As the harvest season unfolds, there’s still a ton of live shows to enjoy. But musicians across the city continue offering up excellent records. The Scene’s music writers have eight new recommendations for you — add ’em to your streaming queue or pick them up from your favorite local record store. Or put them on your wish list for Bandcamp Friday, the promotion in which the platform waives its cut of sales for a 24-hour period. Bandcamp Friday returns on Oct. 7, and many of our picks are available to buy directly from the artists there, too.
Virghost and KingPin Da’ Composer, Summer in September IV (Capitol Minds)
In the nine years since the debut of their Summer in September series, top-notch rapper Virghost and outstanding producer KingPin Da’ Composer have refined their approaches and sharpened their skills aplenty. In the newest installment, Virghost brings nimble bars that, among other things, touch on staying above the fray of online beef, while KingPin draws from a vibrant palette of sounds with touches of neo soul and old-school boom-bap. It’s an enticing listen throughout, but the back half of the release — “Fake Proud,” “1995,” “Abstract Colors” and “New Day” — is a cavalcade of bangers. With assists from Neauxlah Goddess and BeHoward on the off-kilter groove of “1995” and Simone Curry and the F.O.C. Choir on the gospel-tinged “New Day,” it’s some of the duo’s most sonically diverse work, too. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Lou Turner, Microcosmos (Spinster)
Left-of-center Nashville songwriting juggernaut Styrofoam Winos strikes again with the latest from the core trio’s Lou Turner. The Texas-born tunesmith and wordsmith follows up her acclaimed 2020 solo outing Songs for John Venn with a set that, true to its title, is a more celestial affair as it investigates the little things that make up a life. A blanket-warm collection of dreamy, ’70s-time-capsule-style psych-folk numbers, Microcosmos is easy to get lost in. That said, Turner reserves the right to sneak up on the listener unexpectedly — with the lyrics to “Dancing to Hold Music,” for example, which painstakingly take inventory of the ups and downs of a dissolved relationship, and the standout “What Might We Find There,” a deft and devastating look into connecting with others. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Andrew Combs, Sundays (Tone Tree)
The pop music you hear on Andrew Combs’ Sundays is derived from the mild rock that singer-songwriters have favored since the 1970s. Combs has evolved his style considerably since 2015’s All These Dreams, which found the Texas native emulating Mickey Newbury and Guy Clark, but with somewhat more elaborate — and indie-rock-tinged — production. Combs questions the idea of evil in “Mark of the Man” and looks back at his younger self on “Adeline.” Recorded in mono, Sundays sounds a little muffled, but Combs’ musical ideas combine Guy Clark and John Lennon — you get the idea that Combs could go fully pop but isn’t going to leave his influences behind. EDD HURT
Find Sundays on your favorite streaming service, at your favorite record store or via Combs' website.
Collin Felter, Phases (self-released)
Jazz’s compositional side sometimes gets overlooked or underrated in importance, with so much emphasis placed on individual virtuosity and ensemble interaction. But it’s the overall quality of the pieces and how they connect to tell a story that are the most important things about multi-instrumentalist and composer Collin Felter’s second LP Phases. The 10 original compositions combine to provide a musical portrait of Felter, revealing his ability to craft both engaging short pieces and more ambitious longer ones like the finale “New World,” the set’s longest piece at more than six minutes. Other works reflect an energetic, fun side (“Hot Chicken,” “Post-Dinner”) as well as a more somber, thoughtful approach (“Limitations,” “Rising Action”). The set’s focus is much more on cohesive presentation, with Felter also contributing his own standout moments on trombone and guitar. This is jazz for fans who enjoy imaginative sequencing and a solid blend of expressively melodic yet also rhythmically challenging numbers. RON WYNN
Find Phases on your favorite streaming service, at your favorite record store or via Felter's website.
Jennifer Hartswick, Something in the Water (Brother Mister/Mack Avenue)
This is a hot record. It’s also a very cool one — and on it, vocalist-trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick moves between the two extremes with ease. Produced by guitarist Nicholas Cassarino, who co-wrote six of the nine songs with Hartswick and lyricist Erin Boyd, Something in the Water is a nearly perfect blend of contemporary jazz and ’70s horn-driven pop R&B. Best known for her work as a member of the Trey Anastasio Band, Hartswick shows here she is a formidable marquee artist. A dynamic, soulful vocalist with a wide range, she is also a top-notch trumpet player, as her scorching solos on the record demonstrate. Hartswick is not plowing any new ground here, but that doesn’t matter because she does it so well. DARYL SANDERS
Total Wife, A Blip (Warehaus)
Pay no mind to its title: A Blip is no brief, modest interruption. Roughly 51 percent melody and 49 percent noise, the newest full-length from Nashville’s Total Wife is an explosive, cacophonous statement of intent. The latest Boston expats to grace the local underground in recent years (see also: Twen and Sad Baxter), the group draws on Duster, Stereolab, Swirlies and other ’90s cult acts — and over the course of 10 tracks in 46 minutes, Total Wife refashions these influences into a disorienting yet engrossing sonic tapestry that demands repeated listens and stokes enthusiasm for what’s next. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Peachy, Everything Is Fine (self-released)
Formed by longtime local-scene stalwarts, Peachy came roaring out of the gate in 2018 with Squirt, a punk rager of an EP. The trio has expanded its sound as singers and songwriters Leah Miller (who also plays bass) and Rachel Warrick (on guitar) have grown increasingly confident in their individual songwriting voices. Along with drummer Benji Coale, they’ve figured out how to let their influences shine within the context of the band — hear some Siouxsie and the Banshees and other post-punks in the DNA of tunes on which Miller takes the lead, like “Rosy Tinted,” while the songs Warrick sings, like “Happy for Once,” take more cues from ’90s indie rockers like Superchunk and The Breeders. The true delight is that it all sounds like the irrepressible and kinetic Peachy, a group that’s not here to take shit from anyone. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Jimmy Hall, Ready Now (Keeping the Blues Alive)
On the Hendrix-y “Will You Still Be Here,” Jimmy Hall sings, “I been wound up tight, and I wanna cut loose.” And he wasn’t kidding. Ready Now is the Wet Willie vocalist’s first album in more than a decade, and it’s a monster. This is the kind of sophisticated rock record you get when world-class musicians work together. Southern rock royalty, Hall has long been one of rock’s most soulful vocalists and harmonica players, and here, he reminds us he still is. He’s backed on the LP by a formidable group of musicians led by producer-guitarist Joe Bonamassa and including guitarists Josh Smith and Warren Haynes, keyboardist Reese Wynans, bassist Michael Rhodes and drummer Greg Morrow. An inspired and moving collection of mostly original material co-written by Hall, this is an album that demands repeated listening. DARYL SANDERS
Find Ready Now on your favorite streaming service, at your favorite record store or via Hall's website.
