Music Week

Music: Current count 26199 [26163] rated (+36), 412 [408] unrated (+4).

Nearly everything here appeared in yesterday's Rhapsody Streamnotes -- the eagle-eyed will note that the exception is saxophonist Roxy Coss's minor-label debut. That one can wait for late February, by which time it will have some company. How much is hard to say: I really need to start writing more on other things. Wrapping up yesterday's music column precluded a Weekend Roundup. I'll try to start by doing a midweek edition, by which time the Iowa thing will be history (not that I expect to have anything to say on the subject).

In the last week, myjazz andnon-jazz EOY files tightened up. When I first put them together, jazz had a big 52-33 lead in A-list files. End of January that had narrowed to 77-73 (with an 11-11 tie in reissues/compilations/vault music). There's a pretty strong correlation between what I think and what Michael Tatum and Robert Christgau write. If you read me, you probably read them, so are familiar with their picks. What I thought I'd do here is to pull out my list's non-jazz A/A- records that neither Christgau nor Tatum have reviewed thus far (the bracketed numbers are rank from my EOY aggregate file, as of yesterday; ** means ≥ 1000, breaking at 5 points):

1. Lyrics Born: Real People (Mobile Home) [633]
2. Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf (Heavenly) [132]
3. New Order: Music Complete (Mute) [54]
4. Nozinja: Nozinja Lodge (Warp) [439]
5. Dr. Yen Lo: Days With Dr. Yen Lo (Pavlov Institute) [205]
6. Hieroglyphic Being & J.I.T.U. Ahn-Sahm-Buhl: We Are Not the First (RVNG Intl) [283]
7. Mdou Moctar: Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai [Original Soundtrack Recording] (Sahel Sounds) [826]
8. ¡Mayday!: Future/Vintage (Strange Music) [993]
9. Bully: Feels Like (Startime International/Columbia) [136]
10. Tuxedo: Tuxedo (Stones Throw) [**]
11. Asleep at the Wheel: Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (Bismeaux) [764]
12. 79rs Gang: Fire on the Bayou (Sinking City/Urban Unrest) [**]
13. Ray Wylie Hubbard: The Ruffian's Misfortune (Bordello) [**]
14. BadBadNotGood & Ghostface Killah: Sour Soul (Lex) [126]
15. The Mowgli's: Kids in Love (Republic) [**]
16. Laura Marling: Short Movie (Ribbon Music) [65]
17. Murs: Have a Nice Day (Strange Music) [**]
18. Protoje: Ancient Future (Indiggnation Collective/Overstand) [**]
19. Alaska Thunderfuck: Anus (Sidecar) [**]
20. Downtown Boys: Full Communism (Don Giovanni) [355]
21. Desaparecidos: Payola (Saddle Creek) [284]
22. John Moreland: High on Tulsa Heat (Old Omens) [288]
23. Alan Jackson: Angels and Alcohol (Capitol Nashville) [808]
24. Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique: Love Is Free (Konichiwa/Cherrytree/Interscope, EP) [**]
25. Battles: La Di Da Di (Warp) [159]
26. Steve Hauschildt: Where All Is Fled (Kranky) [333]
27. Max Richter: From Sleep (Deutsche Grammophon) [117]
28. Skylar Spence: Prom King (Carpark) [489]
29. Erykah Badu: But You Caint Use My Phone (Control Freaq) [213]
30. Archy Marshall: A New Place 2 Drown (True Panther Sounds) [384]
31. Hieroglyphic Being: The Acid Documents (Soul Jazz) [**]
32. Metric: Pagans in Vegas (Metric) [998]
33. Elysia Crampton: American Drift (Blueberry) [277]
34. Fabiano Do Nascimento: Dança Dos Tempos (Now-Again) [429]
35. Plastician: All the Right Moves (self-released) [**]

I let the software renumber these, but there's a big gap between my number 1 and 2 -- about a dozen (OK, 11) common albums, although Christgau hasn't touched Ezra Furman (A per Tatum) and sloughed off Sleaford Mods and Low Cut Connie with low HMs. But I'm not looking for disagreements -- for what it's worth, a quick check shows 26 Christgau A/A- records I rated *** (12) or worse, out of 50 (with one records unheard, so I downrate a bit more than 50%) -- just to point out some exceptional records you may not have noticed. (Looking down the list, I find a few more tips I might have flagged, especially from Jason Gubbels, Phil Overeem, and Lucas Fagen.)

PS: Added Arca: Mutant to the A-list while working on this today. Thanks to Thomas Walker for pointing out it finally surfaced on Rhapsody. It will be in next week's list, but is already in the EOY list file, reducing the jazz edge to 77-74. Various things held this normally-on-Monday post up, including continued fiddling with the EOY Aggregates: added a bunch of jazz ballots, two aggregates from Album of the Year, plus I finally scored my own grades (same as I had done for Christgau and Tatum). This resulted in some reshuffling at the top of the list: Father John Misty in 5th breaking the tie with Tame Impala, Kamasi Washington to 8th ahead of Sleater-Kinney, Julia Holter to 10th ahead of Björk, and Alabama Shakes topping Oneohtrix Point Never for 14th. Also the top jazz records got a sizable boost: Maria Schneider (30), Rudresh Mahanthappa (32), Jack DeJohnette (44), Vijay Iyer (48), Henry Threadgill (56), Steve Coleman (67), Mary Halvorson (74), Chris Lightcap (87), Matana Roberts (100), Arturo O'Farrill (112), and Cecile McLorin Salvant (117) -- most of the latter two's gains came from counting the Latin and Vocal votes on Jazz Critics Poll ballots.

I wound up counting about two-thirds of the Jazz Critics Poll ballots -- in many cases the decision to include or exclude was arbitrary. I also counted 60+ Pazz & Jop ballots, although that's only about 15% of the total (those who voted in both had their ballots merged, with rank points from JCP; I didn't do rank points in P&J because of some presentation quirks).

New records rated this week:

• Aram Bajakian: There Were Flowers Also in Hell (2014, Sanasar): [bc]: B+(**)
• Aram Bajakian: Music Inspired by the Color of Pomegranates (2015, Sanasar): [r]: B+(**)
• Nicholas Bearde: Invitation (2015 [2016], Right Groove): [cd]: B+(*)
• Big Boi + Phantogram: Big Grams (2015, Epic, EP): [r]: B+(*)
• Deafheaven: New Bermuda (2015, Anti): [r]: B+(*)
• Dilly Dally: Sore (2015, Partisan): [r]: B+(**)
• DJ Paypal: Sold Out (2015, Brainfeeder): [r]: B+(**)
• Elephant9 with Reine Fiske: Silver Mountain (2015, Rune Grammofon): [r]: B+(*)
• Foals: What Went Down (2015, Warner Brothers): [r]: B
• Helena Hauff: Discreet Desires (2015, Ninja Tune/Werkdiscs): [r]: B+(***)
• Steve Hauschildt: Where All Is Fled (2015, Kranky): [r]: A-
• Helen: The Original Faces (2015, Kranky): [r]: B+(*)
• Mette Henriette: Mette Henriette (2014 [2015], ECM, 2CD): [dl]: B+(*)
• Ira Hill: Tomorrow (2015, self-released): [cd]: C
• Florian Hoefner: Luminosity (2015 [2016], Origin): [cd]: B+(***)
• Jason Kao Hwang: Voice (2014 [2016], Innova): [cd]: B+(*)
• Abdullah Ibrahim: The Song Is My Story (2014 [2015], Sunnyside): [r]: B
• Kehlani: You Should Be Here (2015, self-released): [r]: B-
• Sam Lee & Friends: The Fade in Time (2015, The Nest Collective): [r]: B+(*)
• Lizzo: Big Grrrl Small World (2015, BGSW): [r]: B+(*)
• Marina and the Diamonds: Froot (2015, Atlantic): [r]: B+(*)
• Archy Marshall: A New Place 2 Drown (2015, True Panther Sounds): [r]: A-
• Pete McCann: Range (2014 [2015], Whirlwind): [r]: B+(*)
• Nero: Between II Worlds (2015, Cherrytree/Interscope): [r]: B
• Dick Oatts/Mats Holmquist/New York Jazz Orchestra: A Tribute to Herbie +1 (2015 [2016], Summit): [cd]: B+(*)
• Chris Pitsiokos Trio: Gordian Twine (2015, New Atlantis): [r]: B+(***)
• Nathaniel Rateliff: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats (2015, Stax): [r]: B+(*)
• Roswell Rudd & Heather Masse: August Love Song (2015 [2016], Red House): [cd]: A-
• Julian Shore: Which Way Now (2015 [2016], Tone Rogue): [cd]: B
• Michael Spiro/Wayne Wallace/La Orquesta Sonfonietta: Canto América (2015 [2016], Patois): [cd]: B-
• Lew Tabackin Trio: Soundscapes (2014-15 [2016], self-released): [cd]: B+(**)
• Thundercat: The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam (2015, Brainfeeder, EP): [r]: B
• Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott: Return of the East West Trumpet Summit (2014 [2016], Origin): [cd]: B+(**)
• Brian Wilson: No Pier Pressure (2015, Capitol): [r]: B+(*)
• Chelsea Wolfe: Abyss (2015, Sargent House): [r]: B+(*)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:

• Tubby Hayes Quartet: The Syndicate: Live at the Hopbine 1968 Vol. 1 (1968 [2015], Gearbox): [r]: B+(**)
• Schlippenbach Trio: First Recordings (1972 [2015], Trost): [r]: B+(**)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Harris Eisenstadt: Old Growth Forest (Clean Feed)
• Fred Frith/Darren Johnston: Everybody Is Somebody Is Nobody (Clean Feed)
• John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure (2015, Partisan): [r]: B+(*)
• Dre Hocevar: Collective Effervescence (Clean Feed)
• Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Bring Their 'A' Game (Hot Cup, EP): advance, February 5
• Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Magic Happen (Hot Cup, EP): advance, February 5
• Ken Peplowski: Enrapture (Capri): February 16
• Protean Reality: Protean Reality (Clean Feed)
• Renku: Live in Greenwich Village (Clean Feed)
• Roswell Rudd/Jamie Saft/Trevor Dunn/Balasz Pandi: Strength & Power (Rare Noise): advance, February 26
• J. Peter Schwalm: The Beauty of Disaster (Rare Noise): advance, February 26
• Dan Weiss: Sixteen: Drummers Suite (Pi): February 26