Elkka – Prism of Pleasure: I gave Prism of Pleasure a second listen as I was driving on winding backroads at sunset on Friday night, and it rewarded me dearly. Elkka brings vulnerability and human connection into tracks like “Break All My Walls Down” and “Crushhh.” The highlight, though, is the nearly 10-minute flow of “Passionfruit,” whose piano riff conjures my favorite Alice Coltrane track.
Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club: On paper, I should love Pink Pony Club. Sadly, I find it full of played out cliches and references to the lowest aspects of icons like Madonna and Taylor Swift. In fairness, Dan Nigro’s work typically doesn’t connect with me, so maybe this just isn’t my thing. With all that said, though, the title track is a triumphant anthem that deserves all the success it’s received.
Carlita – Fabric Presents Carlita: This record is so good—especially from “Banggg” on out—that I just want to sing its praises.
Kali Malone – Sacrificial Code: I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t a record filled with long, uninterrupted drones. I’m absolutely thrilled and I’ve played the record at least 4 times this week.
Van Morrison – Moondance: Jason Ankeny at Allmusic insightfully calls this “the yang to Astral Weeks’ yin.” When I discovered Astral Weeks last year (unfortunately when I wasn’t keeping this journal), it felt like I’d been struck by lightning while I was falling in love. It was life changing. Moondance is not. If Astral Weeks is a subconscious journey through love and life with a folk soundtrack played by world-class jazzmen, Moondance is a conscious journey with a soul soundtrack played by world-class session cats. I can’t deny it’s a great record, but for me, it lacks the magic of its predecessor.
David Sylvian – Gone to Earth: This doesn’t achieve the artistic focus of Secrets of the Beehive, but it’s a solid album that foreshadowed virtually all of Sylvian’s later work. It holds up remarkably well, even for someone who typically hates music from the ‘80s.
Pantha du Prince – Conference of Trees: Listening at low volume in the background revealed an emotional and sonic arc that begins and builds softly, peaks with “Silentium Larix,” then gently lowers the listener into “Lichtung.”
Khruangbin – Mordechai: Once again, this CD immediately relaxed the cat and the dog during a rough thunderstorm. The album fades into the background, but it creates an awfully good background.
Lamb – What Sound (Deluxe Version): Lamb tapped into the spaces between things in a uniquely beautiful way. The deluxe version includes “Night Has a Thousand Eyes” with its gorgeous upright bass performance, and Nellee Hooper’s beautiful mix of “Gabriel.”
Craig Armstrong – Nocturnes Music for 2 Pianos: Nellee Hooper’s mix of Lamb’s “Gabriel” led me back to this relatively recent Armstrong record. Like Hooper, Armstrong strips music down to its bare essentials and then shines a muted light on its melancholy.
Gracie Abrams – Good Riddance: I’m still stuck on side C, specifically “Right Now.” It’s a truly stunning, late-night song.
Grateful Dead – 10/29/73 (St. Louis MO): I stand behind all the good things I said about 3/23/1995 over the past month, but this 1973 show highlights how high (no pun intended) the band was in the ‘70s and how far they’d fallen by the mid ‘90s. This is the first time I’ve felt compelled to pay attention to “China Doll,” and like most Hunter/Garcia compositions, it’s a deep journey into this song.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Maribou State: Fabric Presents Maribou State;
Record store finds this week: I stumbled across a couple of classic house 12” singles at a store in Frederick MD, including the NYC Peech Boys “Come On Come On (Don’t Say Maybe)” produced by Larry Levan. Probably the last thing I expected to find, and it totally made my day.