Staff Picks for February 2023
February 28, 2023
Third album from pop singer Lana Del Rey began to show signs of her coming out of the shadows somewhat, offering up less doomed and fatalistic readings of her melancholic songwriting in favor of sleepy, drifting ballads and bummers. While she never left behind the perpetually sad and haunted persona that was on full power in her earliest work, it begins mellowing on Honeymoon, creating a slow and careful mood that becomes almost ambient as the album plays on.
February 27, 2023
While not a textbook definition of Funk, these tunes still radiate a slow jam funkiness, with brassy horns, skittering drum fills, and Jimmy McGriff's signature organ humming along on the verses and Horace Ott's electric piano singing the choruses. Highlights include the Bernard Purdie drum clinic "The Bird Wave" and the closing stomper "Funky Junk."
February 26, 2023
In her first full length album, Haley Heynderickx introduces us to her eight beautifully unique indie-folk songs. Her voice, original and warm with a gentle quaver and immediacy, is backed beautifully by her deft fingerpicking and various ingenious instrumental accompaniments. The beautiful “The Bug Collector '' warmly embraces listeners with dreamy trombone while fairy chimes jingle discreetly, whispering of childhood memories. Some reassure, others provoke, but each of Heyndericks's eight songs establish their own mesmerizing sonic landscape, strengthened by rich, powerful melodies.
February 25, 2023
Before they penned major pop hits for Justin Beiber, Selena Gomez, and Imagine Dragons, Justin Tranter fronted the fabulously over-the-top New York glam-punk outfit Semi-Precious Weapons. The group's 2008 debut, We Love You, is still one of the filthiest, silliest and inspired garage rock albums of the early aughts, a kohl-eyed glitter bomb that's equal parts T-Rex, the Stooges and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
February 24, 2023
When your debut album is hailed as an instant classic, it begs the question of what to do for an encore, and Television's second album, 1978's Adventure, is often regarded as a pale shadow of their stunning debut, Marquee Moon. But give it a spin, and you'll discover it's full of brilliant guitar work, truly inspired ensemble playing, and brilliant songs like "Days," "Carried Away," and "Ain't That Nothing." Rest in peace, Tom Verlaine.
February 23, 2023
Breaking slowly like a spring morning, Bibio's 2019 album highlights cleanly echoing guitar and incorporates playful electronics and woodwinds underneath Stephen Wilkinson's unassuming vocals. The music itself may feel initially slight, but further examination reveals layers of instrumentation and found sounds intertwined throughout.
February 22, 2023
The group's second album was more sophisticated than its predecessor in songwriting and performance. Steppenwolf embraced everything from hard rock to psychedelia to blues, in excellent form.. Album opener "Faster Than the Speed of Life” is suitably crunchy, as are "Don't Step on the Grass, Sam," and the pounding "28." Side two opens with "Magic Carpet Ride," the ultimate psychedelic dance number, followed by an array of hard-rocking numbers including "Disappointment Number (Unknown)," "Lost and Found by Trial and Error," "Hodge Podge, Strained Through a Leslie," and "Resurrection.”
February 21, 2023
For all the things that former Jonas Brother and Disney kid Joe Jonas could have done after the breakup of his teen-centric sibling band in 2013, forming a flamboyant dance-rock and disco-ready band like DNCE was clearly one of the more unexpected, inspired, and welcome choices. Rather than just another vehicle for Jonas to package his crisp, soulful vocals and good looks (though, make no mistake, showcasing Jonas is the main directive here), DNCE feels like an organic ensemble of like-minded weirdos.
February 20, 2023
Unknown to all but the most ardent Cars fans, Ric Ocasek's solo debut carries over much of his band's trademark stark and driving sound but breaks the songs down to bare elements. Synths and drum machines pulse under Ocasek's established herky-jerky vocal delivery and ultra-wry sneer, and while the compositions aren't as catchy or orchestrated as his work with the Cars, fans of the sound will find things to latch onto.
February 19, 2023
One of the key qualities of Dayton lofi rock legends Guided by Voices is their prolific output. From the start, they'd release new material so quickly that their self-editing process seemed almost non-existent. As a result, records were spotty and the ratio of duds to gems was usually pretty balanced. This 2003 greatest hits collection solves that problem with 32 of the band's best, catchiest, and most perfectly realized compact pop songs up until that point. It's a nearly flawless picture of what made the band so magical, with none of the filler that could bog their albums down.
February 18, 2023
Billie Eilish’s Grammy-sweeping sophomore album depicts her unique entrance into adulthood. Her trademark vocals are as angelically breathy as ever, but carry the weight of her soul bearing and deeply personal lyrics. Complex and captivating instrumentals lay a different sonic landscape with every song as she explores different genres and styles.
February 17, 2023
While her biggest claim to fame at the time was having played piano on her brother-in-law Pete Townshend's single "Slit Skirts," the composer/songwriter's solo debut is a magical piece of instrumental pop. Featuring little besides piano and some subtle woodwinds, it's a lovely 35-minute meditation built around field recordings of the ambient sounds of the rural English countryside. Far from insubstantial, these nine songs are melodically rich and varied -- mood pieces in the truest sense of the term.
February 16, 2023
While this album feels like a greatest hits album, incredibly Having a Good Time is Huey "Piano" Smith's debut. His songs "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" and "Don't You Just Know It" became rock & roll standards but the entire record is chock full of rollicking New Orleans R&B, perfect for rolling up the rug and throwing your furniture out on the lawn.
February 15, 2023
A release originally only sold at shows and on his website, 2007's Official Bootleg USA '06, documents most of a performance at the Greek Theater. Joining were keyboardist Jason Rebello, bassist Pino Palladino, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, plus a string section on the chilling “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” This set features much looser, but no less incendiary playing from the guitarist -- check "Blue Wind" and "Led Boots," ‘Scatterbrain,” and the cover of Billy Cobham's "Stratus.”
February 14, 2023
Celebrated for his trumpet skills, Chet Baker's secondary superpower was his breathy behind-the-beat singing voice, in sly form on this romantic release. The whole album carries a sultry sway but the vocal numbers croon and swoon with a casual pulse, perfect for a quiet evening.
February 13, 2023
A soft rock masterpiece rooted in U.K. folk, Stewart's signature set pairs lush, detailed production with the eccentric poetic sense that came to define his mid-'70s style.
February 12, 2023
J. Dilla's production undeniably shaped hip hop, but the totality of his range is often overlooked. Dillatronic highlights the Detroit producer's experiments with synthesizers, electro samples, and beats that fuse his wobbly rhythmic sensibilities with minimalistic electronic textures. The 41 sketches fly by as Dilla covers a lot of stylistic ground, in a manner as innovative and curious as all of his work.
February 11, 2023
In North America, Dexy's Midnight Runners were one-hit-wonders, defined by the Celtic folk rock of "Come On Eileen." In the U.K., folks first got to know them as an impassioned retro-soul band, with a tough-as-nails sound enlivened by their sweet-and-sour horn section and Kevin Rowland's singularly eccentric, heartfelt vocals and lyrical vision. 1980's Searching For The Young Soul Rebels was their debut and a powerful introduction to Rowland's musical worldview.
February 10, 2023
Laura Marling's second album evokes the feel of side 2 of Led Zeppelin III or if Nick Drake did a summer internship with Joni Mitchell. The production is lush while the lyrics are folky and acerbic, giving a mist-soaked and peat-mossy impression. Stark, beautiful and haunting.
February 9, 2023
RCA tested the waters by filling John Denver's 1969 debut with reliable covers like "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "The Love of the Common People." However, the four Denver originals, most notably "Leaving On A Jet Plane," captured the ears and hearts of what would eventually become an enormous fan base.
February 8, 2023
Even an average Neko Case album is still of a higher caliber than almost every other album by her contemporaries. Lush, menacing and enveloping, "Magpie to the Morning" is an incredible 3 minutes of music, plus she covers a Harry Nilsson tune which hits right in the heartstrings.
February 7, 2023
Echoing tones from the well-known Timeless recording, Abercrombie is back in the organ-drums-guitar saddle. This time around, though, the sound is much more underground/labyrinth-like. His guitar molds and shapes these compositions, sometimes steely or snarly, at others passive and meditative. Dan Wall's intense organ stirs the drink, his orchestral, expansive approach evoking definite memories of Larry Young, while drummer Adam Nussabaum proves his extraordinary listening capacity while playing off his colleagues. The result is a stunning fusion of electrified in-your-head jazz, rooted on terra firma, gazing to the stars, and it won't let go.
February 6, 2023
Power pop from J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), a couple guys from Cobra Verde, Mark Lanegan, as well as Guided by Voices leader Robert Pollard and Rachel Haden of that dog. You could slip most of these songs into a Cheap Trick or Badfinger collection and nobody would get mad at you.
February 5, 2023
A winning mixture of funky backbeats, jazz dissonance, and twisting and turning rock & roll. Joe Baiza spends more time than usual singing on this record, and that's not always a good thing -- his vocal range is limited as is his expressiveness -- but his quirky, understated guitar playing shows the influences of Blood Ulmer, Sonny Sharrock, and Jimmy Nolen, and is what makes up for his enthusiastic but limited singing. Tracks like "Tight Heat," "Uh Huh," and "Small World" are little gems that bob and weave around grooves so tight you couldn't pry them apart with a crowbar.
February 4, 2023
A Wilco fan's dream, the b-sides and throwaway tracks on this collection are better than 99% of the songs that ends up on modern alternative radio. Just being able to hear alternate mixes from the Summerteeth era makes the listen worthwhile, and the liner notes are entertaining to the point where the listener can just sit and read them like a book.
February 3, 2023
Sonia Abel and Claudette Brown were cousins originally from Brixton, England, but had relocated to New York when they made this album in Lloyd "Bullwackie" Barnes' Bronx studio in 1981. The material is impressive: almost all of the songs, which alternate between lovers rock and cultural roots, are original compositions, and Abel and Brown harmonize nicely, creating a sound that is more than the sum of its parts.
February 2, 2023
Indie smarts like Metric or Band of Horses, hints of '80s smart pop (almost reminiscent of Men at Work or Talk Talk), anthemic fist-pumping choruses and sonic noodliness ("Kid-A"-era Radiohead)...something for everyone.
February 1, 2023
One of the best albums in the band's late era catalog, this emotionally-dense farewell to late saxman LeRoi Moore is fiery, visceral, and utterly enveloping in its passion. After a decade focused on radio hits, the band let loose and rekindled their early magic, honoring Moore with their most engaging output since Crash. Aside from the typically-funky high points, check out the mournful "Lying in the Hands of God" and the show-stopping "Time Bomb."