Sufjan Stevens - "Love Yourself"

The physical (limited edition) 7" of this new Sufjan Stevens track isn't out til the end of June, but Stevens has released an newly finished version of a song he wrote over twenty years ago (the demo version is included on the Bandcamp).

Stevens has released this now - along with "With My Whole Heart" - to mark Pride Month and a portion of the proceeds from sales will to two organizations assisting homeless LGBTQ+ youth in New York and Detroit.

It can be a hard thing for anyone to love themselves, but particularly for queer folx who exist in a world that inflicts violence on them for simply being.

Chris Orrick - "Spent A Lot Of Time"

Detroit MC Chris Orrick just dropped his latest album, Out To Sea, on the always reliable Mello Music Group today (May 24th) and I've had one full pass through the record. Unsurprisingly solid, with a throwback vibe to the production - by Man@Work -  and a thoroughly now tone to the lyrics which is no surprise when reading that:

This album is dedicated to the damage done by the 2016 United States Presidential Election, Social Media and the 24 Hour News Cycle. 

My favourite cut on the album is "Spent A Lot Of Time" built atop a great jazzy loop with piano and sax dancing on a boom-bap percussive note, all in service of a deeply philosophical and questioning set of verses.

Meernaa - "Thinking Of You"

OHGODYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Oakland's Meernaa, who were responsible for, "Good Luck," my #5 song of 2018, are back and have a new record called Heart Hunger due imminently on Native Cat Recordings and they JUST dropped a track from it today.

No surprise it is GOLD. RR readers know how much I love Rhye and "Thinking Of You" could fit pretty snuggly on a playlist alongside Mike Milosh's future-soul-love-songs.

Just click play on the Youtube link and let it take you away.

Matthew 'Doc' Dunn - "Mind Of My Lover"

Despite being huge into the group The Cosmic Range (their album The Gratitude Principle is in the running for my Polaris ballot), I totally missed the boat on the fact that they have an imprint under the band's name and have released material from Matthew 'Doc' Dunn, including Lightbourn from last summer.

Speaking of summer, my favourite track off the album is "Mind Of My Lover," a surprising slice of yacht rock that luxuriates in a warm bath of a groove for nearly six minutes and features Dunn's yearning (but still pleasant) vocals.

Teotima - "Cracks"

Due out next Friday (May 24th) the new album from UK soul-jazz collective Teotima, Weightless, has some serious heft. Which makes sense considering the group is 14 members strong and "Cracks" clocks in at over 7 minutes.

The great thing about a lengthy track like this is it provides room for all the players to contribute and have their moment. The crisp horn section gets particular shine around the 5 minute mark after subtle contributions up to that point.

If you're a fan of the likes of Nostalgia 77 (whose Ben Lamdin engineered this "as-live to tape" recording") and big soul-jazz ensembles, then mark your iCal to check out the full-length when the always-on-point First Word Records releases it on the 24th.

Ona - "Summer Candy"

It's always a bit of a litmus test to put word "summer" in your song title. Can you capture the feel of that sweet season? Is your song a pleasant 25c with a cloudless sky? Can the word "dappled" be used to describe the music?

Well, the quintet of musicians in West Virginia band Ona pass the test with "Summer Candy," the lead-off track to their new album Full Moon, Heavy Light.

Bouncing bass line and propulsive snare / hi-hat? Check. Ringing lead guitar line? Check. Swirling rhythm guitar? Check. Smooth vocal delivery? Check.

"So soft / so sweet" go the vocals describing the Summer Candy in the song, but it's a fitting description of the song itself.

Thanks to the fine folks at Planetary who sent this record my way last week.