FROM THE DJ'S LISTENING BOOTH: THE ALBUMS OF 2013-PART ONE

1. "REGIONS OF LIGHT AND SOUND OF GOD"  
JIM JAMES
Music and Lyrics by Jim James
Produced by Jim James
Released February 5, 2013

The first new release I heard this year was the debut solo album by Jim James, lead singer/guitarist for the band My Morning Jacket. Unlike the wildly diverse sounds and high energy of his band's releases, James' solo work, while no less musically diverse as he offers snatches of rock, folk, funk and jazz elements into the mix, is quietly devotional. "Regions Of Light And Sound Of God" is music for a cloudy day, or an early morning or even a Sunday morning as James has crafted a song cycle that decidedly floats rather than rocks..and beautifully so.

2. "A LOVE SURREAL"

BILAL

Executive Producers Bilal Oliver with Shafiq Husayn 

Released February 26, 2013

The third (or fourth if you count his still unreleased "Love For Sale") release from idiosyncratic vocalist/songwriter/producer Bilal is, to my ears, his strongest and most focused album to date and also one of the finest albums of 2013 so far as his specialized brand of art-funk sprinkles in a taste of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and dashes of Prince, all the while continuing to firmly establish himself as an artist in his own right. Working in full collaboration with his band, Bilal's song cycle about the various stages and phases of love effortlessly stretches and switches from the soulful "Back To Love," to the druggy "Climbing," the jazz funk of "Winning Hand," the spooky slow burn of "Slipping Away" to the ethereal "Butterfly" (with keyboardist Robert Glasper) all the while placing Bilal's elastic vocals front and center.

3. "AMOK"
ATOMS FOR PEACE
Produced by Nigel Godrich
Released February 26, 2013

The lines between the acoustic and synthetic as well as the lines between Radiohead and Thom Yorke's extracurricular musical activities continues to blur with the release of "AMOK," the debut album from Yorke's new band which features Flea (bass guitar), Joey Waronker (drums), Mauro Refosco (percussion), producer Nigel Godrich (programming) alongside Yorke (vocals, guitars, keyboards, piano, programming). Like Yorke's solo release "The Eraser (released July 10, 2006) and the more electronic excursion by Radiohead, "AMOK" is awash in computerized textures and rhythms which sometimes suggest and betray the humans behind all of the sounds. Furthermore, the music often flies into undeniably African textures making this album feel as if you has wandered into some sweaty, subterranean nightclub.

4. "THE MESSENGER"
JOHNNY MARR
Produced by Johnny Marr
Released February 26, 2013

I often joke that when I was 15 or 16 or 17 years old, I LOVED The Smiths. And then, I turned 18.

My love/hate relationship with the beloved English band is easily split into two clean halves: I cannot connect whatsoever with the maudlin histrionics of vocalist/lyricist Morrissey but I am just in heaven with the actual musical and guitar soundscapes created by guitar hero Johnny Marr. 2013 saw the release of his debut solo album and it has quickly become one of my favorite albums of this year as his six string dreams create one spellbindingly hypnotic track after another. From the almost glam rock stomp of "Upstarts" and the snap and attack of "Lockdown," "The Right Thing Right," "The Messenger" and yes, "Word Starts Attack," it is within the shimmering waterfalls of "European Me" and "New Town Velocity" that simultaneously reminds fans of why we fell in love with his sound in the first place while also schooling new listeners just how the guitar can be utilized in endlessly creative ways.

5. "WELCOME OBLIVION"
HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS
Composed, Produced, Arranged, Programmed and Performed by How To Destroy Angels
Released March 5, 2013

The prolific musical output of Nine Inch Nails mastermind and Academy Award winning film composer Trent Reznor continues to grow with the release of "Welcome Oblivion," the debut full length album from his new band which features Reznor's wife Mariqueen Maandig on lead vocals alongside frequent Reznor collaborator Atticus Ross and art director Rob Sheridan. The resulting musical vision of How To Destroy Angels falls somewhere between the quieter Nails' material and Reznor and Ross' atmospheric film compositions as "Welcome Oblivion" weaves a chilly, darkly erotic spell for a tad over one hour of music. "Keep It Together" pulsates intensely and the album instrumental sections often recall the most sinister moments created by Tangerine Dream. For me, the almost poppy "How Long?" and the strikingly sparse "Ice Age," with what sounds like a lone banjo or a one stringed dobro plucking away on a drifting ice cap into a wintry fog, are the album's highest points and the ones I think could further establish HDA as a musical force independent of NIN.

Stay tuned for PART TWO!!!