I’ve got a bunch of new music here that I’m really excited about. New albums from Smokey Brights, Pink Birds, Bully, and Temps, and new singles out by Cory Hanson, Palehound, and Ana Tijoux.
I’ve been enjoying this new Pink Birds album that came out last week. The blend of folk rock that they bring strikes such a good balance, and there’s really solid songwriting as well. The album also features the visual art of Nicole Palmquist for the album art, music videos, and even sketches on the drumheads.
I also wanted to highlight a very recent discovery of mine in Bokani Dyer. The South African jazz pianist and composer has created an absolutely beautiful record spanning traditional and contemporary forms of jazz, folk, and afrobeat, and he has anchored it well in relatable themes personal liberation and belonging.
Other favorites this edition are Smokey Brights, Cory Hanson, rum.gold, Brandee Younger, and Temps. I couldn’t find the Suede song on Spotify, so that one is only on Apple.
tracklist: Bully – All I Do Smokey Brights – Sad Boy Song #39 Sad Park – Always Around Pink Birds – Howling Wind Rum.gold – Death of the Author Mellotom – Learning to Levitate Teen Daze – Back 2 It Suede – Snt Ana Tijoux – Niñx Brandee Younger – Running Game Temps – bleedthemtoxins Bokani Dyer, Sthembisu Bhangu – Medu Fishbone – I Don’t Care Palehound – The Clutch Cory Hanson – Housefly Foo Fighters – The Glass GENN – Rohmeresse Bokani Dyer – Be Where You Are Brandee Younger – If It’s Magic
I’m a big fan of this new Brandee Younger record which sees the harpist pairing with Mumu Fresh, Pete Rock, and 9th Wonder for a beautiful blend of Jazz and Hip-hop. Also, the album closes with a great cover of Stevie Wonder’s “If It’s Magic”.
I’ve also been really enjoying the latest from rum.gold, and especially the song “Water My Heart” that I’ve included here. The new album, U Street Anthology, covers a lot of ground stylistically and in subject matter. I think this one may be my favorite album of the year so far.
Other favorites in this edition are Pink Birds, Bully, and Spirit Award.
tracklist: Brandee Younger – Come Live With Me [interlude] Brandee Younger, Pete Rock – Livin’ and Lovin’ In My Own Way Black Thought, El Michel’s Affair, Son Little – Protocol Allison Russell, Mumu Fresh – 4th Day Prayer [dim star remix] Steve Mason – The People Say Rob Moose, Britney Howard – I Bend But Never Break rum.gold, Mereba – Water My Heart Adi Oasis, Jamila Woods – Red to Violet GENN – A Reprise (That Girl) Spirit Award – Western Violence Black Ends – My Own Dead Dragonchild, Sunken Cages – The Source Bully, Soccer Mommy – Lose You Queens of the Stone Age – Emotion Sickness The Hives – Bogus Operandi Boygenius – Cool About It St Paul & the Broken Bones – Magnolia Trees Pink Birds – Mother Binki – Doomsday Kassa Overall – The Lava is Calm London Brew – Miles Chases New Voodoo in the Church rum.gold – Forever In A Song
The Sammyvoa track could not be found on Spotify, but either way this is almost 3 hours of music. A bit of catch up over the course of my absence. Personal favorites for me currently are Flyying Colours, Princess Nokia, Smokey Brights, and the new collab from El Michel’s Affair & Black Thought.
tracklist: Yaeji – Submerge FM Smokey Brights – No Getting Out Jessie Ware – Begin Again El Michels Affair, Black Thought – Grateful Little Simz – X Lonnie Liston Smith, Adrian Young, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Loren Oden – Love Brings Happiness United Freedom Collective, The Social Singing Choir – Space Intention Dark Canyon – Through the Badlands Tim Hill – Calico Jana Horn – Days Go By Margo Price, Lucius – Anytime You Call The Church – The Hypnogogue Death Valley girls – Sunday US Girls – Futures Bet Iggy Pop – Modern Day Ripoff Purling Hiss – Yer All In My Dreams Black Angels, The Raveonettes – Tornado The New Pornographers – Last and Beautiful Flyying Colours – Lost Then Found Hibou – Devilry M83 – Oceans Niagara Kele – True Love Knows No Death Steve Mason, Javed Bashir – No More John Cale, Sylvan Esso – TIME STANDS STILL Teen Daze – Fountains of the World Kareem Ali – Starry Caroline Polachek – Billions Adi Oasis, KIRBY – Adonis Sammyvoa – Chess Not Checkers El Michel’s Affair & Black Thought – Hollow Way Yazmin Lacey – Fool’s Gold Duval Timothy, Mansa Maca, KBangs, Sammy Sosa – Kam Princess Nokia – happy Kassa Overall, Nick Hakim, Theo Croker – Make My Way Back Home Tei Shi – FAMILIAR Nia Archives – Conveniency Yves Tumor – Lovely Sewer Blondshell – Salad Tourist Activities – Oh For One King Tuff – Portrait of God Hatchie, Liam Benzvi – Rooftops Ellie Grace – Falling Slowly Wednesday – Chosen to Deserve Frankie Rose – Come Back
Welcome to Fortnightly in the New Year. This particular post, as my first of 2023, serves as both a review of 2022 and a preview of new music coming in 2023. It includes late ’22 releases that were released too late to make my year-end favorites or be featured here, ’22 releases that I slept on and were brought to my attention late on by seeing them on other peoples’ lists, songs from artists who passed in ’22, and a few new 2023 songs for releases I’m excited about. This is pretty easily one of my longest playlists, but there is a lot to cover. Hope you enjoy it!
There are a lot of artists I could spotlight in this edition. Little Simz released an album last month that, if it had come out earlier, may have been listed among my favorites of the year. I, for various reasons, let some albums slip past me from Lady Wray, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Plosivs, and others. The first singles have been released for album coming in 2023, and there’s plenty to be excited about. I’ve decided to focus on artists whose stories have come to a close in ’22. I’ve selected 4 specific artists to feature here that I felt were significant for me and my musical journey. There were many other artists that passed in ’22, but these were losses that I felt particularly impacted by.
Betty Davis Trailblazers almost never get their due during life, and often don’t get their due after they pass. Betty Davis gave us 3 fantastic, boundary-pushing, bold funk albums in the 1970s (and a 4th that was unreleased until 2009). She struggled with being told to compromise and play ball the way record execs wanted, and her music was sometimes banned from radio airplay for being considered too sexual (for a woman to sing anyway). Betty had a difficult marriage to Miles Davis for a time, and her story touches on dark things that fans don’t always want to discuss. It’s sometimes treated as an open secret that Betty was a victim of domestic abuse, and that this was among the reasons she left the music industry and turned away from public life. Without Betty Davis, we don’t ever have artists like Janelle Monae or Lizzo. She challenged the norms of women could do with their music, and many artists owe her a real debt.
Mimi Parker (Low) Low are a band that broadened my listening a multiple points in life. For nearly 3 decades, the group never stopped morphing their sound and expanding what they could be. All of this rotating on the partnership between Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. Sparhawk and Parker met in grade school, and the pair eventually married and formed Low. Typically, they’ve always performed as a trio with the bassist role changing a few times over the years. The interplay of their vocals has become a signature tying together the evolution of their sound.
Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Mad Season, Gutter Twins, Dark Mark & Skeleton Joe, Mark Lanegan Band) Mark Lanegan seems to have been a man with 9 lives. His story throughout most of his early life and career is plagued by addiction. He wrote about it in detail in his memoir “Sing backwards and Weep” which I read back in 2020. At numerous points you might think rock bottom was near, and at numerous points near death. It is from this early period that his most widely-known material comes from, but I would argue that it is the prolific period after finally getting clean that gave us his best material and became, in his own words, “a serial collaborator”. As well as releasing albums under Mark Lanegan and Mark Lanegan band, he made 3 records with Isobel Campbell (Belle & Sebastien), formed The Gutter Twins with Greg Dulli (The Afghan Whigs), released several books (poetry, photography, collections of lyrics, as well as his memoir). Mark somehow made it through his darker times, and came out on the other side to give us unforgettable work.
Kelly Joe Phelps No other loss this year do I feel so deeply as Kelly Joe. While a musician from a young age, he didn’t start writing his own songs until age 31 inspired by the birth of his daughter. His first album came in 1994, and he went on to release 9 more studio albums, 1 live album and featured on various other collaborations with artists such as Jay Farrar and Townes Van Zandt. He did what he could to keep his private life private, and to keep his music genuine. I saw him play several years ago, and his approach was so simple and humble. We sat in a nice venue, and up on stage was one chair, a microphone for his vocals, a microphone for his guitar, and next to the chair a guitar on a stand. When it was time he came out with no announcement carrying a second guitar, sat down, and started playing. The audience was transfixed, and he rarely stopped much between songs. a few songs in there was a small break and he sort of waved off the applause before just jumping back in. He was a musician so deep into the music, and yet also so relatable in his writing. I am so grateful for his music.
tracklist: Sevdaliza – Woman Life Freedom Rokia Koné, Jacknife Lee – Shezita (Take a Seat) Gabriel Teodros – Open Letter Little Simz – Gorilla The Kiffness, Rushawn – It’s a Beautiful Day (Reprise) Yahritza Y Su Esencia – Cambiaste Sault – Safe Within Your Hands Lady Wray – Joy & Pain Temps – No, No Hatchie – Lights On Alewya – Let Go Caroline Polachek – Welcome To My Island Kele – Vandal Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul – Making Sense Stop Darksidevinyl – To The Underground From Overseas, City of Dawn – Fallen Leaves The Church – C’est La Vie Katy Rea – Say Goodbye (One More Time) Weird Nightmare, Bully – Wrecked Plosivs – Thrown Clear Hurray for the Riff Raff – RHODODENDRON Kindsight – Sun is Always in My Eyes The Star Crumbles – Shadows in the Dark Dawes – Comes In Waves Larkin Poe – Deep Stays Down John Mayall, Marcus King – Can’t Take No More Sol Messiah, Slug, Aesop Rock, Sa-Roc – Rhymeslayers Aesop Rock, Blockhead, Lupe Fiasco – Pumpkin Seeds Betty Davis – If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up Betty Davis – Don’t Call Her No Tramp Betty Davis – They Say I’m Different Low – Gentle Low – Laser Beam Low – Days Like These Screaming Trees – Shadow of the Season Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – You Won’t Let Me Down Again Mark Lanegan Band – The Gravedigger’s Song Kelly Joe Phelps – Lead Me On Kelly Joe Phelps – The Anvil Kelly Joe Phelps – Tight to the Jar Kelly Joe Phelps – Beggar’s Oil Kelly Joe Phelps – Goodbye to Sorrow
I’ve definitely been less consistent with posting here this past year, but I suppose that is expected in the first year of parenthood. I love sharing music with people, but the writing part has certainly dropped in my priorities. I hope you have enjoyed discovering music with me again this year.
10. The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field The Beths came out with this excellent album this year filled with infectious vocal and guitar hooks and a balance of clever and charming lyrics. I loved this straightforward, indie rock album. It’s earnest while maintaining a lighthearted feel. Elizabeth Stokes’ vocals are perfect, and the band strikes just the right balance of when to keep things light and when to get loud.
9. Danger Mouse & Black Thought – Cheat Codes A pair of Hip-Hop masters working together for their first full-length album together. Yes, I say “Hip-Hop masters” even though Danger Mouse hasn’t made what you’d strictly call a Hip-Hop album in quite awhile before this. In spite of that fact, few would disagree with me, I think. In interviews the pair have said they’d wanted to work together for years, and it just didn’t come together until now. Personally, I could hardly be happier with the results. This album is amazing with both Danger Mouse and Black Thought at the top of their game, and top notch guest appearances from Michael Kiwanuka, Run The Jewels, Raekwon, Dylan Cartlidge and more.
8. Stromae – Multitude This album addresses all kinds of issues. Depression and suicidal thoughts, social inequalities, love, joy all touched on, and that’s just getting started. Musically, there’s a broad range of styles and instrumentation used by the Rwandan-Belgian artist and his band. There is an interesting mix of acoustic instruments along with the keyboards, electronic beats and loops, and the vocal work is striking.
7. Sault – 11 This album is very much the style I’ve come to expect from Sault amid the whirlwind of music they’ve released in the past 3 years. Of course, last month’s 5 albums was quite a step up in prodution from already an prolific rate of releases. While some of it I feel I’ve barely engaged with, this album stood out to me the most. Sault uses sparse instrumentation built mainly on solid bass grooves and great percussion, and nearly always allowing the vocals to take the focus. There’s not a weak track to be found here.
6. ODESZA – The Last Goodbye I’ve got a long history with this group, having first heard them on late night college radio. These two started making music while attending Western Washigton University in Bellingham, WA. Seeing them go from that point in their career to where they are now is so cool. They just keep honing their craft, and each new release becomes their best.
5. Cheekface – Too Much to Ask The tongue-in-cheekiest of releases that I’ve ever featured on the Fortnightly Playlist, I think. This album is ridiculously fun, and yet still at times poignant. I first heard “Pledge Drive” on the radio, and was immediately hooked. I had to hear that song again. Then the album kept giving with “We Need a Bigger Dumpster”, “I Feel So Weird!”, “Featured Singer”, “Noodles” and “You Always Want to Bomb the Middle East”.
4. Making Movies – XOPA Back again, Making Movies have their thir straight album find it’s way into my top 10. 2017’s I Am Another You and 2019’s Ameri’kana landed at #8 and # 6, respectively. There’s something about the percussion mixed with their psych rock guitar and passionate vocals. It is an intense album, but not without soft moments. I love what Making Movies do.
3. Shearwater – The Great Awakening This was probably my most anticipated album of the year. It was so different from Shearwater’s previous album, Jetplane & Oxbow, which I maintain is a modern masterpiece. The Great Awakening is a much more atmospheric album, and does not have the driving mid-tempo pace that marked Jetplane… Even so there is a mystery and intensity that builds in this record, and finally breaks wide open at track 6, “Empty Orchestra”. After that release it dives back down again, and doesn’t really open up again until a brief part of the final track, “Wind is Love”. As different as it was from their previous, I developed a love for this record as well.
2. Marlowe – Marlowe 3 The project of L’Orange and Solemn Brigham is another consistent top 10 artist here at The Fortnightly. L’Orange’s production is unmatched in my opinion, and these tracks are of all the signatures I’ve come to love. The muted guitar tones, the horns, and, of course, the weaving in of samples from radio theatre. Solemn’s flow and delivery still feels urgent and near breathless. It’s very raw Hip-Hop laced with clever wordplay, and never leans too hard on chorus hooks.
1. Sampa The Great – As Above, So Below Having been based in Melbourne for several years, Sampa Tembo found herself unable to return to Australia from her native country, Zambia, due to COVID restrictions. She has said in interviews that she’d always intended to return and invest her time in helping build the music scene in Zambia, but that in the making of this album it happened by necessity. Family and home is very much a part of this album. Her uncle is a former member of the Zam-rock band, Witch, who appear on “Can I Live?” and Sampa’s sister and cousin feature as well and toured with her band. This album seemlessly weaves together psychedelic rock, Hip-Hop, and traditional african vocal stylings. I’ve never heard another album like this one.
Tracklist: The Beths – Expert In a Dying Field Cheekface – We Need a Bigger Dumpster Making Movies – Calor Stromae – L’Enfer Danger Mouse, Black Thought – No Gold Teeth Marlowe – Past Life Odesza – Behind the Sun Shearwater – There Goes the Sun Sampa The Great, Witch – Can I Live? Sault – Glory Stromae – Sante Cheekface – I Feel So Weird! The Beths – Knees Deep Marlowe – My People Making Movies – Sala De Los Pecadores Sault – Fear No One Shearwater – Empty Orchestra Odesza, Olafur Arnalds – Light of Day Danger Mouse, Black Thought, Michael Kiwanuka – Aquamarine Sampa The Great – Bona Marlowe – Light Trip Danger Mouse, Black Thought, A$AP Rocky, Run The Jewels – Strangers Making Movies – XOPA Sault – Higher Stromae – Bonne Journee Odesza, Bettye LaVette – The Last Goodbye Cheekface – Pledge Drive The Beths – Head in the Clouds Shearwater – Wind is Love Sampa The Great, Chef 187, Tio Nason, Mwanje – Never Forget
25. Sudan Archives – Natural Black Prom Queen I”ve been a fan of Sudan archives since before she had a full-length album out. Her early EPs and her first album, Athena, in 2019 were marked with prominent violin riffs either plucked or bowed. For me, this was what set her apart and made her music so interesting. The violin work is more subtle on this album, and at times drowned in swirling electronics. It’s still a very good album, but the parts I enjoyed most were when that violin came through more. “Ciara” and “#513” were a couple of my favorite tracks.
24. Courtney Marie Andrews – Loose Future Courtney Marie Andrews has one of the most beautiful voices in the alt-country/American world right now. This album has a little more upbeat, lighter sound than her last couple records. There are points where the blues/gospel sound that marked 2018’s May Your Kindness Remain and the sparse, melancholy of 2020’s Old Flowers come through in this record as well.
23. Open Mike Eagle – Component System With The Auto Reverse There aren’t other rappers who sound like Mike Eagle. The way he weaves in melodies to his raps, his wordplay, his often laid-back delivery just take very unique angles. There is something about the way he can lean into the label of “art-rap”, but can also keep his material markedly accessible.
22. Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – Get On Board! A pair of legends here, and no one will convince me otherwise. Ry is my alltime favorite guitar player. Some are surprised by this statement, but he has an inarguable sense of how to fit into a song. It just feels right. Taj and Ry played in a group called The Rising Sons when they were teenagers. Their debut was unreleased, and eventually they both found their ways into their solo careers. That debut album eventually saw the light of day in 1990, and this is the first time since that 1966 album that they’ve made an album together. It is an album recalling two bluesmen that Ry and Taj saw as legends when they were young, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. It’s a work of reinvention, but with love. They have a love and respect for the material that you can really hear throughout.
21. Sault – Today & Tomorrow Sault overwhelmed fans in November by dropping 5 new albums with no prior announcements. I haven’t really fully engaged with all of them to be honest, but (spoiler) you’ll be seeing more of them in my list this year. This album is very different than what Sault have released in the past, and sounds like a whole different project overall. It has a lo-fi indie blues-rock sound so starkly different from the gospel R&B-tinged indie that they’ve established for themselves. The unexpected change for this particular album of their 5 releases landed well with me.
20. Santigold – Spirituals Santigold cannot be pigeon-holed, and Spirituals is just the latest in the mountain of evidence to this point. Reggae, Dancehall, Punk, Soul, R&B, Electronica… she can take it all and make it her own. Similar statements could be said of subject matter, as she is willing to approach a wide-array of topics and issues in her writing.
19. Ibibio Sound Machine – Electricity This new album did not quite strike the balance of energy that made me love 2019’s Doko Mein, but it is still a very good album with some songs that I really enjoyed. While Doko Mein relied on funk grooves and joyful energy, Electricity finds it’s home in synth-laden electronica and emphasizes Eno Williams vocals.
18. Built to Spill – When the Wind Forgets Your Name 29 years since they’re debut album, Built to Spill are still making engaging and relevant rock music. Doug Martsch and company re-emerging 7 years after the last record, Untethered Moon. And I’m really glad that Built to Spill are back and had at least this one left in the tank, as I think it’s a great indie rock album.
17. Ibeyi – Spell 31 I was immediately struck by the music of twin-sister duo, Ibeyi. Their debut album, Ash, was my #2 album in 2017. I was excited to learn they were finally giving us their follow up, and I have enjoyed this album. This one is really strong straight through the whole record, but some high points for me are “Made of Gold” and “Rise Above”.
16. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention I don’t know how this project came about, but I like it. Sons of Kemet drummer, Tom Skinner, joins Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead for this unexpected record. I really enjoyed Greenwood’s guitar work on this, and how well it meshes with Skinner’s jazz rhythms. Then the swirling synths surrounding it all and Yorke’s instantly recogizable vocal cutting through clear.
15. Los Bitchos – Let the Festivities Begin! Members hailing from Uruguay, Sweden, UK and Australia, Los Bitchos seems immediately like an implausible project. Now take in addition that they meld surf rock, samba, turkish pop, and a couple dozen other genres together to create this fascinating instrumental record, and it’s enough to blow my mind. Please tell me I’m not the only one hearing that Oingo Boingo riff on “Tropico”… was that intentional theft or sub-conscious, I wonder?
14. Sault – Earth This is the most spiritual-themed Sault record to date, leaning hard into certain gospel elements in their sound and delving into more religious language than I expected. It comes through as genuine and earnest without being preachy or over-zealous. It’s a very reflective record.
13. Poppy Ajudha – THE POWER IN US I first heard Poppy Ajudha a few months back on the radio, and the song was “No!” Upon listening to the album, I found this melodic punk tune had been the tip of the iceberg in terms of her sound. She expertly tied together genres in this album and covered so much ground while still maintaining a cohesive album.
12. Cave Clove – The Muscle and The Meaning Cave Clove was a good discovery I saw as an opening act a few years back. I have followed them closely ever since, and I’m always eager to hear what they’ve got next. A little bit Soulful modern rock tinged with psych-rock riffs, I really think this is their most complete and cohesive record yet.
11. Florence + the Machine – Dance Fever The one and only Florence Welch back again. That soaring, powerful voice, and those big orchestrations swirling around. It’s exactly what you might expect from Florence + the Machine by now, but still no less welcome. Always look forward to a new Florence record.
Tracklist: Sault – Run Poppy Ajudha – No! Ibibio Sound Machine – All That You Want Santigold – Witness Sudan Archives – Ciara Ibeyi, Pa Salieu – Made of Gold Florence + the Machine – Heaven is Here The Smile – The Smoke Los Bitchos – Las Panteras Built to Spill – Gonna Lose Cave Clove – New Secret Open Mike Eagle – 79th and Stony Island Sault – Valley of the Ocean Courtney Marie Andrews – You Do What You Want Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – What a Beautiful City Sudan Archives – #513 Ibibio Sound Machine – 17 18 19 Ibeyi, BERWYN – Rise Above Poppy Ajudha – PLAYGOD Santigold – Fall First Los Bitchos – Tropico Courtney Marie Andrews – Let Her Go Florence + the Machine – King Cave Clove – On Witches Brew Built to Spill – Never Alright Sault – Stronger Open Mike Eagle – I’ll Fight You The Smile – You Will Never Work In Television Again Sault – The Jungle Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – I Shall Not Be Moved
Not writing a whole lot for this edition. Really been enjoying this music though. Alewya, Marlowe, Hope Tala, LABRYS, Ya Tseen, and Lydia Ramsey are among my personal favorites this edition.
Tracklist: Alewya – Let Go Hope Tala – Is It Enough iLe, Trueno – Ningun Lugar Marlowe – The Fall NxWorries, Knxwledge, Anderson.Paak, H.E.R. – Where I Go Blood Orange – Something You Know Emily Hopkins – Sun Light + Dark Star LABRYS – Gimme Something Cuffed Up – 10 For 10 Young Fathers – I Saw Algiers, Zack De La Rocha – Irreversible Damage Andrew Bird, Phoebe Bridgers – I Felt a Funeral In My Brain Lydia Ramsey – Come Home With Me The Tallest Man On Earth – Tears Are In Your Eyes Ya Tseen, Samantha Crain – Look At What the Light Did Now (Feist cover) Idles, Florence+the Machine – Heaven Is Here (Idles Remix) Royksopp, Goldfrapp – The Night Loyle Carner – Hate Goat – Soon You Die Coco Peila, Taj Mahal – Above That (Black Joy) Louis Cole – Dead Inside Shuffle
I sometimes take great joy in getting the perfect transition from one song to another completely unexpected song. I wonder if anyone has ever put Taylor Swift and Open Mike Eagle one after the other in a playlist before… I do think that this is sort of unique about my playlists as I’m willing to include so many different styles, and it’s a point of pride for me getting it to work.
Obviously, the new Taylor Swift album is taking all the buzz at present, and it deserves a lot of attention. The thing is that it doesn’t exactly take much to find a million reviews of Taylor Swift’s new album. I don’t really tend toward the pop superstars. Courtney Marie Andrews also has a new album out, and, if I had to choose one or the other then… Let’s talk about Courtney Marie Andrews’ new album, Loose Future. She’s got a voice that I just can’t get past. I first heard Courtney sometime in between May Your Kindness Remain and Old Flowers. The latter made my year-end favorites list in 2020. This new album does well to build on her sound while still allowing her genuine songwriting to shine.
I’ve also been giving a lot of listens to the new Poppy Ajudha album, THE POWER IN US. There is a lot in this one, and it’s impressive drawing together the different styles that she does into a cohesive sound. Particularly, I first heard “No!” which had a punkiness running through it. Then when I first gave the entire album, I was struck right from the start by “Playgod” which almost has a Solange-meets-Nine Inch Nails thing going for it with these powerful, soulful vocals building to hard, industrial peaks. I love this kind of ambition, and I’ve really been enjoying this one.
Other favorites this edition are Jamila Woods, Marlowe, Sampa The Great, and Ibeyi.
Tracklist: Simple Minds – Vision Thing Black Belt Eagle Scout – Don’t Give Up Death Cab For Cutie – Foxglove Through the Clearcut Taylor Swift – Midnight Rain Open Mike Eagle – 79th and Stony Island Marlowe – Light Trip Sampa The Great – Bona Orchestra Gold – Keleya Arctic Monkeys – I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Hate Dancin’ Black Country, New Road – Good Will Hunting The Beths – Head In The Clouds Porridge Radio – End of Last Year Wild Pink – The Grass Widow in the Glass Window Courtney Marie Andrews – You Do What You Want Jamila Woods – Boundaries Ibeyi – juice of Mandarins Poppy Ajudha – FALL TOGETHER Nilufer Yanya – Rid of Me
A bit of local, a bit of global, a bit of everything in between. A lot of different parts of the world represented in this list, and a range from popstar to complete unknown here as well.
Let’s talk Sampa The Great. When COVID struck her family, she returned home to Zambia from Australia (where she had been based for several years). Then, with the Australian borders closed, she was unable to get back into Australia. After trying at first various ways to get back in to Australia, she accepted it was better to work in Zambia. In one interview on KEXP, when asked what listeners should expect from her new album, As Above, So Below, she has responded immediately with the word “Range”. It’s true. This is a Hip-hop album that covers some serious ground. There is psychedelic guitars woven in, myriad percussion sounds and styles, guests like Angelique Kidjo, Kojey Radical, and Witch bringing in their own sounds to the mix. Thinking of favorite albums of the year, this one is a contender for sure.
So, why is this Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros track here? Well, because a new collection has been released compiling Joe Strummer’s years with the Mescaleros. It includes all three Mescaleros albums as well as unreleased tracks, demo versions and outtakes. I love this project a lot. It was a band that truly put no bounderies on where they would go stylistically, and it was Joe Strummer doing exactly as he wanted without the pressures that had come with the mass popularity he’d had with the Clash. I decided to include a classic track in this edition.
So much good music here! I hope you enjoy it. Some other favorites of mine are Chris Carroll, Charles Stepney, The Beths, and Wild Pink. (Sorry, the Ana Tijoux track was not available on Spotify, so that one is Apple only. Do check her out though. She is very cool).
Tracklist: The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Global a Go-Go Gogol Bordello – The Era of the End of Eras Ana Tijoux, Macha, Aerstame, RodStarz de Rebeldiaz, Geoenezetao – Bolero NATYASH, Sara Hebe – Mentiroso Chris Carroll – Sensitive Kelela – Washed Away Sudan Archives – Flue Sampa The Great, Witch – Can I Live? Ayron Jones – Filthy Ransom, Mayor – Ignorance Real Bad Man, Pink Siifu, Ahwlee – View of Paris Open Mike Eagle, Armand Hammer – Burner Account Hudson Mohawke – Redeem Charles Stepney – Gotta Dig It to Dig It Poppy Ajudha – NO! Cold Cave – Godstar Starcrawler – Stranded Death Cab For Cutie – Here To Forever Wild Pink, Julien Baker – Hold My Hand Tim Bruce Johnson – Stupid Now Kae Tempest, Lianne La Havas – No Prizes Weyes Blood – It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody The Mountain Goats – Make You Suffer
The Fortnightly Playlist 
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