Every week, I offer three recommendations: something new, something classic, and something I love. Throughout this week I've been enjoying a lot of '50s and '60s jazz, as well as a handful of recent releases thanks to the plethora of incredible albums which released this Friday.
Something New
Björk - Fossora (2022)
For Björk to still be releasing music thirty years into her career is impressive in itself, but for her to have maintained this level of creativity and quality for so long is even more amazing. Fossora is an excellent addition to Björk's discography, with daring, glitchy electronic production. It's full of disjointed percussion, haunting backing vocals, and with an incredibly strong vocal performance from Björk. The writing is stellar as well. However, this is an album which cannot be fully appreciated after one listen since there is so much to unpack, thus I believe I'll only come to love this more as time goes on.
Something Classic
Miles Davis - Get Up With It (1974)
This is a Miles Davis album I don't return to often because of its enormous length, but when I do, I remember how stellar it is. Get Up With It is an amazing jazz-fusion album with quiet, atmospheric stretches followed by bursts of engaging funky instrumentation. The drumming on this album is the highlight for me, and weaved together with the groovy bass, electric guitar, and Miles's electric trumpet, it makes for one of the densest and most detailed records in his discography. While I think the half-hour stretch of opener 'He Loved Him Madly' goes on for a little too long, the rest of the record more than makes up with it with some of the finest tracks in '70s jazz.
Something I Love
KnowItAll & Skip the Kid - Music Saved Me 2 (2022)
Another excellent release this Friday was MSM2, another collaboration between rapper KnowItAll and producer Skip the Kid. KnowItAll has such a suave delivery to his bars, making every verse so entertaining but not lacking for depth, either. Skip's production is often subtle and quiet, then on other tracks it's explosive and matches the energy KnowItAll brings. The two work together well, and a range of other artists are also featured, with MC Millz and Mourning Run in particular bringing excellent verses to their respective tracks.