Staff Picks for September 2023

Heaven's Prisoners
September 30, 2023
Original Soundtrack
One of very few memorable things about the 1996 bayou thriller Heaven's Prisoners was its gritty blues and R&B soundtrack, balancing some of the legends of the blues (Junior Wells, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker) with some genuine houserockin' swamp blues from more contemporary bluesmen (C.C. Adcock, the Hoax, Kenny Neal).
- Zac Johnson
Aquemini
September 29, 2023
Rap
Even compared to their already excellent and forward-looking catalog, OutKast's sprawling third album, Aquemini (released 25 years ago today), was a stroke of brilliance. The chilled-out space-funk of ATLiens had already thrown some fans for a loop, and Aquemini made it clear that its predecessor was no detour, but a stepping stone for even greater ambitions.
- Steve Huey
Sladest
September 28, 2023
Falling somewhere between the glam of T.Rex and the hard rock of Nazareth, Slade's finest moments came with arena rockers "Cum on Feel the Noize," "Mama Weer All Crazee Now," and "Gudbye t' Jayne," songs specifically written to be strong live numbers that would get kids up off their seats. This collection of glam rock classics was released 50 years ago today.
- Paul Tinelli
Ballads from Her Appalachian Family Tradition
September 27, 2023
A crystalline-clear voice and a tireless preservation of traditional music are two of the contributions to folk music that Jean Ritchie is most respected for, and both shine on the Smithsonian/Folkways release Ballads from Her Appalachian Family Tradition. Mostly a cappella, with a few songs accompanied by dulcimer, these children's ballads are alternately warm and chilling, achingly beautiful and as stark as the bones of the balladeers who wrote the songs hundreds of years ago.
- Zac Johnson
Hell's Ditch
September 26, 2023
Produced by Joe Strummer, Hell's Ditch marked Shane MacGowan's last studio effort with the Pogues. While his unintelligible vocals and shambling demeanor can be distracting, songs like "Rain Street" and "Sunny Side of the Street" are well worth revisiting and the rest of the band picked up the slack in a big way, especially Terry Woods.
- Timothy Monger
So Rebellious a Lover
September 25, 2023
Good luck didn't visit Gene Clark often after he left the Byrds, but meeting Carla Olson of the Textones was a rare example of the right thing happening at the right time. 1987's So Rebellious a Lover grew out of informal jams between the two, and it was an inspired pairing that gave Clark the right vocal foil and musical partner; it was an indie success and his last great album.
- Mark Deming
Nashville Tears
September 24, 2023
Central on the album is Rumer's buoyant version of "Hard Time for Lovers," originally recorded by Judy Collins as the title track to her 1979 album. The Collins connection works as a thoughtful touchstone throughout Nashville Tears as Rumer's soft, warm vocals nicely evoke Collins' own pure, unadorned approach. It's a style that fits well with Prestwood's songs, many of which, including "Oklahoma Stray," "June It's Gonna Happen," and "That's That" (a hit for Michael Johnson in 1988), showcase his gift for using nature as a metaphor, illuminating how the landscapes that surround us often echo our most intense desires.
- Matt Collar
Frifot
September 23, 2023
Less jazz oriented than their prior duo release, Sweden's Lena Willemark and Ale Möller teamed up with fellow multi-instrumentalist Per Gudmundsson for their debut as Frifot. Their dazzling instrumental work positioned them as leaders of the Swedish folk revival.
- Timothy Monger
Queens of the Stone Age
September 22, 2023
Certainly, there’s enough sinewy force to suggest the mighty brawn of Rated R and Songs for the Deaf; Homme retained enough of the desert spaciness of Kyuss to give Queens of the Stone Age (released 25 years ago today) an otherworldly shimmer, a hazy quality he later abandoned for aggressive precision, so this winds up as a unique record in his catalog, a place where you can hear Homme’s past and future intertwining.
- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Faust IV
September 21, 2023
Coming on the heels of the cut-and-paste sound-collage schizophrenia of The Faust Tapes, Faust IV (released 50 years ago today) seems relatively subdued and conventional, though it's still a far cry from what anyone outside the German avant-garde rock scene was doing.
- Steve Huey
An American Original
September 20, 2023
Although traditional fiddler Chubby Wise had appeared on hundreds of recordings by everyone from Hank Snow to Hank Williams, the best place to find his skipping and aching bow work is on the 1995 recording An American Original.
- Zac Johnson
Possible Dust Clouds
September 19, 2023
Hersh cranks up the amps on her tenth solo album and delivers some of her most unfettered rock outside of Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave. The late-summer heat that penetrates the rasp in her voice and her grungy chords makes Possible Dust Clouds a stunning display of the grit and poetry that have been hallmarks of her music for decades.
- Heather Phares
Popestar
September 18, 2023
The second EP from the macabrely debonair Swedes, Popestar finds Ghost parsing through their vestment-black Rolodex and pulling out a compelling five-track set that pairs their most commercial-sounding original offering to date with a quartet of equally earworm-heavy covers.
- James Monger
Life Teachings
September 17, 2023
While a “Can’t Satisfy Her”-sized hit would make it perfect, I-Wayne’s third major release is nearly there, splitting its time between socially conscious lyrics and sweet, romantic songs. He also adds more Rastafarian elements to the mix, making this an easy recommendation to lovers of great roots music.
- David Jeffries
Elastica
September 16, 2023
Enjoying those faster tracks on Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS? Try this near-perfect, self-titled debut from the English crew that became one of the most notable releases from the Britpop era. Effortlessly cool and deviously catchy, it features the enduring classic "Connection." Other standouts include "Line Up," "Car Song," "Hold Me Now," and the glorious slacker anthem "Waking Up."
- Neil Z. Yeung
Baxter
September 15, 2023
Celebrating its 25th anniversary today, Baxter features minimalist but thoroughly attractive melodies that hover uneasily over dark, brooding drum loops and sketchy samples; it's sort of like a pop-techno-illbient fusion, only much more emotionally involving, what with Nina Ramsby's warm voice and lyrics like "I need a friend/I need you." That's pretty naked writing for this genre, and it contrasts nicely with the chilly electronic accompaniment.
- Rick Anderson
In a Glass House
September 14, 2023
Gentle Giant was reduced to a quintet on In a Glass House (released 50 years ago today) with the departure of elder brother Phil Shulman, but its sound is unchanged, and the group may actually be tighter without the presence of his saxophones.
- Bruce Eder
With Love
September 13, 2023
Whether dealing out breakbeat punishments like "777," wriggling dubstep like "Ascension," or mystical funk like "Isis," Zomby sounds like no one else, simultaneously street and chic, enticing and elusive. The few moments left beatless -- like "Black Rose," so fragile that it sounds like it's on the brink of shattering as it leads into the thumping "Digital Smoke" -- are almost as moving as the ones made for the trunks.
- Andy Kellman
It's Like This
September 12, 2023
Not since Billie Holiday has there been a vocalist who so completely transforms a song into her own. On It's Like This, eclectic folkie Rickie Lee Jones envelops standards, showtunes, '70s soul, and even slick jazz-rock, interpreting them with her familiar childlike, breathy shouts.
- Zac Johnson
The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle
September 11, 2023
Released 50 years ago today, the album's songs contain the best realization of Springsteen's poetic vision, which soon enough would be tarnished by disillusionment. He would later make different albums, but he never made a better one. The truth is, The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is one of the greatest albums in the history of rock & roll.
- William Ruhlmann
Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?
September 10, 2023
The Art of Noise's 1984 debut is peak Trevor Horn. While its synth patches and drum sounds may seem somewhat dated by contemporary standards, in its time, this record was a cunning techno-pop art attack from a producer in his heyday who had a big budget and his own label to play with.
- Timothy Monger
Vessel of Love
September 9, 2023
British reggae singer Hollie Cook specializes in a smooth, slightly dubby update of vintage roots and lovers rock sounds. Her third studio album, co-produced by Youth (Killing Joke, the Orb), is her best so far, matching smartly written songs with adventurous, trippy production.
- Paul Simpson
Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
September 8, 2023
Following their globe-conquering breakthrough Fat of the Land a whopping 7 years later with an album that didn't even feature their two most recognizable elements – Flinty and Maxim – probably wasn't the smartest move, but there's plenty on this set to please fans of the outfit's raucous, aggressive attack. The Gallagher brothers, Juliette Lewis, Kool Keith, Twista, and many more provide vocals on highlights like "Spitfire," "Girls," "Hotride," and "Get Up Get Off."
- Neil Z. Yeung
Over-Nite Sensation
September 7, 2023
Whereas the Flo and Eddie years were dominated by rambling, off-color comedy routines, Over-Nite Sensation, (released 50 years ago today) tightened up the song structures and tucked sexual and social humor into melodic, technically accomplished heavy guitar rock with jazzy chord changes and funky rhythms; meanwhile, Zappa's growling new post-accident voice takes over the storytelling.
- Steve Huey
Classic Bluegrass
September 6, 2023
This compilation of Del McCoury's recordings for Rebel Records from 1974-1984 showcases one of bluegrass' great voices at one of the many peaks of his career. High harmonies and excellent musicianship have long been McCoury trademarks, and these recordings are especially interesting where they showcase the first appearances of mandolin player Ronnie McCoury, who would eventually go on to become one of the most celebrated pickers in bluegrass.
- Zac Johnson
Buckingham Nicks
September 5, 2023
While it will be hard to find, this lone album cut by a young and ambitious (and still romantically attached) Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham a short two years before joining Fleetwood Mac is well worth digging out for your turntable. While still unavailable commercially, this album celebrates its 50th birthday today.
- John Duffy
ManMade
September 4, 2023
Zo!
R&B
One sign of a great album is when its last track is as stimulating as its first track. Lorenzo Ferguson's second album for the Foreign Exchange label ends with eight minutes of heavenly, faultlessly crafted quiet storm. At the beginning, there's a blissful machine-soul jam where Ferguson displays mastery of the synthetic and the organic. Those highlights feature two of Sy Smith's sweetest and best vocal performances, and they surround a high quantity of strong songs.
- Andy Kellman
Live at Vanderbilt
September 3, 2023
Although the headliners were nearing the far edge of their prime (in the '40s, '50s, and '60s, first Monroe, then Flatt & Scruggs were virtually untouchable as leaders of the bluegrass movement), they still surrounded themselves with the best bands around. Curly Seckler, Charles Nixon, Kenny Baker, and even a 15-year-old Marty Stuart back the gentle-voiced Flatt and the always-energetic Monroe on a whole series of traditional standards.
- Zac Johnson
Deceiver of the Gods
September 2, 2023
What begins with scorching, melodic twin leads, a mead-induced flurry of double-kick drumming, and the meatiest, most malevolent vocals this side of Valhalla? If you answered, "The ninth studio outing from Swedish Viking Metal legends Amon Amarth," then you are correct and can drink from the chalice.
- James Monger
Number Seven Uptown
September 1, 2023
Drummer Don Thrasher (Guided by Voices) and singer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Doughman punch through 15 short songs about TV shows, talking on the phone, and unrequited love. Richly layered and overdubbed with dissonant harmonies, the songs are striking in the way that Doughman doubles his vocals, producing a lo-fi version of the kind of high harmony one might hear in Irish folk (or perhaps similar to how it might sound if Built to Spill covered an entire Varnaline album).
- Zac Johnson