1) Feist, “Multitudes” / The new Feist record, her first in six years, begins gently, quietly. Almost too quietly, like when you don’t trust the silence in your own full house. I appreciated the tasteful folk structures, but wasn’t truly moved. Then the second half of “Multitudes” arrived to devastate me and judge me for the little faith I showed in its progression.
Songs like “Of Womanhood” and “Martyr Moves” sound like the embodiment of daughters prophesying, in the Bible’s parlance; “Borrow Trouble” feels like a perfect short film; and “Calling All the Gods” and “Song for Sad Friends” flawlessly complete the curve.
“Multitudes” lives up to its name, a true listening experience and statement of belief in the album as art form.
2) Fenne Lily, “Big Picture” / The British singer-songwriter observes and creates weather systems on her latest; the musical equivalents of passing clouds, pop-up storms and penetrating sunlight. These songs live in the little things and every moment matters, rings with beauty.
3) Dinner Party, “Enigmatic Society” / A special magic attends the union of Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and Kamasi Washington. On their own, three of my favorite modern musicians; together, some kind of rare soul-music oracle. Their latest effort enfolds artists such as Phoelix and Arin Ray to offer songs that sound fully realized, shot through with surprisingly quiet charms and sealed with an innate understanding of tides—how the art is meant to recede and wave, ebb and flow.
4) Taylor Jenkins Reid, “Daisy Jones and the Six” / It was only a matter of time before I read this smash hit about a fictional band cleaving and separating during the wild late ‘70s. Eminently readable and holding a kindness that eludes most Behind the Music-esque tales, the novel is worth spinning.
5) Alex Mar, “Seventy Times Seven” / Subtitled “A True Story of Murder and Mercy,” Mar’s book of quiet revelations examines how one case shaped the way we apply the death penalty to young people. The history of this practice captivates and informs, but Mar weaves a fascinating narrative of hardness and softness, forgiveness and faith around the details. Readers will confront questions about what they believe: about who receives mercy and who doesn’t, how we judge one another, and what it takes to make life and flourishing the center of our social contract.