Underworld – Barbara, Barbara, We Face a Shining Future: Together, Karl Hyde, Rick Smith, and Darren Emerson had a collective magic. None of them achieved the same heights without all of them. Barbara Barbara is fine but I see few reasons to pick it over one of the three core albums from the 1990s.
Dennis Ferrer – In the House: Totally different vibe than the Honey Dijon mix I wrote about last week. I love the energy, the way the first disc is a slow burn that builds and builds and builds. It’s one of my favorite mix CDs, a staple I’ve come back to over and over for nearly 20 years.
Ricardo Villalobos & Samuel Rohrer – Microgestures: Listening again this week reminded me how funny Villalobos can be. It’s easy to listen to this like a staid, analytic academic, but when I do that, I totally miss out on the goofy joy and fun that’s all over this record.
Ela Minus and DJ Python – Corazón: The more I listen to this, the more I like it. In fact, I’ve been listening to both sides of this 12” (yes, the instrumental side too) so much that I haven’t gone back to DÍA.
HAAi – Baby, We’re Ascending: Corazón reminds me of this record so I played them back-to-back. I often hear weird connections between records that aren’t necessarily there, but I think the connections are real on this one. Unfortunately, I can’t describe it beyond a shared vibe.
Ela Minus and DJ Python – Corazón (Ricardo Villalobos Remixes): I only listened once so far, but both “Abril Lluvias” and “Kiss U” sound fantastic. Villalobos stretched them out and added his own special flavor, and it works.
Grateful Dead – 10/17/72 (St. Louis, MO): I’m still unpacking this show. There are a few places where the performance was on the verge of catching fire but they pulled back. For example, “Black Peter” is kind of dull, but there’s a spark near the end that almost catches. As I said last week, this is a solid rock show, but it increasingly feels like a study in what could’ve been.
Record store finds this week: A web find rather than a record store find, but Real Gone Music reissued Dick’s Picks 36, so I’m happy to add one more concert recording without being gouged by sellers on eBay or Discogs.