Cat Toren's Human Kind - Scintillating Beauty [2020]

Published on PostGenre

With a first track as striking as "Radiance In Veils", one immediately gets the sense that Cat Toren's Human Kind's Scintillating Beauty is an album that will live up to its name. The tune is an epic Cat Toren original that moves from serenity to overwhelming force - in one instance in shockingly abrupt fashion. In its calmer moments, Toren's piano is spellbindingly delicate, working particularly well in the company of mesmerizing chimes. Later on, a fiery solo by saxophonist Xavier del Castillo is met well by energetic playing from the rest of the band. The high-quality on display will not surprise anyone who has heard Cat Toren's Human Kind's self-titled debut album, which featured the same band: Cat Toren (piano, compositions) Yoshie Fruchter (oud), Jake Leckie (bass), and Matt Honor (drums). Stephanie Rooker, who plays chimes, tuning forks and singing bowls on "Radiance in Veils", is the only addition.

Tyshawn Sorey - Unfiltered [2020]

 

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Tyshawn Sorey is a master of modern creative music. Unfiltered has Sorey on drums joined by five talented young musicians, Nathan Reising (alto saxophone), Morgan Guerin (tenor saxophone), Lex Korten (piano), Nick Dunston (bass), and Sasha Berliner (vibraphone). Those who have heard Sorey's recent work as a bandleader may be surprised at the relatively grounded nature of this two-hour piece. Unlike past albums such as Verisimilitude or Pillars, Unfiltered is not a release characterized by overtly modern classical or free improvisation elements. However, this has not changed a key aspect of Sorey's work: riveting complexity and extremely high quality. 

Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today [2020]

 

Ultimate Success Today is bleak and eerily prescient. The seemingly optimistic title of Protomartyr's fifth album is in jest, diametrically opposed to its grim content. The album name makes a murmured appearance on opener "Day Without End", a song in which frontman Joe Casey paints a picture of imminent death. Although there is nothing even relatively close to a joyful celebration of success on Ultimate Success Today, that isn't anything the Protomartyr fans would expect, and more importantly, it's an exceptional album.