Staff Picks for June 2018
June 30, 2018
Corey Harris is adept at combining contemporary sensibilities with traditional country blues forms in a manner so natural that the cracks and fissures between now and then never seem to show, an accomplishment he expands on Mississippi to Mali to include two continents. Again, the music flows so naturally that the bridges and welds that join the African and African-American traditions on this record are never obvious, creating a seamless, wonderful album.
![Wolf Children [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004030907/front/400/Khq33ld99eTTldNby1d23N_M69_UI9rrJSVvWL2-yAg=.jpg)
June 29, 2018
Tokyo-based composer Takagi Masakatsu presents a wistful and heartfelt score for the Japanese animated feature Wolf Children. Known for both his visual art and diverse, experimental music, Masakatsu melds elegiac piano with guitars, mandolin, skittering percussion and subtle orchestration to director Mamoru Hosoda's award-winning children's film.
June 28, 2018
Even though this is primarily a Brazilian jazz album, it isn't for jazz purists -- rather, Purim provides an eclectic blend of jazz, samba, R&B/funk, rock, and pop. Purim has many inspired moments, joined by members of producer George Duke's band. In addition to excelling on Duke's funky title song, Gilberto Gil's "Sarara," and Toninho Horta's "Beijo Partido," Purim really lets loose on Milton Nascimento's "From the Lonely Afternoon."
June 27, 2018
In the studio, Television were clean, precise, and expert in their guitar interplay. On stage, with an audience to cheer them on, the band was considerably more passionate and risk-taking, and The Blow Up, recorded live in 1977, documents the rougher but equally satisfying sound of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd passing six-tring volleys back and forth in real time. The extended workouts on "Little Johnny Jewel" and "Marquee Moon" alone are worth the price of admission.
June 26, 2018
Just reissued on vinyl--the cover art has been restored to its original black & white glory--Pink Floyd's Relics remains a bewitching listen and a surprisingly coherent one, too. By splicing Syd Barrett 45s with album tracks, many taken from the probing post-Syd lineup, the album winds up as a testament for the restless creativity of this period of Floyd.
June 25, 2018
The band's third album since their late 2000's reunion is another sophisticated indie pop gem that stands shoulder to shoulder with the best work the group did for Sarah Records in the '90s. Working again with producer Ian Carmichael, the band runs through a batch of songs that are positively drenched in all the things that made them great: deep emotional content, rich arrangements, strong melodies, James Hackett's lovely, nuanced vocals.
June 24, 2018
Half a decade after its release, Oneohtrix Point Never's Warp debut still feels forward-looking -- not to mention influential on the project's latest album, Age Of. The way Daniel Lopatin fractures and reassembles whooshing choral pads, cheap MIDI-esque sounds and pulverized smooth jazz and new age music remains sleekly subversive, mischievous and poignant, and lays the groundwork for his even more adventurous excursions.
![The Tree of Life [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0003346338/front/400/uSlqn4sUeZEl51ZCqnrhYoAf7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
June 23, 2018
An example of a score that triumphs in service of a unique film and as a composition on its own, The Tree of Life takes its cues from some of the composer's French idols, including Debussy, Ravel, and Messiaen. Relying heavily on strings, woodwinds, and piano for its graceful, pastoral character, the hour of original music included here works seamlessly in the film alongside existing pieces by John Tavener, Zbigniew Preisner, Berlioz, Holst, and more.
June 22, 2018
With bolder instrumentation, a brighter overall atmosphere, and a perfect glistening pop polish, Paradise Circus expands on the glorious promise of the Lilac Time's debut. Channeling the Smiths, Nick Drake and the Byrds, they package the mix into their own radio-friendly folk-pop style and create perhaps their most accessible album.
June 21, 2018
In the early '80s, rock music was almost entirely the province of skinny white guys, and as one of the few African-American acts to rise from the West Coast new wave scene, the BusBoys embraced the contradictions of playing "white" music that was invented by black artists. Their debut, 1980's Minimum Wage Rock & Roll, was a clever, full bodied mix of rock & roll and rhythm & blues full of smart, witty observations about race and class that still connect decades later.
June 20, 2018
Emo-pop rarely sounded as ambitious or playful as it did on the Anniversary's second -- and final -- album. Given the eclectic mix of prog, folk, punk and power-pop the band draws from on these songs, it's no wonder that creative differences soon got the better of them. Nevertheless, they managed to stick around long enough to make this heartfelt, freewheeling mini-masterpiece.
June 19, 2018
Flush from the success of Love and Rockets' self-titled album, Ash used his extracurricular time well for his first full solo debut, recruiting a range of performers to help. Most notable would be longtime Bauhaus/Love and Rockets bandmate Kevin Haskins on many kinds of percussion, while the surprise contributor is Natacha Atlas, getting her first major exposure on an album and singing and playing instruments on just about every track. Her excellent vocals here sound nothing like her Arabic-language work most listeners will be familiar with, and she provides a perfect counterpoint to Ash's dry Bolanesque purr.
June 18, 2018
The singer and songwriter's third album, and his first fully realized one, presents his talent unfettered, his direction clear, and his confidence emboldened, with fully half the songs representing a reach that extended his musical grasp. More than a quarter of this album is given over to Redding's versions of songs by Sam Cooke, his idol, who had died the previous December, and all three are worth knowing.
June 17, 2018
Cut in an 8-track studio in a single evening before the band fled Phoenix, AZ for the promised land of Los Angeles, All My Friends Are Dead is an amazing blast of teenage rage from the all-too-short lived Consumers. Suggesting the point where first generation punk rock began to evolve into hardcore, this music is reckless but taut, the sound of youth determined to burn out before fading away became an issue.
![Kansas City [Original Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0000360863/front/400/U4giO8UsRpd-ui3BDSfeZYAf7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
June 16, 2018
Original Soundtrack
A vibrant celebration of director Robert Altman's hometown during the 1930's, Kansas City works best as a showcase for this band. A swaggering gaggle of young and old players, each one loosely portraying a real-life counterpart, (i.e. James Carter as Ben Webster, Craig Handy as Coleman Hawkins, Geri Allen as Mary Lou Williams, etc.) the band had more a lasting impact than the film itself with a tour and follow-up album. This is earthy, frenetically swinging, call-and-response jazz that remains as real, and believable as any of Altman's many improvised film productions.
June 15, 2018
Rhino boxed up Ornette Coleman's Atlantic recordings once again--this time as a vinyl-only set of replicas of the nine original LPs, with a bonus collection of material that never found its way to an album. This provides a perfect opportunity to revisit Change Of The Century, the second album by Coleman's quartet featuring Charlie Haden, Don Cherry and Billy Higgins. Here, the quartet starts pushing at the boundaries of conventional jazz and, all these decades later, the music still is vibrant, alive and nourishing.
June 14, 2018
The untimely passing of Stewart Lupton, the singer for Jonathan Fire*Eater -- and later a poet and member of Child Ballads and Beatin's -- at age 43 is an apt time to remember just how vital and influential the band's music was. Track for track, this 1996 EP might be their definitive statement: On songs like "The Search for Cherry Red," you can hear their connections to arty, bluesy, garagey rock of the past, present and future.
June 13, 2018
After incubating for over a decade, the Korn frontman finally released his solo debut. For Korn fans who, like Davis, enjoy music outside the realm of nu-metal, Black Labyrinth is a treat. The familiarity of Davis' voice and delivery, combined with genre touches inspired by new wave, post-punk, and some world music, should be enough to tide fans over until the next Korn album. Check out "Basic Needs," "Your God," "Medicate," and "Underneath My Skin."
June 12, 2018
The enigmatic Detroit band's third LP is a mesmerizing collection of lush art-pop, carefully-crafted songwriting, and laid-back propulsion that should resonate with fans of Brian Eno or Godley & Creme.
June 11, 2018
Substrata is usually regarded as Biosphere's masterpiece, but 2002 effort Shenzhou shouldn't be overlooked. Largely based on samples of old Claude Debussy records, the eerie, enchanting album is easily comparable to releases by Gas or the Caretaker, but somehow it seems less hazy or evocative of faded memories.
June 10, 2018
During Mills' peak era ('79-'81) fully anthologized here, the singer worked with James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, who had transitioned from jazz firebrands into heavyweight R&B collaborators once they wrote the Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway hit "The Closer I Get to You." Mtume and Lucas utilized their core studio unit throughout the sessions, making the albums play out like a unified trilogy. Mills herself was in the top tier.
June 9, 2018
In the late 90s, Jonathan Fire*Eater was supposed to be New York City's next big thing, only to implode a few years later, with core members later regrouping as The Walkmen. With the recent passing of singer Stewart Lupton, now is a good time to go back and revisit their catalog and experience Stewart's magnetic and haunting presence.
June 8, 2018
Ralph Santolla's thrilling lead guitar playing carried the day on Deicide's first album following the departure of the Hoffman brothers. Santolla, who passed away on June 6 following a heart attack, delivers the album's shining moment with his incredible solo on "Homage for Satan." Further recommended listening: the eerie "The Lord's Sedition," which goes from zero to 100 in jarring fashion, the careening "Crucified for the Innocence," and a fun, ramshackle cover of Deep Purple's "Black Night."
June 7, 2018
The Finnish outfit's third studio long player, Tales Along This Road delivers pure snow-capped Viking folk metal. There are no epic, three-tiered symphonic monstrosities to be found here, just ten brutal and concise songs about ice, Odin, and binge drinking that sound like a Norse Flogging Molly.
June 6, 2018
Back in 2004, when Silverchair were still together, frontman Daniel Johns took a step outside that band to form this electronic-pop duo with producer Paul Mac. The resulting feel-good album is warm and upbeat, quirky and endearing, hinting at the direction of the final Silverchair album and Johns' 2010s departure from alt-rock. The four song run from "Somewhere Down the Barrel" to "Forever and a Day" is a revelatory and refreshing highlight.
June 5, 2018
Dave Clarke's first contribution to the X-Mix series is a strong candidate for one of the best commercially released mix CDs of all time. If you need a quick introduction to the world of electro, this should be your first purchase. The tracklist is heavy on Detroit-based artists (Model 500, Underground Resistance, etc.) as well as British/European acts (LFO, I-F) and reaches back to the genre's early '80s genesis with tracks like Hashim's "Primrose Path." The mixing is absolutely flawless, as well. Essential.
June 4, 2018
A brilliant, accomplished debut, Look Sharp! established Joe Jackson as part of that camp of angry, intelligent young new wavers (i.e., Elvis Costello, Graham Parker) who approached pop music with the sardonic attitude and tense, aggressive energy of punk.
June 3, 2018
On Sentimental Education, Kim Gordon and her supergroup Free Kitten hit their stride by not just sticking to what they do best, but also branching out in some weird directions, including an ambient collaboration with DJ Spooky and a cover of France Gall's "Teenie Weenie Boppie."
June 2, 2018
Fear Factory dug in its heels on the band's third record, deepening the mechanical precision of its rhythmic attack and blending it with robotic melodies and emphasizing the band's fascination with blending the synthetic and organic. "Shock" and "Edgecrusher" make for a massive one-two opening punch, with the rest showing a fully-realized, confident band.
June 1, 2018
This wonderful collection of the World Circuit label documents the chance pairing of a down-and-out Cuban bandleader with the upcoming Orquesta Sensacion, leading to a fiery and fruitful partnership in during the mid-50's cha cha cha craze.