I’ve been getting into the habit of sharing sporadic reviews on Threads when it strikes me, and figured it’d be an idea to start compiling them here, too. I’m not in the habit of writing about duds, so if it’s here, consider it an endorsement.

Retep Folo & Dorothy Moskowitz – The Afterlife EP (2023)

Moskowitz’ psych credentials date back to her time in LA art-rock project The United States in the ’60s. Nearly 60 years later, she still has an adventurous ear, teaming with Folo for a release that wanders the same cosmic byways as Alain Goraguer’s Fantastic Planet score, with hints of Broadcast, vintage library music, and other retro-futurist sounds. My only complaint is that it’s too short—but fortunately there’s a full-length due next month.

Fortunato Durutti Marinetti – Eight Waves in Search of an Ocean (2023)

pener “Lightning on a Sunny Day” treads a little close to Destroyer’s postmodern spin on ’80s easy listening, but by the time you hit the strut of “Smash Your Head Against the Wall” there’s no doubt this is something special. Flutes flutter, synths buzz and soar, and Marinetti’s not-quite-spoken-word vocals dryly deliver enigmatic lines, pitched somewhere between Lou and Leonard.

Penza Penza – Electricolorized (2023)

I missed this record from Misha Panfilov’s primitivist side-project last year because Penza Penza’s previous releases were a little garagey for my taste. This one hits a sweet spot, though—fuzzy, catchy, and groovy through and through. Should’ve known better than to doubt Estonia’s master of library instrumentals.

Loving – Any Light (2024)

Laid-back pop perfection that pinches some of Nilsson’s effortless melodicism and the Bryter side of Nick Drake (though considerably more subdued). With music like this, I always find it difficult to pin down what makes one artist sound cliched and another invigorating, but Loving have always landed on the right side of that divide. Call it charisma, craft, or just personal bias, but they haven’t led me wrong yet.

It feels like there’s a ’60s/’70s singer-songwriter renaissance around the corner (see ROY’s newest single, or Fortunato above), and if that happens, Loving should be at the forefront.

Minhwi Lee – 미래의 고향 Hometown to Come

Singer-songwriter fare from South Korea. Hushed, a little melancholy, always elegant. At its best when the jazz influences come to the fore, but there really isn’t a bum note, and the tasteful arrangements (strings, flute, melodic percussion) make for fine evening listening.