Literally have not had a moment to look at any of my usual venues for checking on new releases.

I do know there's at least two really big releases: the new J Cole and the new St. Vincent (!). Pretty sure there are several other big releases that I've been waiting on dropping today but will check later.

What's everyone looking for and listening to?



-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

All the singles they've been dropping for this had me ready for this release.

The Phonte/BeMyFiasco and Emmavie cuts are all solid.

Haven't checked the album yet but really dug both the singles

Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future (! -- was this a surprise drop, had no idea this was coming today)

Damien Jurado - The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania (minimalist, lyrically-driven singer-songwriter)

Gabriel Garzon-Montano - Aguita EP: II (Also a surprise)

Jorja Smith - Be Right Back



-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7vTtnevlO4

the addition of the new bassist is already paying off a million times over.

a different vibe from their previous releases, but I like it a lot.

Little more comtemporary but still throwback-ish.

I had tickets to see them pre-covid and then it got cancelled. I had just discovered them then. Looking forward to them being able to tour again.

only one listen in, but looking forward to driving w/ it tomorrow.

Need to pay more attention to Jorja's new one. the PR folks are insistent this is an "in-between release" and not a proper 2nd album somehow. I don't understand the modern record promotion business. So many mulligans called left and right... "this album doesn't count as an album!" gfto. if you sell it, it counts.

>only one listen in, but looking forward to driving w/ it
>tomorrow.

Good catch - need to check this out. (Haven't listened to Morcheeba in a looong time...)

>Need to pay more attention to Jorja's new one. the PR folks
>are insistent this is an "in-between release" and not a proper
>2nd album somehow. I don't understand the modern record
>promotion business. So many mulligans called left and right...
>"this album doesn't count as an album!" gfto. if you sell it,
>it counts.

Yeah, the single/mixtape/EP/full-length definitions have become very murky for all sorts of reasons. For the most part I don't care what they call it but I do feel like it's sometimes a bit of a cop out: "Oh no, this is just an EP..." like it's only a teaser. Either put your full confidence behind it or don't put it out...

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

I get why a few critics decided to attack it for some of the more meta lyrics and very referential production, but the album SOUNDS GREAT and I think the few "dud" lyrics are more mildly cringe than actually rough.

St. Vincent albums have always taken a bit to settle in with me and I always have my nitpicks with them but I already really, really like this one. I had no problems listening to it three times in a row, which I definitely didn't intend to do.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Honestly, I'm super annoyed at both critics and the twitterverse on this one for letting two-cent controversies color coverage and reception of the record. St Vincent and her people have more than a bit of responsibility in it but folks are really showing their foolish side in all of this.

That said, I'm loving the record, too, and it continues to reveal with each listen... like, it wasn't until listen #3 or 4 that I realized the melody to the closing track, Candy Darling, mimics the melody of Melting of the Sun (I think, or one of those earlier tunes). But one more layer, too, because I'm pretty sure there's a bit of self-referencing in that melody as a whole, that it takes after a tune from an earlier SV record... need to dig a bit though.

There's a *definite* self-referencing melody in "The Laughing Man" but again I need to pull out the older records to find it -- my first thought was Dilettante but that's not right, I don't think.

I'm not wild about Live in the Dream but it might grow on me. I absolutely love the second half of the record: Laughing Man, Down, Somebody Like Me, My Baby..., At the Holiday Party, and Candy Darling --- that run is pretty immaculate to me. And "My Baby" has a really vital energy to it, like it's threatening to fall off track somehow, and kind of a genius move to take flip "Morning Train" so successfully and unironically that way.

Some of the production choices are a little "eh" and in a few spots the mix feels thinner than it should (to me). But no complaints here -- it's a top-notch SV record which is always a gift.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

on it here...

Don't let "EP" fool you -- this is three tracks at 19 minutes but it feels like an album in itself, lol -- only downside is you want more.

And I *love* that they called it "The Jazz EP" but two of the three tracks are modern/contemporary, not standards (not that I'd be mad at standards)... one track from Michael League/Snarky Puppy ("Lingus"), one track from Kamasi Washington ("Street Fighter Mas"). The third cut is Astor Piazzolla's "Oblivion."

The playing is great, as usual, but I think Lingus is the standout here show-stealer here with twists and turns that get into virtuoso territory. Hope this means there's a full-length around the corner.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

https://akaisolo.bandcamp.com/album/true-sky