Staff Picks for June 2023
June 30, 2023
Fans of early aughts post-punk gloom (Interpol, Editors, and White Lies) and forebears like Joy Division, the Smiths, and this band's current tourmates The Cure, take note: if you haven't heard of this Glasgow outfit before, it's time to dig into their discography. This sixth and most recent set features enough gorgeous, brooding gems and James Graham's signature brogue to inspire a rewarding deep dive. Check out "VTr," "I'm Not Here," and "The Arbor."
June 29, 2023
Blessed with a fine, sensitive voice, Dwele is a Marvin Gaye disciple, and like his influence, he has his own ideas about production and performance. That stubbornness makes him a difficult artist to pigeon-hole but an easy one to enjoy. Mostly self-produced and recorded at his home in Detroit, Subject favors the gauzy beats-and-bliss production style of Slum Village auteur Jay Dee. Though it's a familiar format, it's one that works well for his vocal style, which uses odd cadences, extended phrasing, multiple layers of vocals, and often his own whispered responses to his main lines.
June 28, 2023
Various Artists
This 1989 compilation from David Byrne helped turn American audiences on to Brazil's Tropicalia scene of the '70s and early-'80s and remains one of the genre's most satisfying overviews.
June 27, 2023
Though Quickspace's precarious, invigorating fusion of giddy noise and moody, hypnotic motorik grooves didn't get enough love in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it still sounds as fresh as ever two decades later. The band's final album offers some of their most raucous and contemplative songs, along with a healthy dose of pastoral pop that's as sunny and winding as a country road in the summertime.
June 26, 2023
By the '90s the legendary rock band was pretty far off the radar and any new release had to be vetted to make sure it wasn't a cheapo reissue or knock-off. This album was the real deal though. Some of their best songs since Shake Some Action, loads of jangling guitars, really nice vocal harmonies, and sympathetic production all combined to make it a nice comeback, probably the best post-peak record they will ever make.
June 25, 2023
Boasting such early gems as "Cual Es La Idea," "Oye Mi Guanguanco" and "Yambecua," this infectiously exuberant album is essential listening for anyone interested in Afro-Cuban music. Many of the players Puente employs here -- including Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo and Carlos "Patato" Valdez -- would become globally celebrated percussionists in Latin music. Whether the style is mambo, son, cha-cha or rhumba, this is outstanding.
June 24, 2023
Saxophone and trumpet player Lester Sterling, one of the founding members of Jamaican legends the Skatalites, died in May 2023, and this collection of their vintage Studio Recordings of the early 1960s is a fine way to remember him. Less frenetic than the 2-Tone sounds of the 1980s, this is pure pleasure with a jazzy sway, a solid groove, and the sort of inspired soloing that made them ska's greatest band.
June 23, 2023
Though Dread Beat An' Blood brought the artist his initial flush of notoriety, this, his sophomore record, cemented his reputation as a major talent. Producer Dennis Bovell and the Dub Band swing hard on this set, especially on opener "Want Fi Goh Rave," and “Sonny’s Lettah.” and the confrontational "Fite Dem Back." Dramatic and intense to the point of claustrophobia, Forces of Victory is one of the most important reggae records ever recorded.
June 22, 2023
What a Beautiful Thing I Have Made is the third LP from the somewhat up and coming band The Hackles. The eleven indie folk songs are an intimate collection of warm harmonies and stunning instrumentals. Charming banjo, sweet, lilting fiddle, and heartbreakingly beautiful vocals from Kati Clarborn makes "Damn the Word" especially moving.
June 21, 2023
Lenny Kaye's seminal collection of Sixties Singles is widely cited as the blueprint of the garage rock revival and it remains one of the most purely listenable compilations of its kind. A savvy blend of greasy youth armed with fuzzboxes and music biz pros tapped into the teenage mindset, all 27 tracks are winners, from the buzzy mania of the Electric Prunes to the faux-lysergic musings of the Magic Mushrooms.
June 20, 2023
Steve Kuhn was the original pianist in the John Coltrane Quartet, though he was replaced by McCoy Tyner after two months, as Tyner had been Coltrane's initial choice. Though he never recorded with Coltrane, he is steeped in the late saxophonist's music; this tribute covers music from many phases of his career. With tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist David Finck, and drummer Joey Baron (the latter two being part of the pianist's working trio), Kuhn had the challenge of tackling mostly well-known Coltrane compositions and standards without sounding like a clone, even though he was utilizing the same instrumentation.
June 19, 2023
The transition from the wacky, banjo-driven "Hangdog" to Kenny Wheeler's "Kind of Gentle" is jarring, but no matter. Nearly a decade separates these two pieces, and it's interesting to hear Frisell, by the mid-'90s, favoring a clean, unprocessed tone (indicative, perhaps, of his growing interest in country music). After offering a quick peek at the 1986 Paul Bley Quartet (in which Motian reappears), Frisell closes with a brilliant stroke: a piece that doesn't feature him at all. Bassist Gavin Bryars wrote "Sub Rosa," from a 1993 disc called Vita Nova, in honor of Frisell.
June 18, 2023
Celebrating its 50th anniversary today, the hilariously-titled The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get barnstorms out of the gate with "Rocky Mountain Way," one of Joe Walsh's most enduring hits. The rest of the record offers more meditative and contemplative tracks, like the ever-building "Book Ends" and the positively metaphysical album closer "(Day Dream) Prayer."
June 17, 2023
Jim Coyle and Mal Sharpe were known for their surreal "man on the street" style interviews, in which they approached random pedestrians with outlandish propositions and ridiculous job opportunities. Essentially functioning as in-person prank calls, their antics preceded the deadpan absurdity of Longmont Potion Castle by several decades. Audio Visionaries gathers some of their best bits, starting with "Microphone in Brain," in which they offer to record a man's thoughts and release a record of them, without compensating him. If you find this disc fascinating and want to hear more, the duo released a box set in 2006.
June 16, 2023
Each track on this album is introduced with delicately sweet guitar before Johnson's soft, laid back voices slides in. "Banana Pancakes" is the perfect rainy day song on the perfect rainy day album. Other highlights include the lovely "Better Together" and the nostalgic "Do You Remember When?" Overall, a simple, sweet, and eternally comforting album that's best enjoyed while curled up on the sofa with your favorite person (or cat).
June 15, 2023
Freed from a disastrous major-label contract, Smith is finally able to re-introduce her absorbing life-and-love lyrics, distinctive melodic sense, and four-octave voice. Subtle and surprising twists in song structure and seamless genre fusions are in steady supply, as on "Ocean," a blissfully flowing expression of romantic contentedness, and on the emotionally stinging "Another Love," a fluid piece that, at once, is an attitudinal house stomper and a disarming chamber pop tearjerker. She has enough skill and character to leave one hanging on her every note. The cherry on top is an incineration of Cee Lo Green's "Fool for You."
![The Best of the Kingsmen [Rhino]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0001265481/front/400/daLs4p_po0QKhXTG-Z_x6oAf7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
June 14, 2023
Contrary to what the ubiquitous nature of "Louie, Louie" would lead one to expect, the band never stood still musically; their repertoire grew over time, and by the time they covered "Little Sally Tease" in early 1967, they'd added fuzztone guitar to their arsenal and were using a horn section similar to the Buckinghams, all while retaining that sharp edge that had made them an onstage force for years. Their version of the Resnick/Levine song "Trouble" was almost straight garage rock and showed a band that could have crossed swords with the Standells.
June 13, 2023
At a time when plenty of hardcore bands were struggling to prove how unlistenable they could be, Washington D.C. noise merchants No Trend were so abrasive they made Flipper sound like Big Star. This impressively overstuffed reissue of 1983's Too Many Humans album and 1984's Teen Love EP includes plenty of demos, outtakes, and two complete live shows, and their lumbering, post-melodic cacophony is still among the most uncompromised musical experiences of its time.
June 12, 2023
A mixtape of snippets, beats and full productions collected by Pete Rock from the treasure trove of work that was done during the last years of his life, the collection is an essential reminder of why Dilla is, and will always be, so fondly remembered.
June 11, 2023
After nine albums spent plundering, pillaging, and hoisting their horns of mead against the backdrop of a smoke-filled, viscera-stained battlefield, it's a wonder that Amon Amarth took so long to deliver a proper concept album. Jomsviking effectively distills all of the band's predilections into one big, dragon-headed longship of an album, sails aflame and headed straight into the mouth of Valhalla
June 10, 2023
The first album by Bandulu was a mixture of ambient techno and tribal house that bore none of the dub influences of their later work. Lush and rainforest-like yet steadily cruising, the album included a remix by Detroit legend Carl Craig.
June 9, 2023
Immediately accessible to new and old jazz listeners alike, Mingus Ah Um is a gorgeous display of Mingus's aptitude for composition. From the sweet melancholy "Self-Portrait in Three Colors" to the joyful, spiritual, swinging of "Better Get It Into Your Soul," every song on this album is a hit. The soft yet rich and soulful "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" especially stands out as a moving elegy to the late Lester Young.
June 8, 2023
One of the most endearing acts proving that Britpop wasn't the only worthy indie music coming out of the U.K. during the 1990s, Yatsura and their spiky noise-pop are well worth revisiting. The Glasgow band's 1998 sophomore album brings their hooks and sing-along choruses into the spotlight, but there's still enough guitar mayhem to please fans of Sonic Youth, Pavement, or any of their other disciples.
June 7, 2023
Fourth album from Australian guitar/drums/violin trio the Dirty Three was perhaps the strongest expression of their crushingly beautiful sound. Slower and more restrained than some of their earlier albums, and with a focus on oceanic, sailing, and aquatic themes, Ocean Songs moves patiently but dynamically through its reflective journey at sea.
June 6, 2023
Released two years before their surprise 1997 breakthrough, Cornershop's second album delivers their unique mash-up of Western indie rock and Eastern traditional music and a slightly smaller, but no less pleasing scale. Its "Jullandar Shere" bookend tracks are highlights.
June 5, 2023
Remember this killer 2002 debut from the too-cool-for-school Danish post-punk duo? A hidden gem in the glut of "The" bands from the early aughts, it's sure to be the coolest thing you listen to today. The mood is set in B-flat minor and, by the end of the EP, you'll be covered in black leather with shades on. Imagine Interpol and Velvet Underground throwing a surf party as you check out "...Ghost Riders" and "Chains."
June 4, 2023
The vocal powerhouse's ninth LP was a personal one, with its title referring to the invisibility that often comes with middle age. Produced by Guy Sigsworth, who also produced 2013's The Minutes, it shares the latter's dramatic, orchestral-electronic flare but with added acoustic instrumentation and a sometimes frostier, more intense tone. In fact, she sounds confident here and ready to embrace the act of transformation when declaring "I'm here/I germinate" on the opening track. Fans were receptive; it became her seventh solo album to make the U.K. Top 20.
June 3, 2023
After a string of uninspired albums in the mid-'70s, Muddy Waters came roaring back with 1977's Hard Again, and 1978's I'm Ready showed that comeback was no fluke. Cut with Waters' road band with the addition of Jimmy Rogers and Big Walter Horton, producer Johnny Winter had the good sense to stand back and let Muddy strut his stuff, and this comes remarkably close to the joyous menace of his Chess classics of the 1950s.
![Harold and Maude [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0005620655/front/400/SEySaQK0bJPZJSGb2aIdhwSijaXJlYnq0St31qpAJWo=.jpg)
June 2, 2023
It's hard to walk away from the hilariously heartbreaking 1971 cult classic Harold and Maude without a great appreciation for the music of Cat Stevens. While essentially a compilation of his greatest hits, the remastered soundtrack adds two new songs including "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" and "Don't Be Shy." The most recent version of the album even includes short clips of dialogue from the movie. Cat Stevens' grounded melodies and thoughtful lyrics combined with his gorgeous guitar work will instantly pull any listener in and are a perfect complement to the film.
June 1, 2023
The second album in the George Jones/Billy Sherrill collaboration, Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You) celebrates its 50th anniversary today. Decidedly more upbeat than much of Jones' mid-seventies recordings, the start of this album finds the Possum in a scrapping mood through honky tonk romps like the title track and "You're Looking at a Happy Man," but settles into a more romantic mood as the album continues including the sweet "You'll Never Grow Old to Me" (co-written by Tammy Wynette).