Rich Ruth – I Survived, It’s Over: The only instrument I hate more than sax is guitar. This album overflows with both, yet I loved it immediately and listened to it multiple times. This is apparently the musical story of Ruth’s experiences with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, and it feels like a journey through psychological despair. In a week filled with exciting records, it stands out as one of the most exciting.
Natural Information Society – Since Time Is Gravity: Modal jazz is a big part of why the late ‘50s and early ‘60s are one of my favorite periods in music. I love the openness of Coltrane, Miles, and others from that time, and this album takes modal jazz to an entirely different place. It’s not an easy listen but it’s an amazing record.
Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good!: Going into my third week on this one and it’s charm grows stronger with each listen. This is turning into one of my defining albums of spring.
Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld – Never Were the Way She Was: This is a complicated and beautiful record. It inspired some pretty intense emotions, yet for the life of me, I can’t speak to any details about it other than the fact that there are powerful sounds here for only two instruments.
Elkka – DJ-Kicks: I didn’t love it as much the second time through, but I was sleepy and needed something to keep me awake, which it did beautifully. I want to listen again when I’m not relying on it to fight against my own tiredness.
CeCe Peniston – Finally / We Got a Love Thang Remix Collection: The mixes of ”Finally” get a bit redundant but it’s good to hear some stretched out interpretations of the song.