THE
LIONS – SOUL RIOT
The
Lions seem to get deeper and deeper with each new release – moving past their
start as a funk band with a focus on Kingston sounds – into a group who've got
a really fresh feel of their own! Sure, some cuts here are great reggae numbers
– the kind of mellow, head-nodding cuts The Lions have always given us – but
there's also some more complicated elements going on too, these little touches
of darkness at times, especially on the rhythms, which can break from obvious
patterns into something nicely unique. Plenty of guests help flesh out the
tunes – including Malik The Freq Moore, Black Shakespeare, Alex Desert, and
Myron Glasper – and titles include "My Girl", "Going
Nowhere", "Rhythm Rock", "Feels Good", "At A
Loss", "Smoke & Mirrors", and "When It Rains".
(Includes download! Pressed at 45 rpm – for even more booming sound!) ~ Dusty Groove
JOHN
ZORN - HERMETIC ORGAN VOLUME 3: ST. PAUL'S HALL
Insanely
great organ improvisations from John Zorn – an artist you might know best for
his groundbreaking reed work, but who turns in a tremendous performance here on
a full-voiced church organ! Zorn's range of sounds is mindblowing here –
sometimes bold and bracing, sometimes just at the very edge of the sonic
spectrum – used in these subtle, quiet ways that build beautifully as John
deftly makes his ways over the keys and different stops on the instrument –
with almost a building's worth of breadth in the results. All tracks are long –
and titles include "Spectral Angels", "The Fall Of Satan",
and "The Revelation Of St John".
~ Dusty Groove
LERON THOMAS - TAKE IT
Totally
wonderful work from Leron Thomas – an artist we're only discovering with this
full length album, but one who we totally love already! Leron's got this hip style
that's a mix of funky soul and darker, more sci fi-styled touches – some
crispness on the beats, weird processing on his vocals, and a nice sense of
abstraction that really inflects some great moments on the album's lyrics!
Leron's worked before with Jason Moran, Guts, and Zara McFarlane – but this
full length set on his own is a real revelation – with a sense of power and
presence that should well have us hearing a lot more from him in years to come.
Titles include "Enemy", "Kept", "Take It",
"Appear To Stack", "Cover Band", and "Ass
Kickin". (Includes download.) ~ Dusty Groove
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