Boy, I love Fridays! I don’t know if you get as excited as I do when I wake up in the morning and realize I have a huge bounty of New Music to dazzle and delight, but it makes me feel pretty darn good. (Typos and run-on sentences-the recipe for a successful blog! 😳🪴🫏)
After I plumbed the depths of all that is on offer I’ve been able to find ten titles to share with all my friends. Ready, friends?
A single from Brooklyn vocalist and Producer Yaeji starts this week’s Deep Plumbing. Her album With A Hammer is in contention for the 2023 New Music Jason Prize (scheduled to be awarded on Monday, January 1, 2024) and is back with easy breezy. It’s a lively and upbeat track with a Brazilian flair, led with acoustic guitar and deep bass. The vocals are exquisite, with charming harmonies and challenging production. I’m picturing the beaches of Rio: I’m wearing a Speedo and holding a delicious fruity cocktail that has a big hunk of pineapple sticking out. If you’re also picturing that, I apologize.
Another single that came out this week (and is, coincidentally, the same tempo as the previous one) comes from Atlanta. Revival Season is a Hip-Hop duo that has been releasing quality singles this year. They’ve announced a new full-length, due in February, but in the meantime they’ve dropped Pump. It’s a banger that cannot be denied, and it comes with a righteous remix by Skin Teeth. On the mic they’ve been joined by Shaheed Goodie for this Boom Bap joint.
Julia Holter is a Singer/Songwriter and a Producer based in Los Angeles. Her latest release is Sun Girl; an atmospheric Single that snares you in it’s beautiful web. Nearing six minutes, the track, with its enticing flute and entrancing vocals, takes you on a journey beyond Music. Soul-stirring stuff.
For an abrupt face of turn, we have a three-song EP from Canadian Punk Legends Fucked Up. The Toronto Band, led by Damian Abraham, has been shouting truth to power for over twenty years. Show Friends reveals they have no plans of slowing down. The songs show a complexity in their arrangements beyond that of “boom-twang-yell”, with grand harmonies on Spot The Difference and the off-kilter timing of What The Sun Saw. Support your local Punks!
While I was on My Imaginary Vacation to South America (and after the Brazilian authorities ask me to cover up or leave the country) I left Brazil and cruised up to Colombia, where I was introduced to a Label called Putivuelta, based out of Bogotá. They’ve released a new Various Artists compilation, featuring 28 Artists from Colombia and beyond. SIGNO DESTINO instantly signed up for an extended stay at My Imaginary Nightclub with its array of energetic beats and styles.
Back in Brooklyn there’s an Experimental Hip-Hop/R&B Artist named Dawuna that has released a BandCamp exclusive. Naya is lo-fi Funk that shines a light on missing Black Women in the US. Tasty guitar licks with emotional understated vocals are couched in grooves untold.
An Experimental Electronic Artist from Japan, known simply as foodman, first caught my attention back in 2021 with his album Yasuragi Land. He’s back with a new five song EP and Uchigawa Tankentai is playful synthetic sounds with quirky vocals and interesting twists and turns.
A twelve-piece Big Band from Belgium has just released their second album. Alpacas Collective is a refreshing a soulful mix of horns, percussion, keys, guitar, and sitar to give it an Eastern flavour. Big Words is eight tracks that spread out between Afrobeat, Hindustani Raga, and Funk. The arrangements are on point, and the Production is exemplary.
An album that I discovered in BandCamp a few weeks ago has a title I couldn’t get past, and I instantly added it to my Wishlist on its merit. Music Is A Victory Over Time is the fantastic title for New York four-piece Sunwatchers’ fifth album. Their sound is bigger than their size, with seven instrumental tracks that harken back to early-70’s Frank Zappa/Mothers with an Electronic sheen.
My Feature Pick for this week is a trio based in Austin, Texas that is led by the sister duo of Sylvia and Erica Rodriguez. After moving North to Austin from the southern panhandle, they met up with Daniel Doyle and formed Wet Dip. Their debut album, Smell Of Money, opens with the the anxious Rollercoaster, with scratching guitar and edgy vocals. Somehow, magically, a sweaty mosh pit has emerged in the living room, which has transformed into My Imaginary Dive Bar. This kicks all kinds of ass.
Is that ten already? Well, it’s a hearty mix, I can assure you, full of protein. I hope your soul is nourished, and I’ll that I’ve been able to turn you onto something that makes you happy. Take care, my friends!
New Music Jason’s Picks 