peace places: kenyan memories Nyokabi Kariuki 2022 Reviewed by Shy Thompson Genre: Experimental | Label: SA | Reviewed: March 11, 2022 When Nyokabi Kariũki couldn’t go home, she listened for it. In 2020, while studying composition abroad, the Kenyan composer and multi-instrumentalist got stuck in her secondary abodes of New York and Maryland. With Kenya’s borders locked…
read moreGifted Koffee 2022 Reviewed by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd Genre: Pop/R&B | Label: Sony UK / RCA | Reviewed: March 29, 2022 Midway through summer 2020, the young Jamaican reggae artist Koffee released her single “Lockdown” and dreamed of life after the pandemic. “Where will we go/When di quarantine ting done and everybody touch road?” she sang over…
read moreHumble Quest Maren Morris 2022 Reviewed by Will Hermes Genre: Folk/Country | Label: Columbia Nashville | Reviewed: March 26, 2022 The Linda Ronstadt-in-Laurel Canyon vibe of Humble Quest might not be what you’d expected from Maren Morris at this point—though given her aerial-ballet career arc, it was hard to know what to expect. She broke out in 2016 with…
read moreThe liturgy of Oso Oso is built from finding the perfect view, feeling sand between your toes, and watching the sun rise. You know the motto: Life Is Good. Though frontman Jade Lilitri culls his sound from the malcontent and often misogynistic legacy of Long Island emo, his lyrics fawn more than they fight, staring doe-eyed at the…
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