@@@ Beverly Copeland: River Dreams (PIAS, 2020) I have not a ton of readers but last week a steady reader of this blog asked what I thought of these two records. Thusly, today’s listening episode is entitled Mr. Whirly Thursday as Mr. Whirly is this young gent’s screen name. I saw this record namechecked at the end of the year as the music reviewing machine made its usual half assed attempt to digest the music of the year so thusly I am grateful to check this out. This is slotted as New Age music which is not a big category for me but it opens up slightly funky to go with those big vibes, especially when she hits the mic. Oy what a voice! I listened to the second record first and that young lady has more than a bit of aggro to her whole thing while Ms. Copeland is going in another direction entirely. I like the beat, the hammered marimba type instrument and of course, her voice on this first track. I’ve often been accused of being dead inside as this appeal to tender emotions and the New Age aesthetic tends to make me feel very hostile. This isn’t really my cup of tea but I see why folks would dig it and I love her voice, it’s great. I thank Mr. Whirly for his recommendations and if there are other readers out there who would like to suggest music for review I’m super into that. Rock on Mr. Whirly.
@@@ Billy Nomates: Billy Nomates (Invada UK, 2020) As with other cultural areas folks in the UK aren’t as hung up on genre and lifestyle slots as us dumbasses here in America. This comes out as a Breeders rock driven bass track, a semi-raw talking singer, and some ’80s drum machine sounds. An interesting combination of sonic choices and I like this singer which is rare as I don’t usually like the singer. I dig the second tune much more and I woulda put that tune first as the energy is cracking and she really catches a vibe on the vocals. The third tune continues the shit talking, the acidic lyrics and I think she switched over to a human drummer that’s really driving the bus. I give Mr. Whirly props on this recommendation as I’m not a big rock guy but this is really good shit. She reminds me a bit of Sleaford Mods and that middle finger flow they rock.
@@@
Deep In the Music 