THIS WEEK'S KEY RELEASES
Ryan Adams _ "Prisoner"
Befitting its release date _ whether deliberate or not _ "Prisoner" works well as a deep-winter heartbreak album, with acoustic guitars and ruminations on loss cutting through the cold air. It's been said that the best art comes out of an artist's pain. While that may be debatable, Ryan Adams has nevertheless managed to pull truly inspired music out of deep personal loss. _ Chris Ingalls
Grails _ "Chalice Hymnal"
There's an amber glaze of continuity over all but the most rugged passages of "Chalice Hymnal". In the moment, propulsive rockers like "Pelham" and "New Prague" sweep in like unexpected waves, but soon enough after come chilled out ebb tides like "Empty Chamber" and "Rebecca." Progressive without being prog rock, instrumental without ever leaving room to wonder where the words are, "Chalice Hymnal" travels extensively across its eleven songs, yet it also becomes a contained cycle. _ Ian King
Bing & Ruth _ "No Home of the Mind"
Tim Darcy _ "Saturday Night"
Dutch Uncles _ "Big Balloon"
Hanni El Khatib _ "Savage Times"
Nikki Lane _ "Highway Queen"
Jens Lekman _ "Life Will See You Now"
Son Volt _ "Notes of Blue"
Strand of Oaks _ "Hard Love"
NOW HEAR THIS
Gallant Shows Why He's One of the World's Best New Soul Singers
Gallant broke out big in 2016 with his stunning debut "Ology." Even Elton John is a huge fan and the pair performed "Weight in Gold" back in September. Gallant recently played NPR Music's Tiny Desk series and, on "Bourbon", Chance the Rapper collaborator Saba thrills with his fast, on-point rapping flow. Gallant pens songs that sound like instant classics and he'll be a force to reckon with in soul music for many years to come. _ Sarah Zupko
(https://youtu.be/BGpmIANN5Lg)
WATCH THIS
Chance the Rapper _ "Same Drugs"
Layered with "Peter Pan" references, surreal puppet side characters, and marvelous guest vocalists, "Same Drugs" is a masterpiece about growing up and growing apart. Chance the Rapper crafts a warm, soulful ballad about resisting life's changes even as loved ones give in. His video, filtered to look like a vintage episode of "The Muppets," tells the story even as he sings it: he starts out wrapped up in a childlike fantasy, and finally gets up and leaves it all behind, walking into darker, colder reality. This is a tender ode to the inevitable, artful and bittersweet. _ Adriane Pontecorvo
(https://youtu.be/be37-T72DNk)
Kate Tempest _ "Europe Is Lost"
Caught up in the minutiae of one moment to the next, it's easy to be misled by distractions and to lose sight of the larger, insidious picture. On "Europe Is Lost", Kate Tempest climbs to a high enough vantage point to perceive the broader patterns of the present era _ not just the turmoil and unrest presently washing over the Western world, but also the way we anesthetize and blind ourselves to the rotting foundations beneath our feet, desperately clinging to false comforts. This is an impressively lucid perspective on our current condition. _ Andrew Paschal
(https://youtu.be/QSVyyykaEOo)
Jamiroquai _ "Automaton"
Jamiroquai goes full cyborg on restless electro track "Automaton". Jay Kay's voice is still disco-smooth, but even he isn't immune from the coldness of the world, his lyrics mourning the betrayal of the future, the dissatisfying present. He doesn't quite nail the funky rap break near the end, but the quirks in the robotic melody give this enough interesting texture to please audiences who might have rolled their eyes at previous feel-good Jamiroquai hits. Really, though, what kind of world do we live in if even Jay Kay is feeling existential dread? _ Adriane Pontecorvo
(https://youtu.be/rmlmOk4ubcU)
