You know, cranking out a monthly EP for an entire year is an absolutely tremendous achievement, one of the more impressive ones I’ve seen from an artist in years. I think it’s kind of a shame that they didn’t have a wider audience for them. It looks like 5-600 people subscribed, judging by how many people have them in their collections on Bandcamp. Maybe they’ll package stuff up and release them later.
[Read More]Curtis Mayfield was the leader of the Impressions, but when he went solo, he found another gear. This is the centerpiece of his first solo record, and it’s just incredible stuff. The urgency of the percussion, the punchy horns, just everything about this is a joy. This entire record is one of the greatest soul records ever made, and it along with Mayfield’s other early 70s records set a benchmark for other soul artists to try for.
[Read More]A companion piece to Noble Beast, Useless Creatures is an all-instrumental exploration which allows Bird to indulge his more exploratory impulses. As always, everything Bird does is interesting, but this is not one of his more loveable records.
Victoria Monét is primarily known for her work with Ariana Grande, which means I know zip about most of her music. I’m very out of touch! But I picked up this album (Jaguar) after it showed up on a bunch of year-end lists, and it’s very pleasant. I also enjoy the kind of electro-funk sounds on this track, I’ll take those any day.
[Read More]All I can think about for the intro to this song is that this is authentic third-wave gibberish.
Well, it’s happened again: I have no recollection of how this metal album ended up in my collection. As I re-started paying attention to metal, about nine or so years ago, I ended up with a few grab bags and bundles, and I didn’t always digest every album in them. I think this must have been included in one of them.
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