Whitney Johnson & Lia Kohl "For Translucence"
The debut album from Whitney Johnson & Lia Kohl has evolved over several years from their initial practice of free improvisation on viola and cello into (for the moment), this: a neophonic orchestral expression. At once stimulating and soothing, For Translucence is a living, breathing meditation in which layers of acoustic strings, synthesizers, field recordings, radio and sine waves illuminate each other as they twine and grow.
Mess Esque "Jay Marie, Comfort Me"
A bold third missive from the Australian duo – Helen Franzmann (McKisko) and Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Tren Brothers) – who sound like they literally dreamed themselves into being, and perhaps might even still be in the dream! Propelling their uniquely twisted aural circus to heights of exaltation and effect, Mess Esque build out their handmade, openhearted soul into new dimensions, pushing them – and yeah, us! – into more vivid states of being.
Destroyer "Dan’s Boogie"
Dan’s Boogie is, in true Destroyer fashion, a contradiction: a breakthrough album for Dan Bejar that began its life as a disappearing act and, as such, does things no Destroyer album to this point has ever done. Its nine songs imagine Bejar as a lounge singer, a hustler, and, at times, a supporting character in his own fantasies in nine all-timer Destroyer songs that have the urgency of a state secret hiding in the mind of a tortured spy.
