Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker "SpiderBeetleBee (Drag City)"
If you asked anyone who is interested in American primitive guitar who the leaders in that field are these days, their list wouldn’t get too far before both Bill MacKay and Riley Walker were named. Which is why it’s so exciting that both of these men have teamed up for SpiderBeetleBee (Drag City), their second record as a duo. Both of these performers are known for their excellent solo acoustic guitar recordings, and having them both working together here is a treat! So treat yourself to the autumnal sounds of “Lonesome Traveler.”
Circuit des Yeux "Reaching For Indigo (Drag City)"
I am willing to tell anyone who will listen how much of a fan of Circuit Des Yeux I am. Her beguiling mix of theatrics, art-pop, sophisticated arrangements, and here disarming baritone vocals… I just can’t get enough. Seriously, I’m willing to go on and on about how I think shes today’s Annie Lennox. Ok, so I might not be so much fun at parties. But I’m built for writing blurbs! Reaching For Indigo is her latest album, and her first on Drag City. This time around, her sound is even more fleshed out, yet somehow also more sparse than the last time around. How’d she do that? She’s a goddamn magician, that’s how. Don’t make me bore you with my love of her sound, just check out the psych-folk Van Dyke Park meets Nico shuffle of “Black Fly.”
Colleen "A flame my love, a frequency (Thrill Jockey)"
Ever since Colleen started adding vocals to her music starting with her fourth album, it’s been nearly impossible to predict what she has up her French sleeves when word is released that a new album is forthcoming. A flame my love, a frequency (Thrill Jockey–and the lack of capitalization is her stylistic choice as well) finds Colleen at her most baroque sounding, but sounding Baroque via a Critter and Guitar synth run through a Moog delay (hey, if it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it! Hiyooo!). Unique synth tones bubbling up and sounding somewhere between ‘70s documentary music a lá Jürgen Müller’s Science of the Sea and Wendy Carlos, mixed with Colleen’s hushed vocals. The whole thing is a heady rush of forward facing nostalgia. Check out the dizzying “Winter dawn” (again, capitalization (or lack thereof) is her stylistic choice. I don’t make the news, I just report it).
Destroyer "ken (Merge)"
When Dan Bejar learned that the title of the English ballad “The Wild Ones” was originally “Ken” (as in the scottish “ken” meaning “know”) he knew he had to steal that title for his next album. Thus Destroyer’s ken (Merge) was born. Produced by Josh Wells of Black Mountain, who has also been Destroyer’s drummer since 2012, ken was not recorded as a live band like the last album, though all the members appear on the record. This is a far more synth-y than Poison Season was, with a bit of a chilly “late Thatcher-era” production flair to it. Look, it’s the new Destroyer album, you know your gonna love it. Check out the Suede-ish single “Tinseltown Swimming in Blood.”