Hemlocke Springs: Going...Going...Gone! EP
Escaped STEM grad student turned pop oddball is an affected singer (it’s the ’80s forever, Brad, get over it) with two great sure-shots helpfully placed at the beginning and a more introspective one that gets close, and even her non-great songs are at the level of the craft of, say, a Cars album (“Girlfriend”, “Gimme All Ur Luv”, “POS”)
T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo: Singles & EPs
Streaming-only compilation from the UK Acid Jazz label, most of which I’d heard before—six songs are on Analog Africa's excellent Echos Hypnotiques—but the new-to-me stuff holds up, and I’ll take any excuse to play “Noude Ma Gnin Tche De Me” again (“Mi Si Ba To”, “Gendamou Na Wili We Gnannin”, “Houwe Towe Houn”)
Miami DJ duo/streetwear hawkers making “Acid Guaracha”, where “guaracha” is the South American electronic kind and “acid” is definitely LSD—no Cuban theatricality or MDMA hugs here—with the sheer hardness of the syncopation some compensation on the ones without prominent vocals (“Mucho Calor”, “Chapuzón”, “Tobogán”)
All-star lineup makes an admirable record whose ambient/electronic aspects don’t enthrall me when beat-driven motorvation is absent; still, the opener sustains 21 minutes of attention (and gives the gist), and the playing of Courvoisier and the likes of Wadada Leo Smith and Nate Wooley can’t be faulted (“Le pavot rouge”, “Le sabot de Venus”)
Nia Archives: Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against the Wall EP
Indie rock with breakbeats, Brazilian body percussion with breakbeats, briefly popular weird-voiced Irish soul singer Maverick Sabre with breakbeats—hey, it’s a good trick (“Baianá”, “So Tell Me…”, “No Need 2 Be Sorry, Call…”)
At her best, she can swing the weight of centuries of Black struggle into anthems both enjoyable on their own terms and genuinely inspirational; she mixes this with watery disco and pop-soul that no one in the studio except maybe Hozier has much feel for, though sometimes she overcomes this through sheer weight of multitracking (“Demons”, “The Returner”, “Requiem”)
A-Reece: Today’s Tragedy, Tomorrow’s Memory: The Mixtape (2001)
The most-loved project by a skilled if unsurprising South African MC with real emotions to work with, smart things to say about violence and not-dumb things to say about fame, and soul-sample production that apparently doesn’t code as indie over there (“Hibachi”, “Dichotomy”, “Bravo”)
Sturm-und-drang soundscapes that get shuffled off stage before anyone has time to yawn, with the vocalists given plenty of space to say… a lot; lacking an exegesis, I’ll take them literally and wish whichever Father needs to “eat more rice” luck with his manganese deficiency (“I Saw”, “Drum”, “Sink or Swim”)
Downtempo electronica (are we allowed to say trip-hop again? no? well, worth a try) that gets close to providing the right amount of not-nothing: some cheap thrills, some “Erotics of Betrayal”, some beats even, a lot of sighs or dolphins or digital simulacra of same (“Awaken, Plum Plum”, “Sapphic Rehabilitation Center”)
Lo-fi punk with sax in moderation; Kevin Boyer isn’t exactly a grab-you-by-the-scruff singer, but his scratchy guitar leads and band’s energy enliven his rants, formal exhaustion be damned (“Going Through My Things”, “Trash & Junk”)
Jason Eady: Mississippi
Writerly Americana vet issues a blues-first album that doesn’t always escape high-generic, but he’s a much more effective singer than most of his ilk, especially his basement notes, such that the big writerly showcase "Mile Over 45" isn’t necessarily the best song (“Once Upon a Time in New Orleans”, “Mile Over 45”)
JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown: Scaring the Hoes: DLC Pack EP
Nothing that doesn't have a reason to exist, nothing I’d insist be on the main album, though I wouldn’t mind a further record with beats constructed entirely from Al Green samples (“Tell Me Where to Go”, “Guess What Bitch, We Back Hoe!”)
Still catching up, eh?