Album of the Week

2021 was a banner year for testing our ability to look ahead while finding pleasure amidst a storm. It should come as no surprise that artists reflect this push and pull in the music they share with us.

Joseph Kamaru, aka KMRU, collects sounds from his native Nairobi and environs, weaving them into sonic-scapes of pure delight.

Lump is Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay (Tunnig) and Animal is their second full-length, released on Partisan Records in June of this year.

I envision the entire world acting as one, once they hear Snail Mail’s new record, Valentine. Its that good.

When searching for words to describe the music Liz Harris makes as Grouper, I landed on spirit. Spirit music. This seemed the least restrictive while offering a broad choice of definitions to pick from, matching the music in its incorporeal flickering beauty.

On Geist, spirit in German, Shannon Lay has made an album that feels right, ripe, and timeless.

Ookii Gekkou is “Big Moon” in Japanese and also Vanishing Twin’s new record, released today on Fire Music.

Combine anticipation with expectation, and we can end up nearly incapable of experiencing anything new.

It’s like peeling back the layers of an onion to reveal a continent.

What the hell are they feeding musicians in Australia?

Lindsey Jordan’s debut LP Lush, released on Matador in 2018, ranks among my favorite records. The end.

Midwife is San Miguel, New Mexico-based multi-instrumentalist Madeline Johnston and Luminol is her new record, released on San Francisco’s The Frenser last month.

It doesn’t get much funkier than Jackie Mitto, the scorching hot Keyboard King. Think “Green Onions” by way of Jamaica with extra spice.

Sometimes anger is all that’s left.

Debris is actor/musician Keeley Forsyth’s debut album. Its roots having grown from a dark place, “There was a lot going on in my life that was heavy and hard,” with words and sounds reaching toward the light.