A confrontation at a thrift store inspired the 2020 $avvy single “Bag/Purse” and its accompanying phenomenal video. It also exemplifies $avvy’s approach to hip-hop; unafraid and not putting up any fronts.

With Boys Wear Pearls, $avvy continues that undaunted approach by showcasing eight tracks that blend a range of influences and beat styles that prop up the vocals perfectly. The cadence is laid back, at times almost blissfully drugged out, but consistently setting an undeniable groove. $avvy’s delivery always comes across with a sly smile – you can’t see it but you can certainly feel it.

On the releases most in-your-face track “Shameless” he is joined by Chuck Indigo and you immediately get the sense that there’s an honest enjoyment to the performances. It’s legitimately fun to hear. “Down to Earth” blends some R&B crooning with verses that feel directly inspired by Digital Underground (in the most favorable way). Album closer “Zack & Cody” is delivered through a cloud of vocal hums resulting in a transcendent soundscape, floating the listener away.

It’s difficult to sum up the $avvy experience because it’s uniquely $avvy. The vocal cadence, the musical choices, the lyrical content and the subtle sexiness of it all couldn’t be pulled off by anyone but $avvy. Don’t sleep on this one or whatever comes next from $avvy, it’s bound to be compelling.

Secret Speech, the latest album from Stuffed Spider, is a fascinating record combining a myriad of surprising elements as instrumentation. The album notes are clear that many of the sounds within are captured from found audio:

Tape samples and field recordings from 1997 – 2020, sourced from tapes recorded on street corners, apartments, kitchens, practice spaces, front yards, car windows, public gatherings, and inside coat pockets.

With such a setup you’d expect the album to be lacking in musicality but it unfurls like a dystopian journey; rain on a tin roof muffling hushed conversations that give way to deep rumbling keyboards and expressive bleeps and bloops; electronic oddities set against human oddities. If you wanted to categorize it into a tidy bucket of genre labeling, Electronic Avant-Garde is the best you could do. It’s challenging but not unpleasant; it’s simply a curious creature all its own.

The embedded “Dry Wood” video is part of a video series ( see also: “Secret Speech” and “Rue de la Bombe“) that take the conceptual elements of the record and push them even further into a visual realm. These augmenting pieces are a combination of vintage footage overlaid with esoteric texts; perhaps lyrics meant for this instrumental album or perhaps just concepts for you to ponder.

All told, Secret Speech is unique; especially considering that composer Matt Parish resides in Nashville. For a city best known for Music Row and Soulless Country Music, it’s rewarding to know that an artistic endeavor like this even exists, much less that it’s as compelling as it is.

Get the album on Bandcamp – digitally or limited edition cassette – and watch this playlist for future videos.

The debut Les Ailes album Tennessee is full of secrets, the kind that hide in plain sight but are unseen nonetheless. If that sounds confusing, bear with me.

Taking a look at the liner notes for the record you’ll see that it is produced by Mike McCarthy; best known for his work with Spoon, A Giant Dog and, locally, The Features and Forget Cassettes. Guest appearances from Matt Chamberlain (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam), Britt Daniel (Spoon), Charles Spearin (Broken Social Scene) and many other notable names dot the credit list but never aurally presents themselves as front and centered. They’re nestled within the tracks but are far from featured players; secrets hiding in plain sight.

Les Ailes is the pseudonym of Rylie DeGarmo, a native Seattle-ite that found themselves traveling in the South and eventually set up shop. This location shifting may partially explain these surprising guests but, if we’re being honest here, the guests spots are the MacGuffin to pique your interest, the real draw here is the songwriting, the musical tone and the delivery of the songs themselves. DeGarmo’s vocals often register as detached but yearning; always front and center spinning a tale of something unrequited and unfulfilled. That’s esoteric but apt, as the record is highly effective at reaching down and really stirring an emotional response of longing.

“Full On” exemplifies this well with the combination of swirling, static-y, keys against an acceptance of friendship over romantic love. The lead single that pulled us in, “Lately”, manages to float between precariously delicate and declaratively mournful. This tone continues throughout the album, not in a repetitious manner but as an underlying theme.

Tennessee is an album that insists on multiple listens. You may be enticed to give it a whirl simply to spot the Broken Social Scene player but it’s guaranteed that you’ll stay for the lush and diverse instrumentation, the forlorn vocals and the sweeping moments of empowerment that surface through the softer moments.