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.
Phillip Glass "Phillip Glass Solo"
Orange Mountain Music presents “Philip Glass Solo” a collection of Glass performing some of his most enduring and beloved piano works.
Philip Glass Solo was recorded at a time when the world was undergoing a major shift—for Glass, that shift manifested in going from a busy tour and premiere schedule to time spent at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The storied musician dedicated this time to revisiting some of his older piano music, occasionally reacquainting himself with these old friends, playing them for an audience of one in his home studio in New York. It is his most personal record to date, offering a snapshot of his life, and a portrait of daily practice over eight decades through several cherished works.
Now 86, Glass reflects, “This record revisits my works for piano. From 2020-2021, I had time at home to practice the works I have played for many years. This record is both a time capsule of 2021, and a reflection on decades of composition and practice. In other words, a document on my current thinking about the music. There is also the question of place. This is my piano, the instrument on which most of the music was written. It’s also the same room where I have worked for decades in the middle of the energy which New York City itself has brought to me. The listener may hear the quiet hum of New York in the background or feel the influence of time and memory that this space affords. To the degree possible, I made this record to invite the listener in.”
Philip Glass Solo opens with “Opening,” originally written for the 1982 album Glassworks, which remains one of Glass’ most transfixing pieces and established a sound that quickly became a calling card. Next we hear Mad Rush, one of his most beloved pieces and longest performances on record (at 16:35), which he composed originally as an organ piece in 1978 when the Dalai Lama made his first public address in New York. This is followed by Metamorphosis I, II, III, and V, the series of music Glass arranged for his first solo piano concerts in the 1980s; the album ends with a reworked version of “Truman Sleeps” from the soundtrack of the beloved 90s film The Truman Show, where Glass appeared on screen performing the piano in one of the pivotal scenes of the film. His changes to the piece speak to the heart of all artists’ evolution of both themselves, and their music, over time.
Chayse Porter "Endless / Boundless"
From Earth Libraries:
How to describe Porter’s solo work…mischievous pop? Cotton candy spun with barbed wire? Beatle-esque, Burt Bacarach-inspired soft rock left to freeze in the warped confines of a funhouse mirror? Whatever your preferred descriptor, Endless / Boundless is a fresher, more direct record than the high-concept psyche excavations of Chay’s Palace, his 2022 sophomore album.
Where Palace was painstakingly crafted with vintage analogue equipment in a studio, Porter opted to compose and record Endless alone in his basement, before the bursting seeds of ideas had any chance to wilt. “I didn’t want to sit on an idea too long and allow the inspiration to fizzle out. It was more important for me to express myself immediately and directly, than ‘correctly,’” said Porter.
While Porter may have used the humble and convenient confines of his basement to write and record the album, engineer Brad Timko gave the final mix a sparkling sheen at the legendary Studio B in Muscle Shoals. However, don’t let this polished sound fool you – there are darker corners of Endless / Boundless to discover along the winding path of these nine songs. **
Said another way, there’s more than just the “dreamsicle skies” of “Rolls of 35”, Endless’ relaxed earworm of a lead single. Porter is intentionally releasing the record’s breeziest material first to welcome listeners in before they reach the thornier, stranger expanses nestled within the tracklist. “I compare it to like…I want you to see the stick that’s holding up the crate and say ‘Okay, that cheese looks really good. But…why is that stick there?’” said Porter with a wry smile.
Lyrically, Endless ruminates on unrequited love, toxic American exceptionalism, and, in one of the record’s lighter moments, unexpected kindness from strangers. There’s jubilant dream pop (opening stunner “Bleeding Hearts”), shoegaze with threats of violence (“Lead Pipe Cinch”), and a cinematic instrumental centerpiece best enjoyed with eyes closed (“Copter”).
With the record on the way and a live band assembled and ready to go, Porter has left listeners a trail of breadcrumbs in anticipation