Culture
Suggested Listening ’23: Chad Williams
< < Back toIt’s that time again! WOUB Culture asked people involved in music and arts across WOUB’s coverage area what they’ve been listening to this year. Check out their answers on WOUB Culture all through December.
1. Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives – Altitude [Superlatone Creative Group]
Marty has always expressed his admiration of former Byrds’ guitarist Clarence White and the sounds he created on his b-bender guitar. On Altitude he and his band reach back into 1969 and provide a fresh, updated shine on the sound some refer to as “Cosmic American Music” and indeed they reach some pretty high “altitude”!
2. Danny Brown – Quaranta [Warp Records Limited]
Straight up, I haven’t heard a hip hop album like this… well, maybe ever. I think I saw Danny Brown back in 2014 at Bumbershoot and his frantic style didn’t exactly connect with the Yo! MTV Raps-era loving teenager in me. Here, it feels Danny settles down into slower, more spacious grooves which allow him to sink his teeth into his delivery. Go listen to YBP, and try to sit still, I dare you.
3. Everything But The Girl – Fuse [Buzzin’ Fly Records]
Welcome to dance music for the 50+ crowd! I’m a late bloomer when it comes to EBTG as I only learned of their hit single “Missing” last year when I was putting together a playlist of songs that featured cowbell. The voice was familiar to me, and I was able to tie it back to an all-time favorite track of mine, Protection by Massive Attack. I proceeded to track down and buy as many EBTG records as I could find. Then Fuse appeared. The maturation of Tracy Thorn’s voice and Ben Watt’s musical palette is nothing short of stunning.
4. Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental [Mexican Summer]
Once again, I’m a late bloomer. Jess, and her buddy Waxahatchee, caught my ear last year with the Plains album. I love traditional country music, and actively participate in its preservation. This isn’t that, but if this is the direction that country music wants to go in, then please sign me up. Her vocals are more dialed in than ever, and have an undeniable twang (listen to her sing Accidental on the opening cut). With this being her 5th release, she clearly has come into her own as a songwriter as well, painting mini-vignettes of small town life and the internal debate of staying or leaving it behind.
5. Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden… [Constellation]
Multi-medium artist Matana Roberts delivers a blend of spoken word with improvisational jazz and avant-rock that seemingly travels back and forth between a terminated pregnancy from an ancestral past, and the descendant’s oppressive marriage. With the repeating of the mantra “My name is your name, our name is their name, we are named, we remember, they forget” throughout several tracks, the commentary is emotionally charged and feels timely with women’s reproductive rights being so prominent in today’s socio-political climate.
6. Erika – Anevite Void [Interdimensional Transmissions]
Full disclosure: in my past life, I was a music director at WCBN in Ann Arbor, working alongside Interdimensional Transmissions founders, BMG and Erika, who collectively make up the group, Ectomorph. There are a lot of different musical styles at the core of their own minimalist, electronic Detroit-based sound. Since then Erika has branched out on her own to release 2 solo albums, and the musical growth to me is pretty astounding. Wandering Mountain haunts and plods and to these ears, is eerily reminiscent of an Art Ensemble of Chicago style groove. Add on to that, Wata Igarashi collaborated recently on that track and here we have it for you, hot off the presses!
7. The Kody Norris Show – Rhinestone Revival [Rebel Records]
If you like hard-driving, raucous bluegrass, then look no further The Kody Norris Show. With plenty owed to the forefathers of bluegrass music, Kody and his pals spice things up with a bit of the country boogie flair that Rose Maddox and her brothers presented back in the 60’s. With tight songs and tight harmonies all around, the future of bluegrass music is clearly in very good hands!
8. Bettye LaVette – Lavette [Jay-Vee Records]
Bettye is the queen, in my mind, of all modern blues singers, and while any new material from her is always welcome, this collection of new songs is probably her most captivating since Thankful n’ Thoughtful. It turns out that these are all Randall Bramblett compositions, and they seem to serve her well, whether the mood is contemplative (In the Meantime) or blazing a sizzling groove (Mess About It).
9. Brennen Leigh – Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet [Signature Sounds]
Following up on last year’s exploration of Western Swing, Obsessed With The West with legends Asleep at the Wheel, Brennen continues to evolve and explore the wide and ranging sounds that exist under the country & western music umbrella. We get classic honky tonk with the title track, a truck driving number (Carole with an E), slick early 80’s country (I’m Still Looking For You) and probably my favorite, a 30’s style number called Throwing Away a Precious Jewel.
10. Nat Myers – Yellow Peril [Easy Eye Sound]
Another young up-and-coming artist with plenty to say about the state of the world, Nat Myers works within acoustic blues tradition, brandishing his national steel guitar and deep, smooth vocals. Raised on hip hop, Nat’s songs take racial stereotypes head on, particularly on the title cut, where he addresses his Korean/African American upbringing. Definitely looking forward to whatever he does next!