Navy Blue - Navy’s Reprise

Slide back a few years and you'll find Sage Elsesser skateboarding on the fringes of Odd Future. Now Elsesser is making music under the moniker Navy Blue and after releasing a few projects, then appearing on The Alchemist's latest offering 'This Thing Of Ours' alongside Earl Sweatshirt earlier this year, Navy Blue came down heavy on my radar. 'Navy's Reprise' is my first listening experience with Navy Blue and this is as much a review of his latest release as it is an introduction to Navy and reason to explore deeper into his catalogue.

Navy cuts through with his poetry, opening up with a vulnerable tinge over loops that vary from jazzy to mellow sample cuts. Every line serves as a inspirational splash of guidance and when delivered in 16 tracks comes together as a easy listening tale of growth, comfort and love. If you're not listening for the gems, bask in the fly nature of Navy's music and you'll find your body moving with the groove. The only feature in Navy's Reprise comes from Demahjiae and this all forms another insight to the underground avant-garde hip hop flow.

Navy's Reprise can only be bought from Navy's website directly. There are various tracks online and his previous releases can be found on the streams. However you find it, jam it.

black midi – Cavalcade

The thing that’s so great about black midi is that they’re absolutely fearless. They honestly could not care less about how weird or experimental or jagged or clunky their music might sound to others... and as it so happens they’re out there creating some of the weirdest, most experimental rock music out there these days. Elements of King Crimson, elements of Oxbow, elements of jazz fusion, elements of Trent Reznor. Heavy and industrial but with a self-aware humour. black midi were an instant hit with their debut album Schlagenheim in 2019, now the modus operandi for their second album is: more. The same sounds but more dynamic, more variety between gentle and hard, slow and fast, etc. As always, black midi keep you on your toes. As always, black midi are utterly enthralling.

Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime

You know how you’d get western rock musicians incorporating so-called ‘world music’ into their stuff over the years? Well Mdou Moctar is the real deal, a Tuareg guitarist who absolutely shreds while still keeping true to traditional styles. This is the Saharan boogie, mate. But Moctar’s music also goes full circle because there’s clearly a western rock influence as well so chuck that all together and you’ve got something thrillingly unique. Almost hard to describe. Moctar mixes things up with a few acoustic tracks which are equally as exciting as his longer electric jams... plus there’s a righteous social message here too (which strangely comes across even though none of it’s in English – the power of music, friends). Afrique Victime is a constant wonder. It’s a desert groove.

Mara T.K. - Bad Meditation

Reclaiming the family name from the realms of bonkers conspiracy politics, Mara TK’s Bad Meditation arrived with universal glowing praise from his musical colleagues in Aotearoa. An artist’s kind of artist. You won’t even get about one into the brilliant opener Highly Medicated before you understand exactly why that is. Mara’s out here serving up cosmic soul on a genuinely enlightening level – if his buddy Troy Kingi’s last album was more in the Curtis Mayfield range of 70s funkiness then Bad Meditation is like Marvin Gaye on mushrooms (although Every Hori Is A Star, which features Kingi, is an obvious riff on a Mayfield classic). Mauri ora from start to finish. Do yourself a favour.

Czarface & MF DOOM - Super What?

Recorded prior to the death of MF DOOM, 'Super What?' provides listeners with fresh Doom magic in the form of another collaborative project via Czarface. For those new to the world of Czarface, they consist of Wu Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck and hip-hop duo 7L & Esoteric. This is their second project with Doom after a 2018 release 'Czarface Meets Metalface' and while Super What? is designed as a comic book type of story in rap form, the beauty is in the layers of enjoyment to be had in replaying this project over and over again. If you can keep up with the nifty samples and stories, this is perfect for a quiet moment in another planet. The simple yet nuanced production is perfect to simply jam along to and enjoy quintessential witty words. MF DOOM forever.

Mach Hommy - Pray For Haiti

Released under the Griselda Records umbrella, 'Pray For Haiti' is the latest chapter in an underground hip-hop revolution that is bucking trends at every corner. Mach Hommy's delivery is slow and deliberate, integrating a wide variety of influences, styles and ideas across 16 tracks of mellow hip-hop. Griselda's Westside Gunn appears for a bunch of raps and ad-libs, along with Tha God Fahim (check out Tha YOD Fahim album from a few months ago) and Keisha Plum. There's a magic in Mach's poetry though and a unique perspective combined with precise words won't exactly have your head boppin' but jam 'The 26th Letter' or 'Stellar Ray Theory and you will probably learning something.

Grave Flowers Bongo Band – Strength of Spring

A Castleface Records artist and thus cohorts of that John Dwyer/Ty Segall San Fran garage psych scene which... is probably over-represented in these Jukeboxes but damn there’s just so much quality music spilling forth from them all. Segall even produced this one (beautifully, extracting that full drum sound and working out from there as he does). Gotta say it’s lovely hearing a steel-stringed acoustic guitar used well in a psych record... although disappointed by the false advertising of the band name as there’s very little prominent bongo action going on (although Outer Bongolia does get a bit slap-happy). What you do get though is up tempo bangers that sound sort of like Marc Bolan with a proto-punk edge, one after another in a relentless procession. It’s a goodie.

Jeff Rosenstock – SKA DREAM

Did you know that ska is making a comeback? Well, it is and what a bloody lovely cultural development that is. Jeff Rosenstock is better known for his rapid punk offerings but punk and ska have a closer relationship than you’d think – early 80s England tells that yarn. So here old mate re-records his album No Dream from last year in a ska format with hot-shot players around him and goddammit if it isn’t even better than the original. That’s because of two things: 1) Rosenstock rights a good tune, and 2) he and the band are clearly having so much fun while recording this and that joy just spills out through the speakers.

The Chills – Scatterbrain

There’s something kinda soothing about Martin Phillipps’ breathy kiwi-accented vocals, even when he’s singing about existential angst or philosophical yearning. Arguably the defining band of the Flying Nun/Dunedin Sound scene, The Chills have been having a renaissance lately with a couple albums and a documentary doing the rounds. Scatterbrain continues that trend with ten intricately arranged, undeniably catchy, subtly meditative/reflective tunes – living up to the big, bold, grandiose art-pop Chills expectations. Maybe with just a little bit more of an edge to it as the modern incarnation of the band stretch things out on the title track, for example. Marty’s still got it, man – culminating in the outstanding closer Walls Beyond Abandon. This album is a joy.

J. Cole - The Off Season

When J. Cole releases, it hits home. While not pushing musical boundaries like some of the other hip-hop that I cover, The Off Season perfectly captures Cole’s long standing spot as a leading figure in hip-hop. There is more variety in Cole’s style compared to some of his recent albums and it generally feels like Cole is more comfortable doing what he does best; a combination of slick references to reinforce a point and weaving through flows to ensure that nothing is regurgitated. As always with Cole, you can learn a thing or two and my joy came in how the essence of hip-hop is still felt throughout Cole preaching. ‘Punching the clock’ is a lovely jam and ‘Close’ is reflective of some of Cole’s older work in telling a relatable story of his peers. 12 tracks means there’s minimal wastage and Cole handles some of the production, along with heavy-hitters Timbaland, Boi-1da, Tae Beast, T-Minus and DJ Dahi.

Flying Lotus - Yasuke

Been a minute since we had some new FlyLo to trip out to. Flamagra is the only full length album he’s released since 2014 but he’s kept himself busy in the film business... this latest effort is a soundtrack to a new Netflix anime (called Yasuke, obvs) about a black samurai in ancient Japan. LaKeith Stanfield voices the main character. Sounds pretty great. And this soundtrack goes hard too, it’s a scenario that FlyLo works well in because it keeps him focused on particular themes. Lots of short tunes built around dreamy, wobbly synth beats. Thundercat, Niki Randa, and Denzel Curry all pop up as guests. FlyLo’s stuff always sounds cinematic (David Lynch did a music vid for his last album), cartoons too thanks to his Adult Swim connections. It all just feels like such a natural step.

Spirit of the Beehive – Entertainment, Death

If you dig that black midi record then this Spirit of the Beehive one won’t go astray either. SOTB are from the American side of the Atlantic so you get a little less of that wittiness in their experimentation, they’re also a little more electronic and less rugged (comparatively speaking), but they absolutely let loose in their anti-consumerism and general apathy towards modern society. Fair enough. They also named the best song on the album ‘I Suck the Devil’s Cock’ which is worth bonus points alone.