HOT HALF DOZEN 3.12.24

Almost 200 entries this week. The best oes were almost all female this week – sorry guys, but after all it is International Women’s month. And they were outstanding. Norah Jones, Jackie Bristow, Rubio, Natalia Lafourcade ad more.

188 songs, videos ad albums submitted for review this week

Be Still, album, by Dessy Di Lauro. We loved the single (2.6.24) now the 2-song  EP/album is out and  it’s mesmerizing. Di Lauro can modulate her voice between sultry and seduction to matter-of -fact, to hep-hep jazz. She uses it beautifully in Be Still to smooth your soul, calm your mind, and tell you stories about yourself with evocative lyrics that glow. Once you put it on, you will never want to stop playing it.  Stream on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music.

María la Curandera, single/video by Natalia Lafourcade. The Mexican singer released this for Women’s History Month on her Latin Grammy-winning album De Todas las Flores.  The song is adapted from a text by María Sabina, an indigenous Mazatec woman considered one of Mexico’s greatest poets. The song is about the strength of  a woman and the importance of being connected to the earth and nature.  Stream on all major platforms. Spanish

Venus & Blue, album by Rubio. The 11 songs on this album range from sweet to anthemic to pop, to hip hop to ambient, to indigenous to love, to power – all done in the eclectic style that she is known for. There is no one like the Chilean singer Francisca Straube, known musically as Rubio This album is intriguing, fascinating, in places mesmerizing and everywhere a unique work of art.  Stream on Spotify and other major platforms.  

Visions, album by Norah Jones. Stylistically, the songs on this album include  pop to near-country, to ballads, to “moody”; the common thread being her voice which seduces your ears in each song and forms a living image of her singing, just to you. Remarkable. Stream on all platforms.

Miles To Go, single by Jackie Bristrow and Barry Saunders. I have been following Jackie for eight  years and each song just gets better. Simple guitar strums, colored with Saunder’s harmonica, move along this travelling song with wanderlust and nostalgia. An urgent combination that begs for a replay. Love it. Stream on Spotify ad major platforms.

Twilight of Our Prime, single by Matt Jaffe. One of this generation’s most brilliant songwriters, Twilight of Our Prime demonstrates his ability to combine thought-provoking concepts and topics with superb, innovative rock/electronic music and big arrangements. Not sure I agree with – or at least want to acknowledge – the premise, but the music is so sophisticated and yet so open and accessible, I can’t stop listening.  Stream on Spotify and most major platforms