While vaccination numbers are on the rise and tentative steps are being made toward a return of live music, we’re far from out of the woods. Musicians across a variety of scenes in Nashville continue to release fantastic music at a rapid rate, and our music writers have seven new recommendations for you. Add ’em to your streaming queue or get a physical copy from your favorite record store. Or drop them on your wishlist for #BandcampFriday — the promotion in which the platform waives its cut of artist fees — coming up on April 2.
Also check out our previous lists for even more recommendations: March, April, May, June (1), June (2), July (1), July (2), September (1), September (2), Best of Nashville Writers' Choices (October), November, December, Top Local Albums Critics' Poll (December), January and February.
$avvy, Boys Wear Pearls (Dadabase)
Eventually, the pandemic will be under control, and navigating an in-person social scene will be just as complicated as it ever was, if not more so. $avvy’s agile, emotionally rich flavor of hip-hop fused with futuristic R&B will be an excellent companion to have along for the ride. On Boys Wear Pearls, the singer and MC pulls apart the layers of complex interactions, from hookups to breakups and beyond. Over danceable beats and supreme hooks, he conveys a magnetic swagger tinged with humanizing vulnerability as he defines his space and questions where relationships are going and where he fits into them. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Stream or buy Boys Wear Pearls on your favorite platform via this handy link.
Belly Full of Stars, Aura (Triplicate Records)
Considering the chaos of the outside world, it’s no wonder ambient music is flourishing — a trend The New York Times reported on late last year in a story titled “Your Most-Played Song of 2020 Is … White Noise?” Classically trained pianist, composer, producer and found-sound purveyor Kim Rueger, alias Belly Full of Stars, is one of Nashville’s best at this, crafting stirring, nuanced soundscapes with a discernible human touch. Her latest, the six-part Aura, follows a bell-curve-like structure, bookending its middle section’s vibrant piano swells (think Brian Eno’s Music for Airports) with rich, melodic electronic textures. Like its glitchier 2019 predecessor Brokendatapool, Aura makes its point in just under half an hour, lending itself nicely to repeated listens, active or passive. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Susan Anders, 13 Women (Zannadiscs)
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more diverse, inclusive or authoritative salute to Women’s History Month than Susan Anders’ 13 Women. The latest release from the Nashville vocalist, songwriter and highly respected vocal coach is a collection of original compositions in tribute to the accomplishments of women in various fields. They range from brilliant performer and wartime heroine Josephine Baker to trailblazing educator Lucy Goldthorpe and Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were harvested without her permission and led to a variety of medical advances. With help from guitarist and producer Tom Manche, Anders expertly combines elements of folk, pop, rock and even some jazz influences while consistently presenting lyric messages of inspiration, perseverance and triumph. RON WYNN
Stream or buy 13 Women via Anders' website or your favorite record store.
No.Stress, Prelude No. 1 (YK Records)
You’ve almost certainly heard keyboardist Paul Horton’s work with others — on tour with Alabama Shakes and on Brittany Howard’s solo debut stunner Jaime, or with extraordinary bassist Greg Bryant in their self-described “Black creative music” duo Concurrence. Prelude No. 1 is the debut release from Horton’s mostly instrumental solo project No.Stress. It’s a fascinating listen that brings together jazz and soul grooves and experimental perspectives, with organic-feeling sample manipulation and a ton of live players as well. Horton draws on music scenes across Nashville and beyond — the album includes Bryant and others on bass, Howard on guitar, and drum contributions from jazz drummer Marcus Finnie, electronic composer and onetime Lambchop drummer Scott Martin, and Grammy-winning studio and touring drummer Derrek Phillips. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Montgomery and Turner, Sounds Passing Through Circumstances (Astral Editions)
Nashville saxophonist and flutist JayVe Montgomery joined Chicago keyboardist Nick Turner to create Sounds Passing Through Circumstances, a release made up of two long drone pieces. Recorded in the spring and summer of 2020, Sounds Passing reflects the uncertain mood of COVID-era America, but it’s spiritual music that acknowledges existential darkness without falling prey to its seductions. Turner’s processed Mellotron parts merge with Montgomery’s mutated saxophone and flute, making Sounds Passing an ambient album that yields plenty of deep meaning. EDD HURT
Willie Dustice, Trax4Stax Vol. 1 and Broken Gear Blues(self-released)
Willie Dustice caught my attention with his moniker — a nod to Fighting Baseball, a 1994 video game whose Japanese designers, in lieu of official licensing, conjured hilariously garbled names for American major leaguers. (See also: “Bobson Dugnutt,” “Sleve McDichael,” “Todd Bonzalez.”) Dustice held my attention with his Bandcamp output, beginning with 2018’s How Not to Be Consumed With Existential Dread Every Day. A player with Willie McGee’s speed and David Justice’s power would be a force in any lineup, and Dustice is a singing, rapping, producing, sample-seeking multi-instrumentalist renaissance man. The stoney, homespun stylings of his Trax4Stax Vol. 1 mixtape recall Prefuse 73’s similarly eclectic and collage-like 2000 debut Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives in places, painting a picture of a musical omnivore with a restless will to create. And at 16 tracks for just a dollar, it’s a steal of a deal, so grip the twangier odds-and-sods companion EP Broken Gear Blues while you’re at it. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Charlie Treat, The Comet (self-released)
For the most part, attempts to re-create the sound of 1970s and ’80s country end up defaulting to retro. However, that’s not the case with Nashville singer Charlie Treat’s The Comet. A Connecticut-born musician who spent time in Memphis before moving to town in 2014, Treat sings in a gloriously insincere voice throughout The Comet, and his songs synthesize Southern rock, country and soul. The album’s “Biggest Fool on Earth” works horns, keyboards and electric sitar into a schlock-country concoction about a failing marriage. Still, it’s hard not to laugh when Treat sings, “Just when he’s given the universe / He starts asking for space.” Elsewhere, “Tune as Pretty as You” employs a classic folk-Beatles chord progression, while “Steamshovel Blues” evokes ’70s Southern rockers The Atlanta Rhythm Section. Treat and producer Jesse Thompson’s widescreen approach turns The Comet into a post-country masterpiece. EDD HURT
Stream or buy The Comet, which is out March 26, via Treat's website.
