Apologies for the wait on this followup to our list of essential albums we received during the summer months, but life happens. Now that we’re almost into October now, I am happy to finally have this second half ready for your eyes and ears.

I think going forward, I may feature more reviews like what you see below as posts on RCU’s social media accounts, as that would allow me to get these out in a more timely fashion. So if you don’t already, please follow Record Crates United on Instragram, Mastodon and Bluesky, as those are the three platforms I’m going to focus on here on out.

And now, on with the music

Danny Paul Grody – Arc of Day (Three Lobed Recordings)

Tender atmospheric fantasias performed on acoustic guitar, woodwinds and pedal steel (provided by Chuck Johnson) abound on this elemental release, along with raining ethereal percussion and an ocean’s worth of spirit.

The record is filled with dreamlike soundscapes that show a deep reverence for sounds found out in nature and the beautiful sonic qualities of natural spaces. This is an all-timer great LP.

Post Moves – Clarity Surrender (Sweet Wreath Records)

Post Moves’ latest record exists on the more surreal and hallucinatory end of the same modernist guitar composition spectrum that Danny Paul Grody also dwells in.

Combining disparate elements like spoken word poetry, zither ragas and synthesizer breakdowns, sonic sculptor Sam Wenc created here formless instrumental essays based around the defining qualities of folk music. If the Entourage Music Ensemble and Pelt receive a lot of play in your household, then this is an essential album of the year for you.

Asher Gamedze – Turbulence and Pulse (International Anthem)

Cape Town, South Africa-based drummer Asher Gamedze utilizes the mystical qualities of spiritual jazz, the bombastic freedom of post-bop and a dash of heady psychedelia to deeply explore the concept of claiming historical agency to shape a better future.

Hypnotic, inspiring and undeniably cool, this is a jazz record we could all get behind.

Modern Folk Trio Band/Steve Palmer – MFTB​/​SP

We are strongly of the opinion that anything Steve Palmer touches turns to gold, so hearing this improvised jam with J. Moss’ Modern Folk Trio Band (another powerful force of musical alchemy), was a spaced-out but joyous occasion! Moss and Palmer trade noodly, free-flowing guitar lines that spiral out into meandering fractals while minimalist drums and synths build atmosphere and keep the music chugging along.

This is one for the heads.

Pefkin – Observations on Land and Sea (Sonido Polifonico)

Gayle Brogan’s solo project shines very brightly on this mini-album.

With ephemeral ambient-folk soundscapes that highlight the beauty of Brogan’s voice, this highly atmospheric lathe cut is as bewitching as it gets. Fans of folk horror soundtracks and Sharron Kraus NEED to listen to this record, preferably while outside by the sea, as the ocean winds were a major source of inspiration for this music.

Florry – The Holey Bible (Dear Life Records)

If Neil Young melodies were transmitted through red-eyed feral country rock, then this is the record you might get. Pedal steel and twangy guitars sway with woozy harmonica and tinny vocals all across this fun little record. Stoned mornings in dew-covered bluegrass and sloshed barn stomps are all conjured up by these hazy, lazy rural jams.

If you get a chance to walk barefoot to your local swimming hole with this blaring loudly from your phone sometime before the summer ends, don’t pass it up!

Brigid Mae Power – Dream from the Deep Well (Fire Records)

Piercingly honest and relatable progressive folk music that leans into ethereal psychedelia and baroque chamber pop zones from the Robert Kirby/Joe Boyd school of arrangement and production? Yes, PLEASE!!

It’s no surprise that Brigid Mae Power would be behind one of the greatest records of the year, but this album is truly something else. The lyrics might be the most raw and poetic of Power’s entire career. This folk response to the current political and environmental climate is what our hearts need in order to help soothe our weary, overwhelmed minds. A fraught and loving LP for our harsh times.

Slyne and The Family Stoned – Is Heaven Sweet (to the Ones We Lose)

This is some fierce heaviness from Connecticut that carries elements of hard acid rock, while the ghost of grunge looms large in the background. These guys channel the righteous anger and frustration that so many of us feel every time we flip on the news into charging riffs and unhinged distortion.

The record is packed with cathartic, high-octane jams that rip and bellow with beefy fuzz and white hot energy. If Tad and The Bevis Frond are cherished names in your record collection, give this record a try.

Erica Dawn Lyle – Sympoiesis

Sympoiesis is a shredding avant-garde storm of ultra distorted guitar. In dire need of sonic release, Erica Dawn Lyle (of Bikini Kill) ignites the air with a plethora of electrified growls and shrieks. It takes great skill to make a guitar sound like a chainsaw having night terrors, but Lyle accomplishes that in spades here.

This is a raging, fiery record that defeats darkness and horror. Do you feel like you need to scream after reading the day’s headlines? Then this album’s for you.

Lunaria – Venus in Transit (Aural Canyon Records)

This is a total sound bath.

Drifting ethereal tones and electronic pulses sway and quiver through vast cosmic seas on Lunaria’s Venus in Transit. Kosmische heroes like Tangerine Dream creep up in the mix, as does the work of John Carpenter, which feels beautifully called out on the tense 80s-like “Moonstar.”

Norwood – Miss The Point (Island House Recordings)

This is some surreal Brian Wilson-like ear candy that is lush with living, tangible sounds and a deeply home-made feel. So you know this is going to be a hugely rewarding and magical listen.

If Kevin Ayers or Skip Spence recorded with the Elephant Six Collective, then it might sound something like this.

Greta Ruth – Holy Omen

Geta Ruth’s latest album is a cold hush, a whisper from a delicate heart and the spirit of nature left to live wild and free.

Ruth’s poetic and wholly intimate songs feel even more personal and sacred with their stripped-down and elemental arrangements. With a gorgeously soft voice and healing lyrics, you feel as though Ruth is singing for your ears only. This is the soothing singer-songwriter record you didn’t know your soul needed.

With lyrics this powerful, you must order Ruth’s handmade lyric book in addition to her album!

Night Beats – Rajan (Suicide Squeeze Records)

To this date, Night Beats put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen, and that was more than a decade ago now. So it’s such a treat to see them still playing all these many years later with so much energy, focus and drive.

Rajan is a concise and dreamy psychedelic album with excellent song craft that certainly feels as indebted to old soul 45s as it does to the ghosts of acid rock’s past.

While previous Night Moves records were rabid and ferocious in tone, this one leans heavier into atmosphere and grooves, making it a damn fine record to dance to at a party. Close your eyes and feel the vibes flow through you.

Carlos Niño & Friends – (I’m Just) Chillin’, On Fire (International Anthem)

Experimental jazz guru Carlos Niño weaves all kinds of sonic magic and majesty on this earthy, spiritual dreamscape.

Featuring notable guests such as Laraaji, Andre 3000, Surya Botofasina and Kamasi Washington, this record offers an ever shifting array of sounds and flavors that slide all over the neo-psychedelic jazz spectrum. This is a record to sink into and cleanse your soul with.

The Electric Nature – Old World Die Must (Feeding Tube Records/Null Zone)

Michael Pierce, Michael Potter and Thom Strickland create cacophonic war zones of blistering avant-garde jazz with the help of Jeff Tobias on sax and John Kiran Fernando’ on clarinet and violin. 

Nuclear fission by way of brass, synths and crashing cymbals permeate on side A, and shrieking metallic whirlwind drones dominate side B. Fans of Sun Ra, MONO and Azuza Plane will rejoice when they hear this one.

Stony Sugarskull – Princess (Initiative Musik/Calyra)

Stony Sugarskull, AKA Monika Demmler, incinerates with her unique brand of raw kosmische-inspired garage rock.

With a healthy dose of glammy production, kaleidoscopic effects and catchy songwriting, this record is the perfect accumulation of all of the many sides of Demmler.

Hazy, energetic and with just a touch of gothic darkness, Princess is a rock record that any attendee of the Levitation Festivals would get hooked to.

Gunn Truscinski Nace – Glass Band (Three Lobed Recordings)

On this intensely grounding record, Steve Gunn, Bill Nace and John Truscinski glide, rumble and drone their way through nine beautifully textured, earthen soundscapes.

Armed with a mix of guitars, drums and tape loops, this power trio churns and frolics between the realms of ambient folk, post rock and avant-garde jazz to create epic pieces that—much like the Danny Paul Grody album at the start of this post— feel deeply inspired by the symphonies of nature. The sounds of storms, ocean waves and verdant nocturnal forests all seem to be channeled through these sweeping, grand fantasias.

The sheer volume and depth of sound that emanates from these three musicians is simply astounding.

-KH