Jazz Greats Explore New York with No Destination in Mind

sngalbums: Jazz is never stagnant. The best live players are able to hop between keys and rhythms with an acute sense of place, asking where the song is headed and where they plan to interject. The genre is generous and has infinite facets, allowing veterans and newcomers to often occupy the same spotlight. Last winter, national stalwarts came together to form New York United—both a … Continue reading Jazz Greats Explore New York with No Destination in Mind

Jazz Greats Explore New York with No Destination in Mind

Jazz is never stagnant. The best live players are able to hop between keys and rhythms with an acute sense of place, asking where the song is headed and where they plan to interject. The genre is generous and has infinite facets, allowing veterans and newcomers to often occupy the same spotlight. Last winter, national stalwarts came together to form New York United—both a four-piece … Continue reading Jazz Greats Explore New York with No Destination in Mind

Hajk Braves Falling in Love and the Drama That Comes with It

sngalbums: Norwegian indie pop aficionados Hajk (say: hike) said that they named their 2019 album after interpersonal conflict—specifically, of the romantic kind. Drama, as it is officially known, is a concise record of heartbreak and yearning, wavering between the two for ten songs. There is no throughline to follow; instead the album progresses like a series of vignettes featuring love as it grows distant, begs … Continue reading Hajk Braves Falling in Love and the Drama That Comes with It

Hajk Braves Falling in Love and the Drama That Comes with It

Norwegian indie pop aficionados Hajk (say: hike) said that they named their 2019 album after interpersonal conflict—specifically, of the romantic kind. Drama, as it is officially known, is a concise record of heartbreak and yearning, wavering between the two for ten songs. There is no throughline to follow; instead the album progresses like a series of vignettes featuring love as it grows distant, begs to … Continue reading Hajk Braves Falling in Love and the Drama That Comes with It

Splashing About with Javier Rodriguez

sngalbums: The hum of a needle on wax sounds mighty similar to the patter of rain on a window. Javier Rodriguez uses this perspective shift to create a unique space for his heady beats. He released two other records last year (not including the one that dropped on January 1st of 2020), and I frequently returned to The Rain Songs for its steady comfort.  The … Continue reading Splashing About with Javier Rodriguez

Splashing About with Javier Rodriguez

The hum of a needle on wax sounds mighty similar to the patter of rain on a window. Javier Rodriguez uses this perspective shift to create a unique space for his heady beats. He released two other records last year (not including the one that dropped on January 1st of 2020), and I frequently returned to The Rain Songs for its steady comfort.  That cascading … Continue reading Splashing About with Javier Rodriguez

Galcher Lustwerk Goes Quiet on Information LP

sngalbums: To be perfectly honest, I thought I would notice symptoms of hearing loss while I was still working at my college radio station. In actuality, last fall marked the first time when my tinnitus became too loud to ignore. When I learned that Cleveland-born, Brooklyn-based Galcher Lustwerk had been living with tinnitus for years, it started to become clear why his 2019 album Information … Continue reading Galcher Lustwerk Goes Quiet on Information LP

Dynamic Sounds Reflect Kevin A’s Self-Exploration

sngalbums: In recent years, the music I connect with most largely deals with the painful, tangled nature of love. Yet, Kevin A’s incredibly romantic mixtape Tropic stood out to me in spite of itself. The Scarborough, Ontario native spent years on the project and said that it is an “exploration of his identity,” which inadvertently doubles as a meditation on all types of love.  Widely … Continue reading Dynamic Sounds Reflect Kevin A’s Self-Exploration

Galcher Lustwerk Goes Quiet on Information LP

To be perfectly honest, I thought I would notice symptoms of hearing loss while I was still working at my college radio station. In actuality, last fall marked the first time when my tinnitus became too loud to ignore. When I learned that Cleveland-born, Brooklyn-based Galcher Lustwerk had been living with tinnitus for years, it started to become clear why his 2019 album Information made … Continue reading Galcher Lustwerk Goes Quiet on Information LP

Dynamic Sounds Reflect Kevin A’s Self-Exploration

In recent years, the music I connect with most largely deals with the painful, tangled nature of love. Yet, Kevin A’s incredibly romantic mixtape Tropic stood out to me in spite of itself. The Scarborough, Ontario native spent years on the project and said that it is an “exploration of his identity,” which inadvertently doubles as a meditation on all types of love.  Widely labeled … Continue reading Dynamic Sounds Reflect Kevin A’s Self-Exploration