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William Tyler :: Flight Final

William TylerPosted on

When we last caught up with guitarist William Tyler, it was to commemorate Secret Stratosphere, the ripping live record he'd made with his band of compatriots, The Impossible Truth. But his new single "Flight Final" finds Tyler returning to—and moreover, expanding on—the haunted radiophonic tones of his 2020 EP New Vanitas. There's a stark menace to the song's opening, before a light on the horizon cracks—like that big old moon emerging from behind a shadowy cloud—in the form of a sparkly synth reverie and Tyler's arcing waves of electric guitar . . .

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Posted on William Tyler

Keanu Nelson :: Wilurarrakutu

Keanu NelsonPosted on

This week sees the Mississippi Records reissue of last year's revelatory, Keanu Nelson album Wilurarrakutu to a worldwide audience. Nelson is an aboriginal Australian from Papunya, a remote community northwest of Alice Springs, and for this album he recorded himself freely singing his own poems over template Casio beats. Expect simple reggaes, apotheotic synthpop ballads, and new age devotional hymns . . .

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Posted on Keanu Nelson

Søren Skov Orbit :: Adrift

Søren Skov OrbitPosted on

Released by Frederiksberg Records, the Danish label that recently reissued landmark multi-genre Scandivanian artists like Klaus Schonning and Karin Liungman, Soren Skov Orbit's Adrift feels like it fits right in while also extending the eclectic, adventurous fusion styles of Pekka Pohjola or Jan Garbarek, who similarly saw jazz as a means for reimagining other musical traditions: Ethiopian harmonies, Balkan melodies, Jamaican rhythms, Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef and whatever else can filter the broken geometries of jazz through a silky folk noir . . .

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Posted on Søren Skov Orbit

The Medium :: City Life

The MediumPosted on

Like the venerable touchstones of golden seventies pop, the strength of Nashville four-piece The Medium lies firmly in their established songcraft. On their promising sophomore effort For Horses, the band melded their confident baroque pop with a rousing dose of guitar-driven melodies. Curiously, the title of new record City Life represents a bit of a mirage . . .

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Posted on The Medium

Gabriel Birnbaum :: Perfect Again

Gabriel BirnbaumPosted on

How do you not love a record called Patron Saint of Tireless Losers? On his second proper solo LP, Wilder Maker's Gabriel Birnbaum swirls in a kaleidoscope of symphonic psych-pop and folky strummers. Don't be fooled by Birnbaum's shaggy dog drawl and easygoing melodies—there's plenty of movement here, surprises lurking in the song's untidy corners. Sure, ambling acoustics and Beach Boys-ready harmonies abound, but on the album's best track, the electric piano-dappled "Perfect Again," barrels forward like a train . . .

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Posted on Gabriel Birnbaum

Miles Davis :: Rated X

Miles DavisPosted on

“Rated X” lacks the monumental sound collage quality of its taped compatriots. The quick (for this era of Miles) seven-minute tune leans into a minimal chaos, almost as if In a Silent Way was recorded in the depths of hell. What begins in disarray slowly becomes the most cohesive thing you’ve ever heard . . .

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Posted on Miles Davis

J. Mamana :: For Every Set of Eyes

J. MamanaPosted on

“But what the hell do I know? I just record records that get streamed for free.”

A years-in-the-making conversation with songwriter and producer J. Mamana . . .

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Posted on J. Mamana

The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

Painted dreams. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.

34.1090° N, 118.2334° W . . .

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Posted on SIRIUS

Meshell Ndegeocello :: No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin

Meshell NdegeocelloPosted on

The works of novelist, essayist and political activist James Baldwin continues to resonate in the culture and in the music of Meshell Ndegeocello nearly 40 years after his death. No More Water sets his words—and the words of poets Staceyann Chin and Audrey Lorde—to an incandescent soundtrack, influenced by jazz, folk, gospel, rock and the rituals of the black church . . .

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Posted on Meshell Ndegeocello

Transmissions :: Starflyer 59

Podcast Starflyer 59Posted on

This week, we have an exceedingly rare interview with Jason Martin, of California dream pop band Starflyer 59. Fermented in the nascent Riverside dream pop underground alongside his brother Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric in the early '90s, Martin's band SF59 released its debut album, Silver, 30 years ago in 1994 on the fledgling Tooth & Nail label. His latest, Lust for Gold, finds him winking knowingly at the title of his 1995 album Gold, a record routinely cited as one of the best shoegaze albums of all-time . . .

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Posted on Podcast Starflyer 59

Pat Metheny :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Pat Metheny The AD InterviewPosted on

Pat Metheny continues to innovate. At the same time, having just turned 70, his work has become more reflective, looking back at absent friends, bygone mentors and old songs, and considering how they shaped — and continue to shape — him. Entering the sixth decade of his career Metheny continues to make boundary-blind music that, though clearly in touch with a wealth of traditions both orthodox and esoteric, is unmistakably his own . . .

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Posted on Pat Metheny The AD Interview

Neil Young’s Archives Vol. III :: 16 Unreleased Highlights

Neil YoungPosted on

Look, it’s just too big. Weighing in at 17 compact discs (198 tracks!) and five Blu-Rays (11 films!), Neil Young’s upcoming Archives Vol. III box set is a monster that we’ll be grappling with for years to come. Covering the songwriter’s ridiculously prolific / ridiculously divergent span of 1976 to 1987, Vol. III can’t really be summed up in a meaningful way in one cursory review. So, what we’ve got here is a little addendum to Takes, the 16-track Vol. III sampler — 16 more unreleased highlights that give a hint of the treasures . . .

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Posted on Neil Young

Caetano Veloso :: Bicho

Brazil Caetano VelosoPosted on

Recorded in 1977 following a performance at the Negro Festival of Art and Culture in Lagos and a month immersed in the city with his comrade Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso’s Bicho is a shimmering and rapturous entry in the Brazilian legend’s indelible catalog, one in which the influence of African culture, particularly Jùjú music, coalesces stunningly with funky, orchestral MPB, jazz-laced lounge, and soulful cosmic folk . . .

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Posted on Brazil Caetano Veloso

Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: August 2024

Radio Free Aquarium DrunkardPosted on

Freeform transmissions from Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab. Airing every third Sunday of the month, RFAD on dublab features the pairing of Tyler Wilcox’s Doom and Gloom from the Tomb and Chad DePasquale’s New Happy Gathering. This month kicks off with Wilcox's mix of sunset laments and armchair boogies, followed by DePasquale's selection of city pop, MPB, and jazz-funk. Sunday, 4-6pm PT . . .

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Posted on Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard

Count Ossie and the Rasta Family :: Man From Higher Heights

Count Ossie Reggae/DubPosted on

If you’re wondering where to head after Dadawah and Heart of the Congos, this ain’t a bad next step. Man from Higher Heights is a roots reggae jammer shrouded in mystery. It's potent brew of reverent nyabinghi rhythms, synth, brass, and sinuous fuzz guitar will elevate you above the heat and humid murk to your own higher heights . . .

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Posted on Count Ossie Reggae/Dub