Gabrielle Marlena, Manners
[Breakstone, June 28]
The genteel “coffeehouse-poet chanteuse” groove-folk genre currently soundtracking family-friendly cafés and elevators around the country actually sounds sharp and fiery again, thanks to Gabrielle Marlena. The arrangements on Manners are instantly familiar—languid grooves, acoustic guitar strums, pulsing electronic keyboards—but the singer-songwriter has managed to locate the compelling heart of this oft-worn sound, investing it with a potent edge of fuck-it bravado and lacerating lyrical wit that rescues it from the pit of sub-Spektor platitudes that doom so many others who attempt this kind music. The seemingly weary longing on tracks like “Anxiety Dreams” and “Manners” is belied by Marlena’s fierce anger and intelligence, turning them into reclamations of identity and anthems of uplift. These six songs cut through the fog of mellow soul and connect in a deeply satisfying way. [Alex McLevy]
Georgia Anne Muldrow, Vweto II
[Mello Music Group, June 21]
Just seven months ago, The A.V. Club named Georgia Anne Muldrow’s Overload one of our favorite albums of 2018. It was a sharp, celebratory statement of love that showcased the L.A. legend’s multifaceted talents as vocalist, songwriter, beatmaker, and more. On the new Vweto II, however, Muldrow is primarily back in the producer’s chair, offering up 16 instrumentals heavy on the funk and the low end (“Mary Lou’s Motherboard,” “When The Fonk Radiates,” but really, take your pick), with only the occasional vocal fragment wafting through (“Bronx Skates”). The focus on the music only serves to emphasize Muldrow’s mastery behind the boards; her tracks are impossibly intimate and rich, at once anchored in her West Coast roots and driven to explore the outer limits of genre. It’d be a blast to hear Muldrow or another skilled vocalist/MC on these songs, but they’re a spiritual experience all their own. [Kelsey J. Waite]