1) Mt. Joy, “Hope We Have Fun” / On a sort of perpetual repeat this week, the new Mt. Joy record is groovy and sexy, shows its cards early and often in terms of passions and desires, but also creates lush textures and intriguing spaces that reward closer attention.
2) Alan Sparhawk, “With Trampled By Turtles” / The longtime Low co-leader teams with his Minnesota mates for a record that plays to both artists’ strengths; the album is earthy and transcendent, rooted in darkness but bending toward light.
3) Ty Segall, “Possession” / Per usual, the new Ty Segall is a guitar-lover’s dream, but the record excels when it spreads out its sound in horn arrangements and dynamic, almost narrative changes.
4) Neko Case, “The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You” / Neko Case’s songwriting long has rattled the cages that need rattling in me; here, in her memoir, she fleshes out the deeper concepts within her art with tales of family discord, friendship, the shaping effects of music, religious trauma and more. Whether in a four-minute song or across these pages, Case always commands your attention, then rewards it.
5) Mariette Navarro, “Ultramarine” / Translated from the French, Navarro’s novel is a remarkable portrait of life at sea, sounding the eerie depths of mystery and the interiority of her ship’s captain. The prose is gorgeous and pining; the story not overly fussy but still active and nimble; the overall impact quietly soul-stirring.