REC 01
The Durutti Column
Liars
♪ ambient post-punkOne of two Renascent originals sung by Vini Reilly, his illegible, low-in-the-mix mumble scratching against Keir Stewart's velvet synths and Bruce Mitchell's drums. Recorded after three strokes nearly ended his playing, Reilly nests in a daydream, muttering "I am sorry" and "I love you" as if answering to everyone who believed in him. A concession to material reality in the lineage of Talk Talk's Mark Hollis.
REC 02
Topdown Dialectic
False LP A
♪ dub techno/ambientThe latest from the once-anonymous Izaak Schlossman, whose stone-faced project trades untitled tracks and 5:00 runtimes for a first spot of color: a rust-and-purple blur resembling a digitally manipulated carnation. Futurism Restated traces its lineage from Basic Channel minimalism through a Peak Oil relationship that has flourished since 2018.
REC 03
DOMi & JD BECK
WHO ASKED?
♪ jazz fusionEverything here is the work of two players and a small string orchestra, nothing delegated: DOMi Louna on piano and keys, JD BECK on drums, both writing, arranging, producing, and singing. "ÉPiPHANiE" runs wordless as quick arpeggios trade between harps and woodwinds; "HAD ENOUGH" bounces hard-paced drums over synth bass with lyrics by Anderson .Paak.
REC 04
Picture
Quuuuuu
♪ dub technoThe artist also known as Central turns toward dub techno on his second Short Span record this year, finding more spark and movement in the form than nearly anyone in years. "Peeeeeee" is claustrophobic techno with a swinging bassline like a wonkier Chain Reaction cut, while "Leeeeee" nears traditional dub territory: Shinichi Atobe's warmth over the pure glimmer of Vainqueur. Sitting closer to Convextion than the '90s set, Picture trades "emotional punishment" for emotional levity, unquantised swing lifting heavy, crowded arrangements off the floor.
REC 05
Charli xcx
Magic Metal Montana
♪ art-pop / guitar-popA whole song dedicated to A.G. Cook as collaborator and friend, and it's sweet. Part of Music, Fashion, Film, Charli's fashionably short, first-draft "one for me" record that trades BRAT's club pop and wounded electronics for guitars, and career self-doubt for creativity and gratitude. This one requires familiarity with Charli's whole deal: by now you're supposed to understand she's in on the joke.
REC 06
Neuro… No Neuro
MemLoss
♪ post-glitch ambient minimalismKirk Markarian's record documents the confusion left behind by his speech and memory becoming inconsistent. His music is unrepentantly electronic, honing in on machine-generated tones, oscillations and pads, isolating and sculpting fragments into soundscapes that despite irregular pulses, bleeps and whirs have a chaotic yet cohesive, cosmically attuned flow.
REC 07
Steve Lacy + Erykah Badu
Pure Color
♪ neo-soul / funkErykah Badu has been Lacy's named influence since he was a teenager, and on 'pure colour' she meanders through his loosest soul groove, bending her lines however she likes while he keeps it carefully constructed, singing that she does not recognize herself anymore. In his response verse, he confronts relatives who think he'll turn into his father: 'They don't know shit, take control of me.'
REC 08
Standing on the Corner
Gimmie My Gun
♪ experimental hip-hop / avant-soul collageOff Standing on the Corner II, Gio Escobar's outfit oscillates between gospel keys and blistering guitar solos, part of a heat check that trades accessibility for creative entropy. Their distorted mix of jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, and spoken word delivers dispatches from a crumbling society where Black and Brown folks pick up the pieces, moving through samples like expert collagists.
