Music for 10/31/17!!! Rico Nasty, Ne Obliviscaris, Maston, Courtney Pine

@@@  Rico Nasty: Sugar Trap 2 (Sugar Trap, 2017)  Do you love the trap music?  I do!  I mean the lyrics are mad stupid but it’s funky and has a good dose of cough syrup and/or weed to trip things out nicely.  How could I not listen to a record by someone named Rico Nasty?  That’s fucked up yo.  I found this record in the new release section of Apple Music.  I gotta thing for these potty mouth female rappers — I find it entertaining.  This girl is all over these other bitches and dogging them for working at 7-11.  I wouldn’t confuse this record with John Lennon’s Imagine, this is a record of folks going for the loot and fighting anybody in their way.  I’m going to exit after this third tune which I thought was going to be sweet until she stepped and said ‘this ain’t no motherfucking playground.’  Oh my, this is not for the sensitive folks out there.

@@@  Ne Obliviscaris: Urn (Season of Mist, 2017)  Some proggy heavy metal off this week’s All Music notable release email.  Notable!!  This is a record that is supposed to be a mash of various styles including jazz and prog.  Not usually my thing but I go in with an open mind.  This first tune opens up a little noodle-y before they get into the mathy bash.  This is super epic (more epic than epic) and I guess they rock a an big singer as well as an orc who has just made his appearance.  There are two almost 10 minute jams on this record and the opener is one of them.  Let’s peep more.   The second tune is a classical folk thing with violin and steel string guitar.  The third tune is an 11 minute monster shot and it’s all right.  I struggle with the super clean metal as I prefer the stuff that is a hot mess.  Super high level playing for metal nerds!!!

@@@ Maston: Tulips (Phonoscope, 2017) Some indie rock off this week’s All Music notable release email.  Notable!!  It opens chill and twee with some shiny guitar and flute (guess?)  I like it all right but it would be great if it was more than a sonic vibe.  I think this is an instrumental record — it sounds like a bunch of hipsters bought some Martin Denny or old school pre-lounge lounge music and then decided to rock a record around the concept.  The organ player has come swelling on this third tune so I think I may actually may know what I’m talking about here.  A rarity indeed.

@@@ Courtney Pine: Black Notes from the Deep (Freestyle, 2017)  I got to this r&b record also off the All Music notable release email.  Notable!!  I’ve heard this jazz sax player’s music before but not with a singer and not with this sound/vibe in operation.  I tend to prefer the fire jazz so while I appreciate some of the sounds here, particularly the bass, the playing is just a tad slack and doobie-ish for my taste.  The tune clipped below is one that features the singer.  Pine’s tone is super warm and inviting but it’s too quiet storm for me.

YTD recordings listened to: 702
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 376
Not good music: 292

Buys: 9
Honorable Mentions: 7

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker, Irreversible Entanglements

Music for 10/30/17!!! Victor Rice, EUFOBIA, CANZONIERE GRECANICO SALENTINO, Selena Gomez

@@@ Victor Rice: Fumaca (Easy Star Records, 2017)  A pre-release single that I got to via a music publicist email.  I’m supposed to know who this musician is but I don’t.  It’s a lounge tinged, laid-back reggae jam — instrumental thus far.  The horns just work their melodic magic over a chill yet bubbling rhythm section, including organ.  So Victor Rice is a NYC transplant that was big in the ’90s NYC ska scene and this is a tune from a new record by him.  The horn section here is very pleasant.

@@@ EUFOBIA: Graveyard (N/A, 2017)  A single from a Bulgarian heavy metal band that I got to via the indie music blog called Indiepulse.  I would peg this is medium retro metal — it’s got a bit of a Pantera vibe with some caveman grunting in the chorus and some singing in the verse.  Big rhythmic guitar playing that reminds one of Rage Against the Machine.  However that is just the base for some super epic guitar soloing.  Lots of rock energy but not super pissed.  Horns up ya shittaz!

@@@ CANZONIERE GRECANICO SALENTINO: Canzoniere (Ponderosa, 2017) Right out of the gate I have to do some searching on this band as I’m guessing Brazil but it might be Portugal (or somewhere else).  It’s somewhere else, they’re from Italy and they’ve been rocking it since 1975.  It has a pop and world music sensibility operating at the same time.  Lots of layers of tracks – tons of vocal tracks but also lots of percussion and small instrumental pieces.  The second tune switches over to a medium gruff gent and accordion so this record might be set to bounce around sonically quite a bit.  Whatever happens musically you can be sure there’s going to be a lot going on and it’s going for a large pop art statement.  That’s what it sounds like to me.

@@@ Selena Gomez & Marshmello: Wolves (Interscope, 2017)  We’re going to finish up today with a single from Selena Gomez but be careful as you nibble it, it’s a super cheesy biscuit!  If you have high cholesterol or if you are on a low sugar diet you might want to keep away.  She’s going to be running through the jungle and she’ll be running with the wolves to get to you.  I won’t dwell on the detail that wolves don’t live in the jungle (though they do work in large music label corporate offices).  It’s a tune that tries to be a sandwich for everyone — an anthem, a little rock guitar schmear, and a few EDM pubes for the club kiddies.  And to complicate matters it’s both a biscuit and a sweet cookie so I leave confused but I know in my heart this tune stinks.

YTD recordings listened to: 698
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 374
Not good music: 290

Buys: 9
Honorable Mentions: 7

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker, Irreversible Entanglements

Music for 10/17/17!!! Sam Smith, Lye Marlow, Sven Laux, Satyricon, Migos/Minaj/Cardi. B

@@@  Sam Smith: Burning (Capitol, 2017)  Possibly the finest anthem to gonorrhea ever written.  Just a beautiful piano and vocal, and then the chorus — everybody has the clap! Sam Smith has been burning since you’ve been gone cuz you gave him gonorrhea!  I have peeped all three of Sam Smith’s pre-release tracks and he lets no emotional titty go unmilked.  Jesus, talk about painful discharge.

@@@ Lye Marlow: Headlights (Sick and Brilliant, 2017)  Described as industrial pop by a music publicist it does indeed sport both sweetness in the vocals and plenty of squirch, static, and mechanical sounds.  It is a computer generated arrangement for the most part.  The beats are square in sound with a chainsaw synth bass with plenty of electronic garnish.  Sweet chorus and vocal sauce over the top people.

@@@ Satyricon: Deep Calleth Upon Deep (Napalm, 2017)  A blend of heavy metal styles in this record that I got to via the CFUV playlist email.  The singer is neither orc nor operatic, he sounds like an angry dwarf.  I’m digging the drummer who goes from old school straight metal, to spraying beats and then hitting some thrash section.  The guitar player rocks a similar blend of old school sounds sprinkled with newer weirdness — just a touch.  I’m digging this second tune, Blood Cracks Open the Ground.  Imma guessing there’s plenty of Black Sabbath that has been rocked in that tour van.  There is some extremely well done guitar distortion in the third tune, To Your brethren in the dark — clipped below!  Beautiful rolling waves…check that shit out if you have a minute.

@@@ Sven Laux: Paper Streets (Dronarim, 2017)  I got to this ambient classical record via the Russian label that released it.  It is described as an organic, neo classical journey and it lives up to that billing.  There are a few tracks for folks to stream and the one I’m checking out, a glimpse of memory, is a spare repeating piano figure punctuated by string swells and then some electronic processing that comes from the organic regions of the tracks.  It’s a slow loping tune with repetition and familiarity balanced with waves of processed sound washing over the listener.  I like the darker ambient stuff myself but it’s pretty focused and good for what it’s trying to do.

@@@ Migos, Nicki Minaj & Cardi B: Motor Sport (Quality Control, 2017) A single from three hot mainstream hip hop folks.  Cardi B. and her stripper pole took Taylor Swift out to the woodshed so you gotta give props to that.  When the hip hoppers use percussive hip hop vocal sounds it makes the track sounds kinda throwaway.  Cardi B hits the mic and calls all the other girls’ coochies ‘catfishes’.  Oh Cardi B. you potty mouthed gal yo.  Nikki Minaj celebrates her juicy pussy and her stacks!  Yeah folks, that’s how it goes.  I don’t love the hip hop status money anthems but I guess other folks feel it.

YTD recordings listened to: 694
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 372
Not good music: 288

Buys: 9
Honorable Mentions: 7

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker, Irreversible Entanglements

Music for 10/25/17!!! Elan Noon, The Deep Dark Woods, Holy Hum

@@@ Elan Noon: Have a Spirit Filled (Self-released, 2017)  An intimate hippie/lo-fi folk mash that is #1 on CFUV’s Weekly playlist email.  Seriously shy bedroom vibes up in this first tune with arpeggiated acoustic guitar and voice.  That’s it yo.  It’s not content to rest there as the second tune brings in the synths and the soft rock vibe.  I’m guessing the sensitive gent is still gonna be on the mic.  Whoops, there he is!  The fourth tune features a different singer (ladybits!) but you’ll be thoroughly softened by the tidal wave of feelings of the first three tunes.  It may seem like I’m dogging this record but I’m not — I appreciate its sincerity while acknowledging it’s not my bag.

@@@ The Deep Dark Woods: Yarrow (Six Shooter, 2017)  Also off this week’s CFUV playlist email.  There are three pre-release tunes up on the Apple Music and this first tune, Fallen Leaves, is a sad one.  Watch out, forlorn alert!  Stripped down band arrangement and there’s an Emmylou Harris sounding lady joining sad gent on vocal duties.  It’s a Daniel Lanois-esque production sound they got going here.  This music is so American it makes me want to buy a horse and ride around collecting tumbleweed!  How’s that for analysis?  The second pre-release tune, Deep Flooding Waters — hold up, I got these three tunes all mixed up due to interwebz music player horseshit.  The first tune is a midtempo rocker with some space organ (still lonesome), the second tune is the acoustic saddie, and the third one is a slack, drunk in yer boots kinda track.  I’m sure this level of fatigue haunts El Trump-o’s wife as her miserable life with that orange haired pee brain must be quite a handful.  Overall, I got the gist of what they have on offer with a tad of rambly.

@@@ Holy Hum: All of My Bodies (Andrew Yong Hoon Lee, 2017)  Some ambient electronic off this week’s CFUV email.  Oh, here comes a vocalist which changes the vibe a lot.  The singer has an arch, highbrow tone which elevates the proceedings into earnets art-tronica.  Let’s peep more….the third tune brings on an indie band with a slack straight beat, strummed clean electric guitar and a wood flute (guess!)  I like this track, it has the sparseness of John Lennon’s first solo record though the singer is just too ethereal for me.  Also he sounds a bunch like the singer of Coldplay and that’s not working for me.  I can see people digging this so check it out if the description works for you — stripped down indie with ambient sound vibes and a white shoe singer.

YTD recordings listened to: 689
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 369
Not good music: 287

Buys: 9
Honorable Mentions: 7

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker, Irreversible Entanglements

Music for 10/24/17!!! Trivium, Post Malone, Colleen, Kelly Clarkson

@@@ Trivium: The Sin and the Sentence (Roadrunner, 2017)  A hard rock/classic metal mix off this week’s All Music notable release email.  The singer is arena style and the drummer is catching my ear the most as far as the band goes.  I had to go look up the definition of metal core as they are described as such in the All Music email.  This is not a metalcore record, it’s a variation of the Linkin Park pretty boy metal sound.  I’m not protesting the music, it’s all right (a tad forage-y for my taste and aimed at the suburbs) but I am not psyched for the deceptive marketing.

@@@ Post Malone: Candy Paint (Republic, 2017)  Off the Apple Music hot tracks section.  It’s looking like it’s gonna be a sweet hip/hop track.  Not as humorous as DRAM or Lil’ Yachty but similar in vibe.  It’s very surprising to hear the skittering beats and the cotton candy sounds and happy chorus.  Well done for what it is, not my thing.

@@@ Colleen:  A Flame My Love, A Frequency (Thrill Jockey, 2017)  An electronic record also off this week’s All Music notable release section.  The first tune is a chattery piano/keyboard sound, bouncy and arpeggiated.  The second tune takes a similar repeating keyboard mash and adds a slightly delayed, reverbed female singer.  It’s quite indie.  I’ve listened to snippets of about half the tunes and the aloof, electronic, part video game aesthetic is in full play.  It’s all right as background but I’m not really being pulled into the music.  I like to be pulled into the music.

@@@ Kelly Clarkson: Meaning of Life (Atlantic Recording, 2017)  If Beyonce is a lifestyle brand for African American women to live vicariously through, Kelly Clarkson is  that for white women.  Honkeys and crackalackas!!  This tune continue what I’ve heard recently as she tries to meld old school soul with updated, modern electro pop.  She can sing for a white person — she might be able to set fire to the rain the way Adele does.  I wouldn’t expect much from the lyrics, it’s pretty recycled.  She sees the meaning of life in the eyes of her lover.  Yup, you lift me up, we’re flying higher, yada yada yada.

YTD recordings listened to: 686
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 367
Not good music: 288

Buys: 9
Honorable Mentions: 7

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker, Irreversible Entanglements

Music for 10/23/17!!! Kllo, Esmerine, Mahalia, Grandbrothers

@@@ Kllo: Backwater (Ghostly Int’l, 2017)  I’ve seen this Ghostly release sprinkled at various hipster locations on the interwebz, most recently on the Line of Best Fit.  This first tune is an ambient pop ditty with a female singer.  I like the beat.  This third tune is a laid-back dance floor banger with some sonic titches.  It’s well arranged but a tad too chill for my taste, especially the singer.  It’s a tad bit too Oxy.

@@@ Esmerine: Mechanics of Dominion (Constellation, 2017)  Also off this week’s Line of Best Fit promo email so keep your hipster booties on.  This first tune opens up with strong classical flavorings — piano, cello, maybe two cellos, oh my!  The Mechanics of Dominion could be a great heavy metal record title but we’re not in that neighborhood.  A bunch of the song titles are in Spanish and it is slotted as rock in the Apple Music so I guess wonders never cease.  The third tune, La Penombre, is as close as we get to rock and it’s not close.  This is a classical/New Age kinda record and it’s okay — not particularly gripping but that’s where it’s at.

@@@ Mahalia (feat. Buddy): Hold On (Asylum UK, 2017)  I’m hesitant to get with the Line of Best fit tracks of the week because my readers go fucking nuts when I hit this list.  I’ve actually broken the internet itself due to listening to it.  This tune, number one on the list, is upbeat electro pop.  Even though I sport a sailor’s mouth, Mahalia looks mad underage, which is part of the show.  Hottie pre-teens is some Harvey Weinstein shit.  This tune features a watered down dancehall beat with a synth-centric arrangement, lots of background vocals and Mahalia’s flirty singing.

@@@ Grandbrothers: Honey (City Slang, 2017)  Also of the tracks of the week.  It opens up with some hammered dulcimer (guess!) and piano (meaningful!) and as the track continues more electronic garnish is layered over the tune.  I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be with this track.  It’s serious I guess, but it’s also a tad cheesy.  I’m sorry but it is.  If they came over the top with some electronic processing that is darker I would feel that contrast.

YTD recordings listened to: 682
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 365
Not good music: 286

Buys: 9
Honorable Mentions: 7

Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker, Irreversible Entanglements

Honorable Mention 2017 Pick 7

Kelly Moran: Bloodroot (Wommusic, 2017)

31 minutes of solo prepared classical piano.  Where I just recommended a bouncy house free jazz piano ensemble recording this is more on the ethereal and pretty tip while retaining nutritious value.  There’s a lot of indie music that strives to be pretty and ethereal but it’s manipulative and mostly empty minded.

The main alteration from a straight solo classical piano is her dampening and sticking things under some strings and how that changes the sound of her playing.  More on the buzzy/plinky and less on the resonant piano side of things.  But she doesn’t stick shit in all the strings so it’s a combination of ringing out and retarded harpsichord type sounds. It sounds like she might be doing other things to the piano but I can’t grok it out.

She plays well across the record but I thought the title track was the best tune.

Check her out!

Best of 2017 Pick 9!!!

Chris McGregor: Up to Earth (Wing and a Prayer, 2008)

Not so long ago recorded music wasn’t so manicured and staid.  Chris McGregor was a Scottish pianist who grew up on African music and this record is a raucous/joyful jazz record in the tradition of Thelonious Monk.  Multiple horns swinging, a great rhythm section and McGregor’s angular and energetic playing combine to take you back to a time  where wildness was welcome.

This is not the most recommended McGregor record on All Music but I really like the energy of this.  One of the many problems with getting people to getting people involved with jazz is that the artists make records in different styles with different musicians and it becomes a pissing match regarding which record is the best.  Whereas indie bands often end up feeding their fans slightly altered versions of their last record because it’s adult baby food by non-artists.

Check this video out below and if you can’t get with it you’re pretty fucking square assed.

Thank you internet giant Google for the crumbs you give us peasants!

Music for 10/20/17!!! Melissa Aldana, Taylor Swift, Orissa

@@@ Melissa Aldana: Back Home (Wommusic, 2016)  I saw this female sax player name checked in a concert email for an upstate New York concert series.  Now that I’ve clicked through I realize I haven’t heard this record but I’ve heard her before.  Her previous record.  It’s very close to the sax player Mark Turner in spirit and tone — super clean enunciation, mellow tone, more on the cerebral tip than the wail of Albery Ayler or other famed sax players.  I’ll peep some sections of a couple more tunes.  It’s a pretty straight trio and I like the bass player best.  I can’t find anything from this record for my readers but here’s something from Soundcloud.

@@@ Taylor Swift: Gorgeous (Big Machine, 2017)  Another signal from Tay Tay!  Wow, another pop biscuit — the problem with this tune is not the arrangement it’s Ms. Swift.  She’s a soulless singer and her lyrics blow.  It’s an avalanche of cliches and poor delivery. I peeped the two previous singles and there were problems with the arrangements but here the song holds together but this is FM radio cheese.  Bleh.  Taylor has jumped the shark and maybe she will go away for a long time.  That would be great.

@@@ Orissa: Verse V (Orissa, 2017)  I got to this prog-metal single via a music publicist email.  It’s super clean with a singer — a very serious, artistic singer.  These guys sound like Tool but softer.  The production is immaculate, I don’t hate the band but if you send me a link about a prog/cinematic metal band I want to get my head crushed a little bit.  This is weak tea, very conservative in its way.  I say drop the metal from the description and stick with the hard rock.  I don’t want to come off as a genre bitch but I came to get my head put in a vice.

YTD recordings listened to: 678
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 363
Not good music: 284

Buys: 8
Honorable Mentions: 6

Possibles: Chris McGregor, Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Anna Hogberg, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, James Brandon Lewis, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, J.I.D., Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, American Lips, Sudan Archives, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Benjamin Booker, Kelly Moran, Irreversible Entanglements