Criteria "Years (15 Passenger)"
from 15 Passenger:
Criteria’s Years has been in the making for quite some time. No joke, like a really long time. But the album’s delay seems to be a badge of pride for the group, one that underscores the relentlessness of their collective vision to see it happen some fifteen years after the release of their sophomore LP When We Break (Saddle Creek). The drums were tracked at Omaha’s ARC studios in 2014 and eventually the guitars and vocals were finished in Pedersen’s basement studio. Criteria’s own A.J. Mogis wore the hats of both bass player and producer/recording/mixing engineer. His production credits include Monsters of Folk, Fake Problems, Small Brown Bike, The Get Up Kids, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and Cursive. On Years, Mogis and Pedersen — along with guitarist Aaron Druery and drummer Mike Sweeney — have once again set the bar very high for self-produced rock albums. It has a sound that conjures the likes of both Quicksand and Built to Spill, with its high energy riffs/grooves under the catchy, melody-forward vocal lines.
Check out the instantly sing-a-long-able first single “Agitate Resuscitate.”
of Montreal "UR FUN (Polyvinyl)"
Though its always been a great time to be a fan of of Montreal, the last few years have been especially varied and prolific. UR Fun (Polyvinyl) is the culmination of the last stretch of records. This is as bouncy, poppy, and as fun as his music has ever been. Forgoing recording with a band and instead locking himself at his home studio for 12 hours a day recording and sequencing himself, UR Fun is as true a representation of the inside of Kevin Barnes’ mind as we’ve ever been gifted with (unless you also happen to be a doctor with access to an x-ray he had taken after wearing a very tight hat for too long*). Every song on this album could, and should, be a chart-topping single. Like a David Bowie album from the 80s, or Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, this is stacked from top to bottom with artistically leaning pop mastery. I hate to recommend a song here since really, every song on here is a focus track. But check out the driving “Polyaneurism.”
Eduardo Fernández "Guitar (Delmark)"
From Delmark:
For his debut on Delmark Classics guitar virtuoso Eduardo Fernández put together a program covering two centuries of music and two continents. From Paganini to Brouwer, this album offers a variety of schools, tendencies and techniques that very few performers can match. In addition to brilliant pieces by Denisov and Chávez, this CD features a rarely heard works by Mertz and Rebay. An internationally recognized guitarist and scholar, Eduardo Fernández was born in Uruguay in 1952. He studied guitar with Abel Carlevaro. In 1975 he was awarded at the Radio France (Paris) competition and won the Andres Segovia Competition in Spain. His New York debut in 1977 received critical accolades. Since then, Fernández has been performing and teaching all over the world as well as releasing numerous acclaimed albums
Check out the absolutely stunning performance of Niccolò Paganini’s “Sonata No. 24 in G Major: I. Minuetto.”
Jimmy Johnson "Every Day of Your Life (Delmark)"
From Delmark:
Four decades ago, Jimmy Johnson permanently established himself as a front-rank Chicago bluesman with his unusually imaginative Delmark debut album Johnson’s Whacks (DE 644). Now he’s come full circle: Jimmy’s back on Delmark with this exciting release, which shows that he remains a vital blues force into his 90s. Johnson’s fluid, slicing guitar licks dart and spark with unpredictable elasticity throughout this set. His voice soars to the heavens time and again, never misplacing its melismatic passion no matter the tempo.
From the funky opening original “Every Day Of Your Life,” constructed around a wise lyrical message, to a churning “Down In The Valley” and exquisitely tailored revivals of the lights-out slow blues “Strange Things Happening” and a hard- driving “I Need You So Bad,” Jimmy is never less than masterful. Few contemporary bluesmen are so devastating when working in a minor key— witness Johnson’s personalized treatment of Fenton Robinson’s classic “Somebody Loan Me A Dime.” “My Ring,” another standout original, takes a swaying and unexpected reggae turn (pushing the stylistic envelope has long been one of Jimmy’s trademarks), and Johnson sits down behind the 88s for a solo reprise of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s uplifting “Lead Me On” to close the album in deeply moving style.
Funny thing is, Jimmy only became a full-time blues guitarist in the mid -1970s. Prior to that, he mostly traversed the R&B side of the tracks. Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Johnson grew up along with another future blues luminary, Matt Murphy. “I picked up a guitar because Murphy had a guitar,” he says. Sacred and secular sounds competed for his attention. “My first time of singing in front of an audience, I was singing gospel,” notes Jimmy. “My uncle had a Victrola, the ones you wind up, and I got to hear John Lee Hooker, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Sonny Boy Williamson.”
Check out the laid-back funk “Down In The Valley.”