The Top Kansas City Albums and EPs of 2024 (so far)

The Top Twenty Kansas City Albums of 2024 (so far)

1. Willi Carlisle- Critterland
Feral folk.

2. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin'
Plastic Sax review.

3. Behzod Abduraimov- Shadows of My Ancestors
Prokofiev, Ravel and Saidaminova.

4. Charles McPherson- Reverence
Plastic Sax review.

5. Waxahatchee- Tigers Blood
KC.

6. Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas and Ted Nash- Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols
Plastic Sax review.

7. Logan Richardson- Sacred Garden
Plastic Sax review.

8. Danielle Nicole- The Love You Bleed
KCUR's audio feature.

9. Karrin Allyson- A Kiss for Brazil
Plastic Sax review.

10. The Kansas City Symphony- Brahms: Reimagined Orchestrations
Virgil Thomson’s arrangements.

11. WireTown- Kansas City
Plastic Sax review.

12. Scott Dean Taylor and Seth Andrew Davis- Infidels
Plastic Sax review.

13. Jennifer Knapp- Kansas 25
Reworking of 1998 milestone.

14. Alber- Lento
Electro-jazz.

15. The Hearers- elevators come undone
Grandaddy-esque.

16. Brian Scarborough- We Need the Wind
Plastic Sax review.

17. Jeff Shirley- Contigo
Plastic Sax review.

18. Michael Davidson and Ellen Sommer- Skybreak
Trombone and piano.

19. Christopher Burnett- Originals
Plastic Sax review.

20. Doubledrag- Alone With Everyone
Shoegaze.

The Top Ten Kansas City EPs of 2024 (so far)

1. Midwestern- Reflections
There Stands the Glass review.

2. Burning Bush Demo 2024
Exodus.

3. Drew Williams- Wobble
Plastic Sax review.

4. Rich the Factor- Souped Up Sofa
KC’s the town.

5. Eddie Moore- Aperture: Solo Piano Works
Plastic Sax review.

6. Nate Hofer- Decommissioned
Ambient steel guitar.

7. Rich the Factor- Souped Up Sofa 2
Midwest tygoon.

7. Little Miss Dynamite- Grow Up
Firecracker folk.

9. Scott Hrabko & The Rabbits- Other Cats, Other Bags: Vol. 2
Louche troubadour.

10. The Fun Guy- From the Attic to the Underground 
Garage rock.

August 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for a recent production of Il Signor Bruschino at Rossini at Wildbad by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of August

1. Karol G- Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season)

Pop perfection.

2. Jaimie Branch- Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die (world war)

This ain’t no picnic.

3. Jonathan Blake- Passage

My review.

4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You

Spill the beans.

5. Grupo Frontera- El Comienzo

A celebratory debut.

6. Arnold Dreyblatt- Resolve

Classical grit.

7. Evan Parker- Etching the Ether

My review.

8. Miguel Zenón y Luis Perdomo- El Arte del Bolero, Vol. 2

Transcendent duo.

9. Bobby Rush- All My Love for You

He’s the one.

10. Ratboys- The Window

Heartland rock.

Top Ten Songs of August

1. L’Rain- “Pet Rock”

Heavy.

2. Turnstile and Badbadnotgood- “Underwater Boi”

Aqualung.

3. Noname with $ilkmoney, Billy Woods and Stout- “gospel?”

Fight song.

4. Kirk Franklin- “Try Love”

The gospel truth.

5. Armand Hammer with Elucid, Billy Woods and Pink Siifu- “Trauma Mic”

Crisis of faith.

6. Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist and Mike- “Sentry”

Drowsy.

7. Snoh Aalegra- “Wait a Little Longer”

Patience.

8. Doja Cat- "Paint the Town Red"

Walk on by.

9. Miguel and Lil Yachty- “Number 9”

Pet sounds.

10. EST Gee with Yo Gotti- “A Moment with Gotti”

Time stands still.

Top Ten Performances of August

1. Kassa Overall and Omari Jazz at Mississippi Studios

My Instagram clip.

2. Parker Quartet at Polsky Theatre

My review.

3. Randy Porter, Tom Wakeling and Todd Strait at the 1905

My review.

4. Truth Cult, Young Mvchetes and Burning Bush at Howdy

My review.

5. The Clientele and Papercuts at Mississippi Studios

My review.

6. Culture Club, Howard Jones and Berlin at Starlight Theatre

My review.

7. The Phil Collins Experience at Barkley Square

My review.

8. Jass at Second Presbyterian Church

My Instagram clip.

9. Claes Almroth Trio at Starday Tavern

My Instagram snapshot.

10. Rich Hill Trio and True Lions at Volker Park

My Instagram snapshot.

The previous monthly survey is here.

Concert Review: Truth Cult, Young Mvchetes and Burning Bush at Howdy

Original image of Burning Bush at Howdy by There Stands the Glass.

A rainbow appeared to end at Howdy on Sunday, August 14. The grimy noise featured at the all-ages venue in Kansas City’s Leeds District was at odds with the heavenly apparition on the drizzly evening.

The debut performance of Burning Bush opened the show. The wrathful Old Testament-inspired punk band is fronted by my friend, colleague and podcast partner Aaron Rhodes. The brief burst of rage validated the $15 door charge.

Truth Cult was the primary attraction. Paris Roberts, the front person of the Baltimore quartet, unironically wore a Pearl Jam t-shirt. Even though only 50 people crowded into the small room, Truth Cult showed it’s arena-ready. 

I encountered plenty of detailed hardcore-centric analysis of Truth Cult’s sound on the sidewalk. Echoes of my comparatively antiquated reference points including F*cked Up enthralled me.

The industrial noise favored by Young Mvchetes is right up my alley. Yet the literal wall of amplifiers it employed Sunday emitted such extreme volume that I was forced to forfeit the pot of gold with an early exit.