The countdown continues. Read about numbers 40 through 31 here.
Ty Segall, Sleeper (Drag City)Ty Segall makes another superlative bedroom record, a collection of bummed-out midtempo tunes and raw ballads that channels John Lennon at his most melancholy and soulful. There are occasional well-placed strings played by someone named K. Dylan, but otherwise Segall does everything himself. I admire the efficiency of his methods—he turns out records at a fairly staggering pace—but you shouldn’t assume that his no-fuss approach means he’s “just a garage rocker.” Sleeper establishes this dude as one my favorite singer-songwriters in any milieu.
Stahls Trio, Jag Skulle Bara Ga Ut (Moserobie)Sweden’s Mattias Ståhl made a convincing case that he’s the most exciting jazz vibist in Europe with this crisp, melodic trio album with bassist Joe Williamson and drummer Christopher Cantillo. Ståhl bears a surprisingly close physical resemblance to Chicago vibist Jason Adasiewicz, and while both musicians are daring and original players, their sound couldn’t be more different. Adasiewicz is a ferociously percussive player fascinated by piling up overtones in dense stacks of harmony, but Ståhl prefers clarity and leanness, delivering sharply melodic lines that recall the sound of the great Walt Dickerson.
