The February Flash Cult Digest
What is this thing?
Welcome to "Flash-Cult", swift insights for the advice-averse!
Each month, join us on a journey from the electrifying strums of rock to the soothing melodies of jazz, from the serene waves of ambient to the pulsating rhythms of electronic. No need for long reads—just a quick, fun glimpse and an invite to explore the best tunes we've discovered.
It's music exploration made easy and exciting for everyone, everywhere. Tune in and let's traverse the vast soundscape together! Let's start.
Flash-Cult choices of the month
Our special selection of great music released during this month.
Brittany Howard
What Now
Rock
Brittany Howard's new album, What Now, creatively escapes traditional music boundaries, weaving together soul, funk, jazz, and more into a vibrant and thrilling musical exploration. She's like a music magician, blending a wide range of influences into a big, joyful celebration that feels both personal and spectacular. For instance, the track “Samson” has a very Miles Davis-like vibe, showcasing Howard's ability to channel great jazz into her work.
Flash Advice Song: Power To Undo.
Helado Negro
Phasor
Electronic
Roberto Carlos Lange's eighth album, "Phasor," is like a refreshing hike through the mountains, where every step uncovers a new layer of musical landscape, blending environmental inspiration with intimate expressions of love. With a mix of organic affection and electronic experimentation, "Phasor" serves up a sonic feast that’s as comforting as waking up to a soft, sunlit morning, making everyday noise fade into a blissful quiet.
Flash Advice Song: I Just Want To Wake Up With You.
Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey
Compassion
Jazz
Vijay Iyer's "Compassion," alongside Linda May Han Oh and Tyshawn Sorey, unfolds like a meticulously penned novel, where each note and rhythm crafts a chapter in a saga of profound emotional depth and complexity. Iyer's piano, the narrative voice, guides us through a landscape strewn with the highs and lows of the human condition, articulating a story of relentless perseverance and the nuanced layers of empathy.
Flash Advice Song: Maelstrom.
Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer
The Closest Thing to Silence
Ambient
The Closest Thing to Silence, the collaborative creation of Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, and Marta Sofia Honer, is an album that demands to be experienced in a very specific setting: in the dark, with eyes closed, and through the immersive clarity of high-quality headphones. In this way, free from the distractions of the world, the album invites you to explore the depths of your consciousness, offering a unique state of mind that encourages introspection and a fresh perspective on everything around and within you.
Flash Advice Song: Breathing in Three Orbits.
Brown Horse
Reservoir
folk-rock
A delicate but painful album, extremely well played and wonderfully arranged. Due to the drums mixed in a hyper-80s way, and thanks to a certain tone of vocals, the record sounds as if Brian Adams could be listened to without shame: that is, it sounds a bit like "Everything I do" but with beautiful pieces instead.
Flash Advice Song: Everlasting.
Gruff Rhys
Sadness Set me Free
Songwriting
You can feel the music transmits a sense of pain through the entire album, even if all these emotions contrasts greatly with the arrangements that are a bit Divine Comedy-style. A dull album, but with a bunch of notable pieces.
Flash Advice Song: Bad Friend.
James Jonathan Clancy
Sprecato
Songwriting
I've been following this cursed man since I was 20 years old when me and my friends made pilgrimages to small Guardia Sanframondi's Festival. Wonderful album, you would never know it's Italian-made. Each song has something to remember, but it is the whole that gives added value, a sensation of uniformity and rare journey. Too bad about the drums, very 80's-style but now I know it's me the wrong one, at this point.
Flash Advice Song: Fortunate.
Be Safe
Unwell
Emocore
A project poised between indie-rock sound/attitude and the love for emocore tradition from the '90s: although undecided about which of the two side to take, they for sure choose to turn on distorsions and banish any form of joy. They scream too little for my tastes, but when they do, it feels like a mixture of high octane and teenage depression. Obviusly that's the kind of noise I love.
Flash Advice Song: Dark Cloud.
Historical milestone
Every month, a fresh milestone from music history served up for you.
John Coltrane & Archie Shepp
New Thing at Newport (Live) - 1966
Jazz
The 1965 Newport Jazz Festival served as a stage where John Coltrane and Archie Shepp transformed the traditional jazz landscape into a vibrant tapestry of innovation and emotion. Coltrane's performance soared, painting the sky with broad strokes of musical genius, while Shepp wove deep, thought-provoking and political narratives into the fabric of his music. Together, they turned the festival into a monumental canvas, showcasing the evolving spirit of jazz as a powerful force of change and expression.
Flash Advice Song: Rufus (Swung His Face at Last to the Wind, Then His Neck Snapped).
