John Paul Davis
Micro Reviews
Begun as a series of posts on BlueSky, these are 300 character max reviews of albums I enjoy. I post them here & they are promulgated to BlueSky.
-
An everyman's lament at the state of the world - war, racism, poverty, climate change, set to deft, fervant melodies against a symphonic backdrop of daring arrangements.
-
Gritty & groovy, boisterous & bluesy, lively & funky, showcasing Saadiq's tight songwriting & ear for a great hook.
-
This quartet interact flawlessly, almost telepathically. Melodic, effortless solos, impeccable timing. The art that hides the art. A pure delight.
-
Shapeshifting arrangements of acoustic guitars over warm synths bloom into magnificence just as it seems they'll fall apart, much like the album's meditations on love, anxiety & loss.
-
More melodic, sometimes anthemic, the band are cohesive, expressive & exquisite on every track. More reflective in places, while sacrificing none of their fire.
-
Working class stories, probing protest songs & contemplations of faith & the American dream set to smoky, bluesy, rocking tunes by a tight, world-class band. Still timely, 40 years later.
-
Graceful evocative piano, perfect chord progressions, luxurious horns, cadent, swaying melodies.
-
Endlessly inventive arrangements, operatic in scope, these songs celebrate the birth of a child & new love with idiosyncratic brainy lyrics.
-
Rainy, psychedelic, haunted, questioning, questing songs, lushly-arranged, tenderly sung.
-
Vibrant arrangements & spectacular melodies support the reflective, pastoral lyrics that meditate on aging, longing & love.
-
The band cements their longevity with these finely-crafted, mature tunes that retain all their early-career energy. Searing guitars, spidery bass, thundering drums & a whole lot of heart.
-
Hassell defies expectations of what sounds a trumpet can make, gliding, soaring, soothing over polyrhythms, synth pads & stuttering pulsing bass lines. Brian Eno & Michael Brook sit in on some songs.
-
His first with a full band, exploring themes central to his 55 year career: spirituality, love, progressive politics. Lush arrangements, tender melodies & his intricate guitar picking abound.
-
Adroit & lively lyricism set to compelling, dynamic melodies over mostly solo acoustic guitar played energetically.
-
Without deviating from their warm melange of soul, R&B, disco & hip-hop Jungle expand their sonic palette for a richer, more spacious sound.
-
Groovy, skittery percussion & funky basslines over string ensembles as Byrne's quirky, metaphoric lyrics capture the paranoias & anxieties of post-9/11 America.
-
Washington's spacious, glimmering electric funk never looses its way, thanks in large part to bassist Louis Johnson's nimble grooves & Washington's always-ascending soprano sax.
-
Soulful & spare, this album of mostly ballads evokes the almost monastic 3 year period Rollins spent alone, honing his technique by playing on the Williamsburg Bridge.
-
25 years in, the indie band delivers a brooding collection of songs that sound like soundtracks to films that don't exist. Gritty, rapturous, cutting, this quiet music should be played loud.
-
The Dublin rock band expands their sound while staying true to the elements that made their first 2 albums so compelling. Still hard to believe these lads are 25 & under given how well they write & play.
-
Breakup songs that celebrate moving away from unhealthy love & find joy in the music itself which ranges from R&B, soul, psychedelia, rock & jazz that comes together as a unified whole guided by Howard's genius.
-
Gabriel fronts an all-star cast of musicians from around the world, blending alt-rock & subtle electronica to house his plaintive, incisive, musing explorations of love, grief, reconciliation & healing.
-
The band evolves their alt-country Mexo-Americana, focusing here on intimate examinations of love & self-exploration. Fetching melodies & disarming, quietly poetic lyrics, tenderly sung.
-
The quartet Redman assembled for his solo debut reunites 25 years later. 4 giants of contemporary jazz deliver a set of lively, masterful interplay, deeply felt.
-
Which sets previously-unheard lyrics of Woody Guthrie's to music written by Bragg & Wilco. Vibrant glittering folk-rock with infectious melodies highlighting Guthrie's still-applicable fiery politics.
-
Their most recent, full of winding post-prog song structures, big satisfying riffs, soaring vocals, mystical contemplative lyrics, thundering drums. The godfathers of emo made the Platonic ideal of area rock records.
-
A majestic, expressive & expansive set that finds the band at its finest. Simultaneously uplifting & daring. Wordless hymns of boundless love & hope. Sunday morning on Saturday night.
-
Layers of cozy, textured analog synths & Jenn Wasner's fuzzy indie-rock guitar licks foreground her warm, inviting singing on an album that explores the twin pulls of relationships & artistic work.
-
A love-letter to his family & celebration of his Latine heritage. Synth-driven avant-pop that sounds wholly original backs his soft, tender singing & joyous, evocative bilingual lyrics.
-
Percussive acoustic guitar, minimalist beats, occasional piano & a solid spine of bass, as Doughty explores love & sobriety with his Beat-poetic lyrics, sing-rapping & gift for hooky melodies.
-
Their 2nd as a trio. Moody, dreamy, introspective, it blends daring & gorgeous electronics with Buck's jangly riffs & Stipe's soaring melodies. An album that grew on me, now one of my favorites by this band.
-
Shimmery orchestral folk-rock with intricate arrangements, unusual song structures & poetic lyrics on the need for love & the difficulties in loving & being loved. Case's singing is seductive & powerful.
-
Angular, funky, melodic improvised tunes highlight both their technical mastery & emotional sensitivity & Mehldau's Beat-poetry style spoken word. Pushes the envelope of what jazz can be.
-
Dynamic, genre-bending folk-jazz driven by musical curiosity reveling in the joy of discovery, all supporting Aftab's versatile crooning, which is simultaneously tender & passionate.
-
The 2 masters recorded versions of their own songs with a quartet. Lyrical, playful, & dynamic. Everything you hope for from a record called Duke Ellington & John Coltrane.
-
his 1957 comeback album with Miles Davis's band at the time. He struggled with addiction, was in & out of prison. His wife arranged the session & he showed up surprised. 5 hours later this brilliant record existed.
-
I have to "develop" in Webflow this morning, so I'm listening to this classic. They shake off the constrictions of "nu metal" & forge their own unique daring sound. Aggressive riffs over gorgeous soundscapes; melodic soulful vocals.
-
Infectious, groovy, funky, sublime, melodic & sometimes delightfully weird, this double album more than lives up to the promise of its title.
-
The album finds him paring back the lush arrangements to focus on the songwriting, which is magnificent & sorrowful. Minimalism blended with orchestral soul gives room for aching anthemic melodies & heartbreak.
-
In which they expand their sonic palette & songwriter John Baizley unlocks the versatility & power of his voice (writing & singing). Infectious riffs; beautiful playing by a band discovering their potential.
-
A left turn for him, from straightforward jazz, in which he blends pop, rock and chamber music elements with assistance from producer Jon Brion. The gorgeous, moody & daring first act of his evolution.
-
Folk rock sometimes layered with elements of trap, indie rock, & ambient over gorgeous melodies. Incisive poetic lyrics examine the impact of smartphones on our love lives, politics & art.
-
A dystopian, agitated, restless but rewarding creative leap showcasing Grian Chattan's growing & imaginative ability in both singing and writing. The band charts new sonic territory while remaining true to their sound.
-
A sometimes dreamy, sometimes joyous genre-blurring collection that is simultaneously earthbound & ascending. Lush rootsy, bluesy layers beneath her endlessly versatile expressive voice.
-
The post-punk band expand their sound with the help of Kenny Beats & Nigel Godrich, adding more experimental soundscapes & beautiful melodies while not compromising on their aggressive, fun, transgressive and danceable foundation.
-
The album teams him with bassist Christian McBride & drummer Brian Blade for a buoyant, rhythmic, inventive & fun set. Three masters of their craft just enjoying the hell out of playing together & improvising.
-
My first purchase of 2025. Anxiety & tension lift off & ascend. Arpeggiated synths, epic post-rock progressions, smeary pedal-mutated transcendent guitar melodies. Perfect soundtrack for the early days of 2025.
-
A pristine, glittering jazz fusion set, with Bley on organ. Winding but melodic organ / piano / electric guitar solos abound, over the solid spine of Steve Swallow, Victor Lewis & Don Alias’s tight rhythm section.
-
Simon imagines an alternate self who never made it big & tours the bar circuit. The band is amazing (Steve Gadd! Tony Levin!) - what if jazz musicians played bar rock? & the lyrics are poetic & probing.
-
Explores the impact of race & racism at home & in the larger world, over over gorgeous music blending classic R&B & soul with elements of hip-hop, electronica, indie rock & jazz, set to matchless melodies.
-
Stylistically adventurous, wide-ranging in its influences, this empathetic, witty, soulful record is daring, but in ways that draw you into the finely crafted songs & tightly written poetic lyrics.
-
Melodic, playful & swinging, a melange of bebop, cool jazz, and heavily inspired by Duke Ellington. At this point in Burrell’s career he was a master of his craft & this album is testament to that.
-
A landmark for ambient music but also just a gorgeous record, uncertain as it is calming, melancholy as it is optimistic, haunted as it is playful.
-
Barron is one of the most lyrical jazz pianists I've heard, & this 2016 album melds that with impeccable rhythm, effortless swing & accents of Latin jazz. Saw them at the Vanguard recently - a delight.
-
The band examines love & loss in many forms (of place, romance, friends, family, God, country etc) over piano-driven alt-pop. One of their masterpieces.
-
(did Bowie name *his* “Changesone” inspired by this?) Opening track “Remember Rockefeller At Attica” is one of my favorite jazz songs of all time. The song’s playful, serpentine melody is 51 bars long.
-
Secular hymns of questioning, wandering, rock bottom & redemption. Lots of harmonies between Bono / Edge / Lanois / Eno. The most prog U2 ever got. Pitchfork hated it. But I think it's gorgeous.
-
Dylan's band on this includes members of the Heartbreakers and Los Lobos. Modern anxieties shot through with love & anger.
-
Joyful, masterful interplay between oud, santour & percussion.
