Amoeba Music

Robert Glasper delivers another career-high album with Black Radio III. The talented pianist conjures up multi-faceted moods, with a sense of yearning and hope emerging from his assured, elegant keys. Glasper's brought some heavy hitters to the proceedings, too, with Killer Mike, Big K.R.I.T., and BJ the Chicago Kid appearing on the brilliant "Black Superhero." H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello appear on the addictive, achingly beautiful "Better Than I Imagined." Elsewhere on the album, Q-Tip, Common, Ty Dolla Sign, Esperanza Spalding, Jennifer Hudson, Yebba, and Ant Clemons make excellent contributions. Black Radio III is straight up fantastic and will probably land on many year end "best of" lists.

Live a Little is the haunting, ethereal, accidental new LP from Sam Gendel & Antonia Cytrynowicz. Why accidental? The recording sessions started out as a lark, with multi-instrumentalist Sam Gendel jamming out with his creative and life partner Marcella’s then-eleven-year-old sister, Antonia Cytrynowicz. Fully improvised and recorded in one session, the songs feature Antonia’s fairy-like, youthful vocals and Gendel’s experimental jazz. The collaboration brings to mind the work of Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland in its folkloric strangeness, gentleness, and ephemeral beauty. Dreamy and lovely, Live a Little feels like the court music of another, enchanted realm.

Robin Carolan & Sebastian Gainsborough’s score for Robert Eggers’ early Norse saga The Northman is evocative and epic. Out via Sacred Bones, the album traverses deep psychological territory and sweeping terrain, calling to mind mind majestic northern landscapes, harrowing human acts of violence, and swirling supernatural occurrences. The tracks seamlessly slip from bristling, percussion-driven tense atmospherics into a sort of medieval psychedelia and into an icy, anticipation-heavy avant-garde. Keening strings and awe-inspiring choral vocals add emotional and sonic layers to the folk meets ambient soundscapes; it’s a stirring listen, as crystalline in its beauty and brutal in its nature as the North itself.

Florida’s hottest has returned with his most reflective and ambitious effort yet. Waxing nostalgic with nods to classic cinema and Star Wars, Denzel Curry has recruited a solid guest list that includes T-Pain and Robert Glasper, while Thundercat, JPEGMafia and more handle the beats and production.

The multi-talented Camae Ayewa conjures a dense, otherworldly sound combining poetry, free jazz, soul, experimental music and more. Decidedly avant garde but still lush and melodic, Jazz Codes features guests like Fatboi Sharif, Wolf Weston and Mary Lattimore.

Jim Lindberg trades black leather for dirty denim on his new acoustic album, Songs from the Elkhorn Trail. The Pennywise singer has always been a nimble, thoughtful songwriter, and it's very cool to see how he applies those skills to a more rootsy folk-punk sound. These songs could hold their own among the story-driven workingman's rootsy rock of Lucero or Drive By Truckers--although Lindberg's vibe is a bit more upbeat, his choruses sometimes more anthemic. Gritty, authentic, and approachable, Songs from the Elkhorn Trail feels like an old friend.

Last year, Australian psych-rockers Pond released the excellent, eclectic 9. Now they’re back with a souped-up deluxe version, featuring four new tracks. The album kicks off with bewitching female vocals and hypnotic melodies on “Song for Agnes,” before moving into the funked-out danceable grooves of “America’s Cup” and transitioning into soaring, symphonic mode on “Take Me Avalon I’m Young.” The album slips into and out of genres and moods with ease, taking listeners on an intriguing, serpentine journey to the new bonus tracks. This deluxe segment of the LP starts with the desperate and driven “Lights of Leeming,” a tribute to the chaotic desire to break the monotony of suburbia by any means necessary. If you’ve been sleeping on Pond, 9 should wake you right up.

Genre-bending post-rockers High Pulp’s new album, Pursuit of Ends, is an enlivening, dynamic listen. The Seattle group paints in bold brushstrokes, with vivifying colors—there’s no snoozing your way through this album, no putting it on in the background as light party music. Drawing sonic inspiration from Miles Davis’ Second Quintet and creative concepts from ideas about magic, the will, and the individual, Pursuit of Ends’ joyous spirit and colorful palette demands to be heard. Close your eyes and let your imagination run free to the lush soundscapes provided by this inspired collection of songs.

On her sophomore album, Samia deftly blends introspective lo-fi indie with upbeat alt-pop. She chronicles bad nights out, the process of moving on (or not) from relationships, and wondering where you stand. Samia isn’t afraid to get super specific and that’s when she’s at her most relatable. Fans of confessional guitar chanteuses will dig this one, as will aficionados of sing-a-long ready pop numbers with a nice layer of self-deprecating darkness.

Sleaford Mods return with another confrontational banger, the aptly named UK GRIM. The post-punk duo provides the perfect soundtrack for an era of cultural malaise, political turmoil, and an unrelenting tide of grim events. They sound as abrasive as ever, both in their propulsive riffs and tell-it-like-it-really-REALLY-is lyrics, this time incorporating some stripped-down electronic beats to the punk rock proceedings. These are strange, disquieting times we’re living in, and Sleaford Mods don’t blink. UK GRIM is no ode to easy living, yet this tough, truth-telling album is easy to love.

The title track on Parkway Drive’s Darker Still opens with the restless promise of a Western movie soundtrack; you know trouble’s around the bend, but you’re not sure from which corner it’ll come. The band gets down to brass tacks on this album, Winston McCall’s vocals turning from imploring to growling within the course of a track, the melodies segueing from the transportive to the turbulent. It’s a powerful collection of songs, incorporating sweeping strings into driven, relentless metal. Darker Still is about that moment just before the sun rises, when you’re going through hell and not sure you’ll ever see your destination. Fortunately for fans, Parkway Drive has been through the maelstrom and seen through to the other side.

Yo La Tengo have another indie hit on their hands with This Stupid World. It’s an album with a song for every season, with tracks that lead the listener in all kinds of welcome new directions while still tethered together by that indescribable Yo La Tengo magic. The band creates angular, bristling, controlled rock ’n’ roll chaos on “Sinatra Drive Breakdown.” Then, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the dreamy, wistful, country-tinged “Aselestine.” Both tracks linger in the mind and in the heart for different reasons, and they’re just a sampling. With songs this good, This Stupid World will stay in heavy rotation for months to come.

Could We Be More forecasts big things for London’s Kokoroko. Out via Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings, the band’s debut album delivers joyful, substantive tracks created from Afrobeat, soul, funk, jazz, and highlife influences. The eight-piece grew up in the British West African and Caribbean communities and there’s an intense joie de vivre, a celebration of the highs and lows of life, powering each of these fifteen top-notch tracks. Could We Be More feels like the best summer day of your life, no matter what season you’re listening to it. Discover why Kokoroko is heating up the UK music press—this is a band that deserves a massive global audience.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band gets positively epic on their entrancing exploration of love and obsession, I Am the Moon. Over the course of four albums, Crescent (Part I), Ascension (Part II), The Fall (Part III), and Farewell (Part IV), the band deep-dives into a mythical Persian tale of star-crossed lovers, underpinned by their own experiences of isolation and disconnection during the first flush of the 2020 pandemic. The songs move from the dreamy and romantic to the rollicking and restless to the burning and brilliant. I Am the Moon pushes the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s version of the blues forward in exciting new ways while spotlighting the way this talented cast of musicians works together to create their timeless sound.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band gets positively epic on their entrancing exploration of love and obsession, I Am the Moon. Over the course of four albums, Crescent (Part I), Ascension (Part II), The Fall (Part III), and Farewell (Part IV), the band deep-dives into a mythical Persian tale of star-crossed lovers, underpinned by their own experiences of isolation and disconnection during the first flush of the 2020 pandemic. The songs move from the dreamy and romantic to the rollicking and restless to the burning and brilliant. I Am the Moon pushes the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s version of the blues forward in exciting new ways while spotlighting the way this talented cast of musicians works together to create their timeless sound.

A Place to Bury Strangers delivers another beautifully bruising collection of post-punk noise in the form of See Through You. The band moves from punishing walls of sound to bristling, Suicide-esque numbers to more angular anthems. The mood morphs as the songs segue into new sonic territory with an effortless ease. The vibe shifts from danger to despair, the melodies from seething anger to all out attack. A stand-out album from this always reliable band, this is APTBS at their gritty, grueling best.

On Forgiveness, Girlpool displays their enviable ability to experiment with sound, craft attention-grabbing lyrics, and leave us with slow-burn melodic earworms. The band crosses genres with aplomb, both over the course of the album and sometimes within the course of a single track. Weeping country guitars, grunge era riffs, and ethereal dream pop vocals weave in and out of the album; the vibe is eclectic and unexpected yet cohesive. These songs may feel experimental—but they’re clearly the work of talented songwriters who know just what they’re doing. And what they’re doing is pulling at the heartstrings with these tales of decaying romance, emotional contortions, and deep unease disguised as everyday magic. Forgiveness is fascinating; the duo creates some of the most appealing, intriguing lyrical worlds in recent memory.

MUNA is the Lilith Fair vibin’, queer and minority indie pop trio 2022 needs. With glossy, upbeat melodies anchored by lyrics filled with longing and unease, MUNA’s self-titled new album exemplifies the saying that joy is an act of resistance. Lead single “Silk Chiffon” is an undeniably catchy celebration of queer identity, romance, and living life to its fullest. Throughout the album, the band channels the great chart-toppin’, alterna-rock ladies of the ’90s while adding in dashes of bouncy electro pop and sassy, smart pop country. Out on Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records, MUNA is ready to be the soundtrack to your summer.

Weyes Blood’s latest, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, is as luminescent as its title. Artist Natalie Mering wrote the album as part of a trilogy exploring the feelings of darkness and doom that are elements of the zeitgeist; in this second installment, her songwriting captures the sense of stumbling around in deepest night, reaching out for something to hold onto, a sense of connection. That’s what these lovely tracks do—send out a signal that someone else is out there, someone who sees and feels and empathizes as you do. The album’s lasting message is that despite the anxiety and grief on display, there is hope, comfort, and companionship to be found in this world still.

As The A’s, North Carolinians Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Meath make old time music that’s quirky, compelling, and utterly delightful. On their debut, Fruit, the duo transport listeners to sunshine-filled days on the range and pastoral summers in forgotten small towns with a sound that feels like it’s coming straight atcha from a time before TV screens. The musical arrangements feel sparse yet lived in, while the duo’s halcyon harmonies and occasional yodeling add a sense of joy, beauty, and unexpected enchantment to the proceedings. Featuring covers of Harry Nilsson (“He Needs Me”), traditional ballads and lullabies, and one original song, Fruit is a real treat.