Record Roundup: Autumn Flood, Pt. 3

Like I said, it's been a busy fall so far. And with the "best of" lists right around the corner, this will have to be the last installment! Catch up with Part 1 and Part 2 and press play on the updated playlist here or below.

Matt Evans - Soft Science Percussionist, programmer, producer, and composer Evans continues to build on his remarkable discography with this third solo album. In fact, after the fizzy electronica of New Topographics and the complex and emotional soundscapes of Touchless, this may be the most well-rounded of the three. You get the full flavor of his polyrhythmic approach to the drum kit along with his marvelously distinctive and expressive curation of electronic sound, all woven together in a seamless and consistently compelling series of pieces. A perfect example is the opening cut, Saprotrophia, which incepts with a breathy synth before Evans unleashes a busy drum pattern that becomes like the verse of a wordless song and has me hanging on every note. A more abstract chorus (or is it the bridge?) provides respite before the drums kick back in, leaving me breathless. As he puts it, the albums is "mostly-not-chill" although some songs are more groove-oriented. And the finale, Alocasia, is fully chill, with droning synths and hand-percussion providing an underpinning for the gorgeous sax of David Lackner (check out YAI if you want more of him), leaving us in the perfect state to reflect on the marvels we just heard. 

Charlotte Dos Santos - Morfo While we were treated to a five-song EP in 2020, it's been a bit of wait since Dos Santos' delicious debut, Cleo, came out in 2017. If anything, her music has grown even more exquisite and expansive since then, morphing (hence the title?) ever closer to jazz, but never committing fully to any genre. Her voice remains a limber and delicate wonder that she employs with greater confidence than ever. Filha Do Sol is but one standout that shows off everything she can do, with a sinuous opening section that transits through a flute solo as it slow builds towards an abrupt shift into a Brazilian parade rhythm that has Dos Santos' declaiming in Portuguese with a sense of triumphant homecoming. Just one stunning musical vision out of the baker's dozen that make up this remarkable album.

Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork After several EPs and singles and a smashing debut, I suppose I should stop being surprised by Dry Cleaning's ability to find new avenues of invention while staying within the basic idea that Florence Shaw speak-sings evocative, fractured lyrics while guitarist Tom Dowse, bassist Lewis Maynard, and drummer Nick Buxton cook up colorful, post-punk informed surroundings for her musings. But here are 11 new songs that do just that, with Dowse and Maynard adding new colors to their palettes, like the chorused, arpeggiated guitar on Kwenchy Kups, or the funky, churning bass on Hot Penny Day. The instrumentation has also expanded, with keyboards and woodwinds making appearances. Shaw herself pushes into new territory, with an almost gentle (and charmingly off-key) croon on some songs, like Gary Ashby. Her lyrics also continue to confound and enchant in equal measure, as in the internal monologue/dialogue that forms the chorus of Kwenchy Kups: "Well, things are shit, but they're gonna be okay/And I'm gonna see the otters/There aren't any otters/There are/Well, we can check/And I'm gonna see the water caterpillar/There's no such thing, hmm?/Nice idea." And then there's Conservative Hell, which puts all their despair into the way Shaw phrases the chorus before ending with the bruised optimism of "I wanted to thank you for organizing the Edinburgh trip/Which apart from what happened to my Kindle, was amazing!/No one ever believed in me until your semi-circle eyes." It's details like that Kindle that elevate Shaw's work to that of literature. Gimme more.

Warhaus - Ha Ha Heartbreak With this third album, Maarten Devoldere's solo discography has now taken shape as a trilogy. The first, 2016's titanic We Fucked A Flame Into Being depicted a bad boy reveling in success and all its various infatuations. The self-titled sophomore album from 2017 was warmer, finding our man in love, if not in a completely uncomplicated way. Hopefully the five years since were happy ones. But we knew it couldn't last, hence this breakup song cycle that uses some of the sound world of Philly Soul and disco to limn Devoldere's sorrows. Amid the sweeping strings and funky percussion are the typically dramatic hallmarks of the Warhaus sound, horn blasts, scratchy guitars, and of course, Devoldere's husky burr, which imparts such wisdom as "'Cause someone should have left me like you did/Just someone, someone else instead/But it had to be you" with a casualness that's almost conversational. Even in a melancholy state, Devoldere can't help being darkly entertaining, as in Desire when he sings "There’s the god for your inner peace/The god of lust has him on a leash/The one who tripped and then fell from grace/And the one who’s renting out the place." Whatever the state of Devoldere's love life, he can rest assured that his place in the musical firmament of our time is ever more assured with this latest flash of brilliance.

Arctic Monkeys - The Car After the left turn of Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino in 2018, which saw Alex Turner and company leave the jagged post-punk and groovy hard rock of their previous albums for (as I wrote) "spacious arrangements of burbling bass, chamber-pop keyboards and witty drums," the sky really was the limit for the band. And while some question whether that album and this one are really Turner solo projects, the fact remains that when he needs to finalize his ideas, he turns to the same guys he's been working with all along. He also needs them to take it on the road, which they do quite successfully as the recent live film from Brooklyn's King's Theater made plain. But even there, Turner proved himself scarily talented and dominant, often driving the band with his guitar - tart, dense, funky, or soaring, as the songs require - and holding the spotlight with his charisma and conviction. If Tranquility Base presented the Arctics as essentially a new band, then they show no sign of sophomore slump on The Car. Adding elements of R&B and funk warm up the feel of the album and the songs are again cinematic, with a way of worming their way into your heart and mind over time. The album's themes can be summed up in I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am, which finds Turner (or his protagonist) feeling out of place amidst hollow displays of luxury and false camaraderie: "It's the intermission/Let's shake a few hands/Blank expressions invite me to suspect/I ain't quite where I think I am/Stackable party guests/To fill the awkward silencеs." That "stackable party guests" line is just one of many, many examples of how Turner's brilliant lyricism continues to be a hallmark of the band, as the driving beat, sharp wah wah guitar, and massed choral vocals show them pushing into new territory to match the mood. For any fans who deserted the Arctic Monkeys when Tranquility Base came out, it is truly their loss as they just keep getting better and better. And, to the new fans (like my wife!), I say welcome to the wonderful world of Alex Turner.

Dazy - OUTOFBODY Their early singles were exciting enough to get me to Indieplaza early to catch the New York debut of this Richmond, VA noise pop band. Their set was a delightful blast of tune-laden distortion and they've totally delivered on that promise with this 12-song, 25-minute debut. All the songs are catchy and some, like On My Way and Rollercoaster Ride, are EXTREMELYCATCHY. Get to this STAT so you, too, can say you were up on Dazy early. 

The Stargazer Lilies - Cosmic Tidal Wave On their self-produced fifth album, these psychedelic shoegazers seem to have internalized whatever they learned from working with Tobacco (of Black Moth Super Rainbow) on Occabot (read it backwards), further expanding their sound without losing the focus on melody. John Cep's guitar playing has grown even more adventurous, with soaring lines dramatically emerging from the haze. He's also upped his keyboard game, with ever-groovier synth/guitar interactions. Kim Field's vocals are still evocative, almost shamanic, as she sings into the storm of sound, driven on by the majestic drums of Carissa Giard. In short, this is one heckuva band and they deserve wider uptake among discerning listeners - and isn't that you?

Pale Dian - Feral Birth Six years on from their debut, Narrow Birth, this Austin-based "nightmare pop" band - mostly the project of Ruth Smith - has left behind most of what made that one sound a bit over-familiar, if still powerful. The addition of space, elegance, and a dynamic range that has some songs delivering hammer blows like an epic soundtrack, is evidence of newfound confidence as they cut loose from their influences. MeLt, for example, is an excursion into post-punk atmospherics with touches of glossy reggae - all very unexpected from them, but still seeming inevitable. A song like True Love even shows a pop sensibility that will find first-time listeners quickly converted into fans. If this is an "auditory emotional sample for futures to come," as Smith describes it, I say bring it on.

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Of Note In 2020: HIp Hop, RnB, and Reggae

As is typical for these genres, the main Of Note playlist is dominated by singles, many of which I hope bear LP-sized fruit later in the year, like those from Isaiah Rashad and (especially) Frank Ocean. For now, I want to draw your attention to an EP and two albums that have really grabbed me. Tracks can be found in the 40 For 2020 playlist, alongside those from recent posts on Classical and Electronic releases.



Charlotte Dos Santos - Harvest Time Where her divine 2017 album Cleo showcased her limber, multi-octave voice in a variety of styles, including jazz, cha-cha, and electronic R&B, the five songs here solidify what might be called the "Dos Santos" style, where all those genres melt together in one dreamy melange. Part of her skill set is also conceiving of complex vocal arrangements, which she then executes through flawless multi-tracking. There's an insular, self-sufficient feeling to Dos Santos's music, only making it seem more of a privilege to be invited into her world.

Pop Smoke - Meet The Woo 2 (Deluxe) Even knowing this once-emerging rapper is dead, killed in a home invasion in February, doesn't make it any less convincing when he says, "I said, I feel invincible" on the opening cut to his second mixtape. That's a tribute to his gravitas, which must be the mark of an old soul as he was only 20 when he died. According to several writers at Complex, he's also still the King Of New York, which is a credit to his talent and a commentary on the state of hip hop in its foundational city. But he's not wearing a crown by default. Working within the confines of Brooklyn Drill, which is what came of trap when it pinged to London and then ponged to Chicago before rolling into BK, he brings an immediately arresting authority to his flow, even when he spitting some filthy bars. But it's that weight and menace that makes you hang on every syllable, along with the way he weaves his word through the spacious beats. Apparently there's an official debut album in the can. Until we hear that, Meet The Woo 2 will serve as both a legacy of what he accomplished and a promise of how much more he had to offer.

Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony As you may or may not know (and probably care even less) I don't think much of Jay Z, although when he's on a Kanye West record (or collaborating as on Watch The Throne) he brings the heat. So the fact that he's on eight of ten tracks here and I still love it is as much as I do is a tribute to how awesome this album is. Jay Electronica is a font of creativity, whether sampling Fripp & Eno on Ezekiel's Wheel, one of six songs he produced, or rhyming with polished density as on the first verse of The Neverending Story: "Have you ever heard the tale of/The noblest of gentlemen who rose up from squalor?/Tall, dark, and decked out in customary regalia/Smellin' like paraphernalia/Hailin' from the home of Mahalia." Islam is woven throughout but it doesn't rub this atheist the wrong way, just adding an air of mystique and depth. Hopefully we don't have to wait 10 years for his next album, but A Written Testimony will likely have significant staying power.

Dig in to everything I'm tracking in these genres with the Of Note In 2020 (Hip Hop, R&B, and Reggae) playlist - and let me know what I'm missing.



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Record Roundup: Siren Songs

Perhaps some of the impetus behind NPR's Turning The Tables or this recent feature in the New York Times is because this has been a banner year for albums either made by or heavily featuring women. I've already mentioned Nordic Affect, The Courtneys, Goldfrapp, Noveller, Novella, Elsa Hewitt, and Nadia Reid in my Best Of 2017 (So Far) - that's almost half the list! Crumb, led by Lila Remini, recently released Locket, an EP of their distinctive, accomplished songs, EMA's Exile On The Outer Ring is a powerful return to form, and Not Dark Yet by Shelby Lynne and Alison Moorer features the sisters singing a powerful collection of covers and one new song they wrote together. I've also been enjoying records by This Is The Kit, Caroline Says, Julie Byrne, Jen Cloher, Sudan Archives, Wild Ponies, Jane Weaver, Diet Cig, Juana Molina, Hollie Cook, and others. Whew.

Here are four more albums made by women in 2017 that I think are worthy of special attention.

Charlotte Dos Santos - Cleo A high point of Sofie's SOS Tape was Dos Santos's Watching You, a seductive and spare groove that seems to redefine the term "sweet nothings." This is especially true when Dos Santos harmonizes with herself, a truly heavenly sound. Now we have a debut album which, while it doesn't always reach those sublime heights, provides a further roadmap to the talents of this unique singer, songwriter and producer.

Her instrument is a high soprano which she employs with remarkable flexibility and control. She could easily pursue straight jazz but seems to naturally gravitate toward an elegant R&B modernism, with a touch of hip hop soul. Even knowing that going in, the opening track, a sweet take on the 700 year old song Sumer Is A Cumen In, was a delightful surprise, signaling an artist unbound by convention. The whole album is a languid experience, perfect for hot nights and cold cocktails. It's a digital vacation, drifting by with a delicious lack of friction. That said, my ears do perk up more during Red Clay, which has the feel of a new standard, and the closing track, It's Over Bobby, an almost stately cha cha. I could feel sorry for Bobby - but what a way to go.

Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee Atkins's last album, Slow Phaser (my #10 album of 2014), was a masterpiece of Bowie-esque pop, with clever lyrics and more hooks than a strip of Velcro. Her latest draws more on classic sounds of the 50s, 60s and 70s - think Peggy Lee, Patsy Cline, Dusty Springfield, Elvis, maybe even a little Linda Ronstadt - without being slavish. It's a magnificent showcase for her voice, which can be Broadway big, soul music raw, country smoke, or pure pop. There's even a little disco-era glamour on Sleepwalking. Behind the chameleon is a warm but slightly hard-bitten character who has seen it and done it all and is now here to spread the wisdom.

Goodnight Rhonda Lee wouldn't be so entirely winning if the songs weren't so damned solid. On this front she's enlisted some expert assistance, co-writing every song with the right kind of pros, like Chris "Wicked Game" Isaak, Louise "songwriting royalty " Goffin, and Jim "Lydia Lunch to Nick Cave" Sclavunos, and others, all of whom know their way around classicism. Everything is top notch, from the recording and production by Niles City Sound (founded by former members of White Denim, who are also part of the crack session squad), all the way down to the sequencing of the album. I still get chills when opening track A Little Crazy U-turns into Darkness Falls So Quiet, with its Memphis strings and NYC attitude. Another thing Atkins has going for her is restraint. Even when she's belting it out, she's always in control, holding back just a little. You don't have to be shy, though - play it loud and often. 

Note: Nicole Atkins is on the road, including a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 7th - perhaps I will see you there.

Jenny O - Peace & Information Like Nicole Atkins, Jenny crowdfunded this album and (full disclosure) I contributed to both. While it's always a bit of a risk buying something unheard, her debut, as well as the solo performance that introduced her to me, was so impressive that I had no worries about a sophomore slump. And when I saw she was working with Father John Misty-whisperer Jonathan Wilson as producer again, I was even more comfortable with my little investment in her talent.

Unlike the Atkins album, however, Peace & Information is more of an incremental move on Jenny's part, rather than entree into a new sound world. That means we get more of the same wonderful Beatle-esque rock with relatable lyrics and hooky instrumental flourishes that we got on 2012's Automechanic. The songs are just as good, even slightly more original and she's singing better than ever, so if you want to call it a formula, be my guest. She does ramp up the drama a bit, especially on grungy opener Case Study and Seashells, with its spine-tingling strings, and ventures into new territory on If You're Lonely, with its beguiling nod to Bossa Nova giving a breezy twist to the sadness in the lyrics. But there are few singer-songwriters currently at her level so if she wants to stay in her area of strength, I'm good with that.

One of the things that makes her unique (besides her individualistic voice) is the sense she gives of being a person in the world, which can give some of the songs the immediacy of a status update. People opens with this couplet: "It was a bad day on the street, oh/They had a barricade for the angry" - we all know what that's about - and High Regard harkens back to many of the recommendations for self-care that fill my newsfeed:

"In the line of sympathy reserved for anyone
With the eyes I lay upon a stranger
With the same acceptance
And the high regard
With the curiosity
And the light that another brings
With the light that the other brings
As I do for them
I will do for me."

That sense of resilience and the possibility for not only survival but growth, even in times that strain your heart and your political sensibilities is a subtext that adds steel to the spine of Peace & Information. Sing along and draw on that strength in your own life.

Note: Jenny O. is also on tour and I hope to catch her at the Mercury Lounge on November 18th.

Chloe X Halle - The Two Of Us We live in an odd time, where kids playing covers (or even lip-synching!) in their bedrooms can garner more YouTube hits than the three artists above - combined. But that's also how these singing sisters were discovered, by Beyoncé no less, launching a career that started with an excellent debut EP, Sugar Symphony, in 2016. Now comes The Two Of Us, which they insist is neither an album nor a mixtape (what would you call 16 songs in 25 minutes?), but which is an excellent showcase of their versatile talents nonetheless.

The opening track, Used To Love, dazzles with an intricate vocal arrangement accompanied only by handclaps, a jazzy take on doo wop informed by modern R&B and hip hop. Poppy Flower is a narcotized seduction ("I can be your poppy flower/make you fall in a coma after hours") with a sly Carlton Barrett drum fill that shades it into reggae territory. There's a very satisfying bluesy edge to a couple of tracks, so often lacking in R&B - check out Chase for an example.

Reading around the web, I get the idea that Beyoncé fans are waiting for something bigger from these teenagers. I hope they maintain their delicate but intense minimalism, poetic lyrics, and vocal restraint, without falling into radio-ready convention. Whatever happens, The Two Of Us will always be one the delights of the year.

How many of the records mentioned here are on your radar? Are you as overwhelmed with great new music as I am?

Songs from all of the albums mentioned above - and more - are included in this Spotify playlist. I'll keep adding to it, too!

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