Staying home from work or school because of the global pandemic? What better time than now to check out some new music! I encourage you to go back to older posts as well. My school (which is also my daughter’s school) is closed now for at least two weeks. Weeeeee!!! ….. Let’s hope we don’t go crazy!
And please, if you like one of the albums here, comment below!
Picks of the Week
Jazz
The Sorcerers – In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God — 8.5/10
Metal
Svengahli – Nightmares of Our Own Design — 8/10
RnB
Brandon Banks – Static EP The chorus to “Pico,” the first track on Static, hits just the right spot. Brandon Banks sings, “I’ll find yoooooouuuuu,” in beautiful, three-part harmony as the music gradually swells over a laid back beat and the soft plunk plunk of a synthetic, xylophone-type sound. It might be the highlight of the EP, but there’s certainly more good stuff. The slow jams continue, with Banks’ sweet tenor supported by lush arrangements of prominent acoustic guitars, occasional electric guitar textures, piano, muted trumpet, perfect RnB bass lines, and a mix of live and programmed drums. A lot of this is very reminiscent of Frank Ocean, from the lyrics (“City boy with pipe dreams. Pawn shops and palm trees”), to the arrangements, to the tone of Banks’ voice, his range, occasional use of falsetto, and a little bit of rapping. I think it’s safe to say that Ocean has influenced an entire generation of young RnB singers, and I’m cool with that. I checked out Banks’ previous release, another EP from 2018, and it’s decent, but this is better. So that’s a good sign, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for future releases. — 8/10
INDIE ROCK
Islet – Eyelet This album contains a unique blend of dreamy female vocals, occasional, low-key, laid back male vocals, pseudo-reggae/dub beats and effects, psychedelic spacey embellishments, keyboards, fuzzy indie rock, electronic percussion, and live drum set with a variety of post-production techniques. I prefer the spacey and weirder songs over the more driving, indie rock tracks, and thankfully, the album leans much more on that psychedelic side. — 7/10
Stephen Malkmus – Traditional Techniques It’s immediately clear that this Stephen Malkmus album is going to be different. It kicks off with meditative acoustic guitar and flute, tambura (a droning Indian string instrument), tablas, and a little bit of country-style slide guitar. I’ve never thought to compare him to Beck (and I know Beck’s catalog much better), but this feels like Malkmus’ Mutations (Beck’s largely acoustic album, after Odelay). It still sounds like his writing and his voice, but the arrangements are much more country and folk influenced, full of acoustic guitar, twangy lead and slide guitar, upright bass, and light drums. I’ve been enjoying the changing directions of Stephen Malkmus’ recent output, and this continues the trend of sounding nothing like his previous album. He utilizes this different-than-usual kind of instrumentation really well and succeeds in all areas. — 8/10
ELECTRONIC
The Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe (Remixes) The Cinematic Orchestra is a unique duo with a perfectly fitting name. This remix album of 2019’s excellent To Believe is a journey through many different scenes, settings, feelings, and moods. It’s a long release (16 songs, 1 hr 35 min), but if you’re up for a long, at times hypnotic and engulfing listening experience, it’s worth your time. One of the coolest things about listening all the way through is that there are a handful of songs with multiple remixes, so when the same vocal feature returns a few times throughout the album, it makes everything feel grander and more connected. A lot of the album is hypnotic, meditative, and peaceful, but a highlight is track 12, “A Promise,” with its deep groove and feeling, driving pulse (more than most of the album), Heidi Vogel’s incredible vocals, and a killer rhythm break (an energetic Latin groove with synth, flute, drum set, and percussion). I would certainly recommend checking out the original To Believe album, but this collection of remixes does a great job of expanding the world created by the original. — 8.3/10
METAL
Svengahli – Nightmares of Our Own Design EP Svengahli is a new studio project led by Exist bassist, Alex Weber, and featuring Matt Rossa (guitar, also of Exist), guest solos from Kevin Hufnagel (Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, etc) and Rafael Trujillo (Obscura), and drum production from Anup Sastry (Devin Townsend, Intervals). This debut EP is essentially a four-song suite, with 3 of the tracks being parts I, II & III of the title track. The style is progressive death metal with a clear Cynic (among others) influence. There are throaty metal growls and melodic vocals that hover around mid-range, sparkling clean guitars and knotty prog metal riffs, odd time grooves and thrashy parts. The fact that the drums are programmed bugs me a little, even though I get that there were probably good reasons for not getting a human to play the parts. Weber probably programmed it all when he was writing, and passing it on to Sastry for production was much faster and cheaper than getting someone to learn it all. But Sastry is definitely capable of playing everything here, and the obviously “fake” sound of fast, programmed tom fills is a little distracting. Regardless, the material is strong, and the playing is top notch. Hopefully this project will turn into a more proper band, because I wouldn’t definitely check them out live and be excited to hear a future release, especially if there’s a live drummer. – 8/10
Recent Jazz Releases
There were a ton of interesting new releases over the past couple months, and I wasn’t able to get to writing about it all. This was a lighter week, so below are shorter reviews of a few other albums I’ve been listening to that didn’t get reviewed the week of their release. I’m generally much more interested in the cutting edge of jazz (artists that are incorporating elements of hip hop, rnb, soul, electronic, rock, etc, in new and exciting ways), but there is still some high quality stuff coming out on the more traditional side of things.
The Sorcerers – In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God A looping, funky bass line, congas, flute, bass clarinet, vibraphone, and a slow funk drum beat start this album in style. This probably falls under the category of “rare groove.” Chill vibe, easy to put on at just about any time. I love this kind of stuff. — 8.5/10
Jure Pukl – Broken Circles Jure Pukl is the saxophonist/band leader, and the group seems to be channeling a lot of their mid to late-60’s post bop influences here. The only player I’m familiar with on this record is vibraphonist Joel Ross, who seems to be popping up everywhere lately. The vibe is fairly chill, even when the playing gets more intense. — 7.5/10
Eldar Djangirov – Rhapsodize “A Night in Tunisia” kicks off this record in high gear. Very exciting piano playing from Eldar Djangirov, another name I’m unfamiliar with. It sounds like this is a simple piano trio format, but there are occasional, subtle keyboard textures, which is pretty cool and unexpected. Oh, and a cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” so this guy is definitely a disciple of Brad Mehldau. Followed by “Variations on a Bach Prelude”! Lots of high energy playing on this one. — 8/10
Stephane Wrembel – The Django Experiment V Could you use more Gypsy jazz in your life? Well Stephane Wrembel is your man! I was not previously familiar with him, but I’m now actually more interested in his other albums that aren’t part of this Django Experiment series. The highlight here is definitely the final track, “Caravan.” As you may expect, this album stays largely within the boundaries of traditional Gypsy jazz, while his other albums take that sound and mix it with other things. An artist to explore, for sure. — 7.8/10
>>>LISTEN<<< (I can’t seem to find a streaming link to this release, but his other stuff is here)
Jennifer Curtis & Tyshawn Sorey – Invisible Ritual Violin, drums, and sometimes piano improvisations. Exciting and dynamic. Fantastic players. — 8/10