I really don’t have much to write this month. My mind feels paralyzed; at least my ears are working. Also, I am behind due to being distracted by non-new musical explorations, as you will see. Thus, I am just going to make three lists (this will help me get to THIS faster, too–I need it and I hope it’s great, but I can’t really listen to it until I’m done here).
The 20Best Albums Released in 2024 That I First Heard This Month (in alphabetical order, but * = really kicking my butt)
*Alan Braufman: Infinite Love Tears (The Control Group / Valley of Search)
Jonas Cambien: Macu Conu (Clean Feed)
Charli xcx: BRAT (Atlantic)
*Cosmic Psychos: Go the Hack (Goner Records reissue)
Janel [Leppin] and Anthony [Pirog]: New Moon in the Evil Age (Cuneiform) (The “Janel disc” rools, although they are both on all of it.) (Wait, I said I wasn’t writing.)
*Kronos Quartet: Outer Spaceways Incorporated (Red Hot Org)
*Corb Lund: El Viejo (New West)
*Willie Nelson: The Border (Sony Music)
*Nestor: Teenage Rebel (Napalm Records/Handels GmbH) (I would have hated this in my 20s, in its way its allegiance to the laws of 1980s hard rock–passionate allegiance!–is stunning.) (I’m writing!)
Ngwaka Son Systeme: Iboto Ngenge (Eck Echo Records)
Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo: Pra voce, Ilza (Rocinante Records)
OLD REGGAE ALBUMS I’D NEVER HEARD BEFORE WERE MY JUNE SALVATION!
It was all triggered when I rather randomly chose to read Alex Wheatle‘s memoir, Sufferah. Wheatle’s childhood experiences inspired one of the best episodes of Steve McQueen’s limited series Small Axe, all of which I thoroughly loved. Reggae songs were extremely important to Wheatle’s survival as a youth, and he mentioned so many I didn’t know (and I’m pretty well-informed) that I made a playlist as I read (which I accidentally deleted yesterday!). Unsurprisingly, the best of those songs led me to research the albums from which they came via two excellent out-of-print reggae guides, one by Lloyd Bradley, the other by Randall Grass, both acknowledged genre adepts. While researching those, I bumped into non-Wheatle-related records I’d somehow missed. That resulting research led me willy-nilly to Discogs, where–oh hell, I’ll just take a picture. This is the life of a music fanatic folks!
I will again try to comment meaningfully on each of the following alphabetically-ordered new release in single complete sentences. Two introductory notes, though:
Later this year, Phil Freeman’s Cecil Taylor biography In the Brewing Luminous will be published. I’m reading a review copy, and I’m here to tell you it’s outstanding. First of all, this book was badly needed, given Taylor’s singular genius and influence; second of all, in well-documented form it gathers much info that’s out there in one place; third, it’s so comprehensive it’s alerted this passionate fan to recordings he’s never heard of; fourth–no surprise with Mr. Freeman–it advances some critical arguments very convincingly; and fifth, in a continuance from Freeman’s stellar electric Miles investigation, Running the Voodoo Down, the author excels–really excels–at describing a furious, sometimes byzantine music in very distinctive and accurate detail. That’s a trick I really envy; if I could do a fifth as good a job as Freeman, I’d be writing about jazz much more frequently. Check out Phil’s chock-full Burning Ambulance Substack to learn more.
I’m not that much a fan of Light in the Attic’s new Lou Reed tribute The Power of the Heart–at all–but that damn Bobby Rush will be ninety-one in November, and if Sally truly can’t dance, he sure as hell can. He elides a few phrases in Reed’s lyric I bet he wasn’t wholly comfortable with, but he, as per usual for many, many years, sells the song. Hear it in the Spotify Playlist linked at the bottom!
April Top 15 New Platters:
Byron Asher’s Skrontch Music: Lord, when you send the rain (Sinking City)–Like Asher’s previous Skrontch Music album, the problems of New Orleans’ (and other places’) present send him backwards into the future, with spoken clips, traditional instrumentation, and post-modern feints and juxtapositions helping us get why.
Bruno Berle: No Reino Dos Afetos 2 (Psychic Hotline)–The Bandcamp description of this soothing singer’s project (the first volume is excellent, too) informs us that lo-fi, dub step, and other ingredients are utilized to help Berle break away from the Brazilian expected–but I also note that it notes the album’s “sun-soaked” and “sun-drenched” affect, so maybe that’s just historical gravity, not at all a bad thing.
Beyonce: Cowboy Carter (Parkwood Entertainment)–OK, so it’s not all that country (please dig out featured vet Linda Martell’s Color Me Countryif you want that)–it’s just a really good Beyonce album, but, with much less pre-release hype and in-release bombast, I’d argue Mickey Guyton made a stronger statement with Remember Her Name in ’21 without riding a horse or wearing a cowboy hat (plus she turned whiskey into wine).
Buck 65, doseone, Jel: North American Adonis (Handsmade)–Rap earworm line of the year from this on-a-serious-verbal-roll Canadian MC is that he bets his CDs are gonna be “alive in a landfill”–that’s thinking ahead.
Cedric Burnside: Hill Country Love (Mascot / Provogue)–The North Mississippi Hill Country blues practitioners are getting whittled down something considerable, R. L.’s grandson’s has gamely tried keep the style alive with some gently modern tweaks, and he finally nails it here.
James Carter: UN (J.M.I. Recordings)–J.M.I.’s cutting analog jazz vinyl, and, while I have not heard them all (David Murray’s 2023 offerings, solo and with Plumb, were impressive), this is tops for them so far, causing one to wonder why it’s taken JC this long to wax an unaccompanied set…though I’m still waiting for his Earl Bostic tribute album.
Big Freedia & The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra: Live at the Orpheum Theater (Queen Diva)–A bounce orchestra’s taking it too far, you might think, but you SHOULDalready know not to sell the Queen Diva short.
Miha Gantar: New York City (Clean Feed)–When I received a digital review copy of this 5-disc collection of new compositions and improvisations by the 26-year-old Slovenian pianist, I rolled my eyes but, as I have sworn to do with these “gifts,” gave it a shot–then found myself so mesmerized not only by the variable moods and configurations (strings, solo, drums only, collab with sax sensation Zoh Amba, etc.), but also by the distinctiveness of the six-count-’em-six pieces that I listened to the whole thing straight through and determined that it’s my favorite jazz release of the year.
Matt Lavelle and the 12 Houses: The Crop Circles Suite, Part 1 (Mahakala Music)–NYC clarinetist, trumpeter, composer and conductor Lavelle, long a very underrated player on the jazz scene, released this, (it looks like the first half of) his “life’s work,” on his 54th birthday: easily one of the genre’s most ambitious, successful and inspiring records of the young year.
Meshell Ndegeocello (and Friends): Red Hot & Ra – The Magic City (Red Hot Org)–You know you cannot resist the pull of the perennially underrated Ndegeocelleo, assisted by jazz compatriots Immanuel Wilkins and Darius Jones, putting a fresh spin on The Sun One–which the Red Hot Org label seems recently dedicated to doing, with a Kronos Quartet set in the offing.
Tomeka Reid Quartet: 3 + 3 (Cuneiform)–More and more predictably, when you put Reid and guitarist Mary Halvorson in the same room, sparks will fly along with those fingers, and aural magic will be the result, as it is here.
Ann Savoy: Another Heart (Smithsonian Folkways)–Surprise of the month: a passionate combo of covers (Springsteen, Sandy Denny, Kinks!) and originals sung and played by acclaimed Cajun historian and member of one of the style’s most acclaimed and hardest working families, a Top-Tenner to my ears (and…heart).
Reyna Tropical: Reyna Tropical (Psychic Hotline)–I swear I’ve run into one of these albums every month for a couple of years: a moody, sexy, lithely swinging, electronic trance-r&b–maybe in this case, yeah, trance–tropical–album that I can’t quit playing and beats monkey gland shots or whatever, which means I might need to dive into the artist’s considerable (for her age) back catalog.
Fay Victor: Life is Funny That Way—Herbie Nichols Sung (TAO Forms)–I’ll admit that, while an earlier 2024 group from Brazil did successfully sing Bill Evans, I thought star-crossed jazz pianist Nichols’ quirky compositions were too high a hurdle, but then I didn’t know diddley about Victor, whose scatting isn’t just experimental but vies with Carter, McRae, Ross, and Vaughan (stylistically, not really Ella, though) at their most daring; the band makes it over the bar as clearly.
Bob Vylan: Humble as the Sun (Ghost Theater)–A youngster for our times, though, compared to his last two records, this one seems almost autumnal, as if the pure revolutionary fire he regularly lights has prematurely aged him–but these times can do that, too.
April Top 10 Old Platters [Post-Record Store Day CD Meteor Shower (for me, every day is RSD)].
Alice Coltrane: The 1971 Carnegie Hall Concert (Impulse!)–The latest entry in the Alice Coltrane revival is the rowdiest and maybe the best, thanks to horns shaking things up.
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru: Souvenirs (Mississippi Records)–As they do a Professor Longhair platter, all homes that dig music need a record by the recently-departed, ghost-fingered Ethiopian pianist and nun, but this is her first recording with vocals, which I wasn’t completely certain hadn’t slowed down her already sauntering roll–but, upon two more listens, I was wrong again.
Grupo Irakere: Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recital (Mr. Bongo)–Cuban bands come no hotter than this one, and this is their long-unavailable debut recording (and it’s not just hot).
Rail Band: Rail Band(Mississippi Records)–Another debut recording by a legendary band, this one from Mali, this one too long-unavailable, and featuring not one but two legendary vocalists: Salif Keita and Mory Kanté.
Sonny Rollins: Freedom Weaver–The 1959 European Tour Recordings(Resonance)–My good pal Chris Gray, referring to this album, wondered who could complain about “live Rollins ’59,” and. while I whole-heartedly agree, especially since Sonny’s working in a trio format, Sonny would soon hit the bridge to…woodshed; I promise you that if you’re ever this good at what you do that you think you’re not good enough, you might just need lysergic therapy. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD.)
Sun Ra: At the Showcase Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Elemental Music)–Ra in Chicago, always a spot for top-of-the-line spaceworks, with the band orbiting. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD.)
Art Tatum: Jewels In the Treasure Box (Resonance)–Mainly, you need to know this Tatum is in trio mode, which naturally cuts into his usual carnival of pianistics but also allows guitarist Everett Barksdale and legendary bassist Slam Stewart to show their scintillating stuff. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD.)
Various Artists: Congo Funk! Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River(Analog Africa)–Key words: “Congo,” “Funk!” (exclamation point earned), “Sound Madness,” “Mighty”–and “Analog Africa; in other words, “Merde, putain, lâche-toi le cul etjam !” (Et j’adore de la confiture!)
Various Artists: New York City Hardcore: The Way It Is (Revelation Records)–I had not heard of any of these bands, but all the vocalists sound in some way like my best friend, former ranter, opera buff, free jazz buff, French-Canadian advocate, European football nut, and scientist Mark Pelletier, so it’s a win.
Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy: The Mighty Warriors Live in Antwerp (Elemental Music)–Both these now-underrated instrumentalists started out trad, in a way–pianist Waldron accompanying twilight-era Billie Holiday, soprano saxophonist Lacy playing New Orleans jazz–but ended up taking things just out enough to be trenchantly in, and they were master players, especially live, and here they are backed by two more flexible and pretty legendary rhythm controllers you heard about last week: bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD–and it might be the pick of the litter.)
I don’t trust critics’ positive evaluations of art when they’re mostly grounded in politics (of one sort or another). Yet I am frequently guilty of it here.
Related: For much of my life I have thought women were clearly the superior of the two traditionally recognized genders. My wife has helped me sustain that viewpoint; the last seven years of public mad, toxic explosions has convinced me we are equally flawed. Just sayin’: if the upper reaches of my list are dominated by women, it’s not because I’m still guided by romantic notions.
I love jazz right now more than any other major genre. Within that larger genre, I find experimental and free jazz more interesting than its other subgenres. It engages my mind and skin more regularly than other kinds of music. That said, it’s really hard to rank such records. I could spend another hour rearranging my favorite experimental and free jazz records, and I’d change that arrangement again this afternoon. In addition, it’s been a GREAT (and scintillatingly varied) year for those.
Few country records are on my list. I’m not resistant to that genre; I just insist on distinctly unique singing (it’s a tradition) and interesting lyrics. I was weaned on George, Merle, Willie, Dolly, Lorretty, and Tammy–what can I say?
As a writer, I “come out of” punk, garage rock, and rock when it rolled–my first writing “gigs” were with punk zines. Over the last decade, a group of friends on Facebook have given me a great crash course (if a crash course can last a decade) in busting out of that particular popular/semipopular music pen, though I still like galloping around in it. It could be, as a result, that I am too eager to enthuse about intriguing poptimistic sounds. Also, some eyebrows might jump at the exclusion from the list of a certain mega-phenomenon in light of that admission. I still struggle with blandness, even impressively mounted and executed blandness. Oh, and about my punk-pen-past: if the band Dredd Foole & the Din is unfamiliar to you, change that (see “Excavations and “Reissues”).
I like music made by melanated people more than the pale offerings. I don’t think about it beforehand–it just turns out that way. Sue me.
TRUNCATED OBSERVATIONS–PAIRINGS!:
–So-called “desert blues”? Folks, if you don’t know about it or have never gotten on the train, it’s not too late to hop on, and your first stop should be Bounaly’s glowing-orange-hot wailing guitar record Dimanche a Bamako. All hail the Sahel Sounds label. Next stop: Bombino’s Sahel.
–Prolific rappers? From Canada? Yep–it’s old news. BUT…Buck 65’s placed two releases in my Top 25 records of the year, and I had to think and listen awhile before I moved one of those out of the Top 10. Crisp beats, consistently engaging words, and a confident flow. I want to pose a question to aficionados: Buck 65 or Homeboy Sandman, if you could only take one of these fecund MCs’ oeuvres to a desert island?
–Brazilian music: I forgot a prejudice! I start out leaning forward when I put on a new Brazilian record, especially if it’s been touted by Rod Taylor of the Brazil Beat blog. And this year my Top 40 (so far) contains two great and VERY DIFFERENT–yet uniquely Brazilian–releases: Adriana Calcanhotto’s addictive samba-with-Waitsian-rhythmic-flecks Errante and Filipe Catto’s dark-toned tribute to the departed tropicalia legend Gal Costa, Belezas Sao Coisis Acesas por Dentro. Note 1: Catto’s album and Anohni’s still-chart-topping My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross is a terrific pairing as well.
The Updated List
–If an album makes the list, it sounds and feels to me like the equivalent of a Pitchfork 7.5 or better, an All Music 3 ½ stars or better, or an Xgauvian **Honorable Mention or better. –It can be assumed that my Top 30-40 sound to me the equivalent of an A-, but I’m a teacher in my other incarnation so watch me for grade inflation. It cannot be assumed safely, though, that my Top 10 are all straight A’s. –After the first 50, my “rankings” are a bit loose; similarly, the entirety of my “Excavations and Reissues” I rank pretty loosely other than the Top 3. Also, I usually jigger the rankings every month upon reflection. –Items in bold are new to the list I posted at the end of the previous month.
Note 2: I’ve repeatedly pored over this month’s list and rearranged it, after some re-listening and simple reflection. My Top 50 is approaching as much permanence as I’m capable of, though Bounaly’s record so thoroughly kicked my ass last night it may take the top spot. We also have four weeks to go….
It has been a stressful month for me. I’ve been in the process of caring for my mom, who lives 227 miles away and whose health issues have resulted in her needing 24-7 attention, while trying to do my three part-time jobs competently (one of them is teaching a class called “Groundbreaking Women in U. S. Music: A History in 150 Albums”–I hope one day to tell you how it’s gone), one of which will not allow me to work virtually. Beyond that class, music’s definitely taken a back seat. I have a hard time being with Mom and having headphones in; it seems rude, even though she doesn’t need me every second, or minute, or hour necessarily. When I’m on the road, I’ve been NEEDING older stuff that I know can deliver succor and strength immediately. Also, I’ve been working on an unfamiliar computer, so it’s slowed me down. But, enough. Here’s what I’ve got. New additions to the list, as always, are bolded. Truly, nothing new really bedazzled me this month–except Rosalia. And ensemble 0. And…
75 Dollar Bill: Social Music at Troost, Volume 3–Other People’s Music (Black Editions Group) Rosalia: MOTOMAMI(Columbia) Tanya Tagaq: Tongues (Six Shooter) Superchunk: Wild Loneliness (Merge) Gonora Sounds: Hard Times Never Kill (The Vital Record) Amber Mark: Three Dimensions Deep (PMR / Interscope) Javon Jackson & Nikki Giovanni: The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni (Solid Jackson) Etran de L’Air: Agadez (Sahel Sounds) Morgan Wade: Reckless (Deluxe) (Ladylike) Lady Wray: Piece of Me (Big Crown) Mark Lomax II: Prismatic Refractions, Volume I (self-released) Anna von Hausswoolff: Live at Montreaux Jazz Festival (Southern Lord) Various Artists: Lespri Ka—New Directions in Gwoka Music from Guadeloupe (Time Capsule Sounds) ensemble 0: Music Nuvulosa(Sub Rosa) Joy Guidry: Radical Acceptance (Whited Supulchre) Spoon: Lucifer on the Sofa (Headz/Matador) OGJB: Ode to O (TUM) (Note: Band name – O = Oliver Lake, G = Graham Haynes, J = Joe Fonda, B = Barry Altschul / Title – O = Ornette) Andrew Cyrille, William Parker, and Enrico Rava: Two Blues for Cecil (TUM) Luke Stewart’s Silt Trio: The Bottom (Cuneiform) Priscilla Block: Welcome to the Block Party (Nercury Nashville/InDent) Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul: Topical Dancer (DeeWee) Immanuel Wilkins: The 7th Hand (Blue Note) Earl Sweatshirt: Sick! (Tan Cressida / Warner) Big Thief: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (4AD) Charli XCX: Crash(Atlantic) Fulu Miziki: Ngbaka (EP) (Moshi Moshi) Nilufer Yanya: Painless (ATO) Black Country, New Roads: Ants from Up There (Ninja Tune) Hurray for The Riff Raff: Life on Earth (Nonesuch) Rokia Koné and Jacknife Lee: Bamanan (Real World) Marta Sanchez: SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) (Whirlwind) Tomas Fujiwara: Triple Double (Firehouse) Earthgang: Ghetto Gods (Dreamville/Interscope) Junglepussy: jp5000 (EP) (self-released) Kahil El’Zabar Quartet: A Time for Healing (Spiritmuse) Pete Malinverni: On the Town—Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein (Planet Arts) Chief Keef: 4Nem (Glo Gang / RBC) The Weeknd: Dawn FM (XO / Republic) Space Afrika: Honest Labour (Dais) Natsuki Tamura: Summer Tree (Libra)
Archival Digs: Cecil Taylor: The Complete Legendary Live Return Concert at the Town Hall (Oblivion) Albert Ayler: La Cave Live 1966 (Ezz-Thetics) Neil Young: Carnegie Hall 1970 (Reprise) Various Artists: Summer of Soul (Legacy) Lavender Country: Blackberry Rose and Other Songs & Sorrows (Don Giovanni) Son House: Forever on My Mind (Easy Eye Sound Hermeto Pascoal: Planetário da Gávea (Far Out) Hermeto Pascoal: Hermeto
Plenty of cool new sounds to explore! I had to replace a few platters that just hadn’t stuck to my ears’ ribs and whittle off a few more waning wekkids to leave it at a HOT 100. Also, it finally occurred to me that the list’s expanded enough to break off the new releases of old stuff into their own list (see below). Buy some of this music instead of just streaming it, ok?
100FRESH FOR 2021
BOLDED ITEMS are new to the list. #s indicate archival music.
All I have to say is the size of my list of 2021 go-to albums just increased by 30%, no surprise, as the gears of normal creativity and associated production are grinding into motion. That, and the two new albums created by African artists that stormed my top five are crackling with six-string (and vocal) intensity.
Bolded items are new to the list; items followed by a # are reissues or archival digs; all items are linked to pages of interest or usefulness.
Maybe the fact that this year’s class of nice new albums has kinda oozed out like molasses is due the frustrations, chaos, depression, struggle, and occasional collapses of 2021’s second half. I dunno. Below are the platters I’ve quite enjoyed, but in order for it to even look like a two-month list I’ve incorporated archival digs (one of which is–all seven great discs of it–at the top of the heap), which I usually separate out. I’ve finally gotten smart and added hyperlinks to additional album information as I go (rather than regretting that I hadn’t later), and I’ve switched my album cover slideshow to a cumulative one. If these stunning achievements seem a bit meager to you, hey–I’m old.
Notes:
Both those box sets are well worth the time one needs to spend: #1, unreleased examples of the stunning, versatile genius of Black Arts Group veteran composer / player / arranger Hemphill, #2, the luscious fruit of a lifetime of plumbing and glorying in the depths of American song by Stampfel.
Two classical works? Yes, two classical works. It’s not that I’m desperate; it just so happens that new interpretations of justly famous works of my favorite traditional classical composer (Messiaen) and my favorite experimental classical performer (Eastman) have showed up together.
Strut Records’ ongoing resuscitation of the Black Fire label’s catalog continues to excite, enlighten, and inspire me–plus it nicely dovetails with the moment.
Lots of movement on and additions to my updated list. 100104106 107 total good new releases is pretty good for four months in; I’ve heard it said that, other than Fiona Apple’s offering (seeming to excite everyone, including this previous tire-kicker), no one’s dropped a classic yet. I’d add Makaya McCraven’s GSH interp to that, goldarn Kesha continues to be a shot in this malaise’s arm, Lewis and Taylor wail on their new live duet, the inspired Irish folk-punk Jinx Lennon has given me more than I can quickly absorb (but it’s raised a little chicken skin during two listens), Lido Pimienta’s pop-folk schizo-concept album has come up the chart like gangbusters, X’s comeback is slowly growing on me, and HOLY SMOKE Anna Hogberg Attack’s lena is a huge leap forward from a predecessor that was superb–in a word, time (and there’s plenty of it) has a way of conveying power onto a work of art, so we’ll wait and see.
2020 (January 1 – April 30): A Bad Time for Most Anything But Music, Part 5
Note: Bolded items are new to the ongoing 2020 list.
Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Gil Scott-Heron and Makaya McCraven: We’re New Again–A Reimagining
Kesha: High Road
Princess Nokia: Everything is Beautiful
Various Artists: New Improvised Music from Buenos Aires
Body Count: Carnivore
Anna Hogberg Attack: lena
Irreversible Entanglements: Who Sent You
The Good Ones: RWANDA, you should be loved (it’s late ‘19, actually)
Cornershop: England is a Garden
The Third Mind: The Third Mind
Shabaka and The Ancestors: We Are Sent Here By History
Mark Lomax II: The 400 Years Suite
Princess Nokia: Everything Sucks
Lido Pimienta:Miss Colombia
Danny Barnes: Man on Fire
James Brandon Lewis and Chad Taylor: Live in Willisau
Jeff Parker: Suite for Max Brown
Mdou Moctar: Mdou Moctar Mixtape, Volume 1
Grimes: Miss Anthropocene
Jinx Lennon: Border Schizo Fffolk Songs for the F****d
Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra: If You Listen Carefully, The Music is Yours
Chicago Underground: Good Days
K Michelle: All Monsters are Human
Fat Tony and Taydex: Wake Up
The Howling Hex: Knuckleball Express
Mr. Wrong: Create a Place
Bad Bunny: YHLQMDLG
U. S. Girls: Heavy Light
The Necks: Three
Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia
Rod Wave: Pray 4 Love
Serengeti & Kenny Segal: AJAI
Azu Tiwaline: Draw Me a Silence, Pts. 1 & 2
Sunflowers: Endless Voyage
McPhee, Rempis, Reid, Lopez, and Nilssen-Love: Of Things Beyond Thule, Volume 2
KeiyaA: Forever, Ya Girl
Moses Sumney: grae
X: Alphabetland
Swamp Dogg: Sorry You Couldn’t Make It
Tyler Keith: The Last Drag
Ndudozo Makhathini: Modes of Communication—Letters from the Underworlds
Constantinople & Ablaye Cissoko: Traversees
Mythic Sunshine: Changing Shapes–Live at Roadburn
STRFKR: Future Past Life
Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind
Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats: UNLOCKED
GuiltyBeatz: Different (EP)
Alkibar Junior: Music from Saharan WhatsApp, Volume 4 (EP)
Kefaya + Elaha Soroor: Songs of Our Mothers
Jennifer Curtis & Tyshawn Sorey: Invisible Ritual
Sunwatchers: Oh Yeah?
Shopping: All for Nothing
Katie Shorr: Open Book
The Neptune Power Federation: Memoirs of a Rat Queen
Chubby & The Gang: Speed Kills
Rina Sayawama: SAYAWAMA
Darragh Morgan and John Tilbury: For John Cage (composer: Morton Feldman)
Westside Gunn: Pray for Paris
Onipa: We No Be Machine
Waxahatchie: Saint Cloud
Snotty Nose Rez Kids: Born Deadly (EP)
Evan Parker and Paul Lytton: collective calls (revisited) (jubilee)
Fire! Orchestra: Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra
Majid Bekkas:Magic Spirit Quartet
Jan St. Werner and Mark E. Smith: Molocular Mediation
Lyra Pramuk: Fountain
Shabazz Palaces: The Don of Diamonds
John Anderson: Years
Natural Child: California Hotel
Megan Thee Stallion: Suga
Childish Gambino: 3.15.20
Ohad Talmor Newsreel:Long Forms
Etran de L’Air: Music from Saharan WhatsApp, Volume 1 (EP)
MONO: Before The Past
Tamikrest: Tamotait
Luís Lopes Humanization 4Tet: Believe, believe
Colin Stetson: Color Out of Space (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Tomeka Reid and Alexander Hawkins: Shards and Constellations
Lakecia Benjamin: Pursuance—The Coltranes
Wayne Phoenix: Soaring Wayne Phoenix Story The Earth
Moses Boyd: Dark Matter
Thundercat: It is What it Is
Kassa Overall: I Think I’m Good
Oumou Diabate et Kara Show Koumba Frifri: Music from Saharan WhatsApp, Volume 2 (EP)
Dogleg: Mellee
Pink Siifu & yungmorpheus: Bag Talk
Jays Electronica and -Z: A Written Testimony
Meredith Monk:Memory Game
Luke Combs: What You See Is What You Get
Jeich Ould Badou: Music from Saharan WhatsApp 03
Pink Siifu:NEGRO
Moor Mother: CLEPSYDRA
REISSUES AND PAST RECORDINGS NEWLY BROUGHT TO LIGHT
Ranil: Stay Safe and Sound!
Lee Scratch Perry with Seskain Molenga and Kalo Kawongolo: Roots from the Congo (reissue)
Milton Nascimento: Maria Maria (reissue)
Jon Hassell: Vernal Equinox (reissue)
Fela Kuti: Perambulator
Various Artists: Stone Crush—Memphis Modern Soul 1977-1987
Observer All Stars & King Tubby: Dubbing with the Observer (reissue)
Bryan Ferry: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 1974
Pharoah Sanders: Live in Paris 1975
Nina Simone: Fodder on My Wings
Yabby You & The Aggrovators: King Tubby’s Prophecies of Dub (reissue)
185 really good-to-really great albums of new music. 60 laudable issuings of music recorded in another time. That, my friends, is an embarrassment of riches. Now: if that will rub off on general citizenship, good cheer, charming self-effacement, and energized civic action, we’ll be cooking with gas here.
My Album-Lover’s Honor Roll for 2019 – The Final Unscrolling
(bolded items are new additions to the list)
The Straight and Bent A’s:
Little Simz: Grey Area
Purple Mountains: Purple Mountains
Jamila Woods: Legacy! Legacy!
Junius Paul: Ism
Rapsody: Eve
Billie Eilish: WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
Chance The Rapper: The Big Day
Byron Asher: Byron Asher’s Skrontch Music
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib: Bandana
Snotty Nose Rez Kids: Trapline
Royal Trux: White Stuff
Ezra Furman: Twelve Nudes
Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal, Jesse Paris Smith: Songs from The Bardo
Peter Perrett: Humanworld
Yugen Blakrok: Anima Mysterium
Mexstep: Resistir
Mdou Moctar: Ilana (The Creator)
Danny Brown: uknowwhutimsayin
Tomeka Reid Quartet: Old New
J Balvin & Bad Bunny: OASIS
DKV and Joe McPhee: The Fire Each Time
Lightning Bolt: Sonic Citadel
Tanya Tucker: While I’m Livin’
Billy Woods & Kenny Segal: Hiding Places
EARTHGANG: Mirrorland
The Tragically Flawed A- Team:
75 Dollar Bill: I Was Real
Sheer Mag: A Distant Call
Dumb: Club Nites
Jeffrey Lewis: Bad Wiring
Raphael Saadiq: Jimmy Lee
Young Thug: So Much Fun
Kel Assouf: Black Tenere
James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto
Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity: To Whom Who Buys A Record
Teodross Avery: After the Rain–A Night for Coltrane
Various Artists: Total Solidarity
Lana Del Rey: Norman F***ing Rockwell
Zonal (featuring Moor Mother): Wrecked
Control Top: Covert Contracts
Lizzo: Cuz I Love You
Ifriqiyya Electrique: Laylet El Boore
Elza Soares: Planeta Fome
Abdullah Ibrahim: The Balance
Damon Locks / Black Monument Ensemble: Where Future Unfolds
Andres: Andres IV
Denzel Curry: Zuu
Pere Ubu: The Long Goodbye
Rod Wave: Ghetto Gospel
Eddy Current Suppression Ring: All in Good Time
Dave: PSYCHODRAMA
Moor Mother: Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes
Various Artists: The Final Battle—Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics
Rocket 808: Rocket 808
2 Chainz: Rap or Go to the League
Planchettes: The Truth
Joel Ross: Kingmaker
JME: Grime MC
I Jahbar: Inna Duppy SKRS Soundclash
Lee Scratch Perry: Rainford
Bill Orcutt: Odds Against Tomorrow
Joe McPhee / John Butcher: At the Hill of James Magee
Tyler Childers: Country Squire
Pat Thomas, Dominic Lash, and Tony Orrell: Bleyschool
Beyoncé: Homecoming
Sote: Parallel Persia
Jaimie Branch: Fly or Die II—Bird of Paradise
SEED ENSEMBLE: Driftglass
Arto Lindsay, Ken Vandermark, Joe McPhee, Phil Sudderberg: Largest Afternoon
The Comet is Coming: Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery
Blacks’ Myths: Blacks’ Myths II
The No-Disgrace B+ Ticklers:
The Coathangers: The Devil You Know
Sudan Archives: Athena
San Cha: La Luz de la Esperanza
GRLwood: I Sold My Soul to the Devil When I Was 12
P. P. Arnold: The New Adventures of P. P. Arnold
Yazz Ahmed: Polyhymnia
FKA Twigs: MAGDALENE
Miranda Lambert: Wild Card
Aquarian Blood: A Love That Leads to War
Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Tuba in Cuba
Quelle Chris: Guns
Heroes Are Gang Leaders: The Amiri Baraka Sessions
DaBaby: KIRK
Ben Lamar Gay: Confetti in the Sky Like Fireworks
Tanya Tagaq: Toothsayer EP
Bobby Watson, Vincent Herring, and Gary Bartz: Bird at 100
Ghostface Killah: Ghostface Killahs
Various Artists: Weaponize Your Sound
Earl Sweatshirt: FEET OF CLAY
Maxo Kream: Brandon Banks
BaianaSystem: O Furturo Nao Demora
Aesop Rock & TOBACCO: Malibu Ken
DaBaby: Baby on Baby
Megan Thee Stallion: Fever
Sleater-Kinney: The Center Won’t Hold
Dan Weiss Trio + 1: Utica Box
Davido: A Good Time
Michael Kiwanuka: Kiwanuka
Saul Williams: Encrypted & Vulnerable
Young M.A.: Herstory in the Making
Ken Vandermark: Momentum 4—Consequent Duos 2015-2019
Poncho Sanchez: Trane’s Delight
Gang Starr: One of the Best Yet
The New Orleans Dance Hall Quartet: Tricentennial Hall Dance 17. October
Mario Pavone: Philosophy
Alcorn/McPhee/Vandermark: Invitation to a Dream
Joachim Kuhn: Melodic Ornette Coleman—Piano Works XIII
Chuck Cleaver: Send Aid
Rachid Taha: Je Suis Africain
Barrence Whitfield Soul Savage Arkestra: Songs from The Sun Ra Cosmos
The Sensational Barnes Brothers: Nobody’s Fault But Mine
GoldLink: Diaspora
Harriet Tubman: The Terror End of Beauty
Usted Saami: God is Not a Terrorist
Mantana Roberts: COIN COIN Chapter Four—Memphis
Various Artists: Travailler, C’est Trop Dur–The Lyrical Legacy of Caesar Vincent
black midi: Schlagenheim
Nots: 3
Guitar Wolf: Love & Jett
Robert Forster: Inferno
Aziza Brahim: Sahari
Jacob Wick & Phil Sudderberg: Combinatory Pleasures
Ingrid Laubrock & Aki Takase: Kasumi
LPX: Junk of the Heart (EP)
Helado Negro: This is How You Smile
Joe McPhee and Paal Nilssen-Love: Song for the Big Chief
G & D: Black Love & War
Boris: Love & Evol
Girl Band: The Talkies
Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys: 30 Years Live
Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons
Gilberto Gil: OK OK OK
JPEGMAFIA: All My Heroes Are Cornballs
Ras Kass: Soul on Ice 2
Flying Lotus: Flamagra
Hey! A “B” is a Decent Grade!:
Angel-Ho: Death Becomes Her
The Paranoid Style: A Goddamn Impossible Way of Life
Bobby Rush: Sitting On Top of the Blues
JD Allen: Barracoon
Big Thief: Two Hands
Kele Okereke: 2042
Various Artists: Queen & Slim—The Soundtrack
Tinariwen: Amadjar
Various Artists: Typical Girls Three
Leyla McCalla: Capitalist Blues
Tyshawn Sorey and Marilyn Crispell: The Adornment of Time
Tropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops
Santana: Africa Speaks
Judy and The Jerks: Music for Donuts
Tyler, The Creator: IGOR
Rodney Whitaker: All Too Soon—The Music of Duke Ellington
Sault: 5
Whit Dickey Tao Quartets: Peace Planet / Box of Light
The Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are On the Edge
Nick Dunston: Atlantic Extraction
Ibibio Sound Machine: Doko Mien
Warren Storm: Taking the World by Storm
Solange: When I Get Home
Freddie Douggie: Live on Juneteenth
Ranky Tanky: Good Time
Ahmad Jamal: Ballades
Dump Him: Dykes to Watch Out For
Branford Marsalis Quartet: The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul
Little Brother: May the Lord Watch
Blood Orange: Angel’s Pulse
Lost Bayou Ramblers: Rodents of Unusual Size (Soundtrack to the Motion Picture)
Doja Cat: Hot Pink
Kelsey Lu: Blood
Dopolarians: Garden Party
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: Miri
Hama: Houmeissa
Ill Considered: 5
Girls on Grass: Dirty Power
Stella Donnelly: Beware of the Dogs
Matthew Shipp Trio: Signature
Shovels & Rope: By Blood
Angel Bat Dawid: The Oracle
Spiral Stairs: We Wanna Be Hyp-No-Tized
Our Native Daughters: Songs of Our Native Daughters
Living To Listen 