Je Suis France "Back To The Basics Of Love (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)"
Je Suis France doesn’t have an off switch. Back to the Basics of Love, which comes out this November from the Ernest Jenning Record Co., will be their seventh official full-length album, but they’ve also released dozens of digital releases and CD-Rs stretching back to the early ‘00s. The band, which first came together in Athens, Georgia, in the ‘90s, has prepared a new release for almost every show they’ve played since 2004. Despite that long history of experimentation, Back to the Basics of Love has all the energy and urgency of a debut from a band that’s 20 years younger. It’s a record that sounds like it could’ve come out in the 1990s, the 2000s, or the 2010s, but that couldn’t have existed at any point other than now.
Check out the ramshackle wonder of “Shapeshifter.”
Shifts (Fat Cat) "Shifts (Fat Cat)"
From Fat Cat:
A wonderfully immersive suite of five stunning new tracks, ‘Shifts’ expands upon Swedish-Iranian pianist / composer Shida Shahabi’s debut album and confirms her as a genuine new force in contemporary piano music.
Check out the stunningly intimate “Futo.”
Xylouris White "The Sisypheans (Drag City)"
From Drag City:
Xylouris White’s fourth installment of progressive Cretan lute compositions present the sounds of the lute, George Xylouris’ vocals and Jim White’s drums in an open, spacious sound-field. With the philosophical bent that suits their music’s ancient headwaters, Jim and George are meditating on the life of a traveling musician, Sisyphyan in its repetition, but inspired in an eternal recurrence of themes and techniques that allow them to climb ever-further into their experience as players.
Check out the haunting, pastoral “Tree Song.”
Rachel Grimes "The Way Forth (Temporary Residence)"
Composer/pianist extraordinaire Rachel Grimes is back with a heady, rousing concept of an album. The Way Forth (Temporary Residence) is a folk opera steeped in American history. The source of this history comes from 18th and 19th-century letters, documents, and photos from Kentucky. But as with everything Rachel does, the music is the main attraction here. Though there are tracks featuring spoken word and choral arrangements, it is all in service of Rachel’s beautiful music–here piano mixed with an Americana-esque chamber ensemble. Check out the first track from the album “Got Ahold of Me.”