’s as part of Thomas Bruckner’s Interpretations series of events, Evocation features a trio of master improvisers embodying the essence of spontaneous composition.
Thanks to Schoolkids Records for bringing this underrated gem from the days of college rock and jangle-pop into the light.
Live at the Roxy documents early days when the Hip leaned heavily upon its blues-rock roots. The heady and visceral material is played with fierce commitment.
The Band’s fourth album Cahoots is celebrated with a deep dive into the quintet’s career circa 1971.
These reissues present the Who’s revered mod-era material in the best possible light within the constraints of the vinyl format.
The Police made a high-octane run between 1978 and 1983, showing rapid development from admitted origins as calculated punk scene posers to ultimate status as world-dominating pop-rock chart-toppers.
This album’s charm hinges upon Jonathan Richman’s knack for writing songs that radiate innocence and simple fun.
Alternative music legend Chris Connelly has released his new single “Eulogy to Lenny Bruce”, revealing an accompanying video by Emma Kathan. This is the first offering from a new record paying tribute to the iconic Nico, The Velvet Underground muse and one of the most unique, tragic and misunderstood female artists in the history of music.
This compelling record from Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli is out of character in a very special way, and it also comes with an astonishing origin story.
Dissolution Wave is the aural equivalent of a weighted blanket. If you’re pining for the melodic and heavy space-rock from the late 90s, Cloakroom has returned with its third album to provide the sublime but downcast shoegaze sound your spirit craves.
24 years later, Another World still charts a path of imagination toward a better place.
As the Rolling Stones tour in support of the band’s 60th anniversary, this concert film is being re-released from the days when the band had merely 40 years, or “licks,” to their credit. This 2003 show was captured at Madison Square Garden.
This 7” vinyl disc features a hot CCR performance drawn from the Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall live album and documentary concert film.
Marvin Gaye’s catalog overflows with gems, but What’s Going On is the crown jewel.
Songs spanning 1962 debut album Surfin’ Safari through 1989’s Still Cruisin’ capture the pure escapism of classic surf-rock sides and expand toward Brian Wilson’s pursuit of pop perfection characterized as “teenage symphonies to God.”
After the homespun McCartney and domestic collaboration of Ram, Paul McCartney stepped back toward band work with his third post-*Beatles* album.
Weyes Blood (Natalie Mering) just announced her new full-length, “And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow” (Sub Pop, 2022), out November 18th. The first track, “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” perfectly sets the tone, musically and lyrically, simultaneously balancing themes of loneliness and hope.
Dark electro-goth collective Dispel presents the single “Flames of Greed”, previewing their sophomore conceptual album Inferno. Based on Dante’s literary masterpiece, it features a song for each layer of sin existing in the infernal realm.
The second release in Charles Lloyd’s “Trio of Trios” project, following Chapel from a couple of months ago, Trios: Ocean puts the alto saxophone great in the mix with guitarist Anthony Wilson and pianist Gerald Clayton.
Due to contemporary superstardom, musicals based on their work, frequent licensing in movie and TV shows, think pieces that continue to pop up, endorsement by musicians with whom they have nothing in common stylistically, and constant radio play over the decades, it’s safe to say that ABBA never really went away.
New York cabaret-inspired post-punk duo Frenchy and the Punk present the first taste of this album with lead track “Mon Souvenir”, previewing their seventh album Zen Ghost, which will be released via the EA Recordings label in late October.
The combination of jazz musicians with electronic artists has always had a checkered history.
UK-based alternative ‘dirty pop’ artist SICKY presents his new single “The Bridge”, a lively danceable offering that is a pragmatic Northern Soul-inspired bucket of joy.
It took eight years, but bassist/composer Noah Garabedian finally follows up his 2014 leader debut Big Butter and the Eggmen with Consider the Stars Beneath Us,
UK-based psychedelic rockers Black Market Karma present their new single “In My Child Mind (E to A)”. This is the second taste of their new album Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas. The album will be released in late September via London boutique label Flower Power Records.
After the lead single, “Greenlight”, filled critics and listeners alike with expectations, the release of Jru Anthony’s full-length album Life For Now proved to be everything that the earlier single promised.
Jazz fans know Acuña from his early work accompanying Cuban bandleader Pérez Prado and his stint with jazz fusion icons Weather Report, for whom he played drums or percussion on two of their seminal albums, Black Market and the bestselling Heavy Weather.
