Sally Anne Morgan is an artist and naturalist in the purest senses. Raised on old time and Appalachian folk traditions, Morgan’s artistry embodies the rich life of the communities and natural world she surrounds herself with. Based in Alexander, NC in the thick of Appalachia, and edge of the Pisgah National Forest, Morgan’s blend of traditional technique and distinctly modern compositional approach are infused with the sounds of her garden, surrounding pastures, forests and mountains. The rhythms of nature, its flora and fauna, are inseparable from her work which is in constant conversation with the people and places around her. Second Circle the Horizon is a meditation on returning, uncovering the new within the familiar and recognizing…
Tag Archive: Thrill Jockey
Those of us who are musically inclined find it hard to resist tapping on an empty pipe or an exposed bell, just to hear the sound. Matmos (Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt) have been doing such things for years and recording the results, from the pots and pans of their childhood to “the metallic gates around a tomb in an underground crypt.” Over time, these artists have amassed a vast library of sounds; including one set comprised of washing machine sounds (Ultimate Care II) and one of plastic (Plastic Anniversary). The new set is metal-based, and looks back on their lives while acknowledging their mortality. To our delight, their initial pot and pan joy has survived intact.
Metallic Life Review is also an album of distinct sides: the first was meticulously created,…
Thalia Zedek has been a voice of resilience and strength for most of the 21st century, in a solo career that has now stretched to seven full-length albums. Her rough, keening alto carries the hardest of sentiments; her band storms and surges, billowing up under the verses and crashing in release at the choruses. She sounds always real, always besieged, but always sure of getting through. This time in cathartic “Tsunami,” she confides, “You were so certain/that it’s curtains/but I’m not so sure.”
For all her post-punk credentials — Come, Live Skull among the highlights — Zedek has always leaned into sounds more common in Americana. David Michael Curry’s violin was a defining feature of the first iteration of her band,…
BIG|BRAVE’s preternatural instincts and depth of skill as musicians are on full display on their most naked and austere record to date, OST. The trio entered the studio with broader concepts and themes in mind, but no preconceived music.
The overarching concept was to make a film score for a film that had yet to be created, to use minimal instrumentation, or more specifically not their standard band instruments, and to improvise within these parameters.
“Although this record could stand on its own, we envisioned it being paired with moving images, which introduced a fresh and exciting way of working,” notes guitarist Mathieu Ball. In addition to forgoing their usual instrumentation, they notably built their own. Ball created a stringed…