Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Valerie June - Owls, Omens, and Oracles

Across a roving, at times meandering, at times rousingly joyous, and even occasionally frankly dull 14 songs, June's voice is always clear and true-feeling, making the whole thing well worthwhile. There's something embracing about this music, something warmly, idiosyncratically, insistently human.

(last one: The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, 2021)

Sunday, September 07, 2025

Frances Hardinge - Unraveller

Another good one, curses and all, and filled with strong images and an overall sense of imagination.

Haim - I quit

It could be (probably is?) an illusion but I quit feels like it breathes 'we're doing what we want to', roaming in mellow, tuneful vein across 90s/00s sounds. The Sheryl Crow-ism of "Down to be wrong" stands out and there's plenty of other likeable moments.