Album Review: Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978

The crazed shouting of a man on Les Loups Noirs' "Pile Ou Face" matches my reaction to Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978.  The vocalist's manic wailing is consistent with the combination of elation and shock I felt as I realized that such amazing music had eluded me until now.  Given the massive scope of the collection, there's not much continuity.  The quality, however, remains high.  Almost every track features a novel twist on merengue, salsa, mambo, boogaloo, cumbia, R&B, mento, Afrobeat and/or psychedelic rock.  (Initial tip via Big Steve.)

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I contributed to a review of the final day of the Folk Alliance Festival.

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Your Friend's Jeckyl/Hyde was picked up by Domino Recording Company.  Here's the video for "Tame One".  RIYL: Hospital Ships, epic sadness, Angel Olsen.

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Tech N9ne and I share a long-standing infatuation with the same album.

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I prefer a little bit of nastiness in my throwback psych rock.  Temples' Sun Structures is just too nice for me.

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Akuma, the new album by Sly 5th Ave, makes most new jazz recordings seem boring.  Here's a trailer.  RIYL: Randy Weston, real roots music, Don Cherry.

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Rufus Reid's Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project is an unconventional big band album.  RIYL: Charles Mingus, left field, Duke Ellington.

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The future of popular music probably sounds much like a mashup of the sounds produced by the lineup of the Snowball Music Festival.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Young Fathers- Dead

A certain subset of my friends doesn't realize it yet, but Young Fathers' Dead is going to be our shared go-to album of 2014.  It's often difficult to find common musical ground in friendships that aren't based on music.  The Scottish trio has us covered.  Dead's synthesis of hip-hop and indie-rock appeals to listeners partial to Joy Division, Chvrches, Yeezus and/or Death Grips.  "Get Up" and "Low" are the album's would-be hits.  As the gloomy title suggests, Dead isn't a typical party album, but the stuff my friends and have been going through lately isn't exactly a picnic.


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Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, El DeBarge, SWV and Slick Rick made me happy on Sunday.  Here's my review.

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Here's a list of the hundreds of artists performing at this week's Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City.

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I finally listened to the Shy Boys' self-titled album.  It's solid.  RIYL: The Four Freshmen, dreaming, Weezer.

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Look at those fuc… Wait a minute- Hunter Long's "Preliminary Studies #3" is really good.

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Bob Casale, Devo's guitarist, has died.

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"The Worst Songs of All Time?" episode of All Songs Considered has become a meme of sorts.  Because mocking incontestably "bad" music is pointless, I made a list of ten songs I loathe by artists I love: Chuck Berry- "My Ding-A-Ling"; Beyoncé- "Drunk In Love"; The Clash- "Train In Vain"; Aretha Franklin- "Freeway of Love"; Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell- "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"; Jay-Z- "Girls, Girls, Girls"; Bob Marley- "Jamming"; Dolly Parton- "9 to 5"; Bruce Springsteen- "Glory Days"; Tech N9ne- "Slacker."

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Zara McFarlane's If You Knew Her has all the attributes of an important album.  I expect If You Knew Her to be the toast of the Starbucks and Pitchfork cliques in the next few months. RIYL: Nina Simone, the next big arty thing, Cécile McLorin Salvant.

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The dudes in Behemeth might hunt me down if they happen to stumble upon my perspective, but the Polish metal band's new release The Satanist is actually an excellent Christian rock album.  After all, people who expend so much energy quoting scripture and denouncing God obviously has a thing for J.C.

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9th Wonder was a "Hip-hop Fellow" at Harvard.

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I'm not really interested in Chino Moreno's Depeche Mode fetish.  Here's Crosses' audaciously titled "Bitches Brew".

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Morning… Dreaming… by Thomas Clausen and Steve Swallow is RIYL: Chick Corea, zen, Carla Bley.

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I don't even recognize Grieves in the rapper's new video for "Shreds".  RIYL: Atmosphere, weird changes in physical attributes, Ces Cru.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)