December 13, 2020
Listening selections for the week of December 13, 2020, best enjoyed with a pour over cup of Rising Star Coffee Roasters’ Illuminator Blend, for boosting notes of caramel and tangerine.
Highlights include:
Riffs and reverb from Aussie act Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
Elaha Soroor and Kefaya breathing new urgency and vitality into a traditional Farsi folk song
A technicolor patchwork of sounds from around the globe woven by Ko Shin Moon
Hypnotic desert blues from Northern Nigerian outfit Etran De L'Aïr
Indie pop perfection from Bigg Pigg, sporting one hell of an infectious chorus
The co-opting of a chord progression that never fails from producer partnership Souleance
Dreamy, lo fi chill hop from South East London rapper and singer KEYAH/BLU
Expansive electro jazz from man-drum machine hybrid Richard Spaven and composer Sandunes
A fantastical post-rock soundscape from masters Mogwai
A somehow compelling cacophony of effects, instruments and grooves from Japan’s cero
Badass bass-driven alternative from Chicago luminaries Ohmme
Devo-worship done right from Vancouver-based multimedia collective Crack Cloud
Exotic, layered improvisation from modern psychonauts The Mattson 2
The latest towering single from mercurial British singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya
Matter-of-fact post-punk from South London 4-piece Dry Cleaning
The singular soul excellence of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
New jazz from Bokani Dyer, heralding Brownswood Recordings’ new compilation Indaba
Quite simply, the best Chicago, and late-‘60s rock, has ever been
A memorable one-hit wonder no doubt inspired by the preceding act
Piano jazz from one of its finest players, London-born Alfa Mist
Kaleidoscopic Israeli groove from Liquid Saloon
Jazz-funk collaboration between Brazil’s Azymuth and producer extraordinaries Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge
Infectious new afrobeat vibes from Nubiyan Twist and alto saxophonist Soweto Kinch
Blur at their most reaching and affecting
Weaponized math rock from Metz’s visceral new Atlas Vending