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After the death of Adam Yauch in 2012, Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz have reminisced on their days as Beastie Boys by publishing a highly entertaining, must-read memoir and filming a documentary with longtime collaborator Spike Jonze. They've remained active musically, mainly by playing in friends' bands and remixing material by other artists. Thank You is the first proper full-length by a member of the band. While the megaphone-distorted vocals, fuzzed-out guitars, and booming beats won't sound unfamiliar to anyone who's been a fan of the Beasties from Check Your Headonward, Mike takes a much looser, more spontaneous approach to lyric-writing on his own. The songs generally feel like they were born from off-the-cuff jam sessions, with Mike and his associates focusing on ear-catching sounds and busy grooves rather than deep messages. Thank You seems like it's made for the type of die-hard Beastie Boys fan who misses all the weird one-offs and side projects Grand Royal used to release, or owns multiple Money Mark solo albums. It doesn't attempt to do what the Beastie Boys did, but it's an enjoyable, creative effort that ultimately looks forward more than backward. ~Paul Simpson allmusic.com
Mike D - Thank You
Helado Tropical -Helado Tropical
It would be hard to find two artists more perfectly suited to collaborate than Helado Negro's Roberto Carlos Lange and Reyna Tropical's Fabi Reyna. Both straddle tradition and invention, as well as Latin and indie sounds, with music that basks in a sunwashed haze. The ease of their creativity is palpable on their self-titled debut album as Helado Tropical. While the music owes slightly more to the drifting, ambient side of Helado Negro than Reyna Tropical's more driving style -- the warm, tactile highlight "Tocando" sprang from a beat Lange brought to their sessions -- Helado Tropical's vocals and playing complement each other perfectly. Reyna and Lange lift each other up on “Sensación"'s satiny grooves and take their beats and sparkling acoustic guitars to sublime heights on "Déjate Caer." On these more structured tracks or more experimental moments like "El Tiempo"'s bubbling dub or the glowing echoes of "Fluye," it's easy to take Helado Tropical's effortless interplay for granted -- but that does this kind of rare creative chemistry a disservice. Helado Tropical will delight fans of Lange and Reyna's previous work, as well as anyone who wants to be transported by an album that's a summery daydream from start to finish. ~Heather Phares allmusic.com
Born in Miami, Florida to a French mother and Haitian father, Cécile McLorin Salvant was interested in music from a young age. She began piano lessons at age five, and by eight was singing with the Miami Choral Society. She studied classical voice privately before enrolling at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory in Aix-en-Provence, France, where she studied law as well as classical voice. It was during this time, studying and performing with reed player Jean-François Bonnel, that she became increasingly interested in jazz performance.
Salvant’s first orchestral album, With Every Breath I Take, features the Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley. Salvant and the ensemble perform timeless songs newly arranged by composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue. Salvant performs some standards by Billy Strayhorn, Stephen Sondheim, Bertold Brecht & more.
Cecile McLoran Salvant - With Every Breath I Take
Wild Pink — Still Coming Down
Still Coming Down is Wild Pink’s sixth studio album, and their most refined offering to-date. Continuing along the shredded and steely path forged by 2024’s Dulling The Horns — named one of the year’s best albums by Vogue, Consequence, Paste and more — Still Coming Down doubles down on Wild Pink’s “proper Rock” (Stereogum, Best Albums of 2024) and sticks every landing. Dulling The Horns saw Wild Pink reach new levels of critical acclaim and live success, performing alongside the likes of indie torchbearers Dr. Dog, Crumb, and MJ Lenderman (who lends his guitar skills on Still Coming Down). Still Coming Down finishes out the ride of those highs, settling into a life on the road and reflecting these experiences across a warped and encyclopedic vision of America. Led by John Ross, “one of the best lyricists in indie music” (The Guardian), Wild Pink hunkered down in Asheville’s storied Drop of Sun Studios to record Still Coming Down with virtuosic producer Alex Farrar (Bnny, Wednesday, Samia). At once strange and familiar, Wild Pink’s Still Coming Down is a product of modern times that only John Ross could pen.
Czarface--Meets Frankie Pulitzer
Comic-inspired rap supergroup Czarface recorded an EP of music for the movie Venom: Let There Be Carnage in 2021 and were joined on two tracks by Frankie Pulitzer, aka Facepuller, the rap alter ego of Tom Hardy, the British actor who plays Venom. Pulitzer has continued guesting on Czarface releases ever since, including "Knull & Void," a 2024 single with Method Man recorded for Venom: The Last Dance. Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer is a full-length clash between the two forces, with Pulitzer established as a part human, part alien hybrid. Pulitzer's voice has gotten a bit gruffer and meaner in the years since the persona was first introduced, adding a more hard-boiled counterpoint to the reliable team of Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck and 7L & Esoteric. The hard-knocking beats are a bit spooky and a tinge menacing at times, though there are lighter moments like the lovely beat switch in "That's Law" or the sparkly, laid-back "Paul Bufano Type Beat," and even the most sinister aspects of the music are all in good fun. A few tracks, including the collage-like "Triple Helix" and "Dr. Yorgo in the Land of Acid 7.0," contain some of the most fractured, experimental production heard on a Czarface record to date. In some ways, featuring Pulitzer as a full collaborator brings back more of the action and fantasy to Czarface's music, as the act sometimes delves into more personal and nostalgic lyrical themes on their albums. Czarface are nothing if not consistent, however, and the release is easily up to their standards. Review by ~Paul Simpson, allmusic.com
