1) SZA, “SOS” / SZA’s first since the 2017 powerhouse “CTRL” is a wonderfully fluid musical document, surveying and uniting sounds with a master’s touch, carrying the emotional weight of many moods in a way that feels lived-in yet on the verge of transcendence.
2) Phosphorescent, “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven” / Matthew Houck’s music has been a crucial companion to me the past few years and, with his Full Moon Project, he shows off his shaping influences. Releasing a cover song with each full moon, Houck has honored the likes of Nick Lowe, Nina Simone, Vic Chesnutt and Lucinda Williams. This Dylan homage coils, then unravels in lovely fashion with the most tasteful of country adornments.
“When I was in Missouri
They would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry
I only saw what they let me see”
3) Mavi, “Laughing So Hard, It Hurts” / The Charlotte rapper’s sophomore full-length abounds with creativity, as jazz and electronic influences weave in and through hip-hop beats, offering Mavi’s charismatic baritone a place to stand and deliver.
4) Sarah Salcedo, “A Winter Vigil” for Identity Theory / In these bleak, early-winter days, Salcedo’s latest proves a strangely consoling read. A gorgeous rendering of her grandmother’s last hours, and of the way our souls linger in the world, the essay quietly implores us to consider that life, death and the tenses we use to describe them aren’t fixed categories.
A howling wind rustles the lights in the courtyard for a moment before settling down. I feel her out there, way beyond the room, making that final decision. Like the ice webbing itself against the window, it is beautiful, firm, and sad. But being strong doesn’t mean she isn’t afraid. Being ready doesn’t mean you want to let go. I am back in the room fully now, but I can barely feel her, despite her soft hand in mine. She is still far away, asking questions of the wind.
5) Hannah Rose Roberts, “Out, Brief Candle” for The Masters Review / This short, prize-winning story is among the most unique meditations on grief you’ll read anytime soon. An impressive realism melds with a sort of science-fiction feel to create moving moments with each sentence.
Her eyes had gone dry—the driest they had been in weeks, in fact—from forcing herself to stare at dozens upon dozens of ugly candles, when she finally saw The One. Dark blue, darker than navy but not quite black. A tall pillar, just like him. Cracks and flecks of gold throughout it in an unidentifiable pattern.