METAL
Sepultura – Quadra I haven’t paid close attention to Sepultura in a long time, and have only briefly sampled some of their last… seven releases, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say this may be their best album in almost 30 years. [EDIT: 12/22/20 – I have since listened to their full discography and now firmly believe it’s their best ever.] Quadra follows a very specific structure, with four (get it?) distinct themes. The first 3 tracks are all thrash fury, the next 3 are more percussion heavy and tribal, the next 3 focus more on progressive, intricate instrumental arrangements, and the last 3 are the most melodic. I love this concept because the album keeps evolving, and with only 3 songs to express each theme, I feel like it pushed the band to write their strongest material in decades. Even when some songs have a riff or two that seem a little two generic, there is always something surprising or especially cool to make up for it in just about every song. Drummer Eloy Casagrande, now on his third album with the band, absolutely slays, and his crushing performance is a highlight of the entire album. Tons of unique grooves, unexpected polyrhythms, blazing fills, and from the sound of the drums and cymbals, I can tell that the guy is bashing the shit out of his kit. Andreas Kisser lays down some killer lead guitar work, and Derrick Green delivers a powerful vocal performance. Additionally, across the album, there are sprinkles of strings, choir, and low, buzzing synth, which I find to be tasteful enhancements to the musical arrangements. Sepultura has been gradually improving over the past few albums. Props to them for making such an engaging, well-orchestrated album, after years of mediocrity. — 8.5/10
RnB / SOUL
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges – Texas Sun – EP This is a great pairing. Khruangbin’s unique brand of laidback, worldly soul/funk/surf/dub/etc fits perfectly behind Leon Bridges’ warm, soulful voice. At just 21 minutes and 4 songs, it leaves me wanting more. I’d be surprised if it happened, but a whole full length of this collaboration would be very welcome. — 8.5/10
Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven – We’re New Again Regarded by many as the “godfather of rap,” Gil Scott-Heron’s politically conscious soul/jazz/poetry of the 1970’s was an unparalleled influence on hip hop and neo-soul. Before this new release, I had not been familiar with his final album, 2010’s I’m New Here. I’ve listened to it a few times now, and that album is an incredible work of art. The stark hip hop beats, dark atmospheres, and autobiographical spoken word pieces about his upbringing are unlike anything I’ve ever heard. And when he sings, he sounds like a combination of Bill Withers and Leonard Cohen. Deeply soulful, poetic wisdom pours out of every line. 10 years later, we are blessed with We’re New Again, a reimagining of that album by jazz drummer/ producer/ bandleader/ visionary Makaya McCraven. (This happens to be the third week in a row that I’m writing about an album featuring McCraven.) The dark beats are replaced by warm, soulful jazz arrangements, with a variety of acoustic instruments, and the tracks are reordered. So now we have two very different versions of this beautiful album and I am thankful for that. — 9/10
Raveena – Moonstone – EP Raveena’s first full length, Lucid, made my Best of 2019 list, and she’s back now with a brief, 15 minute, 4 song EP of breezy, chilled out RnB/Soul. Delicately strumming guitars, twinkling keyboards, and laid back grooves provide the backdrop for her sweet, soft (but not too soft) voice. Raveena’s melodies just feel really good; kind of bittersweet. I look forward to more music from her. — 8/10
ROCK
Stone Temple Pilots – Perdida Stone Temple Pilots have really had it rough. Not one but two of their singers have died, and yet the DeLeo brothers and Eric Kretz continue to push on. Now on their second album with Jeff Gutt singing, the band turns their amps off and processes some serious grief (“perdida” means “loss” in Spanish) with an almost entirely acoustic album. Upon first listen, I was surprised at the absence of electric instruments, but I was also pleasantly surprised that the songs are quite beautiful. The band’s Led Zeppelin influence reaches beyond just big riffs, and there are some really nice acoustic guitar arrangements that call to mind Zeppelin’s folkier side. Additionally, the scattered strings, woodwinds and piano are a nice touch to the lush arrangements. Sometimes Gutt sounds like he’s trying a little too much to sound like Scott Weiland. Maybe that’s just naturally how his voice sounds, and that’s part of why he was hired, or maybe the band’s writing just brings that out. But despite that slight distraction, and the occasional cliche sounding chord progression and/or vocal melody, the album, overall, is quite an enjoyable listen. — 8/10
INDIE
Ásgeir – Bury the Moon When Ásgeir’s last album (2017’s Afterglow) came out, I read a review that said “If Frank Ocean moved to Iceland, he’d find a kindred soul in Ásgeir.” I’d say that sounds fairly accurate for that album, with its icy but soulful beats, melodies, and textures. Bury the Moon takes a turn towards warmer and more acoustic tones, and I’m liking this one more than Afterglow (which I still liked). In fact, I think this is the warmest, folkiest, most soulful album I’ve ever heard from an Icelandic artist. Ásgeir’s smooth, mostly falsetto voice floats across strumming acoustic guitars, soft keyboards, and pensive piano. The general feel of the whole album is very comforting and beautiful. — 8.5/10
ELECTRONIC
Beatrice Dillon – Workaround Really interesting, experimental, world percussion informed, electronic groove music. The fusing of tabla drums and glitchy beats works well, and some of the rhythms and synth sounds remind me of one of my favorite electronic artists, Débruit. So this album has a lot of good things going on, but I can’t help but wonder what it would sound like with some more layers. The overall sound is pretty stripped down and largely percussive, which is cool, but I think there’s potential for even greater things here. This is Beatrice Dillon’s debut solo album, so I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from her. — 7.5/10
Tangerine Dream – Recurring Dreams Electronic/ambient pioneers Tangerine Dream have gone through a ton of lineup changes in their 50+ year career. This is a collection of new versions of classic songs by the current lineup. I’ve listened to their old albums, but not enough to know what the differences are here. Regardless, the pulsing, sparkling, washes of synth found here are the perfect soundtrack to some stargazing, or watching a documentary about space with the sound off. — 7/10