New Beth Orton album is astonishing. A highlight - from a career of highlights. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Albeit archival— 50-ish years late— I think one of the best samba albums ever dropped this week. Absolutely convinced.
Semi-salvaged, some tracks had a bit of a studio dusting/refurbishment/restoration/remixing, but most are just re-mastered versions of an old tape Joyce had. Compositions are fantastic— opens with an 11-minute bossa nova party, then goes into six really lovely singer/songwriters harmonies showcasing unique takes on samba (somewhat experimental undertones, interesting cues, some raw percussion, maybe dialled a bit more towards jazz at times than typical MBP, trance-y). Occasionally it has the same hypnotic atmosphere Caetano Veloso created in his early 70s work... they're somewhere on a different plain.
Musicianship is about the best you can ask for. I would love a cleaner cut of Cicio Da Vida— being a longer epic, a bigger sound could have elevated it— but otherwise the light tape-hiss production adds its own dreamy charm (kinda like Sibylle Baier's Colour Green).
The record should have been a classic. Unfortunately, it'll never become one, but I think it deserves all the recognition it can get in the moment. Feminina might be one of the best tracks the genre— they just keep jamming, and the vibes keep coming (literally).
Billy Woods also dropped one of his best. The beats are more airy and lush than the cryptic 'Aethiopes' he dropped in April. The quality is about equal, but I might prefer Church just slightly.
Tom Scott also dropped his sophomore album under Avantdale Bowling Club after his acclaimed debut back in 2018. This one is just as good as the debut and immediately broke into my top 10 albums of the year.
I really never thought I'd be saying this - but I think Bjork is my AOTY. Still settling in with this album after a few listens today, but I haven't been this immediately riveted and hypnotized by something since Fetch the Bolt Cutters. Pretty amazing music here.
Mike Eagle, Faceless Burial and King Gizzard dropping albums on the same day is like my perfect alternate reality. All 3 are good according to the early reviews. _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
Freddie Gibbs album is also decent although not even close to his best work.
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Mike Eagle
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Cam'ron
Been a bit spoiled with hip-hop recently. These are all really good releases. Gibbs definitely isn't at his best, lyrics aren't exactly revolutionary, and he struggles overtop some of the beat unfortunately (usually due to him being overambitious), but it's still a solid record (the cover confused the heck out of me at first because all I see is Louise from Bob's Burgers). Trees is a solid next step for ABC— love his sound— some of the best bars of the year too. Quality stuff. The Craven x James collab is maple syrup butter. Took me a sec to settle into the new Cam'ron— his chill almost-speaking flow overtop what sounds like some colossal leftover beats of '04-'07 is a bit odd— and the fact the release is so short is also a little weird— but it's an excellent couple of tracks (including the better-late-than-never closer). And even as a minor/lesser/simpler project, Open Mike Eagle still brings his A-game. When this sort of quality is released at this rate, it raises the bar to a point you can sometimes disregard just how good it is. Had any of these releases dropped a decade-ish ago, they'd be lauded everywhere. Not to mention those Ka records. Hoping none of these get lost in the waves.
Offkilter flows, unconventional time signatures, always rapping a little too fast, what I imagine is some freestyling— all overtop some smooth/jazzy/classic beats. Pushes, but never too far. Worth a spin.
Cementing 2022 as an insanely strong year for female-vocalist neo-soul. Production is stupid solid.
Shygirl, Makaya McCraven, Nancy Mounir, Camilla George, Alvvays, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Beths, The Comet Is Coming, and Alex G all releasing very good albums too.
Bjork's new album is her being a genius for about an hour.
I mean... I have no clue why Mal Waldron isn't regarded among the top-tier in jazz history. He's there. He's in the mix with Miles, Monk, Mingus, Coleman, Roach, Rollins, Blakey... he's at that level, and he deserves to be regarded there. Seeing his highest ranked album on BEA at a measly 16,000-something is a tragedy.
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