Staff Picks for September 2021
September 30, 2021
While certainly not every listener's mug of fennel, The Candlestick Maker is a thoroughly enjoyable work and recommended for fans of early-'70s West Coast singer/songwriters.
September 29, 2021
On September 5, 1982, a few days before they started work on their debut album, the Dream Syndicate played a live set in the studios of KPFK-FM, a listener-supported radio station in the Los Angeles area. The Day Before Wine and Roses gives the KPFK broadcast a non-bootleg release, and between the slow burn of "Some Kinda Itch," the long, ominous jam through "Season of the Witch," and the twin guitar fury of "Open Hour," this offers a decidedly different but equally devastating portrait of this band's formative period.
September 28, 2021
This indie-rock album at times ranges in its influences from one track to another, some with folk influence, or industrial rock, and even featuring quite a few dreamy ballads. Notes on a Conditional Form offers an excellent exploration into the variety of sounds The 1975 can play with successfully.
September 27, 2021
James Carr never became a mainstream star, in part because of mental health issues that stifled his career, but also because his best work was just too emotionally potent for AM radio in the 1960s. These 28 tracks show that Carr's reputation as one of the greatest of all deep soul singers was well deserved, and his version of "The Dark End of the Street" is genuine, moving, and definitive.
September 26, 2021
Neil Hannon's tenth full-length album under the Divine Comedy banner finds the jovial tunesmith expounding on the elegant, aristocratic chamber pop that has become his forte since the project’s inception over two decades ago. Bang Goes the Knighthood is a breezy 12-song concoction of witticisms and laments populated with the usual assortment of hopeless romantics, ballers, gadflies, and clueless upper-class youth.
September 25, 2021
While To Pimp a Butterfly takes much of the public's attention and appreciation, this album that predates it serves as an introduction to the Kendrick Lamar before stardom and riches. Because of its function as somewhat of a prequel to To Pimp A Butterfly, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is a good place to explore Lamar's musical stylings with a similar album structure and sound.
September 24, 2021
Incredibly, the sound of Teen Spirit turns 30 years old today. While the album truly saturated the zeitgeist to the point of being overplayed and, for a time, too heartbreaking to listen to, revisiting the actual artifact, it feels wonderfully alive and powerful.
September 23, 2021
Sayama's debut album not only loudly pushed her to the forefront of alternative pop but also provided listeners with a much-needed introduction to who she is and how the subject matter of her music intersects with that identity. For those looking for an introduction to upbeat pop music and intricate lyrics with a penchant for genre exploration, look no further than the album RINA.
September 22, 2021
Gram Parsons' legend is so great that it's easy for the neophyte to be skeptical about his music, wondering if it really is deserving of such effusive praise. Simply put, it is, and if you question the veracity of that statement, turn to Rhino's peerless double-disc set, Sacred Hearts and Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology. This is the first truly comprehensive overview of Parsons' work, running from the International Submarine Band, through the Byrds, to the Flying Burrito Brothers and his two solo albums, scattering appropriate rarities or non-LP tracks along the way.
![Euphoria: Season 1 [An HBO Original Series Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0005420393/front/400/BxpPqa_Y-w37gacSY1ZaCCpQg_7iAU1wjqLgK_xGXts=.jpg)
September 21, 2021
Various Artists
This excellent collection of tracks not only showcases Labrinth's raw talent, but also the heavy emotional content the show, Euphoria, so often features. An excellent album for those looking to feel like the main character in a dark teen drama.
September 20, 2021
Abandoning the charming acoustics of his earlier albums, Rod the Mod moved over the Atlantic and recorded an LP (split evenly between the "Fast Side" and the "Slow Side") showcasing his slicker, funkier side courtesy of members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and the Stax house band.
September 19, 2021
Conan Gray started with humble beginnings on YouTube with dreamy covers and vlogs all to lead to this debut album. For those looking for ethereal vocals and thoughtful lyrics mixed with upbeat pop songs, Kid Krow will be a treat.
September 18, 2021
Various Artists
Started in 1977 to document the nascent West Coast punk rock scene, Dangerhouse Records managed a feat very few labels can claim -- they never put out a bad record. Dangerhouse: Vol. 1 gathers twelve tracks from their catalog, and between the scene stars (X, Weirdos, Bags, Avengers, Black Randy) and the folks that deserved better recognition (Dils, Randoms, Alleycats), this is a superb look at the birth of L.A. punk.
September 17, 2021
This third studio release from (now famous) indie artist, Mitski, takes a dive into the way a song's production can enhance a track. Differing from her previous albums and their polished sound, Bury Me At Makeout Creek can serve as an origin to the experimental production seen in her future albums for newer listeners interested in seeking out similar releases to one of her most recent and popular tracks, "Nobody."
September 16, 2021
The singer/songwriter's second album is a gem that continues to stand outside of time decades later. The beautifully sad, introspective songs of weary modern urban disaffection that Neil brought to these sessions in 1967 are among the best he ever wrote, and the perfectly balanced electric instrumentation suits them to a T.
September 15, 2021
Melanie Martinez's debut album entered the indie-pop scene with a smash. With her intricate storytelling of innocence that becomes corrupted, there's no wonder why.
September 14, 2021
Released as a double LP on Chisa/Blue Thumb in 1972, Hugh Masekela's Home Is Where the Music Is marked a sharp detour from his pop-oriented jazz records of the '60s. He was looking for a different kind of fusion groove. He succeeded in creating one that drew on the rhythms and melodies of his native South Africa, and included more spiritual, soul-driven explorations occurring on American independent labels such as Strata East, Tribe, and Black Jazz.
September 13, 2021
Images of Robert Palmer as a somewhat stiff vocalist performing his clean synth-pop gems must be reconsidered after hearing this collection of loose, funky, blue-eyed soul numbers, nimbly backed by The Meters.
September 12, 2021
Beat Happening stretched the boundaries of their self-imposed minimalism on their final album, 1992's You Turn Me On, and it's a beautiful example of how much you can accomplish with so few ingredients. The spare simplicity of "Tiger Trap" belies it's deeply romantic soul, "Pinebox Derby" and "Teenage Caveman" are passionate, full-bodied rock & roll, and the hypnotic "Godsend" is beatific in it's celebration of a loved one. A masterpiece.
September 11, 2021
Categorized as a Dance/Electronic album, Bubba gives listeners unique tracks with enough similarity and consistency to be playable in casual listening settings. This is a good start for listeners to explore Kaytranda and the world of dance music for the first time.
September 10, 2021
Many funk and soul aficionados consider Mystic Voyage a classic, and the album has been sampled extensively by hip-hop and acid jazz artists. Though permeated by a cosmic vibe throughout its tracklist is dominated by vocal-oriented R&B, and gritty funk numbers such as "Funky Motion," "Evolution," and "Spirit of Doo Do." It also includes a fine reading of Ashford & Simpson’s mellow "Take All the Time You Need."
September 9, 2021
The Canadian producer weaves together a wide range of influences (hip-hop, '60s psychedelia and sunshine pop, early-'70s singer/songwriters, the tripped-out jazz of the late '60s, shoegaze, and trip-hop) into an enveloping cuddle of blissed-out melodies, gentle beats, hushed vocals, and carefully constructed musical backdrops that cast a spell of peaceful harmony.
September 8, 2021
The sound of teenage exploration comes out in Willow's alternative/indie rock debut studio album. While WILLOW has since come out with multiple albums following this 2015 release, Ardipithecus offers an appropriate starting point for her music to any new listeners.
September 7, 2021
Cocteau Twins' most accessible album has rightfully become part of the pop culture canon, continually finding new listeners three decades after its release. The production is vibrant and comforting, and the best songs have some of the strongest melodies they ever wrote, while the lyrics retain the mystery of their earlier, murkier material.
September 6, 2021
Neil Ollivierra takes a more clinical approach to Detroit techno on Black Buildings, but don't take that as a negative. Whereas Soundtrack (313) was based on field recordings of the city, this album exists outside of any specific geographic location. Black Buildings is a subtle and simply fantastic slice of early 2000s ambient techno. Simple keyboard lines establish and then interweave, gentle bass and beats rumble around in the low end, and the generally blissful ambience of the album slowly permeates the room it is played in over 70 minutes.
September 5, 2021
When Lalah Hathaway's self-titled debut came out, there was reason to believe that she might evolve into one of the top female R&B singers of the 1990s. Donny Hathaway's daughter certainly had a lot going for her -- not only a big vocal range, but also plenty of charisma, passion, and charm to go with it. Hathaway doesn't always have fantastic material to work with, but when she does, the results are quite memorable.
September 4, 2021
Though 2007's Untrue would become Burial's breakthrough, all of the elements that made that album so distinctive were on display in slightly less emotive (or dramatic) ways on his 2006 self-titled debut. A perfect document of early UK dubstep, the album is dark, cinematic, and ominous, evoking the feel of bleak late night cityscapes. Burial focused more on loneliness and hurt on Untrue, but with the debut, he's more emotionally neutral but no less intense as he wanders through empty streets at night.
September 3, 2021
Stephin Merritt's all-time best album remains a vivid, heartbreaking, life-affirming collection of inventive lo-fi synth-pop gems. His lyrics describe crushes, heartbreak, and isolation in such unique, powerful ways, and the melodies remain strong after hundreds of listens. "Strange Powers" and "Take Ecstasy With Me" remain the most popular songs, but the sorrowful "Sad Little Moon" and "All You Ever Do Is Walk Away" are low-key two of the most affecting ones.
September 2, 2021
On its Impulse! debut, the U.K.'s futurist trio create an evolutionary new jazz music from multiple sources. Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery is urgent, sophisticated, and humorous. It actually delivers the music of tomorrow via the traditions of past and present; it's a convulsive exercise in the articulation of inner and outer space.
September 1, 2021
The recent death of the Texas singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith led to an outpouring of tributes from friends, family, and her fellow tunesmiths who praised the affecting simplicity and lyrical strength of her work. 1986's The Last of the True Believers remains one of her finest hours, a set of tales of small town life that have a universality, charm, and gentle strength that can speak to nearly anyone.