Staff Picks for January 2020
January 31, 2020
Before working with Ben Gibbard in the Postal Service, Jimmy Tamborello's dreamy, glitchy, skittering electronic persona Dntel reveals a series of embryonic atmospheric soundscapes on this debut album. A highlight is the dreamy "Anyone Anywhere" featuring a breathy vocal from Mia Doi Todd surrounded by chopped rhythms and an angelic bell melody.
January 30, 2020
Haste made it out of Alabama and onto the Century Media roster in the late 90s, blending elements of hardcore, then-contemporary metal, and melodic choruses in a way that seemed disparate at the time, but is now the calling card of numerous arena-filling metal bands. A personal favorite of Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe, who appears here as a guest vocalist. The band is reuniting in 2020 for a hometown appearance at Furnace Fest.
January 29, 2020
Yola's debut LP is steeped in Southern soul traditions, leaning heavily on the cross-cultural pollinations of the late '60s, where country, soul, pop, and rock intersected so thoroughly, there rarely seemed to be a boundary separating the styles. She's as likely to write a country song ("Walk Through Fire") as she is to testify with the passion of a gospel choir ("It Ain't Easier"), but much of her debut exists in a nuanced netherworld, where R&B tunes are given a pop treatment and vice versa.
January 28, 2020
Nina Persson of the Cardigans paired with Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous and Shudder to Think's Nathan Larson to create a cinematic and lush collection of songs under the name A Camp. Arguably less twee than most of the Cardigans' output, these recordings feel more sprawling and laid back, even hinting at elements of country pop with subtle pedal steel and harmonica.
January 27, 2020
In the late '50s and early '60s, there were few bigger stars in the world of music than Connie Francis. Able to sing many different styles convincingly, from rock & roll to country, from lush adult ballads to Italian love songs and girl group sounds, Francis had hits galore and created a very impressive body of work. This rounds up 50 of her singles recorded between 1957 and 1969 on two discs and becomes the best Francis collection for anyone who wants to get the full scope of her incredible talent.
January 26, 2020
Mortiis laid the foundation for the small but devoted dungeon synth scene with his solo debut. After his departure from Emperor, he steered away from the abrasive black metal aesthetic and adopted a troll (the folklore kind, not the Internet kind) persona, eschewing traditional rock instrumentation for the dark keyboard sounds that would become his trademark.
January 25, 2020
Visiting Sweden by way of deep in outer space, this prog-folk psychedelic debut from Dungen evokes bizarro '60s blacklight astral travels blended with a very organic and earthy foundation. The full-length album is only three sprawling tracks long, but each song has enough twists and turns to be mini-operas in and of themselves. Fans of both Os Mutantes' otherworldly pop and Pharoah Sanders' early '70s explorations will be rewarded.
January 24, 2020
More than a few albums from the first wave of UK punk lack the bite and sense of danger they had when they were first released, but the Clash's 1977 debut album is not one of them. If some of the issues at hand have changed, many have not, and the passion and ferocity of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones's vocals is still a standard by which great rock & roll can be judged.
January 23, 2020
The first full-length effort from the Los Angeles-based group led by multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Kenny Becker, Heaven Is Humming administers a healthy dose of '90s nostalgia via a confectionary blend of lo-fi post-punk, grunge, and Pavement-y indie rock. For fans of sinewy melodies that favor left turns but never abandon their melodic intent.
January 22, 2020
More like a collection of dystopian short stories set to music than mere songs, the English singer/songwriter's second album takes aim at the oppressive institutions and traditions that have contributed to a world so toxic that the only sane response is to feel a little crazy. As her songs navigate slippery synth pop and grungy catharsis, they fizz with ideas that prove Pixx is the right person to sing about what's wrong with the world.
January 21, 2020
Not straying far from Real Estate's Atlas issued a year prior, this solo debut from the band's frontman is a mellow, psychedelic pop-flavored excursion through jangly guitars and mellifluous reflection. Jarvis Taveniere produced the album, which brings a crisp sound to fat, melodic guitar tones evoking the Beatles and Big Star, pensive vocals, and the unshakably dreamy, nostalgic quality of the set.
January 20, 2020
Part of the crop of acts that hit the mainstream in the wake of NIN's breakthrough, this band issued a pair of genre favorites before veering in a wildly different direction for this 2001 LP. Without the industrial clang, screaming, and electro-aggression, they crafted one of the most heart-wrenching -- and underrated -- break-up albums of all time. Mostly mid-tempo and sometimes almost-acoustic, it's worth a listen for anyone who's ever been kicked to the curb.
![Killing Joke [2003]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0001366778/front/400/0xHKjPTsvwJbFk7SI6h6rYAf7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
January 19, 2020
While Killing Joke's discography has more than its fair share of awkward and overly ambitious albums, they've once again returned to the fury and focus of their classics. "Asteroid," "Blood on Your Hands," and "Loose Cannon" are all highlights with the band sounding as inspired as when they started, adding the advantage of years of interaction, and "You'll Never Get to Me" presents a brand new shimmering and yearning angle to the group.
January 18, 2020
This 1992 date between Detroit trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave and drummer/composer Lawrence Williams is a snapshot in time not only of the two principals, but of the Detroit jazz scene in general that was about to explode, with musicians either leaving town or making names for themselves that were big enough that they could call their own shots. Of the 11 compositions here, Williams wrote nine of them. The tone is elegant post-bop with modal shades thrown across an array of contemporary blues settings.
January 17, 2020
Alberta Hunter was 83 years old and had been retired from music for over twenty years when she cut this set of bluesy jazz (or jazzy blues) numbers that showed the wisdom of her age but with the spunk and fire of a woman a third her age. Cool, sly, and even sexy, Hunter was a great underappreciated talent in her youth, but she was undeniable in her 80s, and this was a career peak.
January 16, 2020
With tender ballads, chugging rockers, and introspective midtempo rambles, First Frost spins tales of heartbreak and poetic melancholy; it's the Lucksmiths at their finest.
January 15, 2020
Deeply immersed in electric blues, yet containing many of the musical notions that rendered Jeff Beck's wonderful turn-of-the-century output, this adventurous, esoteric set packs no less than half a dozen stone cold classics by the ex -Thin Lizzy guitarist, including the electrifying power ballad "Long Distance Loving," and an ear-opening arrangement of the Jimi Hendrix-penned title track.
January 14, 2020
One of the gems of Morr Music's astonishing early catalog, Jonas Munk's first album added acoustic instruments and warm, hopeful melodies to the sort of brittle, crunchy electronics which were considered cutting edge at the time. Sharp and fragmented yet delicate and undeniably human, it's like crawling around a beach during a sunset so perfect that you don't notice all the broken glass washed up on the shore.
January 13, 2020
The debut from Steven Stills' early '70s side project Manassas was well-received, but this follow-up album didn't find the same success. While it isn't as good as its predecessor, the sophomore release has some solid organic performances; "Isn't It About Time" is a solid opener, chugging along with a dual slide guitar chorus, and Chris Hillman's "Lies" could sit comfortably on a late-era Byrds album.
January 12, 2020
Miller's Mission of Burma had a weirder side, one that utilized tape loops and experimented with odd sound collages. Elemental Guitar makes much use of such loops and most of all his fractured guitar sound (and even some vocals, bass, and drums) to form a unique and challenging record that, for all its aggression, is also pleasant to the ear. Covers of Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced" and Eno & Cluster's "Broken Head" are particularly provocative, but all the material here is pretty stimulating.
January 11, 2020
Sam Phillips drifted even further into tightly-arranged, Beatlesque pop on her excellent 1994 outing with its razor-sharp songwriting and strong guest performances from notables like XTC's Colin Moulding, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, and guitarist Marc Ribot.
January 10, 2020
The Gibb brothers leave any traces of baroque pop left in their music behind on this soulful and sometimes funky batch of tracks produced by Arif Mardin and heavily influenced by Philly Soul.
January 9, 2020
By 2005, Houston crew Three 6 Mafia were already a strong influence in underground rap circles, with an in-house beat making style that would serve as the rudiments for the trap sound that took over pop music a decade later. On this, their eighth album, Three 6 is in top form, with their sharpest hooks accompanying a slightly screwed down productions style that was already iconic to those in the know.
January 8, 2020
After nearly fifty years of existence, Kronos Quartet has experimented with nearly every style of music imaginable, so their decision to interpret straightforward chamber pieces from (and inspired by) the musical styles of the Medieval Renaissance eras almost seems unexpected. The pieces themselves are stark, eerie and often maudlin, but all retain a slim sliver of hope and redemption at the edges.
January 7, 2020
In 1991, while on hiatus from the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, the trumpeter revisited his organ roots. He wisely matched the soulful, gospel influences of organist Amina Claudine Myers and the exhilarating tenor powerhouse James Carter with trombonist Steve Turre and drummers (fellow AEC members past and present) Famoudou Don Moye and Phillip Wilson, making for invigorating yet reverent sessions.
January 6, 2020
With sophisticated compositions and strident production, it’s hard to decide--at times--if is an accessible jazz this is a record by an accessible outfit or, a progressive rock band with super chops. Herein lies evidence for both arguments. The long title jam is a prog suite with funk and jazz fitting into a seamless whole, while “Damals and “Will of the Wisp” are ethereal yet straightforward jazz tunes.
![The Tree of Life [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0003346338/front/400/uSlqn4sUeZEl51ZCqnrhYoAf7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
January 5, 2020
Before he won Academy Awards for his scores for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water, this existential drama showcased the composer's musical agility as he navigated motifs by avant-garde composer György Ligeti and archetypal Romantic Hector Berlioz. Often meditative, the score follows the lead of director Terrence Malick, who advised Desplat that "music should be like a river flowing through the film."
January 4, 2020
Excellent double CD from Tony Thorpe's influential project which fused African rhythms and chants with acid house, experimental techno, and ambient music. Includes a remix by Andrew Weatherall's little-known Lords Of Afford project.
January 3, 2020
Before mysteriously disappearing from public life in 1971, Scotland's Shelagh McDonald delivered a pair of gorgeous folk-rock albums that stand among the best of that vibrant period in the U.K. Warm, intimate, and elegant, her 1970 debut illustrates the promise that her brief career offered.
January 2, 2020
Since most of these cuts are live on stage or in rehearsal, one can best see what the Avengers -- one of the two greatest U.S. punk bands that walked this earth in the late '70s -- had to offer in their natural habitat. No modern punk outfit can match this breakneck drive, this pulsing energy, and most of all this indomitable spirit of conviction. After all, this is the band that blew the Sex Pistols off the stage at their final gig.
January 1, 2020
Bert Kaempfert may have signed and lost the Beatles, but this collection is a reminder that he never lacked for hit records of his own, and had his own influence on popular culture around the world. The sound is excellent -- everything is crisp and clean, the trumpet sounds like it's about three feet from the listener -- and the annotation and discography information are also very thorough.