Music
New albums from Mary Halvorson and Rich Halley march into fresh realms of freedom.
Three new discs do right by Beethoven’s chamber music.
Discs dedicated to overlooked composers Harold Shapero and Peter Lieberson are well worth your attention. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra don’t do well by Charles Ives’ final symphony, but the three preceding symphonies fare better.
Nothing detracts from the essentials here – three fine players in creative conversation.
Existential Reckoning confronts today’s lethal inanity in blistering fashion, via songs that posit dire consequences for a country that wants to be entertained more than wants to be informed.
For Fleet Foxes, Shore is impressively consistent. Each track presents a meticulously detailed soundscapes deepened by Robin Pecknold’s varied meditative perspectives.
My guess is that Keith Jarrett probably wasn’t satisfied with this performance. I wouldn’t change a note, a gesture, or a shading.
Open Mike Eagle may have written this album for himself, but many others will recognize themselves somewhere in his words and in his pain.
It should be no surprise that Sawyer seeks and finds new sounds on Less Than More Than. The EP is a deep dive into synth-driven pop that expands on the band’s philosophy.
Music Review: The Harry Smith B-Sides: Precursor to The Harry Smith C(ensored)-Sides?
The Atlanta-based label Dust-to-Digital would like to show us the flip side of The Anthology of American Folk Music, but they don’t like what they hear.
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