Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass, Vol.1 (The Butcher Shoppe Sessions)

He promised us. He said that if the fans raised enough cash money for a few of his chosen charities then he’d crack into the studio with a band of red hot pickers and cut a bunch of his older tracks in the bluegrass fashion in which they were originally written. The fans delivered and so has Sturgill with this 20-track “mixtape” encompassing tunes from his first three albums and even a few from his Sunday Valley days (nothing from SOUND & FURY here). And, mate, what a treat. The older songs are presented in a light they never really got the first time, the newer tunes are in an entirely new light. He’s basically got Nashville’s finest backing him up (nobody out touring thanks to the covids) and the stripped back production allows his voice to absolutely glide over everything. It’s the best he’s ever sung on record and that’s no small compliment. The whole thing is a delight. I Don’t Mind. Long White Line. All Around You. Sitting Here Without You. Railroad Of Sin. Breakers Roar. If anyone was under any illusions that Sturgill is one of this era’s very finest then here’s all the evidence you need... and as for that album cover, it’s all-time iconic. Now we await volume two.

The Alchemist - The Food Villain

The Niche Cache has producer The Alchemist as a top-tier artist and with a steady flow of new projects from The Alchemist, he finds a way into these monthly jukeboxes most months. This time around, The Alchemist is here with a bunch of instrumentals that are sporadically graced with words from Action Bronson and Big Body Bes. Most of these tracks appear to involve samples from 'Fuck That's Delicious' and The Alchemist's various food escapades alongside Bronson, although nothing falls off as far as the musical funk delivered by Al. You'll be quickly whipped into another world, where witty lines are blended among the typical wizardry of Al's musical production - perfect for a Sunday morning.

beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers

See, this is what guitar music oughta sound like in 2020. It’s brash yet vulnerable, crunchy yet melodic, the songs are anthemic yet still feel off-the-cuff. All from a 20 year old Filipino-Brit borrowing inspiration from 90s slacker kings like Stephen Malkmus and Elliott Smith whilst shattering preconceptions about who that kinda music is for and who can play it. Care and Worth It set the tone with catchy riffage aplenty then the middle sections of the album tone it down with more gentle offerings, before ramping up the volume again down the stretch with closers Together and Yoshimi, Forest, Magdalene - arguably the highlights of the whole thing. It’s an odd track sequencing but it does mean starting and ending with a bang whilst still allowing room for the slow stuff that proves that beabadoobee is no mere vibe imitator. Fantastic record.

Benny The Butcher - Burden of Proof

Griselda are excessively busy in rolling out music and while that can be niggly when quality drops off, in true Griselda fashion they are consistently serving up art of the highest order. Last month we were graced with Conway The Machine's 'From King To A God' in which Conway touched a more expansive sound, mixed in with his unique perspective. Now, Benny The Butcher catches a similar vibe as 'Burden of Proof' is the same kind of expansive sound that is seeing Griselda level up and that's made possible by Benny teaming up with Hit-Boy for the entirity of Burden of Proof. Benny is still telling his stories and there's plenty of growth to be enjoyed in how Benny ties his stories together, while there are guest appearances from Rick Ross, Freddie Gibbs, Big Sean, Lil Wayne and the Griselda homies. Turn this up when you need some hype, or want to celebrate your hustle.

Garcia Peoples – Nightcap At Wits’ End

The Peoples do prog. The band name hints at the Grateful Dead and they’ve certainly got their indie rock cred but the first couple tracks on their new one scream King Crimson. S’pose you could call this one their Terrapin Station then. The Peoples are one of those bands that just play and play and play and have such an extra-sensory connection to each other’s grooves, a true blue jam band, and they stretch it out on the second half as those tunes all blend in together after more defined song writing in the first half. Balancing both sides of the equation there, the party time melodies and the after-party freak outs. Basically it’s just another ripper of an album from one of the best bands in the business right now. When Garcia Peoples get deep into a tune they go all the way down the rabbit hole.

Swidt - Good Things Come In Threes

This little project from Swidt could be noted as coming out of the depths of the 2020 lockdowns, yet it feels more suited to coming out of the depths of a standard Aotearoa winter that rolled on for months. Tightly packed with three jams Wonders, U Problem' and G Ride. 'Good Things Come in Threes' is concentrated Swidt and there's less of a hype vibe here, more of a wavy vibe that moves through a quasi love jam, then more angst and finishing with a sound that reminds one of a low key golden TDE era scrolling back earlier in the decade. As is the case with a lot of current kiwi hip-hop, Swidt's latest offering diverts from all international trends and serves up their own sound is still super present in a teeny weeny project.

Maria Isabel - Stuck In The Sky

Singer/songwriter Maria Isabel delivers a compact, yet hearty project here that pulls on the heart strings in a soulful manner. Seven songs including an interlude in the middle, Isabel rolls through the maze of love and oozing a mellow vibe, 'Stuck in the Sky' is easy to listen to despite the heavier tones of expressing the heart's forces. Whether it's Isabel working through feelings and thoughts or the liberation that being stuck in the sky offers, this is a project that is perfect for a mellow morning or to wind down - no matter what you're lovely situation is.

FUZZ – FUZZ III

The lads are at it again. Ty Segall (himself), Charles Mootheart (CFM), Chad Ubovich (Meatbodies). Serving up a third Fuzz album five years after the brilliant hard rock stylings of their second effort. This might be a side project for the power trio but for fans of early Black Sabbath (and who amongst us isn’t!?) that second album was as good as anything that’s been released since and for numero tres they one-upped with iconic producer Steve Albini on board to really bring the boom out in Segall’s drums, the resonance in Ubovich’s bass, and the crunch in Mootheart guitar. Mission accomplished on all fronts... the album cover is awful but the songs are supreme. Highly impassioned proto-metal-acid-rock abounds over eight tracks of magnificence, striking a triumphant middle ground between the primitive sound of Fuzz I and the explorations of Fuzz II. Returning, Time Collapse & Blind to Vines are particular bangers but the whole thing plays best as a singular 36 minute experience. As the band says themselves: log out, drop thought, turn up.

Kurt Vile - Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (EP)

Sneaky lil five-track release from Kurt here, a quintet of tunes that seem to act as a poignant farewell to the late, great John Prine. The title track is an honest rendition of a favourite Prine cut (Speed of the Sound of Loneliness) while there’s also a duet recorded a while back with Prine himself on JP’s How Lucky. The other three songs here are a pair of originals and a Cowboy Jack Clement cover... but those ones also that keep that same John Prine energy, that worldly wisdom and gratitude and eternally faithful optimism that Priney was so beloved for. Which Kurt Vile is kinda known for too. It’s a low-key release but it’s a sweet and valuable one.

Church & AP - At Thy Feet

Each of my top kiwi hip-hop projects of 2020 from Diggy Dupe's album 'That's Me, That's Team' to the Swidt offering above plus this Church and AP 'At Thy Feet' project serve up immense Aotearoa music in a slightly different way; it's all uniquely Aotearoa and yet they are all in their own pocket. At Thy Feet is listed as 'Side A' so it may be packaged with another offering coming up and comes in at a hot five tracks, combining an extensive variety of sounds with quirky references to post-2000 jams and plenty of local references. Whether it's the Auckland love on OHNINE or the herb love on ROLLIT, Church & AP there's a certain angst in the vibrant sounds that could turn you up and the different vocal styles plus musical backgrounds offer a low key project that will be best used having a minor party with your close ones, probably in a backyard.

Death Valley Girls – Under The Spell Of Joy

Didn’t expect the proliferation of saxophones (not that it isn’t a welcome addition) but other than that it’s more of the same groovy, twisted, 50s horror film-inspired garage rock that we’ve come to expect from Death Valley Girls. The group takes a few risks, like on the hypnotic opener Hypnogogia and the chant-along boogie of the title track, yet those driving rhythms and catchy hooks remain in tact... along with some sneaky occult advice. There are more than a couple hints towards dreams and manifestation here. Good yarns to go with good tunes.

Bartees Strange – Live Forever

Strange is an accurate moniker for this fella. Trained in opera as a kid, a veteran of the hardcore/emo scene... Bartees Strange’s debut album is delightfully all over the place. It starts with a moody R&B tune called Jealousy then absolutely rips into an indie rocker called Mustang which plays like prime Walkmen... before Boomer kicks off with him rapping into a pop-punk chorus. Genre is a dirty word for this dude... but what matters is that whatever sounds he’s leaning into, he leans into the whole way. Complete conviction. Those three tunes already mentioned a brilliant, and In A Cab, Far, and Ghostly are all in that tier as well. You definitely haven’t heard anything quite like this before, Live Forever is a thrill.

Westside Gunn - Who Made The Sunshine

Peep the Griselda takeover? While Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher both embraced more expansive sounds and greater variety in their latest albums, Westside Gunn has done the opposite with his album 'Who Made The Sunshine'. Gunn relies on Daringer, Beat Butcha and The Alchemist for the production on WMTS and that's straight out of the Griselda recipe book as far as the general Griselda vibe goes, all of which provides the avant-garde musical backdrop for Gunn to spit fire bars as well as his fly talk. The way in which Gunn doubles down on his style while also bringing in veterans like Black Thought, Jadakiss, Slick Rick and Busta Rhymes is the stuff of a wizard and there is a glorious, gritty track 'Frank Murphy' that will have hip-hop heads nodding along.

Mary Lattimore – Silver Ladders

The harp is just about the sweetest sounding instrument in existence, there’s a reason it’s the go-to musical choice of the angels. Mary Lattimore happens to be a rare example of someone using the harp to make tunes that balance the melodies of popular music with those heavenly vibes, her latest album a fine example of that. It’s unspeakably gorgeous but it’s not like the songs meander or anything. Through layered harp loops and washed-out guitar buzz – plus increasingly booming bass as the album progresses - she’s crafted a record that’s precious and brooding and sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a new David Lynch project. Silver Ladders, Til A Mermaid Drags You Under & Chop On The Climbout are particular highlights.

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