Staff Picks for January 2024
January 31, 2024
1982 debut full-length from one of the most intensified bands of the Paisley Underground movement is a swim of noisy garage-infused psych rock with just enough jangle to soften the impact. Explosive and catchy in equal measures, this is a classic from the unmapped era that eventually informed college rock, alternative rock, and indie on the whole.
January 30, 2024
Following up their surprise 2015 hit "Habib Galbi," the Israeli sisters' sophomore set was a rhythmic wonder of empowered global pop with nods to the past and eyes firmly on the horizon.
January 29, 2024
U.K. duo Messiah created an aggressive form of hardcore techno which seemed to envision a riot as being the same thing as a rave. They scored a few U.K. chart hits, including the classic "Temple of Dreams", before finally releasing an album, which appeared on American Recordings in 1994, during the brief window when Rick Rubin attempted to help break rave culture stateside. The album still goes unbelievably hard, and surprisingly holds up better than stadium house duo Utah Saints' debut.
January 28, 2024
Part of the crop of Joy Division-indebted aughts bands like Interpol and Editors, White Lies' sophomore set built upon their (also) highly-recommended debut. But the reason we're here is for the mid-album cut "Holy Ghost," which'll send you to the heavens. While everything else on this LP is absolutely worth a listen, that irresistible groove, ominous vibe, and post-punk cool will have you ascending.
January 27, 2024
The drastic departure of this dreamy, psychedelic sophomore album from the band’s previous pop-punk work demonstrates the range and creativity of early Panic! at the Disco. I love Ryan Ross’s poetic and sometimes nonsensical lyrics, especially in "Behind the Sea," which sounds straight out of a scene from Alice in Wonderland.
January 26, 2024
Legendary vibist Bobby Hutcherson delivers an attractive collection on this, his first recording for the Verve label, released 25 years ago today. Accompanied by an all-star lineup, it's Hutcherson himself who raises Skyline to a level above the average straight-ahead jazz jam, but he is obviously inspired by his young bandmates. Alto saxman Kenny Garrett is especially impressive here.
January 25, 2024
A punk rock concept album about the frustrations of navigating Australia's mental health care system sounds like one of the worst ideas ever on paper. Thankfully, Jenny McKechnie did it anyway, and All Her Plans, the third studio album from her band Cable Ties, is a furious, deeply personal, and greatly satisfying song cycle where she makes her pain deeply felt and powerfully relatable for us all.
January 24, 2024
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, A Tábua de Esmeralda (together with Jorge Ben's 1976 album África Brasil) could be said to represent the creative culmination of his astonishing '70s. The music that Ben recorded during this period had tremendous influence on Brazilian musicians at that time and to a great extent helped to ignite the creative explosion that took place in the Brazilian samba rock and samba soul scenes during the '70s.
January 23, 2024
Though Heavy Heart was supposedly the "mellow, sensual" album Carla Bley had in mind, Night-Glo is more like it -- a relaxed, easygoing, easy-listening series of compositions that nearly spills over into fuzak. Writing for a basic sextet with an added five-man horn section, most effectively when one color melts gently into another, Bley permits the lazy pina-colada mood to amble undisturbed from track to track.
January 22, 2024
Gentle acoustic guitars and atmospheric instrumentation (including xylophones, pianos, and breathy electric guitar lines) support her multi-tracked vocals unobtrusively, allowing her gentle melismata to roll around the words, keeping her message free from misinterpretation. Not groundbreaking or necessarily poetic, the pure naked force of her honesty shines through like a child's first question or a lover's drifting sleep talk.
January 21, 2024
New Constellations: Live in Vienna, which features the vibrant ensemble of old and new friends called the Constellations, brings the half-Jamaican musician closer to home, exploring the intensely rhythmic legacy of one of his heroes, trombonist Don Drummond, who is credited as one of the founding fathers of ska. Roseman creates fresh interpretations of two of the legend's actual compositions: the hard-driving and booming hypno-funky "Thoroughfare" and the throbbing, thumping club-friendly "Confucious," which features as much crazy honking sax as 'bone. Most of the disc finds Roseman creating his own heavy-groove jazz-meets-house-meets-ska and industrial-funk compositions in Drummond's image.
January 20, 2024
Gram Parsons fondness for drugs and high living are said to have been catching up with him while he was recording Grievous Angel (released 50 years ago this month), and sadly he wouldn't live long enough to see it reach record stores, dying from a drug overdose in the fall of 1973. This album is a less ambitious and unified set than his solo debut, but that's to say that G.P. was a great album while Grievous Angel was instead a very, very good one.
January 19, 2024
Dakota Suite's Signal Hill is another lo-fi sleeper from San Francisco indie label Badman Recording Company. While the band is from West Yorkshire, England, songwriter Chris Hooson exudes an almost Midwestern feel not unlike that of Josh Rouse or the Red House Painters -- simple, sparse instrumentation and whispered, intimate vocals tell stories of absent lovers and grey evenings.
January 18, 2024
The project's 16th studio album finds Kevin Barnes continuing to explore the club-friendly dance-rock and electro-pop inspirations of his two prior albums while narrowing in on catchier, singles-minded fare. A set that doesn't break for ballads, it was inspired by having settled into a steady relationship following divorce. His partner, Christina Schneider (aka Locate S,1), is the only other person to appear here, lending backing vocals to an album recorded in their home studio. Its consistently infectious rhythms, smart lyrics, and effervescent chorus hooks make it more than a mere amusement.
January 17, 2024
Released 50 years ago today, Joni Mitchell reached her commercial high point with Court and Spark, a remarkably deft fusion of folk, pop, and jazz which stands as her best-selling work to date. While as unified and insightful as Blue, the album -- a concept record exploring the roles of honesty and trust in relationships, romantic and otherwise -- moves away from confessional songwriting into evocative character studies.
January 16, 2024
Building on the strength of the first volume and earlier successes, this 1961 release has been heavily sourced by compilations. Which makes sense: it captures his signature style and sound as well as including some experimentation (whistling) and an even mix of Latin and non-Latin standards. Song highlights still popular on streaming services include his versions of "Bye Bye Blues" and "España Cañí."
January 15, 2024
Of the great soul stars of the 1960s and '70s, none sounded as tough, as raw, and as uncompromised as Wilson Pickett, a gritty powerhouse at the microphone who wasn't afraid to sound a little bit dangerous when he let loose. A Man and a Half: The Best of Wilson Pickett brings together forty-four great tracks from his tenure with Atlantic Records, and there's no better introduction to the greatness of the Midnight Mover.
January 14, 2024
Shed's fifth full-length is inspired by the Oderbruch region of Germany, where the producer grew up and continues to spend time when he isn't in Berlin. The album reflects on the natural landscapes as well as the local neighborhoods of the area, and like some of his other albums, it's overall more spacious and experimental than his club-tooled singles. Rather than straightforward techno, the tracks are closer to ambient techno and abstract drum'n'bass, with haunting textures and pastoral melodies taking precedence over steady beats and basslines.
January 13, 2024
With Índia, Gal Costa completely abandoned the absurd, screaming guitars and wild drumming for some of the lushest, most sophisticated, and most complex arrangements of her career. Her voice is clear and inviting as always, sitting perfectly with the strings, accordions, horns, reeds, and percussion that swirl around, effortlessly punctuating the romance in every track. Even though the hugely influential Tropicalia movement was over by the time of this release, Índia unquestionably shows that Costa's inventiveness was still unfolding and impulsive and should be considered by the wave of Tropicalia collectors as a worthy addition to the assortment of recordings in that it shows how a major player in that movement transferred her ambitions to a completely different direction without forsaking her class or drive.
January 12, 2024
While Old 97's second album, 1995's Wreck Your Life, continues the forlorn West Texas twang-a-billy that they pioneered with their debut, the sharp songwriting of vocalist Rhett Miller steps out to the forefront this time around. He weeps through the lovesick romp "Doreen" and chunks through longtime favorite "Big Brown Eyes" with a newfound poetic touch to the age-old traumas of love.
January 11, 2024
A glowing, pregnant Carly Simon smiles out from the cover of Hotcakes (released 50 years ago today), one of her biggest selling albums, which featured the gold single "Mockingbird," a duet with her husband James Taylor that effectively remade the old Inez and Charlie Foxx hit and bested it on the charts.
January 10, 2024
Alex Chilton's live shows of the 1980s and '90s, where he would amble through sets of R&B dusties with only occasional originals folded in, could often be a crapshoot. But for this 1999 benefit gig, he was paired with the great studio band behind Al Green's best sides, and they bring out the best in Memphis's favorite wayward son – they cut a joyous groove, and it's the best live disc from Chilton's solo career.
January 9, 2024
A classic double LP recorded in 1972 by Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges, the album had orchestrations from Eumir Deodato and Wagner Tiso under the conduction of the renowned clarinetist/composer/orchestrator Paulo Moura. The title Clube da Esquina is related to the gang of mineiros (people from the Minas Gerais state) that populate this release, either singing compositions or vocal/instrumental performances, like Nascimento and Borges themselves. A must-have.
January 8, 2024
Common wisdom has it that unless you're a diehard Björk fan, the only Sugarcubes album you really need is the first one, or their best-of compilation. Delving any further requires tolerance (or even appreciation) for the constant presence of co-vocalist Einar Örn, a polarizing figure either viewed as a distraction or a crucial part of the group's freewheeling sound. If you don't object to Einar, all three of their albums are worthwhile, and the second one deserves notice for gleefully weird highlights like "Eat the Menu" and "A Day Called Zero."
January 7, 2024
For artists who yearn to embrace '70s-style soul and funk but don't want to sound "dated," a common approach is combining a '70s-inspired sound with a more high-tech production style that employs elements of hip-hop. Mr. Fiddler does exactly that on the underrated With Respect -- expressing an allegiance to Parliament/Funkadelic without going for an overtly '70s type of production. There's no denying just how infectiously sweaty such down and dirty P-Funk grooves as "Cat in the Hat," "Cutie on Duty" and the insanely funny "Henpecked" are. Sadly, With Respect received little attention, and was ignored by Black radio.
January 6, 2024
Funky electroclash and shiny synths collide on this neon throbber, delivering sleekness and polish without sacrificing the raw attitude of her prior albums. She's still playfully filthy and very nasty, but tracks like "Lose You," "Relax," and "I Feel Cream" add some allure to her usual raucous arsenal. Fear not, however, as "Trick or Treat," "More," "Mommy Complex," and the aptly-titled "Showstopper" bring the sweat and stink that only Peaches can provide.
January 5, 2024
Recorded in December of 1979 and released the next year, this double album is a relatively straightforward set from spiritual jazz saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders and his band. There's still ample amounts of free-form playing and cross-cultural musical influences, but the moods are more toned down than usual, offering a reflective and atypically calm set that's just as moving as Sanders' more uproarious work.
January 4, 2024
Young bands: choose your name wisely. Whether it was actually the baffling moniker or a shift in mainstream tastes, this nu-metal/emo-punk crew will be forever remembered as a one-hit-wonder for "The Reason" (20 years old now!). A shame because this debut is as catchy as anything released in 2001, due mostly to a surprisingly talented vocalist and sneakily proficient songwriting. If you like Linkin Park, Incubus, or even Yellowcard, give it another shot.
January 3, 2024
A beautifully nuanced effort from the German electronic pop duo full of captivating songwriting and subtle mystique.
January 2, 2024
D.C. area angled indie trio Unrest's seventh and final proper studio album was also their brightest moment. While not without the usual crinkles and twists keeping their oblong pop a little left-of-center, Perfect Teeth is as cohesive and uncluttered as the band got, and it includes some of their definitive sounds and songs.
January 1, 2024
Released eight years after her debut, Kirsty MacColl's sophomore album was a triumph of smart pop songwriting and intricate arrangements that stands among the best work of her career.