Album Review: Nate Wooley- Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes

We can never fully know one another.  Even if we wished to, none of us are able to properly express all of the things that make us what we are.  One of the most extraordinary aspects of music is the form’s capacity to communicate the otherwise indecipherable.

Nate Wooley’s new album Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes is an uncannily accurate representation of what’s going on in my head when I wake up at 4 a.m.  Mary Halvorson’s interrogative guitar squiggles in one channel and Susan Alcorn’s melancholic pedal steel musings in the other signify conflicting trains of thought.

The trumpet and amplifier sounds created by Wooley and the drumming of Ryan Sawyer signify the firing of additional synapses.  Peaceful moments of clarity are overwhelmed by anxious clamor.  Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes is decidedly acidic.  In the annoying parlance of social media, I feel seen.

Album Review: Tedeschi Trucks Band- I Am the Moon III: The Fall

A minor medical emergency waylaid my plan to catch a concert by Little Feat last week.  I took solace in the third installment of Tedeschi Trucks Band’s I Am the Moon.  The first three portions of the four-part series validate my belief that the ensemble is the premier jam band of the past 15 years.  Between the well-constructed songs, Tedeschi’s soulful voice and succinct guitar shredding, I Am the Moon III: The Fall compares favorably with the most durable hippie jams by the likes of the Allman Brothers Band, Traffic and, of course, Little Feat.

Album Review: Beyoncé- Renaissance

No one’s ever accused me of being a Beyoncé fanboy. I’ve admired her work for almost 25 years, but my interest in the superstar is no more keen than my appreciation of Donna Summer, Angela Winbush, Angélique Kidjo or Janet Jackson. Beyoncé knowingly channels each of those predecessors on the magnificent Renaissance. In fact, dozens of sonic references make the new album a music obsessive’s dream. Paying affectionate homage to old favorites while preaching a prosperity gospel theme makes me an instant believer in the power of Renaissance. Pass the collection plate.

Album Review: The Pyramids- Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings

Members of the jazz infrastructure are infuriated by challenges to established convention.  There’s hell to pay when the “right” path isn’t followed.  The Pyramids didn’t do much in the “right” way in the 1970s.  Thankfully, they’re still doing it all wrong.

Initially assembled in Ohio, the ensemble led by Idris Ackamoor is one of innumerable groups of innovative improvisors that never stood much of a chance.  The internet has given rebuked and scorned trailblazers a fighting chance at belated recognition.

The New York Times is among the outlets hailing the recent release of Aomawa, a boxed set collecting the Pyramids’ neglected Afrofuturism efforts from the 1970s.  Deliriously unconventional selections like "Birth Speed Merging, Pt. 2" remain thrilling more than 45 years after they were recorded.

While noble efforts of the people responsible for the resurfacing of the sounds documented on Aomawa probably won’t do much to increase the popularity of jazz, the documentation of non-codified sounds should chip away at the common misperception that the music is inherently bland and boring.

July 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

(Screenshot of the trailer for Grand Théâtre de Genève’s 2022 production of Turandot by There Stands the Glass.)

Top Ten Albums (released July 1-25)

1. Moor Mother- Jazz Codes

My review.

2. Anna Butterss- Activities

Illicit.

3. Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison and Ted Nash- Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley

My review.

4. Kirk Knuffke Trio- Gravity Without Airs

Afloat with Michael Bisio and Matthew Shipp.

5. Kali Malone- Living Torch

Simmering drones.

6. ZZ Top- Raw

Live at Gruene Hall in 2019.

7. Flo Milli- You Still Here, Ho?

I’ve been here for years.

8. Katalyst- Jazz Is Dead 013

Clean slate.

9. Plínio Fernandes- Saudade

My review.

10. Ty Segall- Hello, Hi

Swinging sixties.

Top Ten Songs (Released July 1-25)

1. Charles Stepney- "That's the Way of the World"

My childhood was based on a lie.

2. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- "How Good It Is"

Blessings.

3. Emmanuel Jal with Nyayiena William and Elizabeth Nyajuok- "Ebul"

“A little bit of courage, a little bit of knowledge.”

4. DJ Premier with Remy Ma and Rapsody- "Remy Rap"

Def.

5. Cardi B with Kanye West and Lil Durk- "Hot Sh*t"

Supa dupa fly.

6. Megan Thee Stallion featuring Future- "Pressurelicious"

Pressed to get it.

7. Ciara featuring Coast Contra- "Jump"

Set this thing off right.

8. Fred Again- "Jungle"

Wild.

9. Dochii- "B*tch I'm Nice"

Fact.

10. Lil Uzi Vert- "Issa Hit"

Yeah, it is.

Top Ten Performances (July 1-24)

1. The Salvation Choir at Theis Park

My review.

2. Show Me the Body with Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar

My review.

3. Phillip Greenlief with Midwestern and the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society at Bushranger Records

My review.

4. Animal Collective with Spirit of the Beehive at the Truman

My review.

5. Alex Cunningham, Seth Davis, Damon Smith, Evan Verplough and Weasel Walter at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

6. The Dave Scott Quartet and Arnold Young’s RoughTet at Westport Coffee House

My review.

7. Lyle Lovett and Chris Isaak at Starlight Theatre

My Instagram snapshot.

8. Lester “Duck” Warner and Eclipse Trio at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

9. Dylan Pyles at Manor Records

My Instagram photo.

10. Midwest Chamber Ensemble at Prairie Baptist Church

Baroque in the afternoon.

Last month’s survey is here.

Concert Review: Animal Collective at The Truman

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I’d been listening to Animal Collective all wrong.  I spent 20 years discounting Animal Collective as a flighty jam band.  Only during the pandemic-induced lockdown did I come to realize the group isn’t merely a more fashionable version of Phish.

The confluence of my deep dive into opera, a dalliance with dark drones and frequent exposure to free jazz improvisations compelled me to reevaluate Animal Collective’s inventive psychedelia.  A concert at the Truman on Thursday, July 21, validated my newfound appreciation.

Less dependent on constrictive conventions such as tidy songs with ingratiating melodies, I’m finally willing to capitulate to the absolute sound rendered by one of the most influential bands of the new millennium.  Yet receptivity is not to be confused with the absence of critical acuity.

Not everything about the band’s two-hour performance pleased me on Thursday.  While it’s a compelling instrument, I could have done with a lot less of the voice of Avey Tare (a.k.a. David Portnoy).  Almost all of the more than 600 people who purchased $35 tickets went nuts during an interpretation of the manic underground hit “The Purple Bottle,” but I remain indifferent to Animal Collective’s rave-ups.

The best bits of the concert in support of the delightful new album Time Skiffs were the sublime instrumental passages that alluded to early music as well as to contemporary classical innovations.  Animal Collective is the rare set of rock musicians who are best in their most musically adventurous moments.

The excellent sound field reproduced the subtleties of the band’s performance in exquisite detail.  The lighting was equally remarkable.  Appearing cheap and tawdry before the lights went down, the stage set was wondrously transformed into a glorious array of colorful 1970s-style graphics.

Much as I initially underestimated the prospect for compelling visuals, I’d misjudged Animal Collective since 2000.  Even so, I don’t feel too badly about missing out.  I sense that the best- whether in a continuation of the band or in its members’ solo endeavors- is yet to come.

Concert Review: The Salvation Choir at Theis Park

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

A young member of The Salvation Choir begged forgiveness for the ensemble’s Christian faith and for not singing in English prior to a performance at Theis Park on Sunday, July 17. Her unnecessary apologies were the only thing I didn’t admire about the energetic presentation. Only about 50 were on hand when the large group began its set at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s free Lawn Party. Forty-five minutes later, more than 300 people were caught up in the jubilant celebration. Presumably consisting of several sets of children and their parents, the refugees specialize in an evangelical variation of the Congolese rumba popularized by Franco. And just like that, the Salvation Choir is my favorite locally based band.

Concert Review: Show Me the Body with Soul Glo, Wifi Gawd, Ebony Tusks and Piss Kinks at recordBar

Original image of Piss Kinks by There Stands the Glass.

A five-band bill at recordBar on Wednesday, July 13, confirmed that multi-genre shows are the best shows.  More than 300 people paid $25 apiece to experience the four-hour showcase of experimental punk and hip-hop.

The eventful evening opened with the farewell performance of the furious Kansas City quartet Piss Kinks.  Skin was bared, instruments were abused and ears were violated.

Ebony Tusks, a Kansas trio that seemingly shares my belief that Yeezus is the best Kanye West album, followed.  I’d previously witnessed the industrial hip-hop crew fizzle in front of befuddled spectators, but the members of Ebony Tusks had Wednesday’s crowd in the palms of their hands.

WifiGawd didn’t stand a chance following Ebony Tusks’ triumph.   I didn’t care for the marijuana-obsessed Washington D.C. rapper before Wednesday.  I like him even less after enduring his cliche-ridden outing.

Stage diving began in earnest during screamo revivalists Soul Glo’s dynamic set.  One of the breakout bands of 2022, the Philadelphians almost lived up to the hype.  Traces of Gang of Four make the headlining band Show Me the Body an even more interesting proposition.

Yet the atmosphere suddenly turned sinister during the New York band’s brief headlining appearance.  A couple creeps insisted on rubbing their sopping-wet t-shirts on each of the 200 people still in the building.  A young woman separated from her friends openly wept.

Violence on and around the stage resulted in at least two contested ejections and what appeared to be a fan’s broken nose.  The chaos appealed to me.  After all, both rock and roll and hip-hop are supposed to be dangerous.

Album Review: Plínio Fernandes- Saudade

Saudade, the new exhaustively marketed major label debut by Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes, must merit the hype if I’m willing to forgive the inclusion of an interpretation of “The Girl from Ipanema,” the Antônio Carlos Jobim composition that rivals “Kansas City,” “Mustang Sally” and “Hallelujah” as a song that usually sends me fleeing for the exit.

Sentimental readings of familiar melodies define the artful easy listening album.  I wholeheartedly embrace Fernandes’ sappy take on selections including "Beatriz".  An appearance by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is particularly treacly.  And I like it.

Maria Rita’s lovely vocals on “O Mundo É Um Moinho” don’t require an apology.  And while it’s almost as overplayed as “The Girl from Ipanema,” I never tire of Jobim’s “Águas De Março.”  Until the summer heat gives way to brisk fall weather, Saudade may override my fixation on Ghosted, the thorny 2022 release by the similarly masterful guitarist Oren Ambarchi.

Album Review: The Wonderful World of Scott Hrabko & The Rabbits

I was taken aback by the multitude of performers with languishing careers while attending the Folk Alliance International Conference in 2017 and 2018.  Dozens of musicians forecast as can’t-miss stars in previous decades played poorly-attended showcases for handfuls of distracted DJs and music journalists.

The Kansas City musician Scott Hrabko knows the score.  He doesn’t pretend to be a fresh-faced greenhorn.  Sounding precisely like what he is- a well-read, middle-aged Midwesterner- Hrabko displays relaxed maturity on his new album The Wonderful World of Scott Hrabko & The Rabbits.

Hrabko and his cohorts compare favorably to heavy hitters on the unassuming recording.  “RSVP” evokes the outsider sounds of Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits.  “Los Estados Destrozados” recalls the hard-knock songs of Mark Eitzel.  “The Bells” is in the harrowing tradition of Townes Van Zandt.  

The playful “UFOhio,” the lovely instrumental “North Star,” the solid punchlines of “Punch Drunk Mosquito,” the funk goof “Are They Friendly Spirits” and the demented yacht rock of “Dog in the Backyard” forestall folk fatigue.  Even so, consuming all 22 songs on The Wonderful World of Scott Hrabko & The Rabbits in one sitting is taxing.

Performances are a different matter.  Should I find myself at another folk conference, I’ll avoid sets by delusional singer-songwriters who dream about joining the likes of Ray LaMontagne on the theater circuit.  Instead, I’ll turn my attention to hardscrabble realists like Hrabko.