Valerie June – Owls, Omens, and Oracles: This is one of those albums that makes genres seem stupid and irrelevant. Is this R&B? Folk? Roots? Indie? Pop? All I know is this is an incredibly joyful album, one that challenges us to find light in the darkness around us. Donna Summer – Love to Love You Baby: The first time… Read more »
Gia Margaret – Singing: I wake up in the middle of the night and quietly play Singing, the dog lying beside me as I turn the volume as low as possible to avoid waking the house. Hearing the record in this way lets me hear parts of it that I’ve never heard before, like the heartbeat behind “Everyone Around Me… Read more »
Mitski – Nothing’s About to Happen to Me: Back in March, I wrote that this is an easy album. I oversimplified. Yes, the album is more sonically accessible than most of her other records. Lyrically, though, this is anything but easy. This is a record of trauma and mistakes and self-doubt and betrayal and death. My initial high point is… Read more »
Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters: This sacred cow doesn’t deserve a full slaughter but it certainly does warrant some harsh criticism. Hancock took two genres that were at a creative peak—the sonic experimentation of late ‘60s jazz and the funk milestones from the early ‘70s—and created a lukewarm fusion whose sum is far, far less than its parts. Worse, this… Read more »