From Jobi Riccio adjusting to adulthood to Genesis Owusu's in-your-face hip-hop, the KAXE Music Team breaks down its weekly new music update.
Aldous Harding stays wonderfully weird, Reyna Tropical and Helado Negro join forces, Aaron Lee Tasjan wanders around, Brooklyn Funk Essentials get you dancin' and Angine de Poitrine makes two sound like four. Or more.
Then Dolly Parton's final album with Porter Wagner is in our latest Picks from '76.
Check out this week's suggestions from Music Director Kari Hedlund, Asst. Music Director and Volunteer Coordinator Dan Gannon.
Albums
Album of the Week: Jobi Riccio - Face the Feeling
Jobi Riccio’s second album, Face the Feeling, comes after her acclaimed debut, Whiplash, shifting from coming-of-age stories toward the challenges and possibilities of early adulthood.
Co-produced by Riccio alongside longtime collaborators and friends Isaiah Beard and Jesse Timm, the album blends mellow, tender folk songs like “A Little at a Time,” “Pilar, NM,” “Coyote” and “Easy,” with “Idaho” channeling the warm spirit of Joni Mitchell.
She then dips into indie rock with songs like “Buzzkill,” “Wildfire Season” and “Doesn’t Matter,” all while centering the storytelling of the Americana genre. With themes of self-growth, love, and grief running throughout the album, Riccio marks a new chapter in her burgeoning music career. -KH
Genesis Owusu - REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE
Genesis Owusu’s third album finds his signature high-energy rap still front and center while also pushing into new territory. “Pirate Radio,” “Stampede,” “Death Cult Zombie” and “Life Keeps Going” are instantly familiar and at home with what we know of Owusu. “Worldwide Scourge” is a dark, sharply pointed song with commentary on the social issues and unrest defining the current climate.
A couple of standouts to me are the ’90s R&B-influenced “Hellstar” and the laid-back “Situations.” The two songs are so outside of what we expect from the Ghanaian-Australian musician. It leaves me wanting to hear more of what he can do. -KH
Aldous Harding - Train on the Island
Delightfully weird and sparse, the New Zealand artist's fifth album is mysterious yet surprisingly revealing. With her shapeshifting voice and strange lyrics, Harding has become one of the most singular and unique voices in the modern folk world. How is someone singing "Big thick coats on the dogs of people / Just trying to help," so catchy? It's her most accessible album by far, but in no way sacrifices the intense creativity and unexplainable allure that Harding's fans have come to expect. -MK
Singles
Helado Tropical - "Tocando"
In a dream-team effort between Reyna Tropical and Helado Negro, “Tocando” is full of vibes. Coming in at just about two and a half minutes, the song is a brief and simple exploration of what these two artists could do together. We’ll find out more in their debut collaborative album, out in July. KH
Aaron Lee Tasjan - "Lost & Alone"
The Ohio indie country-folk artist adds some grit to this bopping number. Fans of Drivin N' Cryin or Rank and File will love the acoustic, rootsy and rock sound on this single. Tasjan is just wandering around, kickin' stones in the rain and wondering how he'll get back home. -DG
Brooklyn Funk Essentials - "Voodoo"
Afrobeat, acid house, funk and jazz all come together on this cut from the long-running dance music collective's new album, Black Butterfly. Drawing heavily from the patience and slow build of house music, the impressive groove is taken to sweet places by the horns of Ebba Åsman, Jéssica Pina and Loïc Gayot. Many faces have come and gone over the years, but bassist/multi-instrumentalist founder Lati Kronlund remains at the helm of the influential group. -MK
Angine de Poitrine - "Sarniezz"
Who is this Quebec rock instrumental duo? What do they look like? Nobody knows, as they have successfully hidden away in elaborate costumes and remained anonymous. Unlike so many of the other instrumental crews following in the footsteps of Khruangbin, Angine de Poitrine goes quite a bit harder with a complex, hard-driving math rock sound. They somehow manage to sound like a four-piece outfit even though it is only a guitarist/bassist and a drummer. -DG
Picks from '76
Dolly Parton - All I Can Do
For her seventeenth album, All I Can Do, Dolly Parton closed a long chapter in her career, marking it as the last with Porter Wagoner’s involvement. That creative relationship between Parton and Wagoner continues to go down as one of country music’s most influential partnerships over the years.
On the heels of 1975’s Dolly: The Seeker, a sad album with sweeping orchestral arrangements, All I Can Do sounds like Dolly having fun with music again. This record has a lighter spirit with much less schmaltz. While it's still a country album, it moves into the pop world.
The lead and title track, “All I Can Do,” stands out as the most celebrated single from the album. A pop song with strong gospel roots, the background vocals and hand claps nearly require you to join in. “Shattered Image” is a spirited number, giving folks the business about putting your nose in other people’s business. With lyrics like “Stay out of my closet if your own’s full of trash,” the song taps into a recurring theme in Dolly’s career of people judging and misunderstanding others.
Another highlight is “When the Sun Goes Down Tomorrow,” a song centered on home, longing, and again, the pain of being misunderstood. The album also includes two covers, “Boulder to Birmingham,” by Emmylou Harris, and “Life's Like Poetry” by Merle Haggard.
All I Can Do places Dolly Parton at a pivotal moment in her life and career, moving away from her partnership with Porter Wagoner while embracing a freer, more outwardly confident musical identity that's still in place today.
In the words of Dolly, “If you live in a glass house, don't throw stones. Don't shatter my image 'til you look at your own.”
