1) Tracy Chapman, “Telling Stories” / A return to the 2000 album from this hall-of-fame level artist reminds me just how great Chapman’s stories in song can be. A real early 21st-century classic.
2) Brent Cobb, “Ain’t Rocked in a While” / With his band, The Fixin’s, Cobb delivers a sort of Southern rock that is steeped in soul and grit while dodging around genre altogether.
3) Jim Legxacy, “black british music” / Speaking of dodging any single genre, this British rising star offers a remarkable collage of hip-hop, pop, R&B and more, dancing through tight sonic spaces and then exploding them.
4) Billie Marten, “Dog Eared” / The British songwriter’s latest is somehow easy on the ears while bearing great substance. These songs are perfectly textured—melding folk and jazz, indie rock and more—while ushering the listener kindly, effortlessly into a sort of swaying motion.
5) Ruby Rorty, “After the Metal Band, the Rubber Band” and “When You Start Remembering” for Hex / I love these two works from Ruby Rorty: their weather, their weirdness, their tenderness. Lyrical and visceral in equal measures.