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Katie Pruitt: ‘Same Boat’
Katie Pruitt attacks billionaires, rage-bait, lies and divisiveness in “Same Boat,” admonishing, “God knows it’s good for business when we’re at each others’ throats.” Her band delivers bluesy Americana steeped in Neil Young, using brawny electric guitars to buttress her plain-spoken economic populism.
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Ibeyi: ‘Aset’
Ibeyi — the French-Cuban twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz — conjures an international invocation in “Aset” from her upcoming album, “Offering.” Over two alternating chords that hint at flamenco, the sisters sing in English about the Egyptian god Osiris and divination with shells and in Spanish about the devastating power of love. Their voices echo and multiply as drumming gathers around them; the chords float, unresolved.
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Jordan Patterson: ‘Just My Friend’
The Los Angeles-based songwriter Jordan Patterson draws a boundary in “Just My Friend,” which will be on her EP “Songs from a Valley Girl,” due on June 19. Apparently an ex still wants more than friendship, and the track suggests turmoil behind her ultimatum. The song is paced by calm, loping piano chords, but drums and guitars often intrude while Patterson’s voice goes all over the place: quavering, whooping, gasping, squealing. She’s decisive, but not without a struggle.
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Balming Tiger: ‘Keep On’
‘Keep On’ is from “Gongbu,” the second album by the shape-shifting Korean band Balming Tiger, whose songs toss together psychedelia, rapping, pop hooks, hints of Asian traditions and more. “Gongbu” is a concept album about a sinister neuroscience institute, with lyrics in Korean along with some English and occasionally other languages. But the story line is irrelevant to the perky absurdity of “Keep On,” which sets assorted vocalists — some rap, some sing — atop a foot-stamping beat. A bass chant that shows up as an occasional refrain translates as, “This just makes absolutely no sense.” No argument here.
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What’s New in Instrumental Music
Tyondai Braxton: UnFS
Tyondai Braxton, a composer, guitarist and keyboardist who played in the band Battles and has written symphonic pieces also makes electronic music. “UnFS” is from his new, all-electronic album, “Splayed Werks,” due in August. “UnFS” could almost be a skewed techno track, danceable with some twists; it puts a (mostly) steady-thumping beat behind hopscotching bass lines and quasi-melodies that don’t always reduce to 4/4.
