Wes Montgomery Is at His Peak on ‘The Complete Full House Recordings’
An expanded reissue of the late guitarist Wes Montgomery’s classic 1962 live album is a sheer delight, complete with stunning restored sound quality.
music review
HAAi Uses “Always Ascending” As a Concept for ‘DJ Kicks’
HAAi places older artists in the company of contemporary DJs for a set offering insight into how electronic dance music can be a transportive experience.
Samuel Goff’s ‘Diminished Borders’ Is a Manic, Introspective Free Jazz Trip
Drums and dual saxophones create an atmosphere that invites frenetic pacing and meditative peace on Samuel Goff, Camila Nebbia, and Patrick Shiroishi’s Diminished Borders.
Beirut Returns to His Baroque Pop Origins on ‘Hadsel’
Beirut has turned inward on Hadsel and it’s an affirming, warm kind of music to serve as a soundtrack for the next valley surely coming for us all.
Paul Reed Smith and Eightlock Roar Like Lions Stuck in Quicksand
The flow of Paul Reed Smith’s LP resembles its namesake felines. The music starts loud, maybe not as noisily as a lion’s roar, but a savage joy is expressed.
Carminho Brings the Soul of Portugal to the World
Carminho’s second album Portuguesa sees the Portuguese singer nominated for a Latin Grammy, making her film debut, and performing for the Pope.
We Can Work It Out: Covering the Beatles’ 1962-1966 Period
What’s remarkable about We Can Work It Out is how it emphasizes the Beatles’ foundation-shaking effect on culture that occurred almost from the beginning.
John Vincent III Sings Love Songs for the Canyon
Indie folk artist John Vincent III proclaims that love is central to his life on Songs for the Canyon and offers these songs as proof.
Skyway Man Explores the Cosmos on ‘Flight of the Long Distance Healer’
Skyway Man’s Flight of the Long Distance Healer settles into a solid retro-pop vibe full of brightness and melody, but some of it disappears into stargazing.
Kentuckian Abby Hamilton Aspires to Be As Good As the ‘#1 Zookeeper’
Americana’s Abby Hamilton presents her characters’ experiences as valuable simply because of their quotidian relatability. Kentucky is everywhere and everyone.
Yuko Araki’s ‘IV’: Torn Between Voice and Noise
Experimentalist Yuko Araki highlights her vision’s first new element: the human voice, which was either absent or lost beneath the layers of havoc in the past.
Pretty Lights Ignite at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco
Electronic dance act Pretty Lights crank up their interdimensional soundship space system with transcendent results and a dazzling psychedelic light show.