I’m lagging a day behind, and that ain’t cool in the blogosphere, so I’ll cut the oddservational chase:

–Great, great, great month for free and improvised music if you can dig it. I know that you can, I know that I do. Yeah, that’s physical media down there (I picked up the ancient copy of Mofungo’s “End of the World” sealed for $4), with a tip of the hat to Burning Ambulance.

–Album everyone whose sick of this sh*t would enjoy hearing?  Guide your eyes and ears to Ms. Blanton’s offering below.

–I’ve been reading quite a bit of Irish lit over the last, what, six years and Kneecap’s album helped me maybe understand why.

–Rock (and maybe roll) Is Not Dead Department: Mod Lang, The Sleveens, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Golems of the Red Planet (yay, we’re hearing surf music again, Jimi).

–Helplessly devoted fan continues waving arms in your direction re: legendary Japanese supposedly psych-rock band (see if you can guess it—if you’ve been here before, you can) that anticipated The Pixies’ and Nirvana’s quiet-loud trick.

—[ahmed] is incredible.

SPOTLIGHT ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Mod Lang: Borrowed Time (Jaw) ****

New in May 

(click this for the Jan-Feb list; this for March’s list; this for the April list—I’m gonna hone it into one list eventually) 

No asterisk = good / *** = very good / **** = great / ***** = really great / Italics = an excavation

[ahmed]: Play Monk (Otoroku) *****

Ran Blake & Dominique Eade: Roots & Byways (Sunnyside) ****

Carsie Blanton & The Burning Hell: Everything is Great (self-released at $1!) ****

Boards of Canada: Inferno (Warp) 

Alan Braufman: Anthem for Peace (The Control Group / Valley of Search) ****

CHEER ACCIDENT: Live—CheerAx Basement, Chicago 4/2/22 // Reggie’s Chicago 9/26/23(Cuneiform) ***

Columbia Icefield: A Silence Opens (Out of Our Heads) *****

Charles Downs Quartet: inner (ESP-Disk) ***

Eddy Current Suppression Ring: In Light of Recent Events (Cool Death) *** 

Joel Futterman & William Parker: Transcendent Universe (Burning Ambulance) ****

Golems of the Red Planet: Surf “Masada”—The Compositions of John Zorn (self-released) ***

Wendell Harrison: Tribute to Pharoah Sanders (Org Music) ***

Itak Tek: Mind Abandon (Planet Mu) ****

Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, Macie Stewart: BODY SOUND (International Anthem) ***

JPEG Mafia: EXPERIMENTAL RAP (self-released) ***

KJADE: THE SOUND THAT TREES MAKE (self-released) ***

Kneecap: FENIAN (Heavenly) ****

LICE: Miami Lice—Season Four (Rhymesayers)

Ava Mendoza: Alive Alone, Alive Together (Burning Ambulance)

Namasenda: Limbo (YEAR 001) ***

Jeff Parker ETA IVtet: Happy Today (International Anthem) ****

The Phoenix Trio (featuring Mark Turner): Tomorrow is Today (Giant Step Arts) ***

Les Rallizes Dénudés: Disque 4—’76 Studio et Live (Temporal Drift) ****

The Sleeveens: National Anthem (Goner)

Tyshawn Sorey: Members…Don’t (Pi Recordings) *****

Stare Into the Night: the new abyss (self-released)

Various Artists: Kaiso Power—Sound Revolution in Trinidad 1970-1980 (Soundway) ***

Victor Vieira-Branco’s Bark Culture: The Giant is Awkward (temperphantom) ****

Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live, Volume 1 (Blue Note)

Vintage Albums I Deeply Enjoyed This Month

Carsie Blanton: The Red Album, Volumes 1 & 2

Clarence Carter: Snatchin’ It Back—The Atlantic Recordings

Johnny Coles: Little Johnny C

Dag Nasty: Field Day

The Gift of Gab: 4^th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up

Lightnin’ Hopkins: The Herald Recordings

Freddie Hubbard: Hub Cap

Sonny Rollins: This is What I Do

Jimmy Scott: Falling in Love is Wonderful

Woody Shaw Quartet: Live in Bremen 1983

John Tchicai and Cadentia Nova Dance: Afrodisiaca

Various Artists: Nigeria Special, Volumes 1 & 2

Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy: Live at Dreher

David S. Ware: Freedom Suite

Hey! I Read, Too—and So Should You!

Cynthia Connolly, Leslie Clague, Sharon Cheslow: Banned in D.C–Photos and Anecdotes from the D.C. Punk Underground

Lucy Ellmann: Ducks, Newburyport

Melvin Gibbs: How Black Music Took Over the World

Claire Hoffman: Sister, Sinner—The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson

Nancy Lemann: Lives of the Saints

Lisa Sandlin: In the River Province–Stories