The Monthly RecommNeds: June 2021

Summer is almost here, the perfect new-music-discovery season. I’ve got another eclectic batch of new releases from the past month or so that should scratch one or more of your sonic itches. And if you need more and missed last month’s, the May column is here, and the accompanying playlist is here.

As a reminder, the RecommNeds is a monthly rundown of maybe-not-on-your-radar new music, hopefully with something-for-everyone variety. I’m also putting together a special 25-track playlist each month: songs I’ve been digging, some from the monthly picks, some from albums that weren’t featured, some singles from upcoming releases and maybe a random blast-from-the-past favorite or two. This month’s playlist is here. Dig it!

And I’m always on the hunt for the good stuff that I might not be hip to, so never hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter @neddyo.

Enjoy!

The Monthly 10

Ten under-the-radar albums released last month that I think you might dig.

John Andrews & The Yawns: Cookbook

Let’s kick things off with the latest from John Andrews & The Yawns who have put out one of those albums that seems custom made for repeat listening over an eventful summer. Andrews is one of those guys who seems to play with everyone, adding a little bit of this and that to artists like Woods and Kevin Morby, which is to say that he just fits. So it’s no surprise that his latest offering just fits in that crunchy indie-folk sweet spot. It also just sounds great, popping with pastel color and soft corners.

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Fiver: Fiver With The Atlantic School Of Spontaneous Composition

Coming to us from Canada is Simone Schmidt, aka Fiver, typically playing a country-folk mix. Here she hooks up with a band built to improvise, lovingly referred to as the Atlantic School Of Spontaneous Composition. The result is a dreamy free-jazz country thing that softly bends genres into new shapes and will undoubtedly make your ears quite happy.

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Garçon de Plage: Amour Aveugle

You don’t need to know French to understand that Parisien Greg Bette does a little bit of everything on his new album. The liner notes list: composition, arrangement, production, voix, guitare, piano, basse, synthétiseurs, percussions, graphisme. Performing music as Garçon de Plage (which, I believe, translates more or less as “Beach Boy”), Bette captures every detail nicely, creating a groovy, cocktail-ready, laid-back sound. This one grows slowly on you, but trust me and stick with it, by the end you’ll appreciate its savoir-faire.

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Girls in Airports & the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra: Leap

Next stop is Copenhagen, a city that rarely lets down regular RecommNeds readers. With that in mind, a strong rec for the new one from jazz-prog-rock Girls In Airports, who hook up with the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra on Leap, creating an otherworldly sound that’s both bigger and, somehow, even quieter with the extra strength of the big band behind them. This is a magical set of music, compelling, emotional and rather epic. A must-listen.

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Harrington, Haffner, Jaffe, Goldberger: Big Shapes, Vol. 1

Another frequent guest here at the ReccomNeds, is Dave Harrington, whose restless creativity is a regular provider for the adventurous listener. The latest from Dave is this mixed-down improvisational session with some New York City jammer friends. The quartet gets weird and explorative with their musical hide-and-seek, finding pockets of groove and blissjams along the way.

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Innanen/Pasborg/Piromalli: This Is It

This one came out in April but discovered by me last month and too good not to share. Somewhat like the combination of Medeski, Martin & Wood here in the U.S., the combination of Finnish Mikko Innanen (on saxes), French Cedric Piromalli (on organ) and Dutch Stefan Pasborg (on drums) is a free-flowing, organ-heavy, groove machine. They capture that original Downtown NYC feel, balancing an exploratory energy with some pure funky goodness. Dig it!

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Shay Martin Lovette: Scatter & Gather

We’ve managed to hit the weird and wild so far in this month’s batch, how about something a little more homey? Coming out of the increasingly fertile North Carolina folk-centric scene, Shay Martin Lovette delivers an easygoing roots record that hits all the right spots. Lovette has an ear for the small details, in his lyrics, his melodies, and the accompanying instrumentation. Enjoy!

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NasimiYu: Potions

Sometimes when an artist is responsible for every sound on an album, you marvel at how seamless it all is. But on the latest from Brooklyn musician NasimiYu, it feels quite clear that this was one woman’s personal labor of love. You can hear each layer of sound and imagine how they were laid one on top of each other and it makes the listening all the more savory. This is a treat to listen to and a work of art to marvel at. And it swings pretty hard, too!

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Sheep, Dog & Wolf: Two-Minds

Here’s another one that came out back in April and another one that’s the product of one artist’s vision. New Zealander Daniel McBride is Sheep, Dog & Wolf, and the album takes “beyond description” to heart, pushing the post-genre landscape in all directions. It’s choral, orchestral, electronic, folk, jazz even, maybe? All blended into a rather visionary sound that seems to get increasingly tangled and interesting as you progress through the record. Best if listened to front to back.

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Chris Shlarb & Chad Taylor: Time No Changes

Were you worried we were going to make it through this month’s column without a proper transportive guitar album? Never fear friends, I got you. This month’s blissful offering features Chris Shlarb (mostly) on 6- and 12-string guitars and Chad Taylor (mostly) on drums. They pair perfectly with each other, leading and following each other on expansive journeys, finger-picked ragas and minimalist spiritual jazz, deep into the meditative forest of your mind. Deep cleansing breaths for this one, folks.

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Bonus Round

In addition to the Monthly 10, I’ll try to throw in a few other picks each month.

For my monthly live pick, I strongly urge you to check out this archival release from CAN, just straight jammy goodness that should turn you over right quick.

Once again, a couple EP’s worth listening to: Okey Dokey never fails to disappoint and their latest shorty is pretty great; guitarist Shane Parish manages to cover a lot of sonic ground in just three tracks on his latest EP.

And finally five more recommendations that may not be on your radar but are well worth a listen, presented without comment: Babe Rainbow, Matt Berry, The Deep Dark Woods, Marissa Nadler and True Loves. What other good ones did I miss this month?

I think that’ll do, more next month.

Please note: all of the music mentioned in this column can be found in this June compilation playlist on Spotify. I’ll also keep up this running playlist with all the recommendations from 2021 so they’re all in one place for easy new music discovery at any time.

Enjoy!