The Mendoza Line :: Post-War

“We liked bands like the Mekons or Alex Chilton, that kind of vibrated on that strange frequency where you weren’t sure if this was entertaining all of the time, or if the feeling between the band and the audience was more agreeable or adversarial. And that just doesn’t scale commercially …”

Ava Mendoza :: The Circular Train

You might have spotted Ava Mendoza on Bill Orcutt’s Four Guitars tour earlier this year, a meeting of four exceptional players of diverse backgrounds: Wendy Eisenberg from jazz and art song experiment, Shane Parrish from the finger-picked blues-drone world, the unclassifiable Orcutt, and Mendoza, a bold expander of the electric blues rock universe. She’s played with everyone—William Parker, Nels Cline, Matana Roberts, and Fred Frith among others—and led free-jazz, noise-rock, blues-encrusted Unnatural Ways through two albums, blending McLaughlin and Son House-ish textures. The Circular Train expands on this syncretic vision, building towering edifices of guitar tone and setting them to flames.

Aquarium Drunkard :: 2024 Year in Review

Can any year-end list be definitive? With so much music being released every single day—from marquee names to DIY home recorders to all points in between—it’s impossible to truly keep up with it all. But the idea with our lists has never been to say “here’s everything worth paying attention to.” Rather, this is our humble attempt at casting a wide net and reeling in as much of the good shit as possible.

William Parker :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Music flows out of bassist, composer and bandleader William Parker like a river. There are few musical formations that the artist has not tried. From solo, to duo, to trio, to small ensembles, to large ensembles, Parker is constantly moving, evolving and changing, following the flow of the music. While Parker, who turns 70 on January 10, 2022, has recorded and performed with some legendary musicians (e.g. Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Peter Brötzmann) his own voluminous discography, and his manifold compositions, will be his lasting legacy.