Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble "Find Me Finding You (Drag City)"
“Experimental and soothing.” That’s how Stereogum describes the sound of Laetitia Sadier’s new project. The former Stereolab member is back with a new band. Following two solo releases, Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble is here as the new framing for her unique songwriting abilities. Frankly, everything she does fits into that Stereogum description. There are few bands you can recognize instantly based on chord changes, and Laetitia is one of them. It sounds exactly like you want it to. A furthering of the ideas born of Stereolab. I will gladly take every second of music she sees fit to gift the world, and to be sure, Find Me Finding You (Drag City) is certainly a gift. Timeless, steeped in French traditions, and yet always space aged and forward thinking. Check out the lead track from the album, “Undying Love For Humanity.”
Pontiak "Dialectic Of Ignorance (Thrill Jockey)"
Since the last time Pontiak recorded an album, the brothers Carney started a brewery. Because they are splitting their time now, they spent far more time recording Dialectic Of Ignorance (Thrill Jockey) then any of their previous albums. Each day they would get to work fermenting soda beans (i’m not super clear on how beer is made, just how it’s consumed) and listen to what they recorded the day before. They’d spend the day mulling over ideas, talking things out, and then head back into the studio later that night. This slowed down process gave them the ability to lovingly craft these songs. Stretched out, and full of good ideas, this is what a Roger Waters-less Pink Floyd SHOULD have sounded like. Psychedelic, with a hard edge, and sophisticated while still retaining experimentally.
Anders Parker "The Man Who Fell From Earth"
So besides the internet removing the lines between musicians and fans with things like kickstarter and pledgemusic, it also removes the line between musician and person who has to write things about musician. So while I’m trying to come up with the perfect way to describe Anders Parker’s 17th album The Man Who Fell From Earth he goes and does it perfectly. “The album is me singing and playing acoustic guitar accompanied by a string trio and a pedal steel.The songs…. there’s dirt in there, a dog, a baby, wind, mountains, divorce, stars, travel, regret, drunkenness, snow, dead trees, luck, agony, longing, despair, hope, helplessness, interstellar transmutation, naked women, rocks, books, breakdowns, and love.” So besides thanking Anders for the gorgeous album, I also have to thank him for the writeup time he saved me! Check out the pastoral beauty of “I Don’t Do That Anymore.”
ADULT. "Detroit House Guests"
The new album from Detroit electronic duo ADULT. is more than just a mere album. Think of it more as an art project. Utilizing an “artist in residency” model for their guest musician’s turns, the pair applied, and received, a grant to bring their vision to fruition. They would invite musicians to their studio to “live, work, and collaborate together” for three week stretches. With Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller helming the whole thing, what could have been a disjointed mess is a chillingly new sound, with elements of all the guests making their way into the artful electronic music. There are passages of drone, dance, experimental (ok, more than a passage of experimental). Check out the jittery bounce of “They’re Just Words.”