San Francisco’s queer honky-tonk institution Country Risqué returns to announce their forthcoming sophomore album "As the Crow Flies", leading the charge with an irresistibly bouncy single called "Motorcycle Johnny". https://open.spotify.com/track/09mrnJCwv6Rf3ZNjlEazVv?si=b3b7ec5d8e08487a There is a strange, captivating alchemy to this band. The vocal friction alone is brilliant: Miles Gordon provides a rich, formally trained warmth, while Daniel Bromfield leans hard into a languid, almost defiant deadpan. Supported by...

French-Tunisian multidisciplinary artist Haifa Melliti channels raw intuition into breathtaking piano architecture on her stunning neoclassical album, "Mélodie de la Déesse". I find her approach fascinating. In an era where so many ambient instrumental records lean heavily into cautious, sparse minimalism, Melliti offers a deluge. Her music serves as a spiritual sanctuary honoring the sacred feminine, yet she completely refuses to equate tranquility with...