SML – Spontaneous Music Live: I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a “jazz” group that better captures the nuanced movement of electronic DJ music. Josh Johnson’s sax lines evolve with such subtlety that I’d get lost in the mood and not even realize he was playing something completely different than he was 5 minutes before. I prefer Anna Butterss’ acoustic… Read more »
Olivia Rodrigo – You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl so in Love: Rodrigo and Dan Nigro created a perfect summertime album, the kind you can imagine a generation of kids recklessly dancing to as they celebrate a day out and then mourning to as they process the tragedies of their day. I’m excited to dig deeper. goat (jp) /… Read more »
Nina Nastasia – Dogs: One of my favorite things about music is the way you sometimes find and fall in love with an artist who’s been around for ages. That’s this week with Nina Nastasia. Dogs is incredible. Her voice and music has echoes of so many other artists yet it combines to hit me like nothing else. Bela Bartok… Read more »
Death Cab for Cutie – I Built You a Tower: When Narrow Stairs came out eight years ago, I recognized its intellectual strength but never felt its heart the way I did with Transatlanticism and, to a lesser degree, Plans. On first listen, I Built You a Tower is good, but I hear too much head and not enough heart…. Read more »
Jeff Buckley – Live À L’Olympia | Live at Sin-é: I listened to these two back-to-back and they show completely different sides of Buckley’s immense talent. The first four songs from the concert in France demonstrate the raw power he could unleash with his full band, while the solo shows at Sin-é shine a bright light on his talent both… Read more »