Author: pimpod

GRAMMY-nominated Orquesta Akokán continue to vibrantly usher the mambo into the 21st century and offer a glorious return to the iconic grooves of an era indelibly marked Cuba’s orquestas gigantes of the mid-twentieth century. The album’s fierce, effervescent grooves are designed to transmit feelings and emotions – This is music which inspires the body to move and the mind to uplift. Highly Recommended.

Hannah Mohan is a critically acclaimed musician. Making music has been at the center of Mohan’s life ever since, even as other circumstances have changed—sometimes radically. A long-term relationship crumbled in 2019. Then the pandemic arrived, bringing an end to her band. After writing a batch of new songs taking stock of her situation, Mohan asked Alex Toth of Rubblebucket and Tōth to produce them, the latest installment of a longtime friendship and occasional creative collaboration.

One of the great post-punk releases of 2024 comes from SF Bay area band Neutrals. There’s something VERY good in the water of that city with so many fantastic bands emerging and Slumberland yet again shows why it’s continuing to be one of the great labels. The trio channel a wide range of ’70s and ’80s DIY indiepop with terse angularity, but not skimping on melody or intimate storytelling. File under “scrappy Jam-meets-Television Personalties” and that’s totally fine by me. Great listening.

Johanna Samuels is an extraordinary songwriter, her lived experience and darkest moments seep deep into her compositions, which makes for powerful listening. Written in dark times while isolated, she was inspired by conversations with producer Josh Kaufman (The Hold Steady, Bob Weir, Cassandra Jenkins) and by deep friendships in the music community (her old friends in the band Bonny Light Horseman). The result is a sonic template that ranges from the soaring and orchestral to the understated and confessional; at turns free-wheeling and filled with swagger then sincere and precise, with each subtle movement serving to highlight Samuels’ lyrical journeys. A simply brilliant listen from start to finish.