William Tyler "Goes West (Merge)"
William Tyler’s new LP Goes West (Merge) is the opposite of Dylan going electric, and is just as illuminating. It’s not like William NEVER plays acoustic guitar on his albums or anything–his 2008 record Desert Canyon is mostly solo acoustic. But if you only know him from his widely heralded 2016 album Modern Country, then this record might come as a bit of a shock. But it’s not like there isn’t ANY electric guitar on the album, it’s just that he isn’t playing it. Who is? Oh, just Meg Duffy. Bill Frisell. NBD. A much more spacious album than his last, it would appear the “west” he has gone to in the album title is desert-heavy and wide open. As H.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger writes “it sounds as though he found a way to point himself directly towards the rich and bittersweet emotional center of his music without being distracted by side trips.” Check out the mesmerizing “Fail Safe.”
Palmer T. Lee "Winebringer (Team Love)"
As one half of The Lowest Pair, Palmer T. Lee has been releasing americana and folk leaning music for years now after falling in love with the medium as a young man. On Winebringer (Team Love), he takes advantage of the decision he made with his musical partner Kendl Winter to devote 2018 to solo projects. Featuring what sounds like every stringed instrument known to man (guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, others) and pouring his soul into every line delivered (in a way that is reminding me a bit of Tallest Man On Earth) this is surely the unfiltered mind of the sensitive soul of Palmer. Check out the twangy ballad “Rag.”
The Twilight Sad "IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME (Rock Action)"
It was obviously a very big deal for The Twilight Sad when The Cure’s Robert Smith hand picked them to open for his band on a string of dates because he loves TTS so very much. But the resulting friendship with the band might have been an even bigger deal. When it came time to record their new LP, IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME (Rock Action), they sent the demos to Bobby Cure (I’m assuming that’s what they call him. I would). He gave each song a numerical grade out of 10 and told them what they could change to make each song better in his opinion. I mean, if you make gloomy, emotive post-rock like TTS and Robert Smith has suggestions, you take them. It paid off, because I’d give every haunting track on here somewhere between a 9 and a 10 out of a possible 10! What a score! Scotland wins the blurb Olympics! Check out the chilly new wave bounce of the first single “Videograms.”
Bruno Bavota "Re_Cordis (Temporary Residence)"
As the line between modern classical composers and electronic musicians blurs more and more with every passing year, in steps Italian composer Bruno Bavota. Bruno is known for, essentially, remixing his compositions live as he performs them. Sitting at a piano with a series of effect pedals, playing his pieces live as he then also manipulates those pieces live. If someone were animating this process, surely Bruno would be an octopus, tentacles everywhere (maybe an amazingly delicious sandwich next to him. After all, cartoon food ALWAYS looks amazing, right?) On Re_Cordis (Temporary Residence), Bruno oscillates between beautiful, calming, solo piano pieces that have very little in the way of manipulation–and haunting, tension-filled combinations of deliberate melody and frayed effects. Here he is revisiting older compositions to show how they have evolved since he originally wrote them. It’s like the dawning of a new kind of new-age music, and I for one am ready for it! You will be too! Check out simply lovely “The light of.”