There isn't much joy to be found on Current Joys' debut visual album "A Different Age" (Danger Collective). The solo project of film buff Nicholas Rattigan (Surf Curse), Current Joys' musical inspirations can be found in the cinematic influences of the late queer filmmakers Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Chantal Akerman. A heaviness pervades the disc, with lines like "suicides [sic] too easy/when there's too much on my mind" in "Way Out Here." An emotional mood piece from start to finish, including the instrumental "No Words" and "In a Year of 13 Moons" (title borrowed from Fassbinder). A DVD of videos directed by Rattigan is included in the double-disc set.
"Doom soul" diva Cold Specks (aka Ladan Hussein) sings, "Learn to find pleasure when you're doomed" in the song "Exile," the final track on "Fool's Paradise" (Arts & Crafts), which sounds like good advice in the age of Trump. A musical homecoming of sorts, in which Cold Specks reconnects with her Somali roots, the 10 tracks are equally exotic and accessible. Standouts include "Rupture," "Wild Card," "New Moon," "Exile" and "Ancient Habits."
Kate Sable, the consistent center of "This Is the Kit," returns with her fourth album "Moonshine Freeze" (Rough Trade). Regardless of its experimental folk ambience, almost everything you need to know about the recording can be found in song titles "Riddled with Ticks," "Bullet Proof," "Easy on the Thieves," "By My Demon Eye" and the opening line to "Two Pence Piece," which goes, "Blood in my mouth, tasting of coin."
James Alex of Beach Slang puts aside his trademark Replacements-esque rock sound for a lusher approach to making music as Quiet Slang on "Everything Matters But No One is Listening" (Polyvinyl). Contrasting Beach Slang's raucous rock with strings, piano and a choir, Quiet Slang still makes an impact thanks to Alex's particular vocal style. The gorgeous "Future Mixtape for the Art Kids" requests that someone "Play it loud, play it fast," no matter that the orchestration suggests something else entirely. Never fitting and never trying, Quiet Slang "needs the struggle to stay alive" on "Dirty Cigarettes," "never felt loved" on "Too Late To Die Young," looks for a kind of salvation on the radio (and in drugs and alcohol) in "Spin the Dial," and celebrates outcasts who "get out" on "Throwaways."
Finally, Naomi Saalfield, front-person of Aussie band Hiatus Kaiyote, steps out on her own as Nai Palm on "Needle Paw" (Masterworks). A challenging set of 13 songs that flirt with accessibility before refusing to be pigeonholed and wholly embraced by the listener.