Music
Rotting Hills
Good house music doesn’t need to scream or shout or make a dramatic fuss. Avalon Emerson’s lead track “Rotting Hills” on 040 comes on like a slow burner.
Masterpiece
Big Thief’s first full-length Masterpiece has a kind of cringe-worthy title that level-headed bands tend to avoid on their maiden voyage.
Diagonal Lines
A brittle twinkle of guitar notes plucked in between breathy lyrics, soaked in reverb, and set out to dry in the summer sun is the ‘10s indie rock roadmap to success for Absolutely Yours.
Gold Lines
Chicago’s Panda Riot specializes in high contrast dreamgaze, juxtaposing creamy vocals with crusty guitar distortion.
Love Profess
A distant offering from Mac Blackout’s glam-punk band Mickey, the solo effort Love Profess takes us into weirder waters of electronic experimentation.
Chasescene
Chicago’s Daniel Knox mixes cinematic flourish with the audacity of cabaret in the title track to his full-length LP Chasescene.
Baker’s Dozen
Chicago’s Junius Paul kicks off the jazz jam of “Baker’s Dozen” with some faux feedback scrawl that sounds like a Sonic Youth outtake.
DataVision
Compilations are always a dicey game, but Portals finds its focus in the synth sound.
Inssegh Inssegh
Niger’s Les Filles de Illighadad use of choral chants always foregrounds the vocals, but keep track of the all-important fretwork of the guitar keeping rhythm.
Silver Roses
The lead track “Silver Roses” off Rose City Band’s latest LP Earth Trip hits like Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”
Final Thought
LA’s jazzmaster Kamasi Washington is not messing around on his big band 3xLP release The Epic. It is what it says it is. Epic.
9 Days (ft. Saxo Boy)
Who among us hasn’t had a brief fixation on the avant-garde amapiano club scene of South Africa? Let ye cast the first stone who doesn’t love DJ Black Low!
Parable of Inclusion
Chicago's Rob Mazurek has a touch of the cosmic to him and a star is born on Dimensional Stardust.
Pause Tape
Save the starpower remixes on the Bookhead EP for later and skip straight to the real thing: MF DOOM (RIP).
1539 N. Calvert
Baltimore's JPEGMAFIA is a relentless beat stylist that specializes in hip hop collages.