CDs + Vinyl:
The Aces – When My Heart Feels Volcanic CD/LP (Red Bull)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Hailing from Orem, Utah the quartet has been playing together for over a decade despite the oldest member being the young age of 22.”Across 13 tracks, The Aces’ sound positively sparkles. Drawing from both past and present Top 40 proclivities, the record captures moments with clarity and detail. The breezy album opener ‘Volcanic Love’ glistens as Ramirez draws out her syllables, articulating an overwhelming, all-consuming lust that lingers. Anchored by stable, unshakeable synths, the anthemic ‘Just Like That’ details the demise of what once was with a slow build to its cathartic, kiss-off chorus. Closer ‘Waiting for You’ slinks and slithers, waiting for impulses to be acted on, before its soaring crescendo.” – NPR
AGF & Various – Dissidentova CD (AGF Produktion)
The Dissidentova audio collection is another edition of feminist language exploration by the artist, music producer and poet Antye Greie-Ripatti, aka AGF. This time her work focuses on poetry, sound art, and the her-story in Russia from the mid-18th century to the present day. AGF chooses 15 iconic figures in Russian culture and creates fragmented tributes, placing them in chronological order. She invited Russian musicians and sound artists to collaborate with her as a reflection of the musical landscape of Russia today.
Tohru Aizawa Quartet – Tachibana Vol. 1 [Reissue/1975] CD/2xLP (BBE)
The Tohru Aizawa Quartet was a group made up of Japanese student musicians who never played a gig together and recorded only one album, Tachibana, in 1975 — one of the rarest albums in the history of Japanese jazz.
Astronauts, etc. – Living In Symbol CD/LP+MP3 (Company)
Living In Symbol is an ode to ambiguity, the future, and saying ‘so long’ to the known. A member of the last generation to experience life before total interconnectedness, Anthony Ferraro (digitally known as Tony Peppers) aims to be a bridge between two very different realities. The spirit of change is especially pronounced in California’s bay area, where technologies dawn and disruption is the noblest goal. Critics and advocates of all stripes write columns and fill talk radio hours with their analyses of the times. Sonically, Living In Symbol weaves its influences into an alien drapery. “The Border” introduces Latin psychedelia to a groove à la David Axelrod, setting the stage for a vocal performance that manages to be equal parts Lee Hazlewood and HAL 9000. On “The Room”, a Borgesian story gets dressed up in an eerily graceful string arrangement reminiscent of Les Baxter. And “Who I Talk To” nods to George Harrison in a soft rocking arrangement that supports Ferraro’s ghostly croon. Living In Symbol is a series of rooms, a choose-your-own-tomorrow story.
Daniel Bachman – The Morning Star CD/2xLP+MP3 (Three Lobed)
The Morning Star is the product of various change elements directing themselves at Daniel Bachman. First, the months following the recording and mixing of his 2016 self-titled album saw him physically move from his multi-year residence in the North Carolina Triangle area back to his native Virginia. Next was the 2016 American presidential election. While not an overtly political album, The Morning Star is truly an artist’s personal reflection on the chaotic days and nights in America following the revelation of that election’s results. Lastly, a focused period of listening, reflection, and space to come down off of a heavy few years of touring created a few changes in Bachman’s writing style that took him a period of time to truly feel comfortable with.
