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Dame Area ~ Toda la verdad sobre Dame Area (Mannequin/Humo)
What a change for Italian-Catalan duo Dame Area, whose sound has shifted into the realm of pounding post-punk/industrial with live metallic percussion and energetic chant. Teeming with confidence, Toda la verdad sobre Dame Area is the most powerful album of their career. While perfect for fans of Nitzer Ebb, one need not be familiar with industrial history to enjoy this blast of floor-filling music.

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Lola de la Mata ~ Oceans on Azimuth
One of the most unique (sic) albums of the year also has one of the year’s most compelling backstories. After tinnitus threatened her violin career, Lola de la Mata pivoted to a different form of sound. She flew to New York, where biophysicists were able to record what she was hearing, an experience once thought unimaginable. Using instruments of metal, glass, ice and ceramics, the artist has produced a sonic treatment of tinnitus that not only conjures the ailment, but the treatment, spinning straw into sonic gold.

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galen Tipton & Holly Waxwing ~ keepsakeFM (Orange Milk)
galen tipton and Holly Waxwing team up with multiple guest stars to produce this collection that works as a mixtape, with tracks flowing together like a DJ set. The energy never flags, and the ebullience is contagious, creating the perfect soundtrack for a round trip to the beach.

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Coldplay ~ Moon Music (Parlophone)
Moon Music offered a blast of positivity at exactly the right socio-political time. Technically Music of the Spheres II, the album stands on its own as an encouraging, life-affirming set. While listening, one begins to believe that the world might actually improve. The Full Moon edition includes bonus takes and two originals.

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The Cure ~ Songs of a Lost World (Fiction)
Few people expected a new album from The Cure after 16 years; fewer still expected it to be this good. On this pleasurably morose album, Robert Smith comes to terms with his own mortality, ruminating on broken relationships and death; hasn’t he been doing this all along? An instrumental version is also available.

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Anoice ~ Stories in White (Ricco)
Stories in White completes a trilogy that began in 2012 with The Black Rain, an early reaction to the Tōhoku earthquake. Seven years later, the band released Ghost in the Clocks, then this final installment. Yoko Shinto’s illustrations unite the releases in look, while the drama and pathos unite them in tone. The pieces recall earlier disasters while serving as a universal plea for peace.

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MONO ~ OATH (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
The newest incarnation of MONO is loud and intense, yet intricate and nuanced. Credit the integration of brass and strings, fluid in a manner not heard since Hymn to the Immortal Wind. After a quarter century, most bands have retired or are running on fumes; MONO has unlocked the secrets of the hourglass.

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Max Richter ~ In a Landscape (Decca)
In a Landscape combines the pleasures of reading and music, suggesting that one be used as the soundtrack to the other. The field recording interludes help the listener to slow down and appreciate the depth of emotion. In the same way, a reader may pause to gaze into the distance, digesting a weighty passage. Richter is to be one of the world’s greatest composers, so much so that we forget how humbly he began, or that he once worked with Future Sound of London; he’s earned, and deserves, every accolade.

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Gabríel Ólafs ~ Orchestral Works (Decca)
Gabríel Ólafs may be only 25, but he’s been playing piano for twenty years. Orchestral Works revisits pieces from his last three albums, expanding them for the Reykjavik Orkestra, conducted by Viktor Orri Árnason. The orchestra shifts the tone from intimate to majestic, not drowning the ivories, but adorning them with light and hue.

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NINA EBA ~ MORPHO / RE:MORPHIX
First the Ukrainian artist released an amazing album, then a remarkable remix album. The pairing represents a play for mainstream notice, without compromise. The most direct piece, “Cocoon,” speaks of fleeing the horrors of the invasion: “just not to die, I’m running away / just to feel strong, I’m running away.” Also worth note: NINA EBA’s HÖR Berlin and Radio Rudina mixes.

Music Videos (in viewing order)
Glowworm ~ The Garden
Per Storby Jutbring ~ The Backrooms
Max Richter ~ Movement, Before All Flowers
Anoice ~ kill lies all
St. Vincent ~ Broken Man
nubo ~ Planetary Vision
B. Visible ~ Ella
Sculpture ~ Cross Processor
Wave Arising ~ Monin Yiri
Kiasmos ~ Flown

Fiction
Douglas Westerbeke, A Short Walk Through the Wild World
Minsoo Kang, The Melancholy of Untold History
Julie Leong, The Teller of Small Fortunes
Joy Williams, Concerning the Future of Souls
Trevor Noah & Sabina Hahn, Into the Uncut Grass

Non-Fiction
Colin Herrick, Time Released Sound: A Decade of Handmade Music Packaging
Evan Friss, The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
James Patterson, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians
Rob Drew, Unspooled: How the Cassette Made Music Sharable
Laura Pashby, Chasing Fog: Finding enchantment in a cloud

Richard Allen
A Closer Listen
www.acloserlisten.com