Best New Records I Heard in February, 2025

Maybe it's me, but it seems I'm sampling more than usual before finding the really good ones lately

Sam Amidon – Salt River. I have to keep reminding myself this guy is American, with roots in Appalachian folk music. Just listening to this record – and not really sure if I’ve heard any of his previous work, though I think I might have – it’s easy to believe he’s English, and that his roots are in the early 70s folk/rock permutations of that nation’s scene. But then, to make things harder to keep straight, I learn that “Big Sky” is a Lou Reed song, and “Friends and Neighbors” comes from Ornette Coleman. I think the album works as a folkish meditation with synthesizer parts. Amidon’s vocals can be off-putting – I’ve heard enough folk singers who fall somewhere in between missing pitch and using microtones that I don’t have a problem with him. In fact, I find his singing fits the songs quite well. There is a lot of variety on this record, with oddities and instrumentals around folk tales and singalongs.

M.T.B. – Solid Jackson. Thirty years after they recorded together the first time, and twenty-four years after that was released, pianist Brad Mehldau, saxophonist Mark Turner, and guitarist Peter Bernstein put out a follow-up last year. Bassist Larry Grenadier is back again, too, though Bill Stewart takes over on drums for Leon Parker. This is one nice set of jazz played by musicians with skill, ideas, and grace. The songs are primarily from the pens of the three initialed players, though Wayne Shorter’s “Angola” and Hank Mobley’s “Soft Impression” get turns in the spotlight, too. I wasn’t familiar with Bernstein outside this record, and his touch, tone, and laid-back presence is a stand-out for me among very fine company.

Doseone & Steel Tipped Dove – All Portrait, No Chorus. Here are two underground hip hop creators I’ve never encountered before. Steel Tipped Dove makes the beats, and his skills move in directions far removed from the commercial hip hop of our time. He’s not an old-school stylist, either. These soundscapes can be dark, blurry, resilient, exuberant, lazy, or scintillating. Doseone raps in a variety of styles – I understand he’s also a performer of his poetry separate from the music world. Here, you might find him almost reciting in a poetry slam sort of way, or he might be pummeling the rhythms and spitting out the words at incredible speed, or he might be using a deep voice to add resonance to the sound, or he might be using a higher thinner voice to sound a little eerie. Always, there is a musical and lyrical approach that reminds me of nobody else in the game. Guest appearances by Iron Mike Eagle and billy woods, along with M. Sayyid and Myka 9, add superb contrast when they show up.

Phelimuncasi - Izigqinamba. I could have sworn I read a review of this album recently – it came out last April but a lot of people, including me, are just now discovering it – that contained a pretty good description of who they are and what they do. I know they are from South Africa, and the vocalists include a set of twins and one other guy. Their music is based in the South African branch of house music called gqom. I don’t know enough of the genre to know if the wide variety of beats on this album is an aspect of gqom or if they push outside its limits. I do know that this is from start to finish a magnificent record. The male and female vocalists do a lot of repetition, and sometimes do call and response, over darkly rhythmic tracks which push bodies into movement almost as a matter of course. My fave cut here is “Ayi ayi we Crazy,” which has a push and pull rhythm that gets the head to spinning while the feet are dancing. I can’t tell you anything about the lyrics, but I can say this is a record worth experiencing.

Carl Allen – Tippin’. Vinyl might be the sexy way to hear new music, but in the jazz world, an awful lot of working musicians keep putting out CDs. Players like drummer Carl Allen, bassist Christian McBride, and saxophonist Chris Potter have been working in this medium for decades and as such are firm believers in filling up a disc with the same amount of music you get from Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony – the 70 minute limit of a CD. Sometimes I complain when something is too long, but this trio album (with one track adding a piano player – James Lee) is magnificent from start to finish, and I could keep listening if they gave me more to hear. Three players at the top of their game working on material from Charlie Parker, Freddie Hubbard, Irving Berlin, Pat Metheny and more (including two by Allen and one by McBride). Every tune sounds fresh and invigorating. You could focus on Allen’s drumming alone and be happy though he only takes one solo on the whole thing. But he and his partners are so in tune with each other that you’ll find yourself immersed in the whole rather than the sum of its parts. This is impeccable jazz.

Joy Buzzer – Pleased to Meet You. The album cover leads you to believe this is a humorous take on the Replacements. But it took me a few listens - and a reading of Elizabeth Nelson’s recent piece on “I Will Dare” and David Letterman - to hear any connections to that band at all. What is much more immediately obvious is this New York quintet loves Cheap Trick, the Who, the Flamin’ Groovies, and a whole host of power pop outfits. A mind that works faster than mine will probably be able to spot obvious homages to other records – I hear some, but they go by so fast I can’t remember what they’re from. There is also a vocal resemblance to Steve MacDonald of Redd Kross to consider. Let’s imagine, though, that we don’t actually know any of these influences. Instead, we are faced with a joyous romp of melody and rock’n’roll, with vocal harmonies and slashing guitars and plenty of energy. I’ve never been able to resist this sort of thing when it’s done with panache, humor, invention, and love for the form. Maybe you won’t resist it, either.

Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta – Mapambazuko. I can’t remember the last time I planned to review a record and just a couple hours before I sat down to do it I read another review of it, this time by none other than Robert Christgau. I already knew I liked it pretty much the same way he liked it, but a) he informed me in his review that Ale Hop is a Peruvian electronica artist and Titi Bakorta is a soukous guitarist from the Congo. How they got together, I still don’t know, nor have I as yet looked up the word “sprezzatura” which he used, just in case its definition might influence the way I describe the music. The music is as bright and frenetic as the two genres mixing together might make you think it is. Honestly, I hadn’t even noticed the guitar parts the first few times I heard this – all the catchy tunes come at the listener from multiple instruments and sonics. I knew that it was adventurous and exciting, and now I like it even more. Note: if you play the first six cuts and then the seventh comes on and you’re wondering why it’s all downtrodden and plodding, that’s because the album is padded with three remixes, none of which come close to pumping out the jams the way the regular mixes do.

Shane Pendergast – Winter Grace. There was a time I listened to lots of folkie singer/songwriters. Now I still sample things people recommend but rarely do I get excited by this sort of thing any more. This guy, however, is worth talking about. He’s a Canadian who shines as a storytelling, finger-picking, elegant vocalist. Arrangements are simple, with his acoustic guitar foregrounded along with his voice, but the backing by piano, fiddle, accordion, bass, and drums is beautifully supportive. (Not all these instruments are on each track.) I’ve never played cribbage in my life, so I don’t get the metaphors exactly, but the sound of the language in “Playing Crib by the Stove on Gibbs Crick Road” is wonderful. “Hughie’s Lament” is my other fave song here – a gorgeous melody with words telling of the self-imposed loss the titular character feels when he decides to leave his lover. The album does everything I want this kind of thing to do – provide warm, empathic, clever, and catchy looks at life set to music.

Ruben Blades y Robert Delgado & Orquesta – Fotografias. I fell in love with the voice of Ruben Blades some forty years ago, and I’m always thrilled to hear it whenever I come across it. It’s been a long time since he was on major labels in the U.S., and I don’t have connections in the salsa world, so it’s a rare thing to keep up with this major artist. I gather he and Delgado have collaborated before, and if the blurb on Amazon is to be interpreted correctly, they may have won a Grammy together. Now, how do I explain the delights of this record without knowing whether or not you’ve heard Blades before – if you have, you don’t need to know anything other than he sounds as he always has – or even whether or not you’ve heard salsa before – if you have, this is an exhilarating example of the genre. If you’re not familiar, just try to imagine a polyrhythmic blast with brass, piano, and rhythm instruments, and this propulsive energetic male voice injecting his own rhythmic excitement while a bunch of men either respond or call so he responds. There’s a second singer who’s way less interesting, though he sounds like he may be able to sing opera or something. Ruben Blades is the real deal, and every time he opens his mouth, I’m ready to shimmy my hips in response.

Arturo O’Farrill - Mundoagua - Celebrating Carla Bley. I haven’t listened to nearly enough Carla Bley in my life, so I didn’t realize this is not strictly an album of her music. It does have, however, the four-part suite “Blue Palestine,” which was the final composition she completed before passing away in 2023. It was actually commissioned by O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra which he leads. The other two suites here are O’Farrill compositions clearly inspired by Bley’s ways of writing for large ensembles. The record is dynamic, occasionally profoundly beautiful, sometimes dark and mesmerizing. The ALJO consists of enormously talented players who can handle all the twists and turns in the scores, and can shine when called upon to interject solos. I think it’s the most compelling jazz record I’ve heard this year so far.

Bartees Strange – Horror. Genre? We don’t care about no stinking genre! File this damn record anywhere you want to. Bartees Strange is an r&b-raised singer who likes to pummel his guitar chords, occasionally rap with pretty decent chops, and throw in synth-pop flavors. I don’t remember if I heard his previous records but this one has definitely captured my attention. The main thing is he knows how to write songs that grab the ear, using hooks, melodies, surprise tonal shifts, and a powerful connection to what he has to say. What does he have to say, though? I recognize some of this is about race, but many lyrics are hard to understand. One of the many production tricks he has mastered is the one where he takes his vocals and messes with the sound of them. I’m not complaining, though. The music is good enough to make me want to keep listening until I understand.

Denison Witmer – Anything At All. What a nice discovery I made based on some random recommendation on the internet recently. Witmer has apparently been around for almost 30 years, and in the Sufjan Stevens camp for a couple decades but he’s never crossed my path before. Like Stevens, who produced this and guests on a couple tracks, Witmer comes up with delicate, delicious melodies and uses a wide range of arrangement tricks to make them sound even better. Could be quiet acoustic guitar and vocals, could add trumpets and/or glockenspiel and/or choirs and/or the Stevens Wall of Sound variant. Whatever it is, it works beautifully throughout this short album. Witmer sings of birds and flowers – quite specifically, that is, calling out names – and children visiting parents in their bedrooms in the night and the grace of those who can make intricate machines like clocks. It’s a record of small, close observations that plays big and occasionally wide.

Marshall Allen – New Dawn. This is not only the best debut solo album by a 100-year-old musician, it’s the best album period by a 100-year-old musician. Allen played with Sun Ra for 35 years, and has led the Sun Ra Arkestra for another 30. Sun Ra fans will find much familiar territory covered here. We’ve spent decades loving those trademark Marshall Allen alto sax squeals on Sun Ra records but he offers only a bare hint of that here. Instead, this record shows off a more intimate sound making generous use of vibrato. The Arkestra members and other players gathered around him get plenty of space, too. Neneh Cherry stops by to sing the title track – she sounds incredible surrounded by the Arkestral feel of this track. There are ballads and blues, some discreet discords, and some oddball synth sounds played, I assume by Allen on something called an EWI. It’s relaxed, lovely, and inviting music from a master.

Sullivan Fortner – Southern Nights. I’ve been playing this a bunch lately, and only just now read up enough to discover it was all recorded live at the Village Vanguard. Fortner leads a terrific jazz trio also comprising bassist Peter Washington and drummer Marcus Gilmore. The title track, a version of Allen Toussaint’s indelible “Southern Nights” which you may remember from Glen Campbell’s hit version, is one of the most joy-filled jazz performances in recent memory. Toussaint’s tune works perfectly as the trio emphasizes the groove and Fortner plays around with melodic motifs. There are also tunes by Cliford and Donald Brown (no relations) and several Fortner originals. Fortner loves strong melodies but that doesn’t stop him and his mates from pushing hard on the harmonic and rhythmic possibilities. Everything is played with an emphasis on matching the ear and the body of the listener.

20/20 – Back to California. I guess I’m just going to fall in love with an album by these guys every 46 years or so. Their 1979 self-titled debut was big on my turntable, and their song “Jet Lag” inspired the name of my long-running fanzine in the 80s. I saw them play live back then, too. Don’t ask me why I didn’t follow them for the next couple records before they broke up, or catch on to their reunion albums in the late 90s. But this third incarnation of the band – as always fronted by Steve Allen and Ron Flynt on guitar and bass respectively – hits me in all the right places. The harmonies aren’t pristine like in 1979, but the songs are rich with melody and hooks, and the guitars jangle and chime in all the right places. I don’t think of this album as “power pop” the way the first one was but it is adjacent to that particularly tuneful branch of the rock’n’roll family tree.

Joe Ely – Love and Freedom. Ely covers here Townes Van Zandt’s beautiful classic “For the Sake of the Song.” That might as well be the theme of Ely’s career. For more than fifty years, Ely has been performing and recording for the sake of all sorts of songs – rockers, Mexican balladry, country fables, talking blues, blues, etc. I think this is another collection of assorted demos and spare recordings he’s done over the course of his career, but despite definite changes in instrumentation and production, the album holds up as a smooth listening experience. Joe Ely always knows how to cut to the heart of a song, how to express the emotions both on the surface and in the nuance of the lyrics. That’s why I wish he’d done Woody Guthrie’s “Deportees” without Ryan Bingham as a duet partner – this song speaks more than ever to the plight of immigrants today, and I’d rather hear the tight connection to the experience Ely brings than the empathic but not quite believable one in Bingham’s delivery. My fave song here is entirely personal to Ely (though possibly greatly exaggerated), the talking blues “Sgt. Blaylock” in which we learn of the cop who harassed Ely when he was young and the way things go around again and again.

John Patitucci – Spirit Fall. John Patitucci and Brian Blade were the bassist and drummer for Wayne Shorter’s brilliant last quartet, so I’m stoked to hear them playing together again. Throw in Chris Porter - remember him from the Carl Allen album above? - on saxophone, and you’ve got the makings of a terrific piano-less jazz trio. With Shorter, Patitucci and Blade played more abstractly; here they thump and thunder the rhythms while keeping them flowing in all directions. The exception here is “House of Jade,” a Shorter composition that at least harkens a bit back to their former leader. Patitucci plays both acoustic and electric bass, which allows him to explore different approaches to rhythmic and harmonic ideas. Potter, as always, has a blast on both tenor and soprano saxophones, bringing muscular force to the group’s sound. And Blade remains one of the most inventive drummers on earth – he can make you dance while at the same time he cuts and carves beats in ways nobody else can imagine.

Sunny War – Armageddon in a Summer Dress. “You’re a negative Nancy, a Debbie downer” is the hook that embeds inside my head whenever I hear this album. It happens to be the last song on the record, and she sings the line a whole bunch of times, but I think it really is the catchiest song on the record and not just the last thing I heard before I wrote this. The whole album is a big change from the more-or-less folkie stuff I’d heard from her before. Here she opens up her sound, making it all brightly colored guitar and keys based pop/rock, with memorable tunes and a big all-embracing feel to the music. Maybe I don’t hear the words as well as I did on her previous records. I am, however, connecting more broadly, and desiring the experience more often. Also, if you judge records by the guests they keep, she sings duets with Valerie June, John Doe, Tré Burt, and Steve Ignorant.