14 Albums To Check Out This Week, 5.10
From two excellent hip-hop joints to a cloudy dub techno reissue to the dreamy I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack and the long-awaited new one from Derek Piotr, here are 14 of this week's best albums.
Hauntology Now! is the Substack of interdisciplinary artist, designer, musician, academic writer, and cultural critic J. Simpson, where he writes about all things hauntological, atemporal, philosophical, as well as sharing thoughts, reflections, and musings on music, movies, books, and life.
Got a busy one for you this week, with an even great abundance of riches than usual, so ima get right into it.
Conway the Machine - Slant Face Killah
Solid day for hip-hop today. Conway the Machine's new one, Slant Face Killah, is sounding tight so far, with its old-school beats, flipped samples, and thoughtful flows. it's so refreshing to hear a male rapper talking about things other than hooking up, rampant hedonism, and directionless materialism. One of my favorite Conway joints so far.
Hertsi - Rata
Uber-minimalism from the forgotten third member of Panasonic, when they were still Panasonic. Rata is an hour of eye-crossing, skull-cleansing drones that will leave you seeing stars as it rolls you 'round the great, grand rock tumbler in the sky.
Baudouin De Jaer - Five Traces : Geomungo Compositions Vol III
Five lengthy, trancy compositions for the Geomungo - a six-string bass zither key to Korean classical music, performed by Lee Junga, Shin Jihee, Sun Chaerin, Kim Joonyoung, Lee Sunhee. Billed as a wordless 2-hour opera in three acts, it has the ancient and austere elegance of a koto rain garden mixed with the shadowy mystery of a Balinese shadowplay.
Gunna - One of Wun
"just keep goin', man
keep pushing."
Here's another smooth one. Clocking in at almost an hour, One of Wun is hypnotic with its light, drifting beats and Gunna's nearly incantatory rapping. The production and arrangements feel elegant and un-fussy - quite a relief in today's GMO hip-hop scene. Probably my favorite Gunna release i've heard so far.
Mary Lattimore & Walt McClements - Rain on the Road
Avant-harpist Mary Lattimore (whom I reviewed for Spectrum Culture late last year) is a magical collaborator. On Rain on the Road she lends her golden harp to the electroacoustic accordion of Walt McClements, creating airy, abstract sculptures of wood, metal, dreams, and emotion in thin air. Gorgeous.
Steve Moore - Eye of Horus
Zombi's Steve Moore takes his acid slasher synths and sequencers over to L.I.E.S. for an outing of "weightless kosmische arpeggios into tense 4/4s and eerie B-movie basslines."
Pre-order Vinyl. Released 5.24
Derek Piotr - Divine Supplication
Today's finally the day! Derek Piotr finally drops his long-anticipated ode to the euphoric power of Divine Supplication, his most satisfying and rewarding album to date,
Rezzett - Puddings
Four outings of smeary bleep techno also get the vinyl treatment on Rz. Where Pac-Man meets digital primitivism until both are sucked into a Fax machine of knotty, gnarled breakbeats.
Paul St. Hilaire & Rene Lowe - Faith
Paul St.. Hilaire's ghostly gossamer ambient dub gets a vinyl reissue on Boomkat. As tranquil and contemplative as a cloudy day.
Conrad Schnizler - Slow Motion
Bureau B continue their quest to re-release every kosmische album ever released with a particularly delicious slab from Conrad Schnizler. Slow Motion is a fascinating missing link between German progressive rock, Berlin School ambient drift, and jittery proto-electro. Highly recommended!
Sister M Sextet - Adhoc at Erfinsok 2015
Portland's SadoDamascus Records release a fascinating blend of jazz, electronic music, experimental, and improv. You get a little bit of each on Adhoc at Erfinsok, a live show of sneaky snake charming sax, moody breakbeats, and ethereal keys recorded in St. John's in 2015.
Various Artists - I Saw the TV Glow Soundtrack
I Saw the TV Glow has been lighting up movie festivals lately. i've not had a chance to see it yet, but my dear friend Jim Laczkowski, of the Director's Club podcast/5 Years Substack, has been raving and i trust his option implicitly. I'm even more intrigued after hearing the sleek, shimmering soundtrack featuring yeule, Caroline Polachek, Maria BC, Jay Som, and a bunch more. It's pure shoegaze dream pop perfection.
Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in the Diaspora, 1980-93
Happy, joyous, and free, Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in the Diaspora 1980 - 1993 is an absolutely massive LP from the indispensable Soundway Records 20 years after the legendary first volume and hot on the heels of the heavy funk and Afrobeat-focused Ghana Soundz. You won't be able to stop smiling. Or moving.
Various Artists - Music for Medicine - A Home Normal Mixtape by Ben Jones
The outstanding British electronic label Home Normal nearly had to shut their doors last year due to rising overheads and some health problems with one of their founders. Instead, old friend of the label Ben Jones returned to the fold to help with operations. In honor and celebration, Home Normal have released a Home Normal mixtape of tracks selected and sequenced by Jones himself. It's good medicine, indeed.
That'll do it this week! What are y'all listening to, watching, reading, and obsessing over this weekend? Anyone hear any of these 13 so far? What did you think?
And, as usual, I’m adding the ones that are on Spotify to my May Playlist if you want to listen or follow along.
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