Originally issued by Phillips under the pseudonym Myriam Frances and long sought by vinyl collectors, Australian nun Sister Irene O’Connor’s 1973 album Fire of God’s Love sees official reissue this week via the always reliable Freedom to Spend label. Drenched in reverb and powered by organ and fuzzy drum machine, it sounds like a holy devotional side project by Broadcast—future music imbued with traditional faith.

Nicola Alesini & Pier Luigi Andreoni’s 1996 ‘ambient-word record’ Marco Polo. Vine-like, lush and minimal, layered and discreet, with assists from Japan’s David Sylvian (vocals), Pierrot Lunaire’s Arturo Stalteri (bouzouki, harmonium), Roger Eno (keyboards, percussion, vocals), David Torn (guitar), and Harold Budd (percussion). Fourth world, indeed.

The Madrid-based Munster Records and its sister label Vampisoul have become house favorites over the last few years. The latter released one of our favorite reissues of the year in Cartao Postal, the 1971 MPB masterclass from Brazilian singer Evinha, and Munster Records is keeping that momentum strong with Joropop: Psych Pop & Folk in Venezuela, 1968-1976, a compilation that hasn’t strayed far from the speakers since its summer release.

Kai Slater dons the velvet flares once again for this superlative dose of psychedelic 1960s pop, spun out on electric 12-string and recorded in a dazey cloud of lo-fi fuzz. This is the second LP this year for Sharp Pins following this spring’s Radio DDR, and Slater was also a big part of Lifeguards’ post-punk Ripped and Torn, as well.Never mind. The youth of Chicago have a lot in the tank. There’s not a bad song on the disc, and there are 21 of them in all. Impressive.

On his first proper offering since 2022’s career highlight In These Times, jazz drummer and composer Makaya McCraven compiles a set of four new EPs into one for Off the Record. Hence the package’s namesake, each set of songs takes the organic improvisation from various previous live recordings. There’s an aural alchemy in McCraven’s post-production wizardry, the fervent compositions feeling like fresh studio iterations as much as previous live experiences culled from the archives; each set uniquely featuring a different live lineup with plenty of the musician’s collaborators and International Anthem labelmates.

Released in 1982, the Manfred Eicher produced ECM session that constitutes the record finds the cellist joined by Steve Kuhn on piano, Collin Walcott (sitar, tabla, percussion), Jan Garbarek (saxophones), Arild Andersen on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves on guitar. It’s Darling’s record, but as a leader his touch is deft, allowing the incredibly impressive ensemble to stretch out and improvise within the compositional framework. Widescreen, ambient, transcendent.

Shrunken Elvis—the Nashville based trio of Spencer Cullum, Sean Thompson, and Rich Ruth—ignite a mind-meld of pedal steel, synths, and guitars on their self-titled debut, a slyly adventurous and immersive album that fuses languid soundscapes and kosmische vistas with elements of krautrock, spiritual jazz, and ambient & electronic music. Embracing touchstones such as Harmonia, Alice Coltrane, Pat Metheny, and Ashra, to name a few, the trio embark on sonic excursions that move through pastoral, tropical, and celestial realms.

The music winds sinuously, like a river in deep, humid tropics. In six tracks which blend seamlessly into one musical entity, this pivotal collaboration from Brian Eno and Jon Hassell explores a mystical, minimalist music, tinted by Southern Hemisphere sounds but also incorporating 20th century electronics. The cuts move slowly but insistently, a sensuous wiggle in their syncopation.