There's been a long wait for this, but everyone should be excited about Dirty Computer. Featuring a guest spot from Brian Wilson, & one from Pharrell Janelle Monae's got something special here. The grooves are tight, the sound clean, but funky & danceable, & the messages are clear. Monae's clear invocations of Prince, & a movement towards a better understanding of herself comes through in her newest work, & she keeps getting better.

SLOPPY JANE is the project of the New York based musician Haley Dahl. This album on Phoebe Bridgers Saddest Factory Records is mix of playful indie folk rock with some songs that reminded us of everything from FLEETWOOD MAC to PINK FLOYD's acoustic songs (believe it or not) & Nilsson. No joke the album was recorded in a cave & they lowered a piano down into the cave on cables to make the record & you can hear dripping water & everything. WILD!

2010 album from the very prolific and very intriguing SUFJAN STEVENS. A little while before this record, Mr. Stevens had announced that he might be done writing songs, and this record goes a way in explaining his statements. The kind of heart-wrenching perfect pop song that Sufjan was effortlessly churning out is now shot through with deliberate barriers of squelchy noise or incomprehensible length (the last song on this album clocks in at almost a half-hour!). Those of you who are patient will get it, those of you who are looking for another 'Chicago' will not. Another brilliant entry in the man's catalog!

Recently Sufjan Stevens moved from NYC To the Catskills & while his trusty acoustic instruments were in storage he wrote & recorded the music that would become The Ascension with synthesizers & a drum machine. Though electronic, these are still Sufjan Stevens songs & the album is a dense 2 hours of danceable electronic pop, lush synth ballads & even some experimental/drone leaning moments.

Recently Sufjan Stevens moved from NYC To the Catskills & while his trusty acoustic instruments were in storage he wrote & recorded the music that would become The Ascension with synthesizers & a drum machine. Though electronic, these are still Sufjan Stevens songs & the album is a dense 2 hours of danceable electronic pop, lush synth ballads & even some experimental/drone leaning moments.

Sufjan Stevens returns in 2015 with arguably his strongest album to date. The album is named after his mother & stepfather & the record is about as personal as they come. Lowell Brams was only married to Stevens' mother for 5 years, when Stevens was just a child but he's been in his life ever since. (Brams runs the Asthmatic Kitty label.) The album is quiet & sombre, with acoustic driven songs with only subtle backing & we're reminded of other artists like Elliott Smith & BON IVER. "Seven Swans" is the closest comparison from Stevens' past, but this really is a culmination of everything he's done before that makes for a powerful affirmation of his place in contemporary music.

"Enjoy Your Rabbit" is the second Sufjan Stevens album (originally released on CD in 2001), FINALLY AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON VINYL!! Recorded before he became the uber-famous orchestral-folk- demi-god of "Greetings from Michigan" or "Illinoise," "EYR" is a huge departure from his debut, "A Sun Came" & pretty much everything else he's ever created. A concept album with a song for every animal of the Chinese Zodiac, "Enjoy Your Rabbit" is almost completely devoid of lyrics or distinguishable vocals. Rather, it is a mostly electronic album of "programmaitc compositions" - layered techno glitches, Steve Reich-ian repetitions, finely textured & dense ... noise. As one reviewer called it when it first came out, "indie pop filtered through a broken music box." Yet somehow "Enjoy Your Rabbit" remains quite pleasurable to listen to while showcasing Stevens' well-rounded songcrafting talent outside the alt-folk world. If you care at all about this artist's work, you NEED to give this a listen!!

The first of...well, fifty albums in which Sufjan Stevens will anoint each state with their own album. The first of course is the state in which he was born, Michigan. Vince Guaraldi piano styles break over Jim O'Rourke's softer AM pop momments and some quirky Rob Crow like hooks. Vocal harmony is the real treat with backing vocals by the DANIELSON FAMILE. A number of minimal Steve Reich pieces also grace this fine reflection on the wonderous dunes and lakes of Michigan. And to think, John Linnel could only write one song for each state.