Staff Picks for December 2021
December 31, 2021
The Staten Islander turns in a poignant five-song EP full of ragged, soulful charm, deceptively loose performances, and honest songwriting.
December 29, 2021
It may not be deathless, but 1985's Big Lizard in My Backyard is that rarest of beasts: a collection of rock & roll silliness that outlives one playing. Never too heavy but deeper than expected, Big Lizard captures these disaffected class clowns getting it out of their system with energy.
December 28, 2021
Baby Keem has a lot of fun on this release, both with the upbeat, confident tone of the songs and with the experimentation with instruments on the album's tracks. DIE FOR MY BITCH is perfect for a night out.
December 27, 2021
An autumnal and deeply eccentric pop gem that produced some of the Egyptians' best songs of the 1980s. "One Long Pair of Eyes" and "Madonna of the Wasps" are Hitchcock classics.
December 26, 2021
Following their breakthrough debut, the quintet issued this sophomore set, which was much of the same. But as they incorporated more pop into the mix on subsequent releases, Angry Mob stands as one of the last times the Kaisers really rocked. In addition to "Ruby," the first half is all killer and no filler ("Heat Dies Down," "Highroyds," "Thank You Very Much").
December 25, 2021
Taking a massive departure from her previous indie-centered work, WILLOW explodes into the world of pop-punk on this album. lately I feel EVERYTHING reflects unapologetic, 20-something self-expression anyone angrily going through something can relate to.
December 24, 2021
This is the fourth Fresh Sound CD reissuing drummer Chico Hamilton's early ensembles to come out, and it is perhaps his most important grouping. The quintet played originals and standard covers that combined elements of Eastern and Western strains of mainstream and chamber jazz with instruments like flute, cello, and guitar. Hamilton created new music that some scratched their heads at, but most understood and enjoyed its softer tones and rounded edges.
December 23, 2021
From the opening guitar rev up of the title track, Kicking Giant's Tae Won Yu makes a declaration of unadulterated indie rock. Combined with the primal-stomp drumming of Rachel Carns (played standing up à la Maureen Tucker), Alien I.D. proves just how unnecessary a bass player can be when making hook-laden indie punk-pop.
December 22, 2021
As expected by the title, every song in All This Love references romantic love to the tune of sensual '80s R&B. DeBarge makes you question if love is really dead.
December 21, 2021
Those looking for a direct story of how Beanie earned three years in the clink will be somewhat disappointed, but these chunks of insight into the man's turmoil -- and the couple party tunes that go with them -- add up to one hell of an album. It feels tense, like all these songs were attacking Beans and he was trying his damnedest to let them all through. It's a hectic, exhaustive listen, and on first encounter, cluttered. It takes some getting used to since Beanie's lyrics are better and expectedly bleaker than ever.
December 20, 2021
Closing out her breakthrough 2010s, this third album is a peak in Tunstall's creativity, amplifying the beats, the polish, and the muscle. From blasts like "Come On, Get In" to "Push That Knot Away," she keeps the energy high, but it's quieter moments that offer the most satisfaction. The bittersweet "Difficulty" and ominous "Golden Frames" are highlights, but the gorgeous "Lost" is a standout in her entire catalog. A deluxe version arrived in October 2021.
December 19, 2021
One of the latter-day products of the New York anti-folk scene, Brenda Kahn's music was primarily acoustic singer/songwriter musings with a healthy dose of indie wordplay and punky energy. Kahn had the poor fortune to get swept up in the post-Nirvana alternative feeding frenzy with a subsequent unfortunate major label experience, but her sole major Columbia release, 1992's Epiphany in Brooklyn, is smart, witty, and more than edgy enough to merit rediscovery.
December 18, 2021
Lovers Rock encapsulates what it's like to be in love set to the soothing sounds of jazz-infused R&B with some flavors of political consciousness. Sade outdoes themselves in the creation of this laid-back and intimate album.
December 17, 2021
Dovetail retains the same lyrical quality of Coloma's first two albums but forgoes most of the duo's previous reliance on machines, utilizing over a dozen musicians. However, Rob Taylor and Alex Paulick's aptitude for using only what's necessary -- with masterful layering -- is another holdover from their earlier material. They make sophisticated, wholly European pop sound entirely modern, while existing well outside the mainstream frame of any territory. If you have a strong stomach when it comes to puns, you might call it cabaret debonair.
December 16, 2021
This latest release of the acclaimed J Cole further solidifies his status as a rap superpower. The Off-Season isn't meant for those looking for light-hearted fun, but there is much to gain from its raw lyricism.
December 15, 2021
As good as Todd Haynes' recent Velvet Underground documentary is, he loses a lot of interest in their story once John Cale leaves the band, and consequently glosses over their third album. While quieter and more accessible than its precursors, 1969's The Velvet Underground is as passionate, heartfelt, and emotionally daring as anything they ever recorded, and "The Murder Mystery" is a bold experiment that's smart and endlessly challenging.
December 14, 2021
As the last installment of the Saturation series, SATURATION III follows the same wild and explosive exploration as their previous work. This album is meant to be listened to at full volume.
December 13, 2021
Aside from being master MCs, the Beastie Boys have always been stellar instrumentalists and connoisseurs of culture. The band has always shown a knack for paying homage to their heroes and influences, but really shine musically on the handful of their instrumental LPs. The Mix-Up may not be as commercially successful as Ill Communication or Check Your Head, but you can really focus sonically on their full spectrum of the knowlege and appreciation of their influences.
December 12, 2021
Charles Mingus's brilliance as a bassist and composer is a given, but his skills as an arranger is one of the best reasons to listen to 1959's Mingus Ah Um. These selections capture Mingus's melodic sense beautifully -- adventurous and evocative, with a sense of joy on "Better Git It In Your Soul," sorrow on "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," and genial chaos on "Bird Calls" -- and the balance of the instrumental voices is dazzling. A triumph.
December 11, 2021
Expectations is Hayley Kiyoko's first album, and it follows through on promises made by her popular singles: angsty, sapphic, pop-y ballads.
December 10, 2021
One of the great conductors at the beginning of the stereo age, Charles Münch left a legacy of masterful recordings on RCA that are still prized by musicians and collectors. This seven-CD box set brings together several performances of late-Romantic orchestral repertoire at which Münch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra excelled.
December 9, 2021
The album that arrived just before The Microphones' 2001 masterpiece The Glow Pt. 2 found the project in a somewhat lighter and more playful headspace. Still built on studio experimentation and Phil Elverum's blurry songwriting, It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water doesn't have the cloak of mysticism and existential angst that would appear on much of Elverum's work that followed. Instead, we're treated to bright indie folk melodies, flowing waves of vocal harmonies, a reverent Eric's Trip cover and fun moments where Elverum borrows the melody from "Blue Moon." The Glow Pt. 2 would be The Microphones' grandest statement, but It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water is a lighter side of all the things that made this era of the project so special.
December 8, 2021
They didn't have a songwriter quite as good as Paul Westerberg, but for sheer rock action, sweaty passion, and beer-addled fun, the Pontiac Brother deserved a level of popularity commensurate with that of their friends and kindred spirits the Replacements. This two-fer release brings together their second and third albums (from 1985 and 1986), and it sums up their blend of hard rock swagger and regular-guy attitude pretty brilliantly. Dude Gnarly, you are missed.
December 7, 2021
An luminous collection of Nordic folk ambience inspired by the texts of Nobel Prize-winning Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer.
December 6, 2021
As the title would imply, My Love Is Your Love tackles various states of being in love set to smooth, emotion-tugging R&B. Whitney Houston outdid herself after taking 8 years from her previous album to release this one.
December 5, 2021
While less abrasive than her debut, Shygirl's second EP maintains the dark, provocative edge of her previous work. Sporting production by the late SOPHIE, Sega Bodega, Kai Whiston, Happa, and Karma Kid, the release includes club-friendly standout like the woozy "FREAK" and the hip-house flashback "TASTY."
December 4, 2021
The eponymous debut long-player from the nautical hard rock supergroup featuring members of Tool, Mastodon, and Dethklok, Legend of the Seagullmen is a narrative-driven blast of chum-filled sea spray that's as swashbuckling and entertaining as it is completely absurd.
December 3, 2021
Best known by the time of his death in 2004 and still today for his haunting theme to the film noir classic Laura (1944), this re-recorded collection of score material conducted by the Oscar-nominated composer himself features expressive performances by the New Philharmonic Orchestra. Originally released in 1975, it includes "Laura" as well as highlights from the historical adventure Forever Amber (1947) and film-industry melodrama The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
December 2, 2021
The third studio full-length from the Oxnard, California-based powerviolence/grindcore unit closely mirrors Nails' previous offerings, delivering forehead-melting blastbeats, whammy bar-induced audio grand mal seizures, and lyrics that target the sickly sweet spot between apoplectic and hopeless.
December 1, 2021
Every song on Pheobe Bridgers' debut album has a distinct storyline, but all of them either directly reference a person or the singer. Yet be warned for those curious about her storytelling, Stranger in the Alps is not a feel-good album with Bridgers' haunting voice and gut-wrenching lyrics. But sometimes we listen to music to have a beautiful time, not necessarily a happy time.