@@@ Arca: Musculos (XL, 2021) I got to this via this week’s All Music notable release email. I’m a bit concerned about the music given the artwork that’s below but you never know. This is the ninth track on the record and this is a record in a series I would called Kick (Kick i, Kick ii, etc) and I’ve heard excepts from the i one with the weird cyber horse. The track is percussive with sad vocals over the top and an occasional resonant piano. Kinda prayerful. The vocals become more emotional and I’m into the rhythmic arrangement and the singing. It remains in its odd groove without sectioning itself much if at all. I’m giving the third tune Chiquito a quick run and it’s differentiated by a pitch shifted vocal but it retains the piano and decreases the rhythmic presence. It’s very good without making me jump and down.
@@@ JonQuan/Kelly Di Filippo: I’m Trying (Easy Star, 2021) I got to this retro flavored reggae track via a music publicist. It’s got a mellow but firm groove with a piano melody and pretty chill vocal performances. The groove and the vocal vibe reigns supreme with a vocal hook intoning ‘you’re all for one, it’s not fair, it’s not fair, it’s not fair’; so an implied social justice message. I thought it was a bit of a throwaway when I first hit it but the vocal melody grew on me and I’m checking out the dub of the single and that’s quite enjoyalbe as well.
Deep In the Music 