Jessie Ware – Devotion: My ears and my brain are working harder with Devotion than they did with That Feels Good!: While the latter felt like a familiar friend from the first note, the former is filled with sounds and layers and arrangements that don’t immediately make sense. Thankfully, they eventually come clear. I’m letting this record unfold slowly, and I’ve only just crossed the threshold to side B. Early standouts are “No to Love” (which sounds to me like it’s filled with heartbroken confusion rather than rhetorical questions), “Night Light,” and the two-note guitar accents that Dave Okumu peppers throughout the songs.
Honey Dijon – DJ Kicks: I blindly picked this up a few weeks ago and it reminds me why I’m always willing to blindly buy DJ Kicks sets. This is a fantastic mix of classic house / deep house that makes it nearly impossible to sit still. I’ve been playing this loud over the past week.
Gracie Abrams – The Secret of Us: Over the summer, I saw an intriguing street ad that motivated me to find The Secret of Us, listen to it, and dismiss it as another Taylor Swift knockoff. Something about it planted a seed, though, and a month or so later, I listened again. And again. And again. And I’m still listening. Her voice is what gets me, the way her breath fights with the notes. I like it so much when her breath wins.
Bass Edict – Whirld: This 1996 12” didn’t seem to get much love but the first track on the B-side, “Nonsense,” is a gem. It’s mid-90s house but with a strong tribal/IDM vibe, and the vocals are a nice allusion to Jesse Saunders’ “On and On.” The other two tracks are solid, but “Nonsense” is the standout.
Grateful Dead – 10/14/83 (Hartford CT): I’ve been listening to this one for the past few weeks. Set 1 is solid but set 2 is magical. They play for about 100 minutes straight with only one small pause. Set 2 is just insane in the best possible way. One special moment: At about 4:30 in “Stella Blue,” it feels like Jerry Garcia channels Prince’s guitar playing, and it’s absolutely beautiful.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Erika de Casier: Sensational