Florence Adooni – A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise in Unity) (Philophon)
At the end of the title track of her debut album A.O.E.I.U., an ecstatic Florence Adooni rhapsodizes about music. It is many things, she says: the art of time, a metaphor for life, capable of generating cosmic meaning. It is “an ordinary exercise in unity”, the phrase for which the title stands. In Adooni’s case, though, ordinary is not a euphemism for dull. Instead, perhaps it’s shorthand for the idea of music as intertwined with everyday being, for groundedness and inclusivity. The exercise of music making may be ordinary, but as a creation, A.O.E.I.U. is an extraordinary, rejuvenating, and soulful release that’s one of the year’s best so far. – Adriane Pontecorvo
Annie & the Caldwells – Can’t Lose My (Soul) (Luaka Bop)
Annie & the Caldwells’ Can’t Lose My (Soul) emerges victorious—against all odds—from the dense overgrowth of history’s enigmatic wilderness. Our journey begins in the early 1970s, when gospel’s DNA, which had already shaped funk and R&B, cross-pollinated back, inspiring a new generation of gospel singers to embrace the same unapologetic, dance-worthy grooves that fueled the Staples Singers—whose gospel-funk hybrid could make you shut up, get down, and maybe even get a little spiritually minded.
Can’t Lose My (Soul) was years in the making, but that extended timeline does nothing to diminish its power. If anything, it just proves Annie & the Caldwells can create an unrepentant soul-stirring sound capable of transcending time, place, and—on occasion—even the most unshakable atheism. – Emily Votaw
Willow Avalon – Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell (Atlantic / Assemble Sound)
Even before listening to Willow Avalon’s Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell, one knows it will be a twangy country female declaration of pride just by its title. This record follows that tradition, exemplified by Kitty Wells and Loretta Lynn in the past, as well as the more modern crop of gifted, spirited women like Miranda Lambert and Ashley McBryde. There’s a thin line between just perpetuating negative redneck women stereotypes and creating work that conflates expectations through humor and insight. Happily, Avalon’s new album transcends the simple generalities and has much fun doing so. – Steve Horowitz
Julien Baker and Torres – Send a Prayer My Way (Matador)
While a song like “Tuesday” may underscore the point, the entirety of Send a Prayer My Way announces itself as an unapologetically queer country record. Julien Baker and Torres present this as a matter of fact. They aren’t creating or joining a sub-genre or waving a banner. It is a simple declaration that this too is life, attending to strands of thread woven into the tapestry of day-to-day life. It is not some anomaly as some seek to propagandize it, but a tributary that has continuously fed American roots and thus should be at home within its music, as much at home in country music as any other factor in its polyvalent story of simple resilience. – Rick Quinn
Baths – Gut (Basement’s Basement)
Will Wiesenfeld has been moving toward a pop-oriented sound since his first two releases as Baths, Cerulean and Obsidian. His latest, Gut, is a fitting title. After an eight-year absence, during which he focused on soundtrack work, Wiesenfeld is not pulling punches. The songs in this collection are frank and direct. He explores the joy and pain of casual sex and the pursuit of desires. As such, this record forgoes the chilliness of some of his early Baths records in favor of a more pop-oriented sound with live guitar, violin, cello, and drums on several tracks. It is a thrillingly alive collection of songs. – Brian Stout
Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE (Jagjaguwar)
Bon Iver purists may feel a familiar sense of frustration after listening to Justin Vernon’s fifth studio album, SABLE, fABLE. On the one hand, the record includes the SABLE EP (2024), which features three strong tracks, including the unmatched “S P E Y S I D E”. That offering hinted at a return to form, even if it included odd capitalization and punctuation choices (are those spaces in the song title?). However, that is only half of the equation, as SABLE, fABLE contains lush arrangements and celebrates Bon Iver‘s affinity for R&B over sparse folk sounds that put him on the map. – Patrick Gill
Bonnie Prince Billy – The Purple Bird (No Quarter)
Will Oldham, usually performing as Bonnie Prince Billy, has spent his prolific career finding new approaches to old styles, frequently by partnering with new collaborators. The Purple Bird suggests that Oldham doesn’t sound restless if he remains busy and curious. The new primary collaborator this time is David “Ferg” Ferguson, a Nashville producer, engineer, and musician. Ferguson receives some songwriting credits and had a hand in creating this record, but it still sounds like Oldham (as much as that means anything). Rather than sounding like a modern Nashville record, The Purple Bird comes across as a comfortable spot for Oldham, well built on Americana traditions without sounding stodgy or artless. – Justin Cober-Lake
Benjamin Booker – LOWER (Fire Next Time / Thirty Tigers)
Peel back any of Benjamin Booker’s songs from his three albums, and in its center, there is always a looming question, unasked but pleading: How do we keep going in an awful world? Booker’s songs speak of a yearning to find a way through the mess in his self-titled first record, filled with energetic guitars and fueled by anxiety, pressing his music forward.
When listening to Benjamin Booker’s LOWER, I imagine these characters, despite living in our age of necropolitics where those in power dictate how some may live and others must die, still grope along, putting on their “walking shoes” and taking steps in a world that cares nothing about them. These faltering steps, though, urge the rest of us to believe that we can also take some steps into the darkness. – John Lennon
Circa Waves – Death & Love Pt. 1 (Lower Third)
Anyone curious about the state of British guitar rock over the last decade would do well to dive into the discography of Circa Waves and their new album, Death & Love Pt. 1. Opening with a brief and insistent rocker, “American Dream”, the record hits its stride with the second track, “Like You Did Before”. Panoramic pop with a 1980s techno vibe, “Like You Did Before” also feels reminiscent of Harry Styles‘ “As It Was”. Regardless of what previous songs “Like You Did Before” might initially conjure in a listener’s head, the song has a fun vibe all its own, and it’s a worthy addition to Circa Wave’s collection of perfect and near-perfect pop tunes. – Rich Wilhelm
Circuit des Yeux – Halo on the Inside (Matador)
With her new record, Halo on the Inside, Haley Fohr continues to investigate fertile paradoxes and syntheses. Circuit des Yeux has long been sensitive to the way archetypal energies play out in the human psyche. With Halo on the Inside, she again explores aesthetic poles—the clamorous and subdued, dramatic and restrained, tense and cathartic. Her work, including her singular voice, conjures the grand epics, the metamorphoses that the ancients whispered and sang about. Fohr is grounded in timeless magic, functioning as a modern-day alchemist. – John Amen
