Category: classic review
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elliott smith – either/or (1997)
Elliott Smith packed more melody into a double-tracked whisper than would be expected in a Glee cover of Mariah Carey. He can also say ‘fuck’ with more power than any outlandish, testosterone-steaming ‘rockstar’. Either/Or is like the shadow of a pop hit—Brian Wilson might have written it if he spent the 1960s leaning musically into […]
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alio die – aura seminalis (2008)
I’m able to remember back to simpler, more innocent times, when the tithing was strong, the jerkins were well-fitted, and an Ox only cost a small drawstring bag of silver coins. Alio Die remembers this bygone era well, and he made a beautiful album about it. Aura Seminalis is a compositional translation of Renaissance life—dramatic, […]
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linda perhacs – parallelograms (1970)
It’s tempting to draw on some familiar names to help convey this record, but I’ll resist. That might validate the fact that Parallelograms went practically unheard until its 2003 reissue. It is a unique album, from a unique composer. The wistfulness is in tune with a woodland Aesop fable, but Perhacs’ folk isn’t a sun-glazed frolic […]
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geoffrey oryema – exile (1990)
The cover of Exile poses two possible scenarios: the person is being thrown, or they are raising their head as an expression of openness. The status of ‘exile’ holds the same dualism—free, in theory only, to go anywhere but your home. The record is a story of youthful longing, and we imagine the protagonist walking […]
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nara leão – dez anos depois (1971)
Dez Anos Depois contains Brazilian standards, several of which are some of the most covered songs of all time. Leão doesn’t look towards something new—her music sits meditating in the present to better appreciate the light play, the beauty, and the love it offers. Even the more obscure songs are precisely as dazzling as Jobin’s […]
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