Jim White "All Hits: Memories"
From Drag City Records:
“Jim’s big green eyes search for the right tool (mallet, brush, etc), search you like you’re a song he wants to see if he can add to. The trap kit — so straightforward, so mysterious. Air and light, a vibration sent through prehistoric breath, particles of Saturn’s atmosphere, the dead, wet leaves you walked through…the first day of school….[All Hits: Memories] sets time free, [to] frolic, graze, and remember.” — Bill Callahan
High Llamas "Hey Panda"
Opened up by the delirious alchemy of contemporary pop music, Sean O’Hagan leaps back into life with High Llamas, with a set of killer tunes reflecting on dimensional levels how definitions change over time. Arranged by Sean and produced with mix collaborator Fryars to engage the eardrums in non-stop new possibilities, Hey Panda radiates optimism inspired by the joys and sorrows felt in former lifetimes and the diverse conundrums of today alike.
Real Bad Man & Lukah "Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace"
“Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace.” is a philosophical exploration into the essence of community, spirituality, and transformation. This 15-track collaboration between producer Real Bad Man and Memphis rapper Lukah meditates on themes of unity, leadership, sacrifice, and renewal. With contributions from billy woods (Armand Hammer), Adrian Utley (Portishead), and Shabaka Hutchings, this album ascends through personal and spiritual achievements, delves into the duality of knowledge, the unseen forces, and the cyclical nature of life and death. The album reflects on growth, resilience, duty, ancestral wisdom, and the healing power of words, culminating in a celebration of inner peace and communal harmony. With a backbone of musically ambitious beats and soul-baring verses, this album carves its mark as the year’s most enthralling listen.
Rosali "Bite Down"
Dan Bejar of Destroyer says:
“It’s hard to talk about Rosali’s music. Songs that reach outward like this, but then constantly disarm with their intimacy. What do you call such inner searching that is hellbent on rollicking? Songs that long for a sense of peace and songs that want romance, all on equal footing in the same plot of earth? Performed wild, but always centered around the incredible lyrical calm that is Rosali’s voice.
Bite Down makes me think about singers and bands that throw themselves hard into the storm, the way the Rosali quartet does. … The calm of her voice over top of the band’s raging—it is the emblem of songs that live to put themselves in harm’s way. But it’s not harm. It’s just that you have to play hard to get at these goods. The calm of Rosali’s voice, the straight talk of her inner search vs. the wildness of the band, the sonic storm she rides in on. That’s their sound.”