And here are the best of the Best New Releases of 2024. Part one is here.
10. Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra – Live at the Adler Planetarium (International Anthem) The Exploding Star Orchestra is the long-running large scale band of cornetist-trumpeter-composer-bandleader-visual artist Mazurek, who was once a fixture on the Chicago scene. Currently living in Marfa, TX, he returned to his old stomping grounds for this delightful set of expansive jazz, the performance accompanied by abstractions derived from Mazurek’s paintings and animations that were digitally projected above the heads of the audience and band in the planetarium’s Grainger Sky Theater. Sun Ra and Fire Music are the roots, but this is very much music of the future.
9. Ivo Perelman, Chad Fowler, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille – Embracing the Unknown (Mahakala) The rhythm section here is drummer Cyrille and bassist Reggie Workman (who also adds some percussion to this set), a pair that has already made their mark in this week’s lists as part of the Mal Waldron/Steve Lacy archival set The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp. Cyrille and Workman had already been on the scene for decades by that point, and here we are decades later, with neither having lost a thing. Figure in the lung stamina and deep feeling of Perelman on tenor sax and Fowler on the stritch and saxello and we’re talking another total gem from one of the best jazz labels currently operating.
8. Thumbscrew – Wingbeats (Cuneiform) The trio Thumbscrew, which is Mary Halvorson on guitar, Tomas Fujiwara on drums and vibraphone, and Michael Formanek on bass, has made TVD’s yearly best list numerous times already. They’ve (obviously) make it again with Wingbeats, their eighth album, and they’ve done it mainly through three weeks of intense compositional construction offered by the City of Asylum Pittsburgh residency program. The interweave of the playing here is amongst the finest in Thumbscrew’s entire run, in part through a creative equality that’s further reflected in the equal number of pieces each member has brought to the record. And then they cap it all off with an exquisite version of “Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, The Blue Silk.”
7. Alan Licht – Havens (Black Editions Group / Vin Du Select Qualitite) Having emerged in the 1980s to join Rudolph Grey’s Blue Humans, Love Child, and Run On, Licht has also recorded numerous solo albums since the first one in 1994. He’s an insanely versatile giant on the electric guitar, and Havens is his second for the VDSQ label after Currents in 2015. A double LP offering six tracks that’s bookended with side-long pieces, Havens is built almost entirely out of just Licht’s guitar; opener “Nonchalant,” a Guitar Soli deep dive built on precise repetitions and slight variations, is a highlight, as is the cover of The Stooges’ “1970,” but Havens offers a fascinating ride, rigorous but wholly satisfying, from start to finish.
20. Afterimage – Faces to Hide (Independent Project Records) + Torn Boys – 1983 (Independent Project Records) Formed at the dawn of the 1980s, Los Angelinos Afterimage could lead a listener to think they were from merry ol’ England, or not so merry ol’ England to be accurate, as the sound was clearly impacted by the post punk happenings of the time. But there was nothing contrived about Afterimage and their sound was tough and raw, befitting their Cali punk roots. Anybody into cold wave, dark wave, minimal wave (all the waves, basically) should check out this lavishly produced set.
Per the title of their retrospective collection, Stockton, CA’s Torn Boys didn’t stick around long, but while extant they did lay down enough high quality material that IPR made the wise decision to drop it onto LP. The sound is art-punk with vocal harmonies and drum machine rhythms, an attack that hovers in the California hills somewhere between Keats Rides a Harley and The Enigma Variations.
19. Cold Sun – Dark Shadows (Guerssen) + The Artwoods – Art Gallery & I Take It All (Singles Collection) (Guerssen) Based in Catalonia, Spain, the Guerssen label is indefatigable in maintaining a frequent release schedule that ranges from psychedelia to folk-rock to proto metal to prog with visitations to the private press fringes. Every year is a pretty good one for Guerssen and its many subsidiaries, but in 2024 they hit a higher note than usual, in part due to a fine reissue of the sole release by the Austin, TX dark psych outfit Cold Sun. Lots of obscure reissues get puffed up with hype only to deflate like a goddamned souffle once the needle is dropped. Not Dark Shadows.
Those perpetually hungry for UK Beat-Mod stuff have likely already devoured Art Gallery and I Take It All. The frontman was Ronnie Wood’s younger bro Art Wood, so they did the sensible thing and named themselves the Artwoods. But Jon Lord and Keef Hartley were also members, so the band was brimming with talent if lacking in original material. But it’s no matter really, as both of these albums are about that UK Beat-Mod sound.
18. John Wright Trio – South Side Soul (Craft Recordings / Original Jazz Classics) + Prince Lasha & Sonny Simmons – The Cry! (Craft Recordings / Acoustic Sounds) In terms of pure quality, these aren’t the best records Craft Recordings reissued in their Original Jazz Classics or Contemporary Records lines, but they are exactly the type of records the label should continue to make available. South Side Soul was Wright’s debut album, a trio date from the noteworthy if underrated pianist that’s infused with Windy City flavor; if Prestige hadn’t put it out, it would’ve worked nicely as one of the Delmark label’s jazz releases.
The Cry! is important for a variety of reasons, foremost for its documentation of two figures associated with the jazz avant-garde who are too often overlooked, and at an early juncture, when they were both collaborating with Eric Dolphy. By extension, this album reinforces how the New Thing was an impulse that spread out beyond the marquee names associated with the movement. Mostly though, The Cry! just sounds fantastic.
10. Billy Childish – From Fossilised Cretaceous Seams: A Short History of His Song and Dance Groups (Damaged Goods) + Thee Headcoats – I Am the Object of Your Desire (Damaged Goods) A double dose of goodness from one of history’s greatest men. From Fossilised Cretaceous Seams is exactly what its full title promises, but nicely non-chronological, and at 33 songs just the right length to leave ears new to Billy Childish thirsting for more. That makes Damaged Goods’ latest Thee Headcoats reissue a logical next step.
From Fossilised Cretaceous Seams drives home how the assorted groups with Billy Childish as the common denominator are far from interchangeable. But on occasion, someone still floats the opinion that if you’ve heard one record by Thee Headcoats (or Thee Mighty Caesars or The Buff Medways), then you’ve essentially heard them all. Balderdash. I Am the Object of Your Desire is noticeably raunch-bluesier than the more Beat frenzied Heavens to Murgatroyd, for example. So, if you picked up Damaged Goods’ Murgatroyd reissue in 2023, you’ll be sitting pretty with this one.
9. Duck Baker – Breakdown Lane: Free Solos & Duos 1976-1998 (ESP-Disk) + Sandy Bull – Still Valentine’s Day 1969 (No Quarter) Baker is no stranger to this site’s year’s end lists, but Breakdown Lane differs from his prior appearances in that Baker is largely focused, per the title, on the freeform side of things. Excepting two duos with Eugene Chadbourne (including an excellent “Take the ‘A’ Train” that kicks off a late disc swing into song form with a solo “Straight No Chaser” as a finale), this is all solo, with Baker’s progressions quite comforting.
Still Valentine’s Day 1969 was first released by the Water label in 2006, but it was CD only, so this very attractive and nicely mastered vinyl edition is quite welcome, particularly because the performances (from The Matrix in San Francisco on February 14th and April 5th, 1969) capture Bull in strong form on electric and acoustic guitar and oud. Fans of Bull’s 60’s albums for Vanguard who’ve never caught up with this set should find Still Valentine’s Day 1969 very much to their liking.
8. Joe McPhee – Black Magic Man & The Willisau Concert & Tenor (Superior Viaduct) + Charlie Nothing – The Psychedelic Saxophone of Charlie Nothing/In Eternity with Brother Frederic (Real Gone) Joe McPhee is a giant of free jazz saxophone whose profile was significantly raised when Swiss businessman Werner X. Uehlinger initiated a new label, Hat Hut, with a string of McPhee reissues and archival releases. First was Black Magic Man (Hat Hut A), a live record directly connected to McPhee’s outstanding Nation Time, second was The Willisau Concert (Hat Hut B), a 1975 live recording with synthesizer player John Snyder and drummer Makaya Ntshoko, and then Tenor (Hat Hut C), an impromptu solo performance given after dinner in Switzerland in 1976. Superior Viaduct deserves serious kudos for bringing these records back into circulation.
Charles Martin Simon aka Charlie Nothing was an artist, writer, instrument maker, and musician whose first album, originally released by John Fahey’s Takoma label and reissued here, is his most well-known. It features the man blowing hard and alone on saxophone and flute save for the accompaniment of a gong, a conga drum, and a banjo ukulele. Each piece takes up an entire side, and it’s safe to say the album is still pretty contentious, at least in jazz terms. But skronky? Oh yeah. And psychedelic? Most definitely. Thing is, Charlie could definitely play (just not at the level of Joe McPhee), so this is more than just undisciplined huffing and honking.
10. Creation Rebel – High Above Harlesden 1978–2023 (On-U Sound) 2024 was another solid year for the On-U Sound reissue program, starting out strong in March with the release of this 6CD box set collecting the six albums this estimable and persevering UK-based dub unit recorded in the titular quarter century. Those half dozen LPs were given concurrent standalone LP pressings, so vinyl hardliners take note. Maybe the biggest compliment that can be bestowed on this set (and by extension, the group and Adrian Sherwood) is that Creation Rebel’s most recent album Hostile Environment isn’t the weakest of the six.
9. Tsunami – Loud Is As (Numero Group) Having decided to devote a portion of their energies to assorted bands from the late-1980s-’90s rock underground, Numero Group’s resulting reissue program has been commendable, and nowhere better than this 5LP set. Tsunami’s frontwomen Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson co-founded Simple Machines, which quickly became one point on a thriving DMV label triangle with Dischord and Teen-Beat. The band’s guitar-based sound was pleasingly tough and raw and yet a needed antidote to rampant u-ground rock scene testosterone. Best of all, Tsunami’s music, which has become difficult to find in physical form, still sounds fucking great.
8. Soft Machine – Høvikodden 1971 (Cuneiform) Last year it was The Dutch Lesson, which took the seventh spot in this site’s Best Box Sets of 2023. Slipping one spot isn’t indicative of anything; Høvikodden 1971 is likely stronger than The Dutch Lesson, but I’ll confess that I haven’t thought of them comparatively that much, in large part because Mike Ratledge is the only commonality between the two bands. This set offers the “classic” lineup captured in two performances held in an art museum with projections rather than in a rock club. They sound inspired, and indeed progressively (see what I did there?) more inspired on disc two, as they got comfortable and really started dishing out the expansive grooves.
7. The Saints – (I’m) Stranded (In the Red / Universal Music Australia) With this 4LP set, the case can legitimately be made for The Saints as the greatest Aussie punk band of the original wave. There are other contenders, but we’re not going to list them, as this remarkable collection is wholly deserving of the entire spotlight. It holds the band’s classic debut remastered for vinyl, the previously unreleased alternate mix from 1976, the “This Perfect Day” 12-inch and the “1-2-3-4” double 7-inch, and two live sets, one short (five songs) and one album length. The title track has been anthologized countless times and will likely remain the band’s signature tune, but this set is positively stuffed with goodness.
Which is to say that while other bands may produce better songs, when it comes to dependable lowest-common-denominator rock product, Kiss makes most (if not all) of your other hard rock outfits look like mom and pop burger joints.
Adelaide, AU | Crackle & Pop Records: 10 years in the making. Celebrating ten years of pop-ups this weekend at The Wheaty, we chat with Crackle & Pop Records owner Adam about the business and what the future holds. Unlike other record stores around Adelaide, Crackle & Pop Records has no shop front. Nor do they have an official website selling their wares. For a decade this innovative pop-up has been setting up shop at a wide range of venues across the state slinging the best vinyl records from all your favourite artists. The brainchild of music lover Mark Cnotek, Crackle & Pop Records ran under Mark’s leadership for nine years before he handed the reins over to the Buckley family: Adam, Anita and their son Jack. The trio have taken C&P Records to a new level and are pumped to celebrate 
Montreal, CA | In Montreal, one man is fighting to stop DVDs from going the way of the dodo: The Luddites were a 19th-century group of British textile workers who destroyed the mechanized looms and knitting frames they saw as a threat to their livelihoods. They were followers of Ned Ludd, an elusive apprentice weaver who had supposedly smashed a stocking frame. Although there’s no evidence that Ludd actually existed, the name stuck around, and the word Luddite has since entered the lexicon to describe anyone who resists new technology. In recent years, peculiar signs have started popping up around Montreal, attached to street lights and signposts. They’re unprepossessing, but intriguing, with just a few words scrawled in permanent marker. “Visit eBay,” they say in French, “Le Pro des DVD.” Unlike Ludd, Montreal’s DVD pro is decidedly real. Jean-François Hall, a self-described “dinosaur” 
For as long as I’ve been cognizant of Phil Ochs, he’s been identified as a tragic figure. This reflects upon how undiagnosed sickness and a troublesome final act to an eventful life can cast a shroud over prior achievements that are quite substantial and worthy of praise. And the fact that he was a success as a topical folk artist who never really transcended the realm of modest renown to become a household name (ala some of his contemporaries) only contributes to the grimness that surrounds his story. Add in that, Ochs’ attempts to move beyond the constraints of folk-based protest persist in being underrated and the downbeat mood of the man’s life narrative is secure.
Professor Longhair’s 1970s renaissance is one of the sweeter late acts in the whole of 20th century American music; throughout the decade Henry Roeland Byrd was knocking out crowds on festival stages across the USA and Europe, but before the Alligator label’s 1980 release of Crawfish Fiesta the pianist was still primarily known on home stereos for his ‘50s work as collected by Atlantic on their classic ’72 LP New Orleans Piano.
Minneapolis, MN | What were the top sellers of 2024 at Minneapolis’ favorite record store? Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and other young pop stars sold well this year at the Electric Fetus alongside former customer Prince. Prince is still a hot seller at Minneapolis’ best-known record store, but in 2024 so were a lot of today’s hottest young pop acts. “Good Luck, Babe!” hitmaker Chappell Roan had the top-selling album of the year at the Electric Fetus, according to a newly issued year-end list from the 56-year-old record shop. …Other big sellers in 2024 at the expansive Minneapolis store were local pop-rock darlings Hippo Campus, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, St. Vincent, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Noah Kahan and up-and-comer Taylor Swift. Most of those names eschew the stereotype that kids these days only stream their music instead of buying it. “It’s encouraging to see so many younger music fans craving 
Salt Lake City, UT | Randy Stinson, the face of record stores in Utah, dies at age 83: Stinson spent his life sharing music with others, before and after he opened his cherished store in 1978. Randy Stinson, founder of the iconic Salt Lake City vinyl record shop named after him and remembered by his family as a “walking Rolodex of music,” died on Dec. 14, 2024, of natural causes at the age of 83. Randy opened Randy’s Record Shop in October 1978 and ran it for four decades before retiring in 2018, when his son Sam took over. The Travel Channel once named the shop as one of “eight must-visit American Record Stores” alongside other greats, like Amoeba Music in Los Angeles. …Connecting people with music, through the store or his own collection, was Randy’s favorite part of all of it. “Whatever culture that Randy brought to the city and the local community, it was just 
