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An occasional blog about populist politics and popular music, not necessarily at the same time. LinksLocal Links Social Media My Other Websites Music Politics Others Networking Music DatabaseArtist Search: Website SearchGoogle: Recent Reading
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Saturday, February 21, 2026 Music Week
February archive (in progress). Music: Current count 45565 [45523] rated (+42), 27 [29] unrated (-2). The usual plan is to publish Music Week on Mondays (often late). It shouldn't matter how many records I have reviewed. Most weeks I come up with about 30 albums. Last time I came up short with 5. I had been hobbled by a cold, and was way down in mid-winter dumps. A week later (Monday, Feb. 16) I felt even less like publishing, but had started to write up some albums. My main boost was from Robert Christgau's February 2026 Consumer Guide, which came out on the 11th. I also, for the first time this year, started to play new albums from my demo queue. I was running thin on 2025 albums, and it was just easier to go with what I had sitting around. By mid-week, I was starting to feel like I had enough to go with. I did the cut over Friday morning, but didn't start writing this introduction until today. The reason for the delay is that I wanted to answer a couple of questions. One was about my relationship to Christgau, and how we differ in taste. The other was about all my bitching since . . . well, there's no clear cut starting date (unless you want to blame the world, in which case 2024-11-08 is an obvious candidate, and 2023-09-07 another). But as an engineer, I know that catastrophic ruptures are always preceded by stress fractures, and I've been attuned to those particular ones for a long time now. My disappointment and dismay isn't just because they happened, but because they had seemed so totally foreordained, and because the people we trusted to solve our problems have been so clueless for so long. I don't have much in the way of future plans. I do have enough Loose Tabs for a post, so that will be next, Music Week will be pushed back until I have that squared away. I haven't found any time to work on Notes on Everyday Life letters. I have several ideas, but just haven't been able to concentrate. I organized some book outline materials for a dinner a week or two ago, but haven't followed up on that. The best I can say is that I keep reading, thinking. After several lean weeks, a lot of good records this time around. Thomas Anderson, Grant Peeples, and Tommy Womack were my initial finds from the Christgau Consumer Guide, and I wound up looking into Peeples' back catalog. The extra day gave me a chance to reevaluate Zach Bryan and Nandipha808, so I nudged them over the line as well. Phil Overeem suggested Mark Lomax II and Ren, as well as several others. I've done a bit of extra work on the EOY Aggregate, which pointed me at a couple more albums (most notably Gasper Nali). Tomeka Reid came from my demo queue (also in Overeem). I noticed that Spotify has most of the old Yazoo blues compilations, so I started looking for a few I had noted but missed. Not clear how much effort I'm going to put into finding new stuff going forward, but I do expect to continue reviewing whatever comes my way. (By the way, I have a couple recent shipments not yet logged in "Unpacking.") Still, old habits are hard to break, so my guess is that future Music Weeks will be more like this one than than the last one. But they probably won't sync up to Mondays for a while. And I'm way behind on bookkeeping work, which will continue to lag. New records reviewed this week: Idris Ackamoor Ankhestra/Rhodessa Jones/Danny Glover: Artistic Being (2024 [2025], Strut): Originally Bruce Baker, from Chicago, plays alto sax, several albums since 1973, mostly with an Afrocentric group he called the Pyramids. He leads a 14-piece group here, joined by spoken word poets — Jones recorded with him in 1985, Glover is the famous actor. B+(*) [sp] Thomas Anderson: Letters From the Hermit Kingdom (2026, Out There): Singer-songwriter from Oklahoma, debut 1988, Spotify says he gets 61 plays monthly, which is dishearteningly low for a guy with a dozen-plus albums worth your attention. This is another one, done a bit lighter than usual. A- [sp] Eric Bibb: One Mississippi (2026, Repute): Blues singer-songwriter, started in the 1970s, has been a reliable producer of easy-going, engaging albums since 1997. B+(**) [sp] Zach Bryan: With Heaven on Top (2026, Belting Bronco/Warner): Country singer-songwriter, sixth album since 2019, bestsellers since his 2022 breakthrough, runs 25 songs, 78:16. Clearly a prodigious talent. I'm not sure he's worth the trouble, but also not sure he isn't (and note that I've underrated his records before). [PS: Gave this another play, and bumped this up a bit. One line that struck me was "but what if I don't want children, to grow up like their father."] A- [sp] Buck 65: Do Not Bend (2026, Handsmade): Rapper/beatmaker Richard Terfly, from Nova Scotia, seems to be in Toronto these days, called his 1988-96 juvenilia compilation Weirdo Magnet, has released many albums since, with a 2014-22 break, but he's been superb ever since. Short one (14 tracks, 26:43), snappy but not all that exceptional. Noted: "I don't like this universe, let's move on to another one." B+(***) [bc] Cat Clyde: Live at Rare Bird Farm: A Benefit Album for Western North Carolina (2024 [2025], Socan Canada): Folkie singer-songwriter from Canada, half-dozen albums since 2017, had an attachment to Appalachia, explored here following her tour of hurricane wreckage. B+(**) [bc] Michael Dease With the MSU Jazz Trombones: Spartan Strong (2024 [2026], Origin): Trombonist, has twenty-some albums since 2007, teaches at Michigan State, rounded up a couple dozen students here, backed by piano-bass-drums, with guest spots for Benny Benack III (vocals) and Sharel Cassity (alto sax), one track each. Rather fun, but can wear thin. B+(**) [cd] Dry Cleaning: Secret Love (2025, 4AD): English group, Florence Shaw spoken lyrics over a vaguely post-punk hum and strum, attractive as far as it goes. B+(***) [sp] EsDeeKid: Rebel (2025, Lizzy/XV): UK rapper, first album, wears a mask but compositions are credited to Harley Riecansky. Sharp, goes fast through eleven songs, 20:50. B+(*) [sp] Michael Hampton: Into the Public Domain (2025, Sound Mind): Funkadelic guitarist, sometimes appeared as "Kidd Funkadelic," secure slot in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but limited discography under his own name, with a 1998 album in Japan and a collection of P-Funk Guitar Riffs for DJ's. Instrumental album, some nifty guitar pyrotechnics. B+(**) [sp] Haley Heynderickx/Max García Conover: What of Our Nature (2025, Fat Possum): Folkie singer-songwriters from Portland, each with a couple of previous solo albums, second album together, reading and thinking about Woody Guthrie here, partly to up their political game. One line I noted, about "brilliant minds to to college, just to study marketing." More here worth quoting, and probably more I missed. (Like: "The terrorists look like my mother, and do most of the same kind of stuff.") B+(***) [sp] Jackzebra: Hunched Jack Mixtape (2025, Surf Gang): Chinese plugg rapper, Zhang Zhengkai, from Chengdu, has a couple previous albums. B [sp] Liquid Mike: Hell Is an Airport (2025, AWAL): Indie rock group from Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, principally singer-songwriter Mike Maple, sixth album since 2021. Fourteen songs, 27:20. B+(*) [sp] Mark Lomax II & the Urban Art Ensemble: The Unity Suite (2025 [2026], CFG Multimedia): Drummer, based in Columbus, Ohio, has a remarkable run of album since 1999, not least thanks to powerhouse tenor saxophonist Edwin Bayard, but has been little noticed — I initially noticed his 2010 album The State of Black America, which may have been the only album of his to get any promotion at all. Here he expands beyond his usual trio (with Dean Hullett on bass) and quartet (add William Menefield on piano) to include trumpet (Kenyatta Beasley) and alto sax (Rob Dixon). Sometimes sounds (perhaps a bit too much) like the second coming of Saint John Coltrane. A- [os] Michael Moody: The Ecstasy of Love (2025 [2026], self-released): Standards singer, based in New York, has a couple of previous albums, this one fairly minimalist with just guitar (Paul Bollenback) and bass (Neil "Sugar Caine"). Starts not bad, but pretty useless. Ends with "Old Rugged Cross," a mistake B- [cd] [03-20] Gasper Nali: Chule Chule Iwe (2025, Spare Dog): From Malawi, has a couple previous albums, plays a babatoni ("a 3 meter, one-stringed home-made bass guitar - with an empty bottle and a stick"), although there's more to the band, and vocals. One reviewer I've seen calls it unique, but for me it's reminiscent of the classic township jive that spread in exile to Zimbabwe and Zambia — I'm thinking especially of Mzwakhe Mbuli. A- [sp] Nandipha808: No Vocal Album (2025, Stena Academy): South African amapiano album, 20 songs, 130 minutes. Nice array of beats, with minimal chants. Hype suggested this would blow me away, but reality is pretty subtle, something that just sneaks up on you. Looks like he has a lot of recent back catalog to consider. A- [sp] Grant Peeples: Code to Live By (2025, Ping): Singer-songwriter from Florida, dozen or so albums since 2008, I've only heard a couple of them, but he's overdue for a Wikipedia page, and maybe some catalog research. Christgau dubbed this "the most explicitly leftist album I've come across in far too long" based largely on his spoken word screed "The Ledger." I demurred a bit over the Putin reference, but adding "kleptocrat" and the state "operating like a Mafia syndicate" to "the stink of tyranny" was too much to argue with. Besides, he already hooked me with the sharpest song I've heard lately on the "Sunshine State." And he adds some nice sax behind his second spoken word rant, where among much more he notes that "if you feed a poor man, a Fascist is going to call you a Marxist." A- [sp] Kojey Radical: Don't Look Down (2025, Warner/Asylum/Bellyempty): London-born British rapper, parents from Ghana, original name Kwadwo Abu Genfi Amponsah, fourth album since 2014. B+(**) [sp] The Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop! (2025 [2026], Out of Your Head): Cellist, grew up around DC, made her name in Chicago, connected with AACM, worked extensively with Nicole Mitchell and Mike Reed, also with Anthony Braxton and his students, released several impressive albums as leader, ultimately winning a MacArthur in 2022. Quartet here with Jason Roebke (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and Mary Halvorson (guitar): the latter's power runs first got my attention, but the more intricate segments hold up equally well. A- [cd] Ren: Vincent's Tale (2026, Freckled Angels/Rebel Creator Services): Welsh singer-songwriter, often raps, last name Gill, his struggle with Lyme Disease led to his remarkable 2023 album Sick Boi. This short album (11 songs, 25:38) is only slightly less remarkable, with two interleaved tales, words that hit hard, beats too. ("Democracy isn't choosing between herpes and chlamydia.") A- [bc] Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project: The Longest Way Round (2025 [2026], One Trick Dog): Pianist, also plays accordion, nothing much on Discogs although I have two previous Nebula Project albums in my database. Fancy postbop, the accordion picking up folk signals and whipping them into a frenzy. B+(***) [cd] [02-27] Sault: Chapter 1 (2026, Forever Living Originals): London-based funk collective, many confusingly titled (or "untitled") albums since 2019, this their 13th. When they first impressed me, they seemed like the second coming of Chic. That comparison seemed to have passed, but this rekindles it somewhat. B+(**) [bc] Slut Intent: Slutworld (2026, self-released, EP): Minneapolis hardcore group, Katy Kelly the singer, one of several lyricists, backed by two guitars, bass, and drums. Nine hard hitting songs, 18:11. B+(*) [bc] Time Cow: Scaring 1100 Chickens to Death (2025, Kullijhan): Jamaican dancehall producer Jordan Chung, could count as his first album, although there are EPs, mixtapes, possibly other aliases. B+(*) [sp] Eri Yamamoto/Matthew Shipp: Horizon (2025, Mahakala Music): Piano duets, the former moved from Japan to New York in 1995, working extensively with William Parker. She wrote the songs here, so Shipp, who started in the 1980s, again often working with Parker, is just here to help out. B+(**) [bc] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Dub Syndicate: Obscured by Version (1989-96 [2025], On-U Sound): British dub producer Adrian Sherwood, formed this group in 1982 with Style Scott (d. 2014). A collection of remixes from what they reckon was the band's "classic period." This does seem perfect for their limited take. B+(***) [sp] Doug MacDonald Trio: Live in Beverly Hills (2012 [2026], DMAC Music): Jazz guitarist, albums go back to 1981, pulled this trio with Lou Shoch (bass, plus a vocal) and Billy Paul (drums) off the shelf. Two original pieces, plus standards from Luis Bonfa to Louis Jordan to Jerome Kern. B+(**) [cd] Paul Ricci: The Path (1996-2021 [2026], Origin): Guitarist, has some side credits back to 1995, mostly Brazilian. This seems to be his first album, drawing on sessions from 1996-97, completed in 2021, so he has a long list of scattered musicians to credit. Notable vocal by Abdoulaye Diabate. B+(**) [cd] Old music: Bo Carter: Banana in Your Fruit Basket: Red Hot Blues, 1931-1936 (1931-36 [1991], Yazoo): Mississippi bluesman Armenter Chatmon (1894-1964), first recorded 1928 (he did the original "Corrine, Corrina"), recorded 110 sides. Yazoo's third LP compilation, appearing in 1979 following Greatest Hits (1968) and Twist It Babe (1972), many double entendres. B+(**) [sp] Bo Carter: Twist It Babe 1931-1940 (1931-40 [1992], Yazoo): Fourteen more songs, released in 1973 after Greatest Hits in 1969 (which I still haven't heard). B+(**) [sp] Nanook: Ilutsinniit Apuussilluta (2022, Atlantic Music): Group from Greenland, fifth album, first ever recorded in Nuuk, with "wellknown produer Theodor Kapnas from The Faroe Islands." Sounds somewhat prog, or maybe just MOR, except in a language I can't begin to fathom, but has some appeal. B+(*) [sp] Grant Peeples: It's Later Than You Think (2008, self-released): Folkie singer-songwriter, first album, starts with the touching, fiddle-enhanced "Pitiful Little Town," includes a couple of "talking blues," one a political rant alled "Patriot Act . . . for Dave Hickey" that is even more timely today. Also, that song that so impressed me on the new album, "Sunshine State," turns out to have originated here. A- [sp] Grant Peeples: Pawnshop (2009, GatorBone): Second album, builds slowly, saving "Jesus Was a Revolutionary" for the end ("and he pissed off the rich with things that he said"). B+(***) [sp] Grant Peeples: Okra and Ecclesiastes (2011, GatorBone): Third album, good title, which pops up in a song called "My People Come From the Dirt." B+(**) [sp] Grant Peeples: Prior Convictions (2012, GatorBone):
Fourth album, produced by Gurf Morlix, features a duet with Ruthie
Foster on a Dylan song, followed by a new version of "Patriot Act
(For Dave Hickey)." "Digital Edition" (on Spotify) drops one song,
" Grant Peeples and the Peeples Republik: Punishing the Myth (2014, GatorBone): Produced by Gurf Morlix, with enough of a regular band for a co-credit, featuring duets with Sara Mac on two tracks. Good as they are, also consider their Live at Mockingbird. B+(***) [sp] Sarah Mac and Grant Peeples: Live at Mockingbird (2013, self-released): Duets, her given name McElhaney, seems to be her only album (she also has two guest spots on Peeples' 2014 album), mostly his songs with a couple covers but the opener, "I'm Not Scared," seems to be hers: "I'm not scared of anything but falling in love and wasting away" which changes to "but dying and being lonely." Ends with a bitter song about his craft: "all you want to do is make a name for yourself, sucking up to owners and promoters, could it be any god if it's something you sell?" A- [bc] Grant Peeples: A Congress of Treasons (2016, Gatorbone): Another album, more spoken word, more duets, more stuff that largely escaped my grasp. B+(*) [sp] The Roots of Rap: Classic Recordings from the 1920's and 30's (1926-36 [1996], Yazoo): Not really, but easy enough to assemble a collection of little noticed r&b records that are more talked than sung, some flirting with the notion of jive. B+(***) [sp] Charlie Spand: Dreaming the Blues: The Best of Charlie Spand (1929-31 [2002], Yazoo): Barrelhouse pianist, blues singer-songwriter, recorded 22 songs 1929-31, 8 more in 1940. This collects all the songs from the earlier sets. (He repeated some titles in 1940, so it is possible that some slipped in, but seems unlikely.) B+(**) [sp] St. Louis Town 1927-1932 (1927-32 [1991], Yazoo): Fourteen tracks from obscure eight St. Louis bluesmen: one each from Jim Jackson, Henry Spaulding, Joe Stone, and Henry Townsend; two from Hi Henry Brown, Teddy Darby, and Jelly Jaw Short; and four from Charley Jordan. (Townsend had a notable second act in the 1960s, as did J.D. Short; Jackson I think of as a Memphis guy, but he got in here with a twist on "St. Louis Blues"; Jordan was the most prolific, with three volumes on Document, and two 2-CD comps.) B+(**) [sp] Grade (or other) changes: Tommy Womack: Live a Little (2025, Schoolkids): Singer-songwriter from Kentucky, long based on Nashville, ninth album since 1998, good ones, some exceptional. Just needed an extra play. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
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