Holy Hell! I have so many New Releases to share with all of you! I came into Today (2/17) already with a dozen new titles. After the deep dive on Friday I have ended up with NINETEEN freaking recommendations for you and yours. It’s a record-breaking week, even with two titles that came out before this week that add to the numbers. No time for small talk, so let’s dive right in.
Ben Folds has a new album coming out! That name may not mean much to you, but he is one of my New Music Heroes. This week, he announced his first album since 2015’s So There. What Matters Most has been scheduled for release on June 2, and the first teaser single is Winslow Gardens. Ben’s songwriting hasn’t lost any of its shine, and this track evokes his best efforts with Ben Folds Five in the mid-90’s.
A release that I missed at the beginning of February came to my attention this week. Noah23 is a rapper and producer from Guelph, Ontario (practically right next door). I’ve known of Noah and his music since I worked at the HMV store in Guelph. Our Hip-Hop expert (and my former cannabis supplier) Mike was friends with Noah, and he always spoke in glowing terms of how talented he is. 23 has gone on to work with such greats as Sole and Kool Keith in his twenty-plus year career. His latest album is Ikosi Tria, (released on 2/3/23), and it’s a multi-producer affair, with Noah’s lyrical flow providing the narrative. Featured guests include DJ Lucas and Killah Priest. If you like your emcees permanently baked, and slightly paranoid, this jam is your jam. This jam is my jam.
Another artist that I missed on 2/3 is Toronto’s Don Kerr. The drummer for the legendary Rheostatics and Singer/Songwriter has released his second self-produced album as Communism. Lovespeech is ten funky and well-crafted Pop Songs, with focus on boundless optimism. Kerr’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s All I Want is a surprising and fun ride through 70’s Guitar Rock, with sparkly harmonies. You can almost smell the hairspray.
Now we can talk about the rest of this week’s New Releases. A musician from the UK called Montana Pete has been recording for over twenty years. His most recent album War Machine came out on Tuesday (2/14). It is my introduction to Montana Pete and the ten tracks feature dirty guitar and bass laying the bed for Pete’s genuine poetry of the proletariat. Plus, you can dance to it!
Nic Mauskovic is a Dutch multi-instrumentalist and Producer. He has been recording his style of Dance-adjacent Music as Nicolini, and his most recent release is Sopratutto. The seven-track EP is lively with shifting tempos, tasty sax loops, and delicious synthetic ear candy. Guesting on vocals is Nushin Naini, and Martha de Barros (from IC-RED).
A pair of UK artists have released a project with interesting and inspiring origins. In mid-2021, London Electronic trio Damos Room and Producer LYAM were in the midst of sharing files in collaboration, when the very-21st Century Problem of Hard Drive Malfunction derailed the project. They’ve since taken the scraps of what they could salvage to create EIN, a five-track EP. It’s an acronym that means Everything Is Noise and these disjointed meanderings belong right at home at My Imaginary Warehouse Rave.
An MC born in Oakland, but based in Brooklyn called Nappy Nina has released her sixth album. Mourning Due is divinely-produced, with skittish beats and microsamples. Nina’s flow is on point. Featured guests include JusMoni and Moor Mother.
Now we shall wander into something a little more esoteric. When I saw the movie Dancer In The Dark, starring Björk, back in 2000, I was filled with joy that the story told of a woman who makes Music in her mind from the sounds of everyday life. She works in a factory, and the Industrial noises turn into this beautifully dissonant musicality. As someone who also makes music in his brain whilst existing, I felt seen. An album released by Brazil’s great Experimental Label, The Church of Noisy Goat, comes from an artist known only as Radek K. Recording as RDKPL on hej tyme tall, the Artist is using the sound of crashing and banging metal and processed with delay and echo. Sometimes harsh, others droning with accidental rhythm and harmonics, it is shockingly organic, and aurally panoramic. Oh, and Dancer In The Dark? Let’s just say that the charming story of the quirky girl gets real sad real quick. Existentially so.
Ok, so we’ve had our Heavy Metal, so now we just need some Punk Rock. It doesn’t have to be made with rocks (but I would listen to that). I’ve found a split single from two European bands. KLINT, from Schleswig, Germany takes the A-Side of Split with ORRENDO SUBOTNIK. They feature two originals of synth-heavy hard drivers, with a thrashy cover of Government Issue’s Mad At Myself. The flipside is four tracks from Pisa, Italy’s Orrendo Subotnik. What is lacking in bottom end is made up by the charismatic lead vocalist.
Boston’s Pile is a Post-Punk trio that has been around since 2007. Their eighth album, All Fiction is a dreamlike ten tracks that builds at its own pace, with great vocals and brilliant rhythm section.
An Artist from the UK who makes self-described “machine music” has unleashed an excellent long-player. Neil Campbell’s working name is Astral Social Club. His latest album, Occultics consists of five tracks ranging from four to forty minutes. The lead-off track, Tintinnabulum gets the show started with lively rhythm and hypnotic drone. The meditative Sines calms the nerves and engages your sense of focus.
An excellent percussion project crossed my path. POSH SWAT is both the name of the artist and the thirteen-track full length that was released this week by percussionist Ryan Sawyer, fellow percussionist and DJ Andres Renteria and John Dwyer from Thee Oh Sees. Drums!
The lone album from among all my recommendations that you won’t find on BandCamp this week comes from the venerable Classical records label Deutsche Grammaphon (established in 1898). A so-called ‘Classical Crossover’ Artist from Tokyo named Yuki Kojima, under the moniker Yaffle, he has been a go-to Producer for J-Pop Artists, and recently created Music for the Pokémon 25th Anniversary Celebrations. These aren’t exactly comforting credits for Classical Music fans, but After the chaos is not Classical Music. The comparisons ends at its tastefully lush production, and use of strings. Kojima tips his hat more towards Massive Attack’s quieter passages, and singer/songwriters like Damien Rice and Patrick Watson. Lovely.
Oriol Roca is a drummer and bandleader from Spain. He has been recording and performing with his Trio for over twenty years. Their latest album, Live At Jazz Cava, pairs them with Belgian vocalist Lynn Cassiers, for a seven-song set at Barcelona’s Jazz Cava de Vic. It’s dark and moody, with Cassiers’ beautiful and altered voice projecting an air of mystery. The album closes with Carousel, giving all involved a chance to show off their improvisational prowess. Go cats, go!
A seemingly anonymous Electronic Artist, presumably from New Zealand, has released a terrific five-song EP. Cartridge’s Sweetheart EP is thoughtful downtempo music that utilizes a distinct palate and smart production. The digital-only bonus track, Labyrinth will transport you through time and space.
I get to visit the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe for the first time! The great World Music label Real World has released an album of their local style of Music, known as Gwo Ka. Polobi & The Gwo Ka Masters are led by their vocalist Moïse Polobi, and together, on Abri Cyclonique, they conjure mystical rhythms, with call-and-response vocals and Electronic Piano accompaniment that reminds me of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters. Polobi’s voice is entrancing.
A Producer from Compton, California who is an alumni of the classic Project Blowed label has released a transcendent full-length. AshTre Jinkins’ style of Experimental Hip-Hop, as found on his latest MISSION FAILED is shaded towards the mellow, with curious samples and toit production. Toit!
Stone Filipczak and Victoria Rose are a Singer/Songwriter duo from Baltimore, Maryland. They’ve released their debut album, as @. @ – That’s their band name. While I don’t approve of their name choice, I do approve of the tight harmonies and eccentric melodies on Mind Palace Music. The production is tasteful, with a light organic touch.
My Feature Pick for this week of plenty comes from London, via Portugal. Raquel Martins moved to England when she was 17, and has released her second EP. Empty Flower’s four tracks showcase Raquel’s confident and agile voice on a downtempo bed of tasteful instrumentation. Martins brings her upbringing, steeped in Brazilian Jazz, to play with a subtle hip-hop mentality. I’m itching to hear more.
This week was one of those weeks that makes me wonder if I should post about New Music on a daily basis. But then I remember that I don’t want to. Too much pressure. This is my pleasure, and it will remain so, as long as it doesn’t feel like a chore. When you get weeks like this, that are chock full of yummy goodness, it makes it better to have them all together on the same post. It’s like a Department Store for the deranged, but not like your local Walmart. The harmless kind of deranged. Am I right?
Be good to yourself!, ya weirdos!