Drawing from her Haitian heritage and adopted home of New Orleans, on her upcoming album Breaking The Thermometer the multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla adapts a theatrical performance based on the legacy of Radio Haiti-Inter, which was noted for its pioneering use of Haitian Creole and the indomitable activism of its owner Jean Dominique.
Between the Rocky Mountains and Upstate New York, sweltering Tucson and the crevices of Topanga Canyon, the indie beacons Big Thief break out their freewheeling and kaleidoscopic double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. And on Elevation the Norwegian singer-songwriter and keen interpreter Susanna turns producer and curator, enlisting Stina Stjern and Delphine Dora for a suite of songs inspired by Charles Baudelaire whose poetry was by turns lurid and florid.
Charli XCX steers towards house snares and the saccharine sweetness of Europop, still managing to capture the cloying late-night euphoria of the club on a cover of the dance smash ‘Cry for You’ alongside Rina Sawayama. Pusha T prepares to shift product over beats by 88-Keys and Kanye West, while Fivio Foreign amplifies the sound of Brooklyn drill as winning features by Ye and Alicia Keys conjure the dark glamour of New York City.
The flautist and Hundred Waters frontwoman Nicole Miglis strings out two long-form solo meditations, Raays deals in ambient shivers and divination maps for Leaving Records, and the pianist Gerald Clayton sifts the shifting sands of time with contributions from his mentor Charles Lloyd and father John Clayton on his second album for Blue Note. Meanwhile the Arizona hip hop group Injury Reserve cut towards the experimental margins of the form on an album which crackles with the spectres of memory and absence following the untimely death of Stepa J. Groggs.
Shamir tackles public perceptions and cycles of trauma, Rachel Eckroth and Tim Lefebvre improvise wildly unleashed inside the Sonic Ranch in Texas, and the Philadelphia band Empath seek to untangle reality and fantasy through the sinewy frame of the Elvis Comeback Special. Tracks by Gabe ‘Nandez, The Rural Alberta Advantage, and Klein complete the best of the week’s music.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Susanna & Stina Stjern – ‘Rose-Pale Dawn’
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raays – ‘In the Ocean at Night’
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Pusha T – ‘Diet Coke’
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The Rural Alberta Advantage – ‘AB Bride’
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Rachel Eckroth – ‘Do Trees Fall in Love’
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Charli XCX – ‘Beg For You’ (feat. Rina Sawayama)
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Empath – ‘Elvis Comeback Special’
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Gerald Clayton – ‘Water’s Edge’
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Fivio Foreign, Kanye West, and Alicia Keys – ‘City of Gods’
