Elucid - Save Yourself [2016]

Regardless of how abstract and indirect it may seem at times - make no mistake, Save Yourself is a deeply personal record. Throughout the development of Save Yourself Elucid's life went through a sea of changes: a change of jobs, the end of a seven-year relationship and the isolation that came with moving to East New York. In the meantime, although some would say the world around him was changing, others might point out that it was just revealing itself, with the rise of the #BlackLivesMatter movement putting a much needed microscope on the all too common horrid instances of police brutality towards Black Americans. All of this - in addition to the rapper's past, present and views on the future - strongly informs Save Yourself. For Elucid, it's a work "expressing Blackness", delving into "lost love, inequality, and liberation" and speaking on "histories and structures...pointing out where they intersect."

The Nels Cline 4 - Currents, Constellations [2018]

Whether releasing accomplished avant-garde jazz albums with the Nels Cline Singers, or ripping through indie-rock songs with Wilco, Nels Cline's guitar work is always impressive. The guitarist's talents have recently earned him a spot on the legendary Blue Note Records, which released Lovers in 2016. Lovers was a 90 minute testament to Cline's range as a guitarist, boasting absurdly beautiful takes on jazz standards ("Glad To Be Unhappy") as well as tasteful rock covers ("Snare, Girl"). Cline's sophomore Blue Note release, The Nels Cline 4's Currents, Constellations, sounds absolutely nothing like Lovers. In the context of the Cline discography, the album could best be described as a somewhat natural progression from Room, a duet album with one of the most in demand guitarists in jazz today, Julian Lage.