The Spins

As I noted in the previous dispatch, I'm going to start putting out shorter midweek dispatches with short reviews of new albums. This is the first of those. I'm calling these The Spins. It feels thematically appropriate.

I'll be back on Saturday. I finally figured out what this week's longer post will be, and it should be a nice time for everyone. Now, on to the reviews.

FKA Twigs, Eusexua

FKA Twigs made up a word because her music is without parallel. She takes you to the club and into her heart with equal fervor.

RIYL (Recommended If You Like): Club nights, vulnerability, the future

Marie Davidson, City of Clowns

Marie Davidson shows her supremacy of minimal wave dance music with this release, an album she wrote after reading The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. It is angry, funny, and cool, and it absolutely slaps. 

RIYL: Anti-capitalism, boss ladies, watching your smartphone watch you

FACS, Wish Defense

The Chicago trio makes an album of minimalist post-punk that hits the sweet spot between the sonic intensity of the Jesus Lizard and the exacting abrasiveness of Shellac. An excellent expansion on their sturdy foundation.

RIYL: Sparseness, Touch and Go in the 90s

MoMA Ready, Body 24

Wyatt Stephens presents a grip of fire house and drum-n-bass tracks, perfect for your activity and dj mixes.

RIYL: Night, subwoofers, neon, high bpms

Darkside, Nothing

Listening to this album is like looking at abstract art: the parts don't totally make sense separately, but when you put it all together, you can get the vibe and figure out if you like it. This album was like that, and I very much enjoyed it. 

RIYL: Country interludes, girl groups, Spanish lyrics

Yazz Ahmed, A Paradise in the Hold

In our current jazz landscape, I'm shocked it took me so long to find someone merging Middle Eastern sounds with contemporary post-bop jazz. Ahmed and her band, with multiple guest vocalists, are in peak form. A truly great album. 

RIYL: Drones, excellent solos, vibraphones, Thievery Corporation's The Mirror Conspiracy

Michi, Dirty Talk

There is minimal dirty talk on this album, but there is a lot of excellent R&B. She has a lovely, smooth voice, and the production is varied while never overshadowing her. She is off to a promising start.

RIYL: Bossa nova, progressive R&B, brief albums

I'll be back on Saturday. Take care of yourselves.