Music for 11/18/22!!! Lamentations, Wesli

@@@ Lamentations: Passion of Depression (Willowtip, 2022) I got to this metal record via Twitter. It pops right out of the gate with the tune Terminal, lots of classic guitar riffage and octopus drumming and a synth that sounds like it comes straight out of a Styx track. Then the caveman, what will these nuts think of next? At other points they bring the tune down to a flaxen haired sounding gent and acoustic guitar playing. All over the place. It’s not the all over the place-ness that doesn’t work for me, it’s that classic metal is a tough sell for me. Lots of energy and lots of shredding but I enjoy more chaos.

@@@ Wesli: Azounke an Yanvalou (Cumbancha, 2022) A Haitian musician that blew up last summer (I think?) with a full length that sprawls from traditional drumming and singing to full band somewhat Cajun flavored band music. I understand Cajun music was influenced by Haiti and not the other way ’round I was searching for a connection. It’s hard to make any definitive statements regarding this record because it’s 85 minutes and it’s all over the place. I like the tunes that are smaller ensembles though a part of me will always get down with big drum circles with vocalizing. Poke around to find some jams you didn’t even know you were looking for

Music for 11/9/22!!! Guchi, Asake

@@@ Guchi: Taken Over ft. Ladipoe (Mad Solution, 2022) I’m going bottom to top today and this is my second listen off the African section of Apple Music. It’s very similar to the track below with a chill sitch and lower tempo. Let’s skip over to the track which is clipped below. More smooth loverboy business but from the female point of view. I really like the keyboard part and the beat is all right but it’s too normie for me. African normie is still normie. A bit of a bust today with the African Apple recommendations.

@@@ Asake: Terminator (Empire, 2022) I’m checking out the African section of Apple Music and this guy is towards the top of the recommendation list. It’s a chill electro r&b with plenty of call and response, but very influenced by American r&b. Big big loverboy feels when the lead vocalist comes in. A nice single line clean guitar solo, then back to the autotuned vocals. It’s a solid groove but this is for the ladies, smooth business.

Music for 10/19/22!!! Macula Dog, Orchestra Gold

@@@ Macula Dog: Neosporin (Wharfcat, 2022) My last listen off this week’s Pitchfork 10 most reviewed albums of the week. I think this is trying to be really weird electronic music and it mostly succeeds at it. It’s a bit light and could be weirder if it had some rough sounds. When it does have rough sounds like a blasting bass it’s much better. It reminds of some stoned out Devo flavors rammed through a blenderizer, I like parts of it but overall it’s missing something for me. Some meaning and/or reason for all these sounds. It’s interesting to listen to it pass through but if it had some message or meaning to it besides the sounds it could be really powerful.

@@@ Orchestra Gold: African Psychedelic Rock (Self-released, 2022) Music publicist email. I’m not sure what’s going on with this record as I got an email about it yesterday but Apple Music has it with a 2017 release date so weird. I like aspects fo this guitar heavy first track most notably the sax player going against the grain and the rhythm section. The second tune is a burner at a much higher tempo and sounds less claggy than the opener. The singer is pumped on this track. I like the production here it’s very crunchy and aggressive and the third tune is the best of what I heard. I kinda wish the guitar player was wilder and didn’t stay in the pocket so much. The drummer and the bass player are tight tight tight so he could just roll out and shred but he only goes halfway. Oh no, he’s getting out there in his third track solo c’mon go crazy bruv! I am finishing this post and see that their new single is up on Apple Music and I reviewed their older record so that clarifies that.

Music for 10/13/22!!! Conjunteria Silbado, La Femme

@@@ Conjunto Ingeniaria: Mambo Silbado (El Palmas, 2022). I can’t tell if this is a reissue or a new recording made in the old school style (I think it’s a reissue) but this is the old school soulful Latin music. Blazing horns, tons of rhythm tucked underneath the mix, some janky guitar, two minutes of Latin gunpowder complete with a section with whistling. Strong and awesome vibe here.

@@@ La Femme: Y tu te vas (Disque Pointu, 2022) A dramatical blend of rock sounds, Spanish sounds, and big ass production. I did a little searching and these guys are out of France, I’ve not heard of them before but I think they’re a medium sized big deal. I don’t know if this song is typical for what they do as it’s a pre-release track. I like the cycling flute type patch or actual woodwind and overall the feeling here is theatrical, it’s mad dramas here. I like the singer and I like the arrangement, some of the sounds less so. I’m giving the other pre-release track a quickie, it has a flute as well. More lyrics in Spanish and more drama mixed with art school.

Music for 10/6/22!!! Acid Arab, Sababa 5

@@@ Acid Arab: Halim Guelil (Crammed Discs, 2022) A single from what of my favorite world music/electronic outfits. Most notable here is the repurposing of big pop sounds into a pretty different framework. Fingersnaps, big pillowy synths, and autotuned vocals but with hand drumming, big drum roll type explosions, and some melodies in non-Western scales. It’s a groove track where more elements are added as it rolls on. I like it a bunch, B+/A- material.

@@@ SABABA 5: Lizarb (Batov, 2022) This is a pre-release track from a full length that comes out in November and it’s a mash of a lot of stuff that together I would label as nerd funk. It’s funky but with other condiments. Big ups to the organ player, and I guess a lot of the nerdieness lies in the beats which are on the lighter side. I’m checking out the other pre-relesae track that I think I like more and the formula is the same, the keyboards are the star. I like the drumming more on this one, tighter and more impactful.

Music for 10/5/22!!! Momi Maiga

@@@ Momi Maiga: Denana (Microscopi, 2022) This is super chill sitch adult alternative African music out of Senegal that I got to via WRIR’s weekly playlist email. He plays the 22 string kora (I’m guessing it’s kora as there’s a lot of these stringed instruments floating around) and he sings. The arrangements are full on pimped out with lots of instruments added to further deepen the tracks, Maiga can sing for sure, and the production is smooth beyond reproach. I wrote a whole review about how it was too chill for my taste but then track 6 came and it’s still chill but he puts in a Spanish guitar (I think) and the rhythm kicks up a notch and I knew this dude could blaze if he wants and while he’s not fully on fire on this track he’s got it going on. So start at track 6 and go from there. It’s a bit too chill for me but I dig this track while others might super like it.

Music for 9/22/22!!! Sonido Berzerk, Sampa the Great, Edson Natale

@@@ Sonido Berzerk: Oggun EP (Ten Toes Turbo, 20) I found this electronic musician working out of Mexico City via this week’s Cracked Magazine email. This is not Mr. Berzerk’s most recent work but it’s stylish and an urgent dancefloor vibe. He gets into it rhythmically and adds some world-y percussion to what’s already cooking. I’ve been checking out snippet of the five tracks on this EP and he’s got it going on. I would start with the opener Oshun and go from there. The fusion of drum machine beats and either hand percussion or hand drummy type samples really works for me. The layering is really well done.

@@@ EDSON NATALE: A Egipcia E O Mecanico (Horus, 2022) I got to this record via this week’s WRIR playlist email. It’s by a half Egyptian/half Brazilian gent who got obsessed with Brazilian music. The track below is notable for its guitar playing, some trick horn arrangements and a brisk but pretty minimal rhythm. It’s produced pretty slickly which is usually a problem for me but I dig the playing and the arrangement here. I’m no expert on Brazilian music but his take here is a bit different and I like it. I would say it’s more as Brazilian music with a twist rather than a big reinvention.

Music for 9/14/22!!! Dogo du Togo, Mauskovic Dance Band

@@@ Dogo du Togo: Soke Wo (Massama Dogo, 2022) This is a pre-release track I got to via this week’s WRIR playlist email. It is unfortunately another African recording driven by nylon string guitar which is a drag for me personally. Somebody is tearing it up on the shaker and there is a nice background vocal section accompanying the male singer. The tempo is brisk but not crazy. The shaker here is the king, followed by the singing and since there’s not a lot going on I have to take points off for the nylon guitar. I would listen to more tracks of this and hope they switch over to electric.

@@@ The Mauskovic Dance Band: Shadance Hall (Dekmantel, 2020) This is a funk record, an EP with some dubs from 2020 though they have a new record but I liked this one better. I find the smashing of straight Devo flavors with funky beats to be a really interesting smashing together of sounds. There’s some reggae up in the bass to go with the krauty snare sound and the other elements. It’s probably one of the finest nerd funk records I’ve ever heard, you know the funk pose is one of the hipster and cool guys and gals. Pimp outfits vs. pencil protectors. Any EP that contains mirror dubs of their tracks is all right with me. The leader here is from Amsterdam and he’s reaching out to the Caribbean and other places for his sounds. I like it.

Music for 9/13/22!!! Okaidja Afroso, Sessa

@@@ Okaidja Afroso: Wole Worhe (Chechekule Records, 2022) Some pretty chill African music I will have to GooglePimp to find its origins — this is from Ghana but the singer and the musicians have heard a fair amount of jazz fusion I’m guessing. The mellowness is driven by the nylon string player and the singing. I don’t dislike it, I just am not jumping up and down. It actually has Brazilian feels to it in the guitar playing, which I find interesting. I’m on the fourth track and the Afro-Brazilian vibes are still strong outside of the call and response singing. I like it but I prefer the more rocking African stuff. Not always but usually.

@@@ Sessa: Cancao a Cura (Mexican Summer, 2022) Coincidentally here we have some Brazilian American music. It sports the same guitar-bass approach to the Okaidja Afroso record above but the singing is presented very differently. It’s a chill sitch to be sure with a little indie music garnish here and there. I’m on the fourth track Seira Sentimental and it’s a super chill sitch, a step down in tempo and close to purple drank territory. Purple drank is codeine laced cough syrup with candy and shit mixed in. I’ve checked out a fair chunk of this record and I like it all right. I don’t think I’m the intended demographic as I like the more fiery business.

Music for 9/6/22!!! Pahua, Emeralds

@@@ Pahua: La Cura (Nacional, 2021) Off this week’s WRIR playlist email. An epic remix of a Latin music track. I have not heard the original but I’m guessing they’s taken acoustic elements and replaced them with electro ones. Not all, but the bass in places, and they kept the cowbell. Fuckin’ A, just when I thought the music community abandoned the cowbell here it is. I like it most just shy of two minutes when it reaches full instrumentation including a reggae-ish guitar that drives the track. I like it a whole bunch, it has a measured feel to it and regular readers know I’m a fan of unexpected sounds and wildness. I don’t love the whoa ho vocals, in fact they’re the deciding factor in tilting me a bit against the track.

@@@ Emeralds: Photosphere (Ghostly, 2022) This is a pre-release track I got to via the Twatter. I got banned for a week from the Twatter for hoping that a building would collapse underneath some Russian soldiers hoisting the Russian flag in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. So fuck Twitter bigly. This is a big 17 minute drone banger with some fluffy cloud action, a little South Asian-ish drone, and other modulated synth. I haven’t like anything out of Ghostly for a long while but I dig this. I don’t know if I will hang for the full 17 minutes, we shall see. I keep waiting for the big fat techno beat to come in but it hasn’t and I don’t think it will, I hope not, please Jesus I love me a techno beat but let’s keep this plain. I’m 12 minutes in and Imma finish this banger. No beats, I like it, check it out, I would listen to more of this.