This article was featured in RVAMag #28: Spring 2017. You can read all of issue #28 here or pick it up at local shops around RVA right now. If you missed Part 1 of our record reviews, you can check that out here.
Fly Anakin & Koncept Jack$on
Chapel Drive
Give one listen to Chapel Drive and you’ll understand just why the Mutant Academy collective has earned such a strong reputation in hip-hop circles. The first project to feature every member of the collective, there is a ton of creative rhymes and stunning production to digest, so much so that it’s daunting at times, but Fly and Koncept pace the sixteen track well and work hard to ensure its laid-back feeling… just like a chapel drive itself. (DN)
The Folly
The Folly
(Self-Released)
An extremely eclectic offering from one of the more unique bands in town, with enough musical ideas to tide them over for the next decade it seems. Sounds jump from song to song starting with a bang (“Coal Miner Rebellion”) before moving on to a shimmering duet (“Fish Me Out”). Utilizing two strong singers in Anneliese Grant and Jordan Lette helps lift the record up, but it’s really the quartet’s songwriting ability that lets this EP soar. (DN)
Opin
Opin
(Egghunt)
Landis Wine and Tori Hovater have hit the ground running with this debut. It’s an intense, emotionally affecting collection — “Do you really want to die sometimes?” — and while the album drives deeper into the synth territory White Laces had explored, the ache in Wine’s voice and sporadic saxophone appearances fill these songs with a striking sense of humanity. From its loudest moments to its most reflective, Opin feels alive, with all the passion and variety of life itself. (DJ)
Saw Black
Azalea Days
Throughout Azalea Days, Saw Black makes one convincing argument after another for why he is one of the strongest songwriters in town. As the record contemplates a relationship unraveling, Black looks at the universe internally and externally as he seeks answers and resolve in each of the eleven tracks featured. Even at the most disparaging moments, there are still moments of hope to be found from a perennial love song to an ode to everyone’s favorite pastime. (SC)
NATIONAL
Allison Crutchfield
Tourist In This Town
(Merge)
On her proper solo debut, Allison Crutchfield seems more vulnerable than ever. While spinning tales of anxiety and embracing change, this new side of the songwriter is as welcome as ever. “Dean’s Room” is a quick song to highlight on the stellar Tourist In This Town. If you were in need of a reflective collection of intimate confessionals in the form of nuanced songwriting, look no further than Crutchfield’s latest. (SC)
Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau
Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau
(Nonesuch)
When they’re performing music written by other people, Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau are lossless interpreters. Their instruments — the totality of what they’re capable of between their playing and Thile’s singing — are borderline perfect, and it’s thrilling to see where they direct that exquisitely appointed machine. Elliott Smith. Bob Dylan. Gillian Welch. Their own compositions. This album feels like an incredibly thoughtful, neatly wrapped gift, both for listeners and for the featured songwriters. (DJ)
Conor Oberst
Salutations
(Nonesuch)
Oberst has been known as a strong songwriter for well over two decades now and Salutations, his 22nd album since 1993, only further proves the point, legitimizing himself in the upper echelons of modern music composers. Though it lacks the focus of his previous work, 2016’s Ruminations, the Dylan-esque melodies and Americana sounds come together beautifully, while the lyrics offer a more shrouded lens with which to listen through. (DN)
Foxygen
Hang
(Jagjaguwar)
On their fourth record, the duo leans on Spacebomb to overcome the shortcomings of 2014’s …And Star Power and delivers a more focused record that imperfectly imposes over the band’s catalog, even if it is a far cry from 2013’s We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic. Richmond fans will love the numerous local credits on the release, while music fans in general will love the direction Sam France has willed Foxygen in. (DN)
Reviews by Davy Jones, Doug Nunnally, and Shannon Cleary
