As I’ve been conveniently reminded by my Soundcloud newsletter, it’s officially Songs for Hoodie Season.
That means this specific “universal wardrobe choice” indicates maybe a dip in the weather (although the Bay keeps it foggy at nighttime) or, hoodie weather of a fashionable ilk, indicates a certain seasonal, slightly deeper vibe tip-toeing towards us. Pirate metal, German reggae, witch house, or even the dreaded catstep… it’s on the margins, way in the weeds you don’t puff.
But this, I didn’t see coming.
Listen, Peanut Butter Wolf has been way ahead of the game musically since, well, forever. The San Jose-born, LA-based musician, DJ, producer, label founder, and influential music entity dude started his boutique imprint Stones Throw in 1996 and never looked back. Known for releasing music across the board—hip hop, electronic, funk, soul, indie pop, rock, jazz… those are just the identifiable ones. He’s never been about trends; it’s more about timing and talent, if anything. You’d have to ask him for the secret. This is why this new project, Campus Christy, featuring him and multi-instrumentalist Brian Ellis, is so, well, Peanut Butter Wolf-ish.
I had to email the publicist just to confirm it’s not a joke. It’s not a joke.
“Horizon” is their fifth offering from the self-titled debut. It’s cool and trippy, and if anything, feels like The Wolf came down to the Bay and started huffing on this indie-folk-fog jangle business we got going on here and added some synths. The project is named after his high school band that lasted all of one performance, covering ’60s hits.
According to Wolf, the original “Horizon” is from the mid-’80s (he’s keeping mum about its origins) and sounds like part of the LA Paisley scene. “I discovered it around 2010. One of the first ones Brian and I tried to cover. Brian asked if he could add synth to it, and I said sure, and Shags Chamberlain [mixing engineer] said it made it sound more like Joy Division, which always works for me.”
Great music minds always follow their guts. Thanks, Wolf, for the major Zag. It’s refreshing.
You can pick it up here.
But hey Mang….
It’s Under The Stars, babe. Your weekly rundown of what is popping in The Bay and beyond. A column that presents new music releases, upcoming shows, opinions, and other adjacent items. We keep moving with the changes and thinking outside the margins.
Hoodie Season, Son….
Get oriented.
MILL VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL TICKETS ON SALE
Last year brought out the sunlit masses for Fleet Foxes, Margo Price, and Greensky Bluegrass—this year’s lineup is still under wraps, but promises more laidback, genre-blending sounds—and hey, bring your mom, since its all over Mother’s Day Weekend, May 10 and 11.
Score early bird tickets here.
EZRA COLLECTIVE, DANCE, NO ONE’S WATCHING (PARTISAN RECORDS)
Just in time, the London-based jazz quintet Ezra Collective brings focus to how our feet are our most joyous arbiters of bliss. Their celebration of the human heart and determined perseverance in Dance, No One’s Watching channels jazz improvisation, West African rhythm, and Afrobeat horns, raising the levels of exultation.
“This album is the sound of release, the story of a world tour condensed into one night out,” Ezra Collective bandleader Femi Koleoso told Apple Music. “It moves from getting into the club to sussing the vibe, losing yourself to the music and feeling its euphoria. The dance floor is full of the highs and lows of life, and that’s what we’re channeling.”
He’s not wrong; the sequencing does give off a night-out vibe, a party in full tow where live bands are operating as if it’s a mixtape rollercoaster, all gas no insurance. Punctuating, the only purpose for existing in life, is to move.
Joe Armon-Jones deals with that modern keyboard elitist vibe without hesitation moving from jazz to dub to bass music and back, tempering the most airy chill moments with slinky jazzbo ether, such as the mood of ‘N29,’ The party sho nuff has peaks and valleys like any unfolding twilight.
In between moments, vocalist Yazmin Lacey attaches simple poetry to that infectious beat. “Give me dollar wine, give me good times” lines from the standout “God Gave Me Feet For Dancing” can and should become anybody’s anthem for the simple pleasures in life.
Vocalist Olivia Dean arrives, too, with a subtle measure on the soulful two-stepper “No One’s Watching Me.”
These songs oscillate in rhythm from klezmer to reggae and waltz, bottling the human experience of being alive in real-time—something no one can afford to miss.
Pick it up here.
KENDRA MORRIS, BANSHEE (KARMA CHIEF RECORDS)
I’ve watched over the past few years as Colemine Records has invested in Kendra Morris. I had no idea who she was until her arrival on the imprint with 2022’s Nine Lives which I wrote in the damn lede for a review in Treble—”Kendra Morris should have blown up already. I’m speaking facts, with remixes from the likes of the almighty DJ Premier and NorCal selector and producer Mophono, with numerous features on the CZARFACE project including selections with the legendary MF DOOM?
Correction. She did blow up already, at least in the respect column.”
Since that album, filled with retro-like soul songs and gothic interpretations, it just shouted, “keep an eye on this one.” So I caught her at The Independent in SF a couple of years ago, and it was straight-up amazing. Quality in every sense. But when I see Kendra Morris’ stellar and soulful debut album Banshee back on vinyl for the first time since 2012, originally released via Wax Poetics, now on Karma Chief, a sub-label of the Colemine empire, it speaks of a music organization that believes in artists—throughout a career.
Few… sound like Kendra Morris, and Banshee is tasty hitting quality, with all the retro-tastic nods and psychedelic R&B and funk arrangements. Out now on blood orange vinyl, Banshee is the best holiday $29.99 you could spend.
Pick it up here.
OPTOMETRY (JOHN TEJADA & MARCH ADSTRUM), “COMETS” (PALETTE RECORDINGS)
The past couple of releases from Mr. Tejada on his Palette imprint have been random as hell; the last one was some popping drum and bass, snapping with that hybrid breakbeat juice.
His new endeavor, Optometry, with March Adstrum, who comes from a strict classical background, creates a chugging, swirling synthetic air on “Comets,” fully energized by vintage drum machines and lush synthesizers. It’s romantic for a former time when hardware drove songs; the evocative touches of rippling gear and stratified waves cook steadily and hit with metamorphic space.
“Comets” transforms the song frequency into rebirth, sputtering along the sky.
Great to hear an inspired Tejada.
Pick it up here.
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR AT THE GUILD THEATRE IN MENLO PARK ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Certain artists may be billed as blues musicians, but they translate in the US, as new country. Joanne Shaw Taylor, a chart-topping Billboard blues guitarist and one of the top names in British blues-rock, was discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics at just 16 and received co-signs from icons like the late Jimmy Cliff, Stevie Wonder, and Annie Lennox. The 30-something star who’s made a strong impact in the male-dominated guitar world will bring her expansive boundary-pushing sound to Menlo Park in early November, and I’ll assure you that the way that intimate main room at The Guild Theatre, just a couple of minutes away from Catrain, holds the acoustics, she’ll make new fans by evening’s end.
Grab tickets here.
