Tim Hecker – Shards: It’s short! Only seven songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes. This is a good intro to his scoring work, and I’m surprised by how different it is from his recent non-film music.
Amina Annabi – Belly Dancer: The song feels like a questionable soundtrack from an early ‘90s indie romcom about a hot belly dancer and a scruffy English tourist who fall in love. But then you flip the record and Paul Oakenfold’s “Land of Oz Mix” comes on and it’s an absolute banger, and suddenly that early ‘90s vibe is hitting on all cylinders. I absolutely love this.
HAAi – Baby, We’re Ascending: I played this album constantly while I wasn’t writing here last year. Over these two weeks, side A—“Channels,” “Pigeon Barron,” and especially “Bodies of Water”—has grabbed me in a big way. This is my favorite record right now.
Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule: The first half is just stunning: the energy is incredible, the groove is fierce, and Harry Hirsch’s piano and organ raise it all to another level. By the second half, though, it starts to wear thin, especially lyrically. Songs like “Rosemary” aren’t far from the trite attempts at social commentary that pop metal bands were foisting upon us in ‘89. I will say, though, that Kravitz owned his faith without letting it pigeonhole him as a Christian artist. That’s a tough line and he walked it well.
Sly and the Family Stone – Stand!: This also teeters between thoughtful and trite, but the fire on this record saves it. This is a reminder that the short run time of vinyl—Stand! is 42 minutes compared to 55 minutes for Let Love Rule—is a beautiful constraint.
Exuma – Do Wah Nanny: I recalled this being good but a novelty. I was right about the former and wrong about the latter. At it’s best, it mixes Bahamian music with folk and rock in the same way that Fela mixed Nigerian music, funk, and jazz. At times, it’s cheesy, but it quickly corrects itself.
Ela Minus and DJ Python – Corazón | Corazón (Ricardo Villalobos Remixes): I keep listening to these two 12” singles in the background and I need to give them my full attention. Even in the background, though, they’re very good!
Grateful Dead – Dick’s Picks Vol. Seven (Alexandra Palace, London, 9/1974): This started out cold for me, but from “Truckin’” on, it heats up in a big way. I’m only starting to warm up to this era of the Dead—what I’ve always referred to as the “dodgy jazz” era—so this is a steep learning curve for me.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Ani DiFranco: More Joy Less Shame; Hollie Kenniff: We All Have Places That We Miss