Peach Pit Prove Their Worth on ‘Magpie’
The songs on Peach Pit’s Magpie have little idiosyncrasies. They are built around sophisticated chord progressions and unique vocal and guitar melodies.
Reviews
Annarella and Django Sparkle on Jazzy ‘Jouer’
Annarella and Django’s Jouer is lush with thought, skill, and, yes, play, intangible elements that make this genre-defying album superb and satisfying.
The Vices and Virtues of Ignorance in These Times
In Understanding Ignorance, philosopher Daniel DeNicola invites us to explore the meaning and implication of what we don’t know, which may be as complex as knowledge itself.
Jazz’s Historical Agenda as Protest Music in the Stellar ‘Brassroots Democracy’
The excellent Brassroots Democracy details the beautiful and bleak ways that jazz music created the soundtrack of an emancipatory movement that lasts to this day.
Opa’s ‘Goldenwings’ Is a South American Jazz Fusion Classic
Opa’s Goldenwings is an influential Uruguayan jazz album that somehow got lost in the shuffle but is gloriously brought back to life with love and care.
STS9 Lift Up California with Transcendent Shows
STS9 conjure pure mana for the soul with their wizardly sonic alchemy. The livetronica tone scientists continue to play at a very high level.
Chatuye’s ‘Ahmuti’ Adds to a Garifuna Cultural Archive
The Chatuye archives offer a broader understanding of how Garifuna artists have sounded their identity in community with one another.
Michael Kiwanuka Records Another Meaningful Record
Michael Kiwanuka’s most striking quality remains his voice, which has the power to evoke deep feelings, as his idols did for another generation.
Arthur Russell’s Underground Genius
Arthur Russell biography Travels Over Feeling is an elegy for a generation of underground artists that died too soon and a requiem for a vanished New York.
Passepartout Duo Reinterpret Synthesizer As an Intelligent Talking Machine
Experimental music is too often dismissed by many as cold and calculated. Passepartout Duo are here to tear down that myth with Argot.
Arlen Roth Plays Lively Folk Pop Acoustic Guitar Standards
Arlen Roth’s Playing Out the String is a blissful treat. The master guitarist delightfully picks and strums his way through well-known 20th-century songs.
Father John Misty Beautifully Chronicles Our Messed-Up World
Father John Misty has come as close to perfecting his artistry as anyone can. Mahashmashana is a masterpiece of exceptional songwriting and performance.