Rachel Chinouriri – What a Devastating Turn of Events: I’m continuing to peel back the layers on this one. My most pleasant surprise this week is the depth of her storytelling.
Craig Armstrong – Nocturnes Music for 2 Pianos | The Space Between Us: I once played The Space Between Us at a weekend party in an upstate NY cabin, and my friends dismissed it as overwrought background music. (In fairness, my sense of “party music” is woefully misguided.) The record still holds up for me, but it does feel a bit disjointed now, which is often my complaint about Armstrong’s soundtrack work. Nocturnes is a lovely counterbalance. What it lacks in the complexity, it makes up for in cohesiveness and continuity. A great album for a quiet night.
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department: Back in April, I wrote about my decision to go slow with TTPD and let it unfold over time. This week, I dug into side B. Her wordplay is a big part of why I fell in love with Taylor, and there are lines here that will probably be etched in my brain for the rest of my life.
Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You: I’ve been trying to listen to this album for two years. I realized this week that I absolutely hate the third song, and honestly, the first two songs don’t grab me all that much either. Maybe it’s time I let this one go.
Forest Swords – Bolted: Unlike artists like Tim Hecker or Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who manage to convey immense darkness and tension without resorting to cliches, Matthew Barnes’ compositions on Bolted feel like bad ‘90s goth transposed into ‘20s electronic. I haven’t written it off yet, but two listens in, I’m sitting somewhere between bored and annoyed.
Radio Slave – Fabric 48: This is an international tour of electronic dance music. I listened in the background, but the music caught my ear multiple times and forced me to pay attention.
Osiris – “Fun / Slippin’ in the Back Door” | “War (on the Bull Shit)”: A couple of 12” singles I blindly picked up from a used bin, these are exactly why I love taking a chance on old dance mixes. They’re not particularly original, but it’s fantastic early ‘80s funk.
Grateful Dead – 5/22/77 (Pembroke Pines FL) / Dick’s Picks Three: Until this week, I never truly understood why Deadheads love spring ’77. I mean, I know about Barton Hall thanks to a kid in a Chinese buffet in Ocean City MD 15 years ago, but now I get why every show in May 1977 is someone’s favorite. This recording is amazing. I’m having a hard time getting past “Sugaree” because its energy is just astonishing.