Perched somewhere between dark pop and the avant- garde, Endgame is a tricky work of art to unravel, but there are plenty of rewards for those who try.
Armed only with three varieties of kantele (a Finnish table harp that’s like an autoharp, but with a much wider range) and her rich voice, Langeland essays a program of traditional and original tunes, plus poetry set to her own music.
The debut album from Montreal garage pop quartet Pale Lips is a perfectly sweet ‘n ‘ sour gumball of tight melodies and trashy energy.
Jay Som + Palehound = a gentle, idiosyncratic gem.
Like the “old cedar box” described in “Polaroid Parade,” Songs from the Briarpatch plays like a collection of memories—some good, some bad, some in between—and the resulting feelings that emerge are not easy to pick apart.
Knoxville, TN singer, guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist Jared Colinger began The Enigmatic Foe with 2005’s self-recorded The Titular Project; having since expanded to a full band, this 14-song double LP is their fifth album.
For Sharvit, all facets of this diamond called jazz have something to offer, and he’s happy to indulge in all of it…all at once.
Every song on Open Sesame is like some song you heard on the radio in the 70s once and blew your mind even if you never found out the name of the artist. And I think that’s the point.
Multi-instrumentalist Aidan Baker and bassist Leah Buckareff eagerly but gracefully take bits of shoegaze, noise rock, ambient electronics, doom metal and early nineties post-punk and mix them into a thick, plangent hellbrew that somehow manages to be both luscious and noxious.
Race Against Time acknowledges that such a race as its title suggests is ultimately impossible to win, and thereby the album ends up one of the genre’s most thoughtful and intelligent entries in a long time.
With only three solo LPs since 2001, this June 12, 2021 Record Store Day EP from Winston-Salem, NC singer/guitarist Foster (ex-Right Profile/Carneys/Pinetops) is welcome.
Take three guys with loads of experience in jazz, rock, funk and anything that jams, put ‘em in a recording studio (or onstage), and you might well get something like WRD’s The Hit.
Though the music was collectively improvised (with the exception of the title track, which is based on a Norwegian folk tune), the trio avoids discord – everyone plays with like minds, seeking out spontaneous melodies and arrangements and sticking to them.
Released June 4th on deep red vinyl and digital, Strawberry Birthmarks is a collection of unreleased recordings from post punk artist Jowe Head
Watts’ combo of Midwestern fire, L.A. flash and Northeast sneer means it pretty much has no choice but to write tunes with titles like “Shocking Pink,” “Heavy Metal Kids” and All Done With Rock & Roll.”
I dug Portland, OR noise-pop foursome The Honus Huffhines’ 2014 second LP Feel Safe, Be Safe; named for a put-down line from The Office UK, The Swindon Lot is their singer/multi-instrumentalist Andy Giegerich’s solo project.
On June 18th, Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry return with a new long-player titled ‘Purple Kittens’, a tour-de-force of styles and perfectionism.
The LP-plus-bonus-7-inch continues the good work of past albums, blending motorik beats, brooding kosmiche electronics and sun-blasted desert landscapes – think Tangerine Dream if they’d come from the American Southwest.
Originally released only on limited edition vinyl as part of a box set subscription service, Strata – the debut album from Icelandic bassist/composer Skúli Sverrisson and maverick American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell – finally sees release for the less-well heeled music fan, if only in digital form.
Infused equally with improvisational acumen and rock & roll power, Numbers Maker reintroduces Desertion Trio in a shower of sparks.
Saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas are both two of modern jazz’ most acclaimed and creative bandleaders, throwing their long arms around a wide variety of stylistic permutations and bending them to their wills. Thus Other Worlds, the duo’s third record together with their Sound Prints project, finds them in typically eclectic form.
Throughout Zombification, Nashville-based, Minneapolis-raised singer/songwriter Oliver flails and massages his contorted, misshapen acoustic, while his distressed, rasping vocals sound like he’s having a hallucinogenic acid trip.
Apparently not wanting to waste any time, Pittsburgh’s premiere electronic rock band Zombi follows up on last year’s 2020 with the five-track EP Liquid Crystal.
Not an actual person, Philip Goth is the moniker for the new project of Josh Rawson, former bassist of folk-rockers The Felice Brothers; this debut was recorded by him in Philmont, NY over three years.
Despite the long distance nature of this collaboration, the band manages a high degree of spontaneity.
Born in Venezuela and based in New York City, jazz pianist Benito Gonzalez has amassed quite a resumé in his years on the scene. The 44-year-old has stints with heavyweights like Jackie McLean, Kenny Garrett and Azar Lawrence under his belt, and today acts as pianist and musical director for spiritual jazz pioneer Pharoah Sanders. He also has half a dozen albums as a leader, of which Sing to the World is the latest.
The Swamp Fox receives a thoughtful assist from Dan Auerbach.
This album sits on the more introspective end of the grunge spectrum, and is undoubtedly best enjoyed in the dark of one’s bedroom than dancing riotously in a crowd.
Patitucci lays down a serious groove, the kind that calls just enough attention to itself to be memorable, but doesn’t dominate the track.
Formerly the drummer in The Comas, and currently in indie rock quintet North Elementary and improvisational guitar/electronic duo Tacoma Park, Carrboro, NC’s John Harrison also makes solo albums as Jphono1.
An Ep released late last year, that is well worth investigation.
One of the best things about the Scandinavian rock explosion that started in the nineties was the lack of self-consciousness – these folks played late 60s/70s rock & roll without a shred of irony, as if they’d just discovered that pile of riffs and it was the most exciting thing that ever happened to them. Acid’s Trip is no different – the band’s blend of Detroit fury, American South melodicism and British singalong steel is powered as much by sheer enthusiasm as talent.
On his first solo LP, Seattle’s Brisbois abandons the blasting guitars of his ‘90s roots-rock outfit 4 Ft. Ramona (he’s also been in The Buckets, Acme Band, and Lava), for something drastically more hushed.
James Brandon Lewis grew up a student of George Washington Carver’s work and history. As such, the fast-rising New York saxophonist took his prenatural skills and his knowledge and created Jesup Wagon, a tribute to Carver.
Having recorded 2018’s Sixer EP as a trio, these Brooklyn shoegazers are pared down to their core duo of Ian Carpenter (vocals/guitars) and Rachel Fischer (drums) for this debut full-length.
Though best known as a fashion designer, singer/songwriter/guitarist Keanan Duffty has been a musician since the late seventies. While his fashion work has led him to work with David Bowie and the Sex Pistols (and to write the book Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style), he never let go of his desire to play music, recording several solo albums and forming Slinky Vagabond with Earl Slick, Clem Burke and Glen Matlock in 2007. Lineup changes see SV consisting of Duffty and Italian multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Fabio Fabbri on its long-awaited debut album King Boy Vandals.
Fractal Guitar 2 continues the work begun by its predecessors (Fractal Guitar and the remix version of same), layering Thelen’s minimalist melodies and challenging time signatures with a multitude of guest guitarists from the experimental sphere.
It’s been nine years since Boston-raised, now St. Petersburg, FL-based singer/pianist Sheveloff released his 2012 solo debut Exhibitionist. But this sublime second studio LP more than justifies the long wait.
Both NYC jazz staples in their own rights, the Brazilian horn player and Delaware keyboardist have long had a direct connection between their creative minds, allowing them to improvise music with an ease and comradery rare amongst musicians of any stylistic propensity.
Sometimes albums come along that make you go “What the f@ck?”, this is one such album, and it is a divine rapture of brilliance.
Mic on, reeds to lips, brief eye contact (maybe) and go – that’s the MO here. It’s self-expression unfettered by traditional structures, jazz or not.
Following up 2018’s Proper EP, this Philadelphia foursome (whose moniker was the original name of Ardmore, the Philly suburb where they first rehearsed) sound even more inspired and imposing on this debut LP.
Teenage Fanclub release the most anticipated album of 2021, and thankfully it delivers, and revels in the flaws of our ideals.
Steve Cropper has just released ‘Fire It Up’, and it is incendiary.
It’s been five years since this eccentric outfit released their fifth LP The Final Photograph, yet their former strangeness hasn’t waned.
With the date of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day having just passed and more recent turmoil still fresh in the mind, Natalie K felt compelled to write a song that might act as a beacon of hope, a message of solidarity from half a world away. And the result is a truly haunting song.
Hello Morning might have been a long time coming, but Wax Moon have created a startlingly powerful album that shows the fruits of their labor without ever showing off.
With well-crafted songs and a clear love of anything with a guitar in it, the Nuclears eschew lunkheadedness and stomp toward a bright future.
Due out on May 7th, the latest emotional banger from Maia Sharp, the aptly titled Mercy Rising
