Torres "What an Enormous Room"
From Merge Records:
What an enormous room is TORRES’ sixth studio album (her third with Merge). It was recorded in September and October 2022 at Stadium Heights Sound in Durham, North Carolina. It was engineered by Ryan Pickett, produced by Mackenzie Scott and Sarah Jaffe, mixed by TJ Allen in Bristol, UK, and mastered by Heba Kadry in NYC. The album contains 10 songs. Mackenzie wrote all of them. Sarah played bass guitar, synths, drums, organ, and piano. Mackenzie sang vocals, played guitar, bass, synths, organ, piano, and programmed drums. Additional synth bass, tambourine, and shakers were played by TJ Allen.
Eye Flys "Eye Flys"
From Thrill Jockey Records:
Expanding on their bludgeoning debut Tub of Lard, Eye Flys is lean and aggressive, fast and unforgiving. “Trepanation Summer”’s ferocious riffs bore directly into the skull, mimicking the crude pressure release of the ancient surgical process of the same name, Smith crying to “release the pressure” from within a wall of feedback. “Sleep Forever” throws down a thrashing, infernal groove, demolishing all in its path as Smith’s craggy guitar figures rise like toxic smoke from the devastation. “Draining Pus” revels in septic sludge, while “Bananarchy Zoo” manages to strip things down to an even more lean and incisive realization of the trio’s punishing sonic palette, in an exploration of Smith’s love/hate relationship with his Florida roots.
A wall of rippling noise and distortion run as connecting threads through the album, the band’s acerbic humor and raw emotion capturing the perspective and the frustration of the hardworking everyman. The band grapples with the repercussions of coping strategies with healthy skepticism and an eye on the gallows. Eye Flys offers a reassuring reminder that you haven’t gone mad and you’re not alone – that weird ‘n’ heavy music is still here as a respite from the madness of modern living and an outlet for righteous rage.
Konkolo Orchestra "Future Pasts"
Konkolo Orchestra is a Zürich/Switzerland based project initiated by multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Alexis Malefakis. With strong jazzy afrobeat and highlife references, Konkolo Orchestra pays homage to musical innovators such as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Tony Oladipo Allen, Ebo Taylor and many more.
This first album continues the warm, vibrant, percussive motif of the hugely popular “Blue G.” single of 2022. For those who like their music to inspire journey and movement, this album is the equivalent of gatecrashing a wedding party where even granny can get her groove on.
Malefakis is hardly rewriting the afrobeat textbook here, but his production charms the listener with a confident mastery of the genre. His compositions have a distinct personality and a tight structure, and are peppered with a talented array of guest vocalists: Nongoma (South Africa), Sir Frank Karikari (Ghana) and Kitio Batola (Congo); alongside Eric Owusu (Ghana) on percussion. The uplifting lyrics and joyful melodies are held together by a powerhouse horn section bearing all the swinging hallmarks of a highlife fanfare.
Hard to define the standout tracks when the entire oeuvre gels together so well as a festive fusion. Deeply funky and syncopated, Malefakis has produced a motivational winter warmer for both feet and spirit.
