Magus

Ghost Funk Orchestra

Willie Nelson

Aldous Harding

Bill Orcutt

Pooja Goswami Pavan

Ed O'Brien

The Rolling Stones

Marisa Anderson

Laura Cannell

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Over 25 years ago we released (in conjunction with Keyhole Records) the debut EP from Greg Weeks, which was also our own debut solo artist release. In the ensuing decades Weeks has remained a household favourite, a Terrastock performer (as a member of the highly respected Espers), and even started his own imprint with wife Jessica (Woodwose, Valerie Project, Magus - see below). Having recently relaunched their Language Of Stone label, Weeks has reissued his first three solo albums. This, his fifth and first in nearly 20 years finds him accompanied once again by Jessica and recent rhythm section regulars Jesse Sparhawk and Dan McConnell.

Launching immediately into the title track there's a laid back 'Wild Horses' vibe, interweaving electric and acoustic guitars with McConnell's snappy drumming and Jessica's sinewy keyboards. I'd be lying if I didn't confess to a drowsy, dreamy warmth enveloping me once 'The Heathen Heart' flowed out of my speakers - I'm reminded of On The Beach-era Neil Young, a buzz that continues with the 'Cortez The Killer'-y 'A Narrow Star.' If you invite Green Pajamaman  Jeff Kelly to the party and run 'Any Time Of Day' or Teenage Fanclub's 'Gene Clark' through your grey matter you'll be in the right frame of mind.

As we come to terms with 'A Narrow Star''s fiery finale,'Tail Lights Burn The Hillside Red' seems like a (thematic) reprise, although Weeks's enigmatic lyrics are typically open to stony, late night conversation and myriad interpretations. 'Driven' is another introspective rumination reminiscent of Kelly's (and perhaps David Crosby's) solo material: "Staring at the ceiling/ Reluctance staring back/ Still I’ve been thinkin’/ I’d like to take it back." I think we've all been there before!

With dying suns, car crashes, overdoses, daggers through the heart, the melancholic thousand yard stare 'A Million Ways To Die', and a closer 'What It Takes' evaluating amphetamine, Ketamine (funny how they rhyme!), mainlining,  and MDMA as soul-searching vehicles for self-discovery all set to heavy-lidded, mostly acoustic accompaniment, this is not a happy record to toss on at a family reunion or backyard barbecue. But if you remember nights sitting cross-legged on the carpet studying album covers (Robert Beatty's cover art is an added treat) and offering lyrical interpretations in between bong hits, then Weeks & co. have a special treat in store for you.

So, Rolling Stones, Jeff Kelly, Green Pajamas, David Crosby, Neil Young, Teenage Fanclub... a helluva record collection and a heavy load indeed but Weeks is a master at drawing us into his world for a musical chat where we can toss around real or imagined influences and bargain back and forth for confirmation while enjoying the opening of his songbook for us to contemplate life, love, death, the universe, and our navels!

And in case you're wondering, the title is taken from Oriana Fallaci's 1966 novel about the US space program. I'm unfamiliar with the material so I can't offer any opinions on whether reading the novel after returning the album to it's fabulous gatefold sleeve will help or hinder your enjoyment, but it's a nice 60th anniversary tribute and probably wouldn't hurt!

(Jeff Penczak)

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Magus (pronounced MAY-jus) is the debut project from Greg and Jessica Weeks and their frequent collaborative rhythm section, Jesse Sparhawk and Dan McConnell. All are veterans of the fertile Philly folk scene we love so well who often play on each other's albums and share personnel in their respective Terrascope / Terrastock-championed bands (eg., Espers, Fern Knight, The Valerie Project, Bardo Pond, Azusa Plane, Fürsaxa, et. al.) Perhaps a wink in the general direction of Spacemen 3's suggestive Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To, the title sets the mood for a relaxing set of heavy-lidded headnodders that promise frequent excursions into "rock, gothic, proto metal, and psychedelic styles" - exactly what weighs down the shelves of any self-respecting Terrascope reader's record collection.

Your psychedelic journey begins when you step 'Through Darkened Glass', a forlorn guitar motif drifting across a playful keyboard riff until an  ominous Sabbathian bombast stomps around your skull with gloomy, gothy lyrics hinting at vampires ("Through darkened glass/ I broke my past/ Before I turned/ Away from light/ And into night" and a passage into the afterlife "The moment passed/ I breathed my last/ And life unlearned." To borrow a phrase from Pete Townshend, "This is not a fucking tea party!"

'Very Heavy Greening' breaks out the fuzz pedals and turns everything up to eleven for extra heaviosity and McConnell's rat-a-tat drumming is at the center of 'Wet Skull' which boasts a familiar melody I can't quite wrap my brain around (answers on a postcard). But my mind does travel back to Sabbath's eponymous debut with its ominous, stalking, creeping horror subtext filtering though 'The Magus.'

While many lyrics are fill of gothic imagery of "darkened figures," "shallow graves," "lost souls", "bodies buried in the sand", things do lighten up (slightly) as we flip over to Side 2 for the poppy (in these surroundings anyway) Lennonesque 'Exodus', although a heavy undertow is never far away.

The title track invites a certain "saintly troubadour" we all know and love to the festivities, a "Safari-vested omnivore/ [who] took us through the cellar door/ To tour our souls forevermore." Introspective ... navelgazing ... ponderous, perhaps but I garner a sense of reflection and self-examination within these eight tracks that rattles the grey matter like flypaper clinging for explanations of who I am and how I got here. It's also the softest part of our flight and the only song I know of that can shoehorn "reify" and "reiving" into its storyline!

'The Middle Way' ends our journey in the musical neighbourhood of some of Terrascope favourite (and Terrastock regular) Ade Shaw (Hawkwind/Bevis Frond)'s solo albums. Nifty soloing from Greg serpentines around McConnell's strident drum fills, with Jessica carrying the day on her eerie keyboard contributions. All in all a wonderful opening salvo and a welcome diversion into new musical territories that we'd love to hear explored further.

(Jeff Penczak)

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Ghost Funk Orchestra combines rock, soul, blues, funk, jazz and R&B into a sound they’ve mastered as all their own.  The eight-piece aggregate harkens back to the days of rock bands with big horn sections.  So I was a bit surprised to find that that ‘big horn section’ on this crackling live record is actually just two fellows, James Kelly on trombone and Stephen Chen on tenor sax.  But what a sound they put out, when fronting the guitars, bass, drums and vocals!  GFO main man, guitarist Seth Applebaum, deserves props for assembling this ripping band.

Originally a Record Store Day release on the ever-reliable Colemine Records’ Karma Chief imprint, Live in Europe was assembled from performances in Warsaw and Amsterdam.  All eleven tracks teem with life, and all eight musicians are lit.  Ghost Funk Orchestra is one tight live band.  Besides those horns, their secret weapon is not one, but two stellar female lead vocalists, Romi Hanoch (aka Romi O) and Camellia Hartman.  The two trade the spotlight on different songs, and when one sings the lead, the other often provides perfect harmony/backup.  (Hartman is also an established violinist, which she doesn’t play on this record).  The guitarists, the aforementioned Seth Applebaum and Joshua Park, only play a few solos, but they certainly make them count when they do.

It’s hard to imagine GFO started out as a one-man band with Applebaum playing all the instruments on the records, and is now a stalwart fully fleshed out live touring outfit.  It’s virtually impossible choosing favorite tracks, but for a Terrascopedian connection, check out “Again,” with its psychedelic flavor and trippy interludes.  “Yours” and the finale “King of Misdirection,” which is partly reminiscent of the Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m a Man,” also put it all together and show what this band is made of.

Polished to a high gloss, Ghost Funk Orchestra would be an excellent band to catch live, so keep an eye out for them in your area.

(Mark Feingold)

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WILLIE NELSON - DREAM CHASER

(Available from Legacy Recordings)

Willie Nelson: lead vocals, guitar; Michael Rojas: Hammond organ, piano, vibraphone, Wurlitzer piano; Fred Eltringham: drums, percussion; Bobby Terry: acoustic guitar; James Mitchell: electric guitar; Mickey Raphael: harmonica; Tommy White: steel guitar; Ben Isaacs: upright bass.

A really short record. 30 minutes. A really great Willie record, up there with his best. Less about the impending rigors of mortality and a return to just plain ole honest storytelling. Tales of love, betrayal, drinking and friendship. Nelson sounds 50 years younger than his 93 years. Terrific lyric writing and intimately profound playing by all involved in service to the “song.” I hope (although I know it’s magical thinking) that Willie could live another 93 years.
 

(John Hammel)

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Soft Machine – Thirteen

(Available on Dyad Records)

John Etheridge: Electric Guitar; Theo Travis: Tenor and Soprano Saxes, Flutes, Duduk, Fender Rhodes Piano, Piano (1), Mellotron, Electronics; Fred Thelonius Baker: Fretless Bass; Asaf Sirkis: Drums, Percussion, Piano (6). With guests Daevid Allen: Glissando Guitar (13), Pete Whittaker: Organ (2,5), Fender Rhodes piano (2), Nick Utteridge: Gong (5).

Soft Machine is sixty years old. Guitarist John Etheridge has been associated with the band for more than fifty years and this latest iteration is perhaps as good as they’ve ever been. A sterling sounding and performed recording. This is outstanding prog-rock-jazz or whatever the hell SM are or have been. Simply superlative music superlatively played with enough hooks to keep your attention in the middle of a tornado. Nothing new per se here but enough to keep you gawking on the sidewalk rather than to heed the admonitions from others to move along.

(John Hammel)

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Pooja Goswami Pavan - The Mind, Ecstatic – Songs of Kabir
(Available from Neuma Records)

Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan: vocalist. Composers: Pooja Goswami Pavan (1, 2, 3, 5 & 7), Pandit Surendra Goswami (4 & 6); Poetry: Sant Kabir Das (Kabir).

Another genre blending/bending mind-meltingly beautiful record. Two things. My generation was introduced to Indian classical music via The Beatles, particularly George Harrison and his study of the form and with Ravi Shankar. Once introduced I could not help but be joyfully overwhelmed and struck by it’s complexity and beauty, particularly the clear delineation of the melodic and harmonic line and the complex reliance of rhythm and bass punctuation adding drama and texture to the structure. This record is rife with Dr. Pavan’s sweetness of lyrical line and leaps of stratospheric passion which bring you to the cliffs of awe and wonder. The depth of feeling couple with her effortless flexibility are wondrous. A master class and a masterpiece of modern Indian classical music.

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Oliver Darley & Chad Lelong - THE SEAT WITH THE CLEAREST VIEW (The Songs of David Bowie Re-Imagined)

(Available from Lateralize Records)

Oliver Darley: Lead Vocalist; Chad Lelong: Piano; Jamie McCredie: Guitar; Julia Graham: Cello; Debs White: Violin; Charis Jensen: Violin; Rachel Robson: Viola; Jihad Jay Darwish: Upright Bass.

These are very spare, very beautifully sung covers of David Bowie songs. They illustrate what a fine writer/lyricist Bowie was. A seminal artist, hugely influential on multiple levels, Bowie’s songwriting capabilities are ofttimes taken for granted. This should set the record straight. The primary collaboration is between trained vocalist Darley and pianist Lelong who are joined by various other instruments as the warrant the occasion. The arrangements are subtle and highly musical. This record has had some divergent criticisms, nothing less than three stars (inexplicably to me) and as high as 4 stars. I give it a solid 4.5 stars. The emotion is right for each song and that is no mean feat for as artist as chameleonic as Bowie was.

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Ed O’Brien – Blue Morpho

(Available from Transgressive Records)

Ed O'Brien: lead vocals, guitar; Eska: backing vocals (tracks 1, 7); Yves Fernandez: bass guitar (tracks 1, 4–7); Luke Mullen: keyboards (track 1, 4); Nick Ramm: keyboards; Crispin 'Spry' Robinson: percussion (tracks 1–4, 7); Dan See: drums (tracks 1, 4, 7); Tallinn Chamber Orchestra: orchestra; Dave Okumu: bass guitar (tracks 2–3); Philip Selway: drums (tracks 2–3); Shabaka Hutchings: flute (track 6).

Shades of Krautrock, Triphop, Nick Drake, Radiohead, classical & jazz and what the heck evah is laying around the kitchen sink and it all comes off marvelous dahling. Beautifully arranged and conceived, this is an undeniable strong effort from [Radiohead guitarist] Ed O’Brien. An album of deeply personal spiritual struggles and successes in richly textured cinematic fashion. Finely layered music which ultimately leaves the listener uplifted. A triple A+ record.

(John Hammel)

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Shye Ben-Tzur, Jonny Greenwood  & The Rajasthan Express - Ranjha

(Available from World Circuit)

This is magnificent stuff. Israeli composer / vocalist Shye Ben-Tzur, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood (synths/bass/guitar) and a 21 piece Indian classical music ensemble featuring the (to me always) extraordinary vocal gymnastics of Qawwali vocal singing by Zakir Ali Qawwal. Trance-y and with lovingly lush string arrangements throughout. Sufi meets modernism and you don’t need any other drug but the music to take you on a magic, swirling trip of expansive consciousness. Noted contributions from violinist Jyotsna Srikanth and shehnai virtuoso Rajendra Prasanna add texture and a sense of time flowing in both directions at once throughout. Adding jazz drummer Tom Skinner doesn’t hurt matter one whit.

(John Hammel)

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The Rolling Stones – Foreign Tongues

Available on Polydor)

Mick Jagger: vocals (tracks 1–9, 11–14), background vocals (1–12), electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 14), harmonica (1, 8, 9, 11), acoustic guitar (2, 5, 6, 11), percussion (4, 5, 7, 12); Keith Richards: electric guitar (all tracks), background vocals (2, 4, 6, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (4, 9, 10), piano (8), vocals (10, 14); Ronnie Wood: electric guitar (1–13), bass guitar (1, 2), background vocals (4, 10); Charlie Watts: drums (8).

The Stones in their eighties have lost none of their swagger no matter how unseemly it might seem to see octogenarians cavorting around like teenagers. They get away with it primarily because of Jagger’s apparent deal with the devil in retaining his vocal prowess and Richards still ringing in his riffs from whatever devil he’s made his pact with. I’d easily give this record 4 stars but I’m a boomer. This stuff resonates with me on a primal level. I’m not sure how millennials and younger relate, but it is good rock ‘n’ roll and that stuff never grows old. I love it that the same guys who whined in 1965 about never gittin’ any “satisfaction” are spewing out lyrics with enough fire to ignite the next Space X rocket. Sample from 'Divine Intervention' (and my favorite sentiment) “dystopian values are too hot to handle, and I’m going out in a blaze.”

(John Hammel)

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Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts – As Time Explodes

(Available on Reprise)

Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts are: Neil Young (guitar, pump organ, piano and vocals); Spooner Oldham (organ and piano); Micah Nelson (guitar, Stringman and vocals); Corey McCormick (bass and vocals); Anthony LoGerfo (drums and vocals).

I ain’t gonna lie. 'Cortez the Killer' is one of my favorite Neil Young tunes and his guitar playing on it is one of my all time favorite guitar performances. Edgy, gritty, lyrical at times, slow & stately but with a rusty razor’s edge. These are standout performances of Young chestnuts, and the fact that you get not one fantastic tune but two with mind bending guitar performances on one record ('Like A Hurricane') hits all the dopamine levels I need this week. The band is killer diller and items like 'Ohio,' which should sound dated, aren’t due to the commitment, energy and playing of all involved. Neil’s voice has aged well into the lyrics of these songs. Go on old folks. Keep flying yer freak flags as high as they ever were.

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Marisa Anderson – The Anthology of Unamerican Folk Music VOL. 1
(Available on Thrill Jockey)

Marisa is a classically trained American Primitive guitarist. Let me say, an astonishing guitarist of both sterling technique, stunning lyrical virtuosity and ear catching fluidity. This is an eleven-out-of-ten record of interpretations of music from around the world from countries that the United States has been in conflict with at one time or another. Somehow she is able to imbue each piece with not only the indigenous music she is interpreting but also melding disparate traditions from American folk music into the weave of her miraculous musical webbing. This is an important release which illustrates the unifying principles which tie all of humanity together rather than focusing on the surface elements used as a wedge to drive us apart. This is easier to listen to and allow to permeate your being than it is to articulate.

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Laurie Anderson WITH Sexmob – Let X=X

(Available on Nonesuch Records)

Laurie Anderson: vocals; Sexmob: Steven Bernstein and Briggan Krauss: brass, Kenny Wollesen: percussion; Douglas Wieselman: winds and guitar; Tony Scherr: bass. Recorded live at various venues on their 2023 tour.

Laurie Anderson was born to lull. That’s her performing voice. Always quiescent, always soothing, luring you into her askew artistic world. And then once you’re drooping and ready to drop yer head into slumberland, she bops you over the sensory inputs with a left turn or phrase or a word bomb that makes you question not only what you’ve just heard but your possible sanity. She is controlled chaos, letting out enough line to allow the fishies to think they’re in control, but no.

This record is the culmination of a tour with the eclectic NYC based jazz band Sexmob. Various venues are represented here with Anderson’s singular vision leading the way. She is apt to drop pithy pieces of advice seemingly from out of nowhere, but her insights and sentences hold profound truths altered through the prism of a child like prism. i.e., “Learn how to be sad, without being sad.” That’ll make your head explode. She and the band also re-interpret Lou Reed’s collaboration with Metallica, Junior Dad, but whittle it down considerably, allowing them and you to get to its core in much less time than usual, dropping you off at your stop with time to spare. Cool stuff and a record of the year. My favorite “track” is the audience scream.

(John Hammel)

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Laura Cannell – Live at Café Oto (London 25 April, 2025)

(Available from Brawl Records)

Violin, Overbow Violin, Octave Violin, Double Recorders, Bass Recorders, Looping, and  Electronics are all part and parcel of the tool kit that Laura Cannell can draw from to evoke the most wonderfully intriguing sounds. Time seems to slow forward and backwards simultaneously in her music and it’s a sound that is both meditative and richly alluring, drawing the listener in with lapping waves of sound that embrace and caress your inner ear & imagination.

(John Hammel)

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Skúli Sverrisson WITH Bill Frisell – For All Your Flowers

(Available from Newvelle Records)

Skúli Sverrisson: bass/compositions; Bill Frisell: guitar/'Baby' composer.

This is a warmly embracing lambent album of superior duet music making by two masters. Frisell allows Sverrisson’s limpid bass to do most of the talking/walking at times & comments & accompanies superbly with profoundly plangent interpolations allowing the conversation to evolve organically and with a plethora of wistfulness in the mist. Conversely Sverrisson returns the favor fluidly stretching time & lines out so that Frisell can explore melodically & harmonically the wonderfully evocative musical soundscapes that evolve seamlessly from this collaboration. For all your flowers indeed. These guys are making bouquets shimmer down from the clouds straight to your ears.

(John Hammel)