Son Lux: A Vivid And Arresting Musical World

Ryan Lott is a classically-trained musician and composer who has written for films, television ads, and dance companies in New York. But since his stunning 2008 debut as Son Lux, At War With Walls & Mazes, Lott has been making lush and experimental songs that blend new classical, rock, electronic music in fascinating and ambitious ways.

Continue reading Son Lux: A Vivid And Arresting Musical World

Ben Allison Turns To The Jazz Cosmos With ‘D.A.V.E.’

Bassist Ben Allison is one of jazz’s best “glue guys,” a versatile musician’s musician whose presence in the liner notes enlivens practically anyone’s recording. But it’s as a composer and bandleader where his idiosyncratic musicianship truly shines. Allison has been banging around a good while at this point, with a resume that includes numerous awards (seven SESAC Performance Awards) and notable citations in places like DownBeat Magazine‘s Readers and Critic’s poll. (He even composed the theme for WNYC’s program On The Media.)

Continue reading Ben Allison Turns To The Jazz Cosmos With ‘D.A.V.E.’

Speedy Ortiz: Hilariously Self-Deprecating And Brutally Honest

There’s plenty to unpack in the wry, confessional lyrics of the Speedy Ortiz — the solo-moniker-turned rock band of singer and guitarist Sadie Dupuis. With lines like “Spent the summer on crutches and everybody teased / except for this one friend I almost forgot” (“No Below”), Dupuis lets us in, revealing her distinctively sharp point of view — equal parts hilariously self-deprecating and brutally honest.

Continue reading Speedy Ortiz: Hilariously Self-Deprecating And Brutally Honest

Jenny Hval’s Provocative And Experimental Art Pop

Jenny Hval performs in the Soundcheck studio. (Photo: Michael Katzif/WNYC)
Jenny Hval performs in the Soundcheck studio. (Photo: Michael Katzif/WNYC)

To call Jenny Hval a multidisciplinary artist is something of an understatement. The Oslo, Norway-based musician is also a conceptual artist, poet, critic — she wrote her master’s thesis about Kate Bush — and writer with two published books — one a novel, Prelebryggeriet (The Pearl House). But as musician, Hval is one of the most fascinating young artists out there.

Her latest album, Innocence Is Kinky, is a musically bold, experimental collection of songs equally beautiful and abrasive. Produced by longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish, Hval’s songs fall somewhere between Kate Bush’s delicate art pop and PJ Harvey’s primal rock. And on songs like “Mephisto In The Water” and “I Called,” she blends calming ambient sounds and bursts of harsh noise. Floating above all those textures is Hval’s ethereal voice, which seamlessly transitions between icy singing to hushed whisper-singing to spoken word passages.

Lyrically, Hval is even more provocative: The subject matter on Innocence Is Kinky — which began as an experimental sound and light installation — explores gender roles and sexuality (“Amphibious, Androgynous”), high and low culture (“Innocence Is Kinky”), and politics (“Oslo Oedipus”) with direct and graphic frankness.

The result is a raw and challenging record full of blunt, but interesting stream-of-conscious ideas.