Tyshawn Sorey – Unfiltered (Pi)

Unfortunately, Unfiltered is unavailable for online streaming, so here’s a video of Tyshawn drumming instead.

Tyshawn Sorey is a genius drummer and composer from New York, and nowhere is it clearer than on Unfiltered. The album consists of a single piece over two hours in length, split for obvious reason into three parts on disc. “Unfiltered” is an enterprise of pharaonic scale, played by a sextet of legendary musicians, including vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, whom we covered in the past. It’s a composition that takes inspirations from all across the board, from the spiritual to the melancholic. Unfiltered is an absolute jazz masterpiece.

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Bec plexus – Sticklip (New Amsterdam)

Bec plexus is an avant-pop band from the Netherlands, and they’ve just released their debut album, Sticklip. With their focus on high-energy rhythms and eccentric vocals, they remind me a lot of Jptr, a favourite of mine! Bec plexus can do a bit more than the Swiss duo, however, given the impressive list of collaborators on the album. With a varied sound palette and an instinct for catchy-yet-odd melodies, you’re sure to hear more from Bec plexus in the future!

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Rejoice! The Light Has Come – Untitled (Transcending)

West Virginia avant-garde black metal newcomers Rejoice! The Light Has Come give us their vision of what black metal should be in 2020 on their untitled debut EP. This vision takes heavy inspiration from Drought-era Deathspell Omega and such, focusing on chromatic dissonance, independent voices between the two guitars and the bass, and an utter and complete destruction of the drum kit, thanks to Kevin Paradis’s collaboration. Needless to say, this is a highly promising debut for the band!

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Monoglot – Make (Hout)

German noise-jazz quintet Monoglot are preparing the release of their third album, Make. With a forty-minute runtime and nine tracks, Make knows how to invent and reinvent itself, which is endlessly rewarding. The band has truly mastered the fine line between jazz and rock—in their own way, not just like any jazz fusion project—paying homage at the same time to many inspiring artists, like saxophonist Colin Stetson it seems to me. Be ready for Make, out on May 22.

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Stuart McCowan – The Perfect Nemesis

Stuart McCowan is an Australian pianist and composer releasing his debut album, The Perfect Nemesis. It’s an impressive progressive jazz fusion release, especially for a debut! At times, it feels like listening to progressive rock covered by a jazz band, and that’s part of what makes it a really interesting and compelling experience. The compositions can go from atmospheric and pretty mellow to hectic and erratic in an instant, which spices things up! Be sure to check it out!

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Tom Namias – Stuck in the Middle

French guitarist and composer Tom Namias has long alluded to putting together an album. There once was an untitled EP that since vanished from the Internet, and there also a guest appearance on Chaoh Reiccuk‘s Nantes, but now there is an actual album: Stuck in the Middle! It’s a tasteful metal-meets-jazz—the so-called djazz portmanteau—endeavour that goes to a lot of places, and does it exceptionally well. The only bémol I have experienced with the album is for the programmed drums, which sometimes stand out as obviously fake to the point of being irritating, but most of the time they do a good job of staying out of the spotlight. It’s a promising debut and I can’t wait to hear more already!