New Orleans – New Music Jason’s Picks

Good day to one and all, my friendly friends! It’s time for your weekly New Music Injection, so roll up your sleeve. I have an even dozen recommendations to impart, so sit tight. It’ll just be a little poke.

The week begins with it not one, not two, but three singles to tickle your fancy. First up is the fantastic vocalist Moses Sumney. His first new music since his terrific 2020 album græ comes via the HBO series The Idol. Get It B4 certainly owes some inspiration credit from Prince, if not for the numerical title alone, then certainly for the sensuous falsetto and emotional production.

Moses Sumney – Get It B4

My second single for the week comes from a reliable, if not prolific Afghani Artist, based in Germany. Farhot released a single in March for the Persian New Year. His new track, Bahar 1402 is a downtempo Hip-Hop beat with minimal samples, enough to tickle the ears in a lovely way.

A song that my son and I heard performed last November has been given official release. The band that makes up 40% of Radiohead, The Smile, has released a new standalone single. I recognized Bending Hectic from its bending guitar lines at the start of the song. The track then gives way to an orgasmic transition that leads to a thundering Rock song. Eight minutes of gorgeousity. If I had a ‘Song of the Week’, this would be it.

An Experimental Hip-Hop Artist and Producer from Columbus, Georgia called quinn has once again gotten my attention. His three-track EP, slaps…well, it slaps. quinn’s fragmented production is a perfect frame for his stream-of-thought delivery.

An Artist that has quickly become a regular visitor to my ears recently is Philip Sanderson. Between his experiments in sound manipulation released under his own name, and as Ice Yacht (and others), the man is busy. His latest is a four-track full-length album inspired by the sound of people on trains. Dilly Dreamers is an immersive experience, at times Ambient, others, leaning to something more rhythmic and guttural.

Ye Olde BandCamp Wishlist came through again with some imaginative and exciting Music. NEON is the fourth release from UK Chamber Group Manchester Collective. The title piece was composed by Hannah Peel, and it stretches across three movements. After that are compositions by Lyra Pramuk and Julius Eastman, before closing with Steve Reich’s thrilling Double Sextet.

A new Hip-Hop album came out this week with a lot of emotional baggage. A rapper from Chicago called Tree has been making records for over ten years, but, evidently it wasn’t selling well enough to stop selling drugs. Well, Tree got busted, and is up for a three-year hitch in the hoosegow. FREE TREE was recorded in a Judge-approved 39-day stay of sentencing. There’s a lot of soul searching here, and worth the listen.

A five-track EP from scenic Stowe, Vermont, is giving me tingles. HERMANN is the ‘nom-de-son’ of Lynn Berğkömit, of whom I can find zero information. However, Rzewski Alexanderplatz is a divine mix of Jazz and Classical idioms performed in an oddly quiet manner.

I’ve learned my lesson to not sleep on New Reggae. When you are talking about a specific style of Music that is identified by its rhythm, it’s the responsibility of the Artist to find unique ways to present the sound. Zion Train is a Dub dj and Producer based in Cologne, Germany. They’ve been recording and performing for 35 years, but they sound fresh as daisies on Dissident Sound. Throughout eleven tracks, it will keep you dancing, only pausing to react to the next tasty sonic manipulation.

Brooklyn NY’s Geese is a five-piece Rock Band that has just released their second album. 3D Country is filled with hard-driving tracks and endearing vocals. Mysterious Love is a standout.

pardoner is a quartet from San Francisco that has been active since 2015. Their latest effort is Peace Loving People, a 14-track album filled with high-energy bops full of disillusioned lyrics that are highly relatable.

Holy Locust is a five-piece acoustic band from New Orleans, Louisiana. This week they’ve released their second full-length. Beneath The Turning Wheel spins a dark and emotional tale, with tight interplay between the musicians. Gorgeous harmonies are abundant on this beautiful record, helping to make it my Feature Pick for the week.

*Holy Locust – Beneath The Turning Wheel*

If I was here with you now, I’d give you a lollipop for sticking with me while I do my thing. The stinging sensation should wear off soon.

Take good care of yourself!

As I post this week’s Music recommendations, I’m off to watch my daughter at her Track & Field Meet. If she takes after either of her parents, and finishes better than last place, I would be shocked. Go Sports!

A graphic depiction of my athletic ability.

Meanwhile, this week was another wonderful week of New Music, with seven titles to bring to your willing ears. Achtung, Baby!

My son and I are watching the Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary, which has given me the opportunity to re-listen to some of the classics of that beloved musical tradition. It’s easy to put Jazz up on the shelf, next to the photos and knick-knacks, but it is still very much a thriving genre, with many young musicians driving the sound to new places. Wit’s End Brass Band comes from the birthplace of Jazz, New Orleans, Louisiana. They are a Big Band of twenty-five-plus members, founded in 2012 as a marching band at the local queer festival, and have gone on to perform for endless parades and protests. Their new album, Wildlife Special is twelve tracks that span various styles and cultural traditions. The arrangements are tasty.

*Wit’s End Brass Band – Wildlife Special*

An Artist who goes by the name Kirzenlitch hails from Earth, presumably. Little is known about the creator of the Electronic Noise found on the new album, ‘…there’s a 40% chance of snow’🌨️❄️ The album’s notes talk about trying, unsuccessfully, to restart a radio station. Samples drift in and out to sketchy beats and pounding bass.

*Kirzenlitch – ‘…there’s a 40% chance of snow’*🌨️❄️

“Post-Punk” is just about the least useful term for a genre of Music. A quartet from London called Snapped Ankles makes “Fence Post Punk.” The six tracks on their EP Blurtations were all recorded in one take and feature Synths, Drums, and one member (PJ Austin) chopping firewood with an woodsplitter. On The Fish Needs A Bike, the band dive headlong into the divisive issue of Aquatic Transportation. Spacy and angular, if you axe me.

A Punk band from Germany who’s album I recommended in April of last year is back with another new album. EXWHITE are a quartet from Halle with infectious exuberance. Their eleven-track album THIS IS FUTURE opens with slashing guitar and doesn’t relent through its half hour of energetic, insistent, and dirty rock and roll. They are on a U.S. tour next month, but I wish they’d come North, because they sound like they would be an amazing live show. Also, the Detroit show is sold out.

The Rock & Roll coming from Australia is still flowing at a deluge. Solo Bedroom Producer Sarah Hardiman is from Melbourne, and makes gritty Pop Punk as BRICK HEAD. Her second album, Bricks for Brains starts with the effortlessly singalongable refrain of “I wanna change,” and the chorus of Unlucky Motherfucker. You will be pogoing around and banging your head like an idiot for twenty minutes.

Bokani Dyer is a composer and vocalist from Johannesburg, South Africa. His new album is his eighth, and it a feast of free flowing Jazz-adjacent Funky Music. Radio Sechaba is fourteen tracks that spotlights Dyer’s vocal acumen, and is an homage to the illegal radio station of the same name that operated during the Apartheid Era.

An Iranian-American singer/songwriter based in New York City has released a fantastic new album on the Ninja Tune imprint, Big Dada Records. Rahill Jamalifard is also a DJ, and Hip-Hop influences are apparent on Flowers At Your Feet’s fourteen tracks. Excellent Production, rife with Ear Candy and gorgeous vocals. It’s my Feature Pick for the week.

Am I right, or am I right? Just wonderful.

Time to put on some sunscreen and cheer New Music Abby on! Be good to yourself!

Tag Archives: New Orleans

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