Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good!: For the second week in a row, this is on constant play. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s energetic, sexy, and fun. I have a hard time staying still when this is on.
Fela Kuti and Egypt 80 – Army Arrangement: On one hand, there’s no reason to listen to Army Arrangement when Fela recorded at least a dozen better albums. On the other hand, a mediocre Fela record is still better than 99% of what’s on Spotify.
Keith Jarrett – The Melody at Night, With You: The word “gentle” comes to mind. Not tame or weak or toothless, but gentle. Jarrett could have pushed and challenged his listeners, but instead he chose to be gentle with us. Every note he chose to play—and everything he chose not to play—feels like a quiet gift.
Fred Hersch – Alone at the Vanguard: I told a friend about the gentleness of Keith Jarrett’s record, and he suggested I listen to Hersch. It’s playful but I wouldn’t call it gentle. The melisma in these performances felt like Hersch approaches piano in the same way that Whitney Houston approached voice. Hearing this makes me appreciate The Melody at Night, With You even more.
Audion – Alpha: Nothing wrong with it, but I’m not sure I’ll ever play it again. I found myself intentionally listening to how he added and removed sounds from the mix, which underscores how little emotional impact this record has on me.
Elkka – DJ-Kicks: Totally opposite reaction from Audion. I got so sucked into the emotions of the set that I never paid any attention to the constructs of each track. Also, the closing track by Patty Waters is captivating and makes me wonder how I’ve never heard of her before.
Nooriyah – Boiler Room London Middle of Nowhere: This flips between moments of brilliance and moments of sheer laziness. She makes some bold and innovative choices with song selection and mixing, but the transitions are awkward and her decision to include tracks like “I Like to Move It” is a blatantly cloying attempt to win over the crowd. Also, the woman hosting is ridiculously disruptive and annoying, and ultimately keeps this from being something that will ever make it into regular rotation for me.
Martyna Basta – Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering: I turned it off halfway through the 2nd track. With its obtuse rhythms and random sequences of notes, this is the kind of record that feels like it simultaneously tries too hard and stays stuck in antiquated tropes of ambient and experimental.
Ibibio Sound Machine – Electricity: The song “Protection from Evil” made Bob’s 2022 Missed Hits list, and it compelled me to listen to Electricity. To paraphrase Potter Stewart, I can’t always define bad electronic dance music but I know it when I hear it. The heart of Ibibio Sound Machine seems fiery and pure, but the production by Hot Chip embraces everything I hate about soulless, hipper-than-thou dance music.
Old friends who stayed in rotation this week: Tim Hecker No Highs and Pantha du Prince Conference of Trees