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2025.4
Yesness: See You at the Solipsist Convention
Kristian Dunn one half of the post-rock duo El Ten Eleven has started a new post-rock duo that sounds a bit like... El Ten Eleven, if you can believe it! It's a darn good thing as he and drummer Damon Che make triumphant, mathy instrumental music with some serious bounce that'll have you saying yes. Enjoy!
Album links: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.5
Clem Snide, Oh Smokey
Eef Barzelay (aka Clem Snide) has been writing ridiculously good songs for a couple decades, but this may very well be his best. Poignant, lovely songwriting and a sound that's dead center between lush and sparse. Folky production courtesy of Josh Kaufman, it sounds good, it feels good, it is good. Enjoy!
Album links: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.6
Salvator Dragatto: Thoughts of You
Released late last year, this alter ego of producer Joseph Reina is inspired by black and white photography. Sounds strange, but you can actually hear it. This one plays like the high-contrast shadows in a film noir, short and engaging tracks like scenes from a single story. Shades of gray, some mystery, and plenty of cinematic groove. Enjoy!
Album links: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.7
Early James: Medium Raw
Two weeks in & we're ready to dip into some '25 releases, like the newest from EJ. The Alabaman sits comfortably in the spot where country, blues, folk became rock & roll. Latest is more acoustic, but no less primitive & gritty with a voice & songwriting style to match. Medium raw indeed. One of those guys that feels like should be bigger, maybe one day. Until then... Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.8
Jakob Bro: Taking Turns
Bro is like the Danish Bill Frisell, so having Bill sharing guitar duties on his album is like a fresh coat of snow on an already frosty landscape. This is indeed wintertime jazz: cool, sparse, quiet, beautiful. An impressive band (Konitz! Moran! Morgan! Cyrille!) follows Jakob through unfolding sonic meditations, thoughtful music for the mindful listener. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.9
Ben Chapman: Downbeat
Released mid-December, this one might've gotten missed in the year-end hubbub, which would be a darn shame. Chapman's latest is, in my opinion, cosmic country perfection, threading the needle between Isbell and Sturgill with killer songs and a killer sound. Ending with a chef's-kiss Dylan cover, every track is a keeper. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #country #cosmiccountry
Album links at LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.10
Sam Cohen: Continuum
So far, my favorite music released in 2025 is this one, the 2nd release in his Slow Fawn series. Working with Stuart Bogie + Photay, tracks blend one to the next, lines between instruments, sounds, genres blurred, a true continuum. Barely 15 minutes long, a singular vision with a triumphant coda, but you can listen on repeat and continually discover new goodies within. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.11
Will Stewart: 90 Acre Farm
I'm a sucker for a covers album & I'm a sucker for anything Morphine related, so stands to reckon I'd be way into this EP of Morphine covers. Stewart imagines these as alt-country songs, giving a stripped-down feel even while fleshing out the dark songwriting. If you don't know Morphine well, go immerse yourself in "Cure for Pain" posthaste. If you do... Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #morphine
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
#recommNeds
2025.12
Chris Joss: Classic Lineup
Pick any 30 sec stretch from this & you're almost guaranteed to be moving some part of your body before the final tick. Joss finds an addictive groove, works it for all it's worth & then on to the next, the listener moving from one warming tray to another in a delicious funk buffet. Released last Dec, this is why you should never make a year-end list before Xmas. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.13
Himalion: WYSIATI
Explicitly inspired and encouraged by Robin Pecknold and featuring drummer JT Bates throughout, Portuguese songwriter Diogo Sarabando creates an art folk dense with lush orchestration, all his own while still, at times, strongly reminiscent of Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, and the like. The title stands for "what you see is all there is" and there's plenty here to chew on. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.14
Twoosty Mayonez: Niezłe Bagno
Polish synth/drums duo with a new psychedelic jazz weird-out that's possibly part of a grander sci-fi story? Who's not into that? Sure, it's a story so epic it has both a prologue *and* an introduction, but once it gets rolling, it's a darkly ominous, occasionally epic electric thing. Plenty of guest musicians and vocalists fill out the sound. Check it and... Enjoy!
Album links at LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.15
Brown Spirits: Cosmic Seeds
More heavy stuff from Down Under. Like Eurojam, spiritual jazz, and funk got mixed together in some hellacious music laboratory. Seamlessly shifts between psychedelic and groove, you barely even notice except to snap out of the zone every once in a while to say "good shit!" and then right back into it. Enjoy!
Album links at LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.16
Benjamin Booker: Lower
Booker is a classic "what happened to that guy?" guy and, I looked it up, it's been quite a few years since his last release. The latest builds on his rootsy bluesy indie rock with scribbles of Radioheadesqueness and the snarls of political bent. As it was then, it's the songs and the voice that make it. And hopefully here to stay. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.17
Songhoy Blues: Héritage
On one hand, there's a glut of Malian desert blues out there. On the other hand, it's all pretty amazing with each artist & album creating something wonderfully unique. On Héritage, these stalwarts go acoustic and without the heaviness of electric fuzz, the music is light and pastel vibrant with a crisp separation between all the contributing sounds. What a delight! Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.18
Carl Allen: Tippin'
Judge a man by the company he keeps goes especially true for jazz recordings. So if the band on your album is Chris Potter + Christian McBride, you must be doing something right. Drummer Allen definitely is, providing a set filled with lots of warmth, space for each guy to shine, & plenty of straight bop. The recording sounds real nice, fit for the old school vibe. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #jazz
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.19
numün: Opening
Not sure how to categorize this one, somewhere near the intersection of classical, ambient, and post-rock maybe? It's moody, pensive, somber but triumphant. Lots of interesting sounds from guitars, strings, and who-knows-what. Gentle music with teeth, for those who need some of that. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.20
John Zorn Bagatelles: Mary Halvorson Quartet
One facet of Zorn's genius is matching his music to the right musicians, a potion master combining ingredients. Always magic of some sort, but occasionally it transcends. This transcends. Halvorson going guitar-to-guitar w/ Okazaki, a monster rhythm section of Fujiwara + Gress. Together they lay waste to quaint notions like jazz & rock. Unreal. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.21
Krokofant: 6
Fusion trio from Norway and... Are we sure this is a trio? The sound on here is *massive*, occasionally feeling like a brass band on LSD or a psychedelic prog-rock ensemble with a jazzed twist. They give the energy of a band that knocked the wind out of you on a sidestage at a mid-aughts jam festival. In the best way imaginable. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.22
Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains: Âge Fleuve
Slight change of pace for your Friday pick. Here's some delightful sounds out of France. Elements of indie rock and synth pop with a tinge of jazz. There's a sweetness and romanticism to these songs, even though I have no idea what they're singing about. Each one has something to grab the ear. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.23
Antti Lötjönen & Kalle Kalima: Stings, Bites and Scratches
Exercises in both form and formlessness found within. The Helsinki jazz guitarist and bassist explore, react and interact in pieces that find focus and playfully lose it again. Let your mind wander with the musicians. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #jazz
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.24
Black Flower: Kinetic
More great music from Europe, this time progressive afrobeat from Belgium. Their sound is relatively light for the genre, giving it a lively feel that's more focused on melody than groove. Although it grooves pretty darn good too. It's smart and it's funky and it's pretty spectacular. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #groove #afrobeat
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.25
Blue Lake: Weft
More sick tunes from across the Atlantic. Blue Lake is Copenhagen's Jason Dungan who plays stringed instruments like homemade zithers and acoustic guitars of varying provenance. Layered on top of each other and sometimes mixing in guests, he creates gorgeous, uplifting, soulful instrumental music that massages just the part of your brain where you need it most. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.26
Steven R Smith: Triecade
Smith leads a one-man guitar/bass/keys/drums quartet through some rather spectacular instrumental pieces. Each gives a different vibe, but there's a common sonic thread running through them all. Genres and styles come and go (occasionally feeling like the composed-on-the-fly middle of an inspired jamband excursion) but it's all a go go go. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.27
Matt Berry: Heard Noises
Not many albums have guests as different as Fruit Bats and Natasha Lyonne (!?), but somehow it fits actor/musician Berry's vibe here quite well. The sound is a delightful Beatlespsych pop with about a zillion hooks, plenty of groove, and an adventurous spirit. It's all good, but a couple of these tracks are seriously on-repeat worthy. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.28
Bugge Wesseltoft + Henrik Schwarz: Oh!
Two masters of improvised piano, live in concert on two grand pianos. It's a short EP, but it's twice as dense as a solo piano record, so it balances out. Delightful, deep-vision interplay with some on-the-fly digitalia. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #piano
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.29
The Natural Yogurt Band & The Oracle: Nebulous
Keys-heavy psychgroove music from the UK is exactly what your life's been missing. These tracks are like from a dream, mutating and evolving, short vignettes and extended jams both. But mostly it's funky as heck. Betcha dig. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.30
Stein Urheim: Speilstillevariasjoner
Having never seen him, guitarist Urheim strikes me as a Norse Marc Ribot, comfortable in myriad settings, always leaving his mark. This runs the gamut from striking beauty to fully discordant and many points in between. He's recruited an interesting slate of guests including allstar weirdos like Sam Gendel & Ikue Mori. A fascinating set of guitar music. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.31
Freckle: Freckle
Ty Segall is so prolific, he finds new side projects underneath his couch cushions. He hooks up with Corey Madden from Color Green for his latest. The sound gives off glam vibes, like if Mott the Hoople was formed in an LA garage. Of course, there's plenty of good old fashioned psych rock guitar mixed in. It's definitely a side project, but it's Segall, so it's damn good. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.32
Mama Terra: Chameleons
The subtitle of this one is "Live Interpretations of Herbie Hancock" and that pretty much sums it up. A live recording of a bunch of Hancock's most recognizable grooves, and damn groovy it is. Female vocals add an extra layer of sexy and what's not to love? Always happy to pass on recs made to me, like this one. So send em or leave em in the comments if you got em... Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.33
Vera Sola: Ghostmaker
This EP is a companion to Sola's latest LP which came out last year, reworking a handful of those tracks with some new mixed in. It includes guest spots from Milk Carton Kids and Marissa Nadler, perfectly matched to the haunting, sparse cowboy folk. It's just a taste, but it's an oaky, barrel-finished one for sure. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #folk
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.34
Ivan the Tolerable: Nocturnes
This dude puts out a lot of music and it's all pretty damn good and kind of all over the place. Many of them are with a full band, but this is just one guy, although not sure how you'd tell. It's like watching a lava lamp do its thing. Slow rising bubbles of psychedelic groove wobble their way up through the ether only to be replaced by another and another... Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.35
Mandrake Handshake: Earth-Sized Worlds
This is a great companion to yesterday's rec, another band out of the UK doing a lot of things and doing them very well. Debut full length from this large-format band is an attention-deficit dance through genres: psychjazz, krautrock, surfgroove and whatever other hybrid combination you can think of. Lots to sink your teeth into or bop along to. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.36
Motorpsycho: s/t
I'm generally of the opinion that if your album is longer than 45 minutes, it might be too long. I'll make an exception to this one which is 80 mins of rocking from the veteran Norway band. There's a track on here that's over 20 & one that's barely 3 & along the way they hyphenate "rock" every which way from psych- to kraut- to good old classic- and more, so much more. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree at: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.37
Yazz Ahmed: A Paradise in the Hold
Jazz trumpeter Ahmed always feels like a breath of fresh ideas. On her latest she mixes progressive Britjazz with the folklore of her native Bahrain, adding vocals for the first time. It's magical and mystical, an elevated, spiritual sound that's dreamlike without losing her characteristic groove. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #jazz #yazzahmed #trumpet
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.38
Saltaré: Modes
Randomly caught (and enjoyed!) these guys in Boston a couple years back so it's nice to rec their debut album. A fun genre-blend that brings together progressive bluegrass with folk and classical. Great compositions with fun arrangements (the "Spirited Away" theme!) and a nifty mix of instrumentation give this a uniquely sweet feel. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.39
SFJ: Drifting
Here today to put this excellent music on your radar. Duo out of the UK making mostly instrumental music. The feel is sprawling and cinematic, the soundtrack to your favorite movie, but the genre jumps from detective to romance to dark comedy to French noir. Highly listenable with an addictive groove running throughout. One of my favorites of the year so far. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.40
Sean Thompson's Weird Ears: Head in the Sand
Sounding a bit like Garcia and Weir dosed the entire honky tonk and then proceeded to commandeer the house band, Weird Ears is psychedelic country at its finest. Jammy and twangy and a hoot and a holler and a half, this is a real fun one. If you're on the Daniel Donato train or even if you ain't, give this one a listen or two and enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #country
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.41
Dylan Golden Aycock: No New Summers
OK guitarist with his most recent take on the American primitive genre. There's plenty of gorgeous acoustic pickin' pulled from larger improvisations, but also some interesting more experimental pieces mixed in. Aycock expands beyond the guitar & traditional methods to create some unique meditations & explorations. All tied together nicely. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #guitar
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.42
Zement: Passagen
After the first 15 seconds of this one, you think you have kind of an idea of what this German duo got, an updated motorik sound. Sure, there's that, but there's so much more. Each zig is countered by an equally compelling zag, afrobeat turns to krautrock, jazz freakout to psychedelic electrofunk. It's brilliantly constructed and easy to love. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.43
Wrong Way Up: Totally Right
The opening track is called "Hang On to Your Kool" and whatever "kool" is, this release is positively oozing with it. This synth duo is from Australia, but the sound is purely African, and it's funky as all heck. It's impossible not to enjoy this. I mean, you're welcome to try, but it'll probably only make you feel kooler. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.44
Amir Bresler: Tide and Time
This is like the piano jazz version of magical realism. Lovely progressive piano/bass/drum subtly becomes something more, grander, more... magical. The Israeli drummer working with pianist Nitai Hershkovits & producer Rejoicer create coherent compositions out of spontaneous studio experimenting. This is exactly what I want all my jazz to sound like. Dreamy. Enjoy!
#newmusic #MusicDiscovery #jazz
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
2025.45
Don Leisure: Tyrchu Sain
Don Leisure is a producer from Cardiff with a rather wide-reaching folk-to-hip-hop scope. Indeed, his latest is an "...and the kitchen sink" approach, but he seamlessly flows together 20 tracks with plenty of sweet beats, delicious hooks, and some Welsh whimsy along the way. With a little help from some friends. Cool stuff. Enjoy!
Album links in LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/recommneds
