Everyone’s back! UA, Asai Kenichi, TOKIE and Shiino Kyoichi! I’m hoping there’s a full album in the future.
Tokyo Jihen, Ongaku (Music), June 9
I’ve missed Tokyo Jihen, but the singles that have been released since the reunion haven’t really caught me.
Sleater-Kinney, Path of Wellness, June 11
It feels as if everyone who’s announcing new albums wouldn’t have been working on them had it not been for the pandemic.
Duran Duran, Future Past, Oct. 22
Giorgio Moroder did wonders on Kylie Minogue’s DISCO, and the single “Invisible” is the hardest Duran Duran has rocked since perhaps “The Wild Boys”.
Vinyl
My Bloody Valentine, Isn’t Anything, May 21 My Bloody Valentine, Loveless, May 21 My Bloody Valentine, mbv, May 21
I have an unofficial pressing of Isn’t Anything, so I made sure to order a legitimate one directly from the band themselves. I can’t say I feel much need for mbv on vinyl.
Utada Hikaru, One Last Kiss (US release), Aug. 20
I already have the Japanese pressing of this EP. Will I be getting this domestic pressing? Probably yes.
Guided By Voices, Isolation Drills, Sept. 17
Isolation Drills was reissued for Record Store Day as a single disc. This new pressing spreads the album out over two discs, which is far more prudent for its length.
I haven’t really understood why Laurie Anderson is so revered, even after listening to some of her other albums (Mister Heartbreak, Strange Angels.) I finally got around to listening to Big Science, and then I knew.
Grace Jones, Slave to the Rhythm
I like Warm Leatherette more, but as far as album covers go, Slave to the Rhythm has an iconic one.
Sturgill Simpson, Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 2
I’m not sure if the first volume of Cuttin’ Grass was meant to reveal any new facets to Simpson’s early albums, but it feels like the second volume does a better job of it.
Heaven 17, Penthouse and Pavement
Heaven 17 gets thrown in with Tears for Fears, ABC and Depeche Mode in music recommendation engines, but Penthouse and Pavement shows they were a little less melodic and a bit less danceable than those bands. And that’s not a knock.
I liked Rogue One probably a lot more than an average Star Wars fan might, so I was willing to entertain Riz Ahmed’s hip-hop work with the usual skepticism afforded to Hollywood actors dabbling in music. This work is no dilettante effort. Ahmed prosecutes the societal forces in the UK that brought about Brexit in an astonishing performance.
Wayne Horvitz, Live Forever, Vol. 1: The President – New York in the 80s
Wayne Horvitz dives into his archive to surface this must-have collection of live recordings and outtakes.
Kelela, Take Me Apart
I love how modern day R&B artists are willing to blur the lines between pop music and indie rock.
fIREHOSE, If’n
I’ve known about this album since it was first released in 1987, but I was too young at the time to have understood the impact of the Minutemen on independent rock.
sungazer, vol. I sungazer, vol. 2 Adam Neely, time//motion//wine
I never paid much attention to YouTube till I learned about Adam Neely and music theory YouTube. It’s been a year now since I discovered his channel, and YouTube has since eclipsed Science Channel as my television entertainment of choice. Neely’s own music combines electronic beats with rhythmically complex jazz, and while I enjoy watching him explain music theory, I sometimes wish the YouTube algorithm would give him enough slack to create more music.
![[Duran Duran - Future Past]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/duran-duran-future-past.jpg)
![[Alexander O'Neal - Hearsay]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AlexanderONealHearsay19267517_f.jpg)
![[Yo Majesty - Return of the Martriach]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/yo-majesty-return-of-the-matriarch.jpg)
![[Laurie Anderson - Big Science]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/LaurieAndersonBigScience265409_f.jpg)
![[Jacob Collier - In My Room]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/JacobCollierInMyRoom20265238_f.jpg)
![[Soundtrack - Tonari no TOTORO]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2018265025_f.jpg)
