Odds & Ends 111
Pleasure is nothing to feel guilty about, especially if existence is mostly suffering
William Parker: Painters Winter
With Hamid Drake on drums, Daniel Carter on multiple blowables, and Parker also switching between instruments, it’s hard to pin down a unifying sonic identity, but even the (conventional and bamboo) flute tracks have their pleasures (“Groove 77”, “A Curly Russell”)
William Parker: Mayan Space Station
Guitar trio outstandingly led from the bottom by Parker, who takes on a lot of the melodic load, giving Ava Mendoza free rein to shred, provide harmonic accompaniment, or just vibe, while Gerald Cleaver’s cymbal-heavy drumming is ever so slightly overbearing (“Domingo”, “Rocas Rojas”, “Canyons of Light”)
Vince Staples
The Kenny Beats beats unify this better than his previous 22-minute album, and Staples’s flow regains some of the ease of expression it had during his mid-2010s peak; still, the track lengths mean he isn’t required to show growth of any kind (“Law of Averages”, “Are You with That”, “Take Me Home”)
Portrayal of Guilt: We Are Always Alone
This screamo-meets-black-metal band—come back, I haven’t told you about their nihilism yet—reminds us that while existence is mostly suffering, we can enjoy the little arpeggios and big tempo changes along the way (“Masochistic Oath”, “It’s Already Over”, “They Want Us All to Suffer”)
Four tracks of credible Ethiopian-influenced brass funk by people with names like “Lodewijk Lefevvre” and “Willem de Mol” that Farfisa around more than I need, but the surf guitar guy (“Joris Wendelen”) plays hot and the horn combo indulges in an un-Beneluxian degree of dirt (“The Heist”, “Bactrian Camel”, “Lamentation”)
Very fluent tenor playing, with a rhythm section capable of keeping things interesting at high pace, and vocals that don’t always kill the track dead—sometimes they’re in a language I’m not fluent in (“Creation: A Home in Mind”, “Fundamental, Pt. 2”)
Section H8: Welcome to the Nightmare
SoCal hardcore punks with a metal attitude and a few unnecessary chugging slowdowns love The Harder They Come, hate cops, and save their best riff to impress Tim Armstrong (“Track & Field”, “Hate”, “Streetsweeper”)
The Rootsman: Essentials 1996-1998
Amidst the ’90s British trip-hop boom, one John Bolleten unites Kingston and Marrakesh with great energy he later devotes to pro-Palestinian activism—probably a better use for it (“Tribal Dervish”, “Into the Light”)
Fiddlehead: Between the Richness
Don’t-call-it-emo legend turned history teacher Pat Flynn explores the hardcore/indie interface while don’t-call-it-emoing about the usual topics: birth, death, e e cummings (“Down University”, “Get My Mind Right”)
Indie rap’s ranking record label lines up the scene’s brightest stars from Sandman to Eagle to Oddisee to Perceptionists, and though there are few bad tracks, the most distinct personality this side of B-Real is displayed by someone called Zackey Force Funk (“Bane Brain”, “Zero Fux”, “Gwan B Okay”)