Top of The Drop
By Daniel J. Springer
If you are a lover of music, especially of new releases, keep ahead of the curve with Top of the Drop. Each month, Daniel Springer, “Danno,” picks his favorite newly released tunes and gives a heads-up on upcoming albums and EPs that you might want to keep on your radar. — Ed.
Joan As Police Woman (feat. Tony Allen & Dave Okumu) – “Take Me To Your Leader”
For those unfamiliar, Joan Wasser is a long-time (read: since the 90’s) veteran singer-songwriter who has released under the Joan As Police Woman moniker since 2004. This is the lead single to her upcoming album, due out in early November. If this is any indication of the quality within, this is going to be a superlative record. Accompanied by the late father of afrobeat Tony Allen and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu, this is a restive, choppy, borderline jarring piece held together with a deep baritone piano line and the smooth vocals of Joan and company. The Solution Is Restless, Joan As Police Woman’s ninth career LP, drops November 5.
Silk Sonic – “Skate”
After the release of “Leave the Door Open,” the ultra-sensual soul-dipped initial single to Anderson. Paak and Bruno Mars’s upcoming album An Evening with Silk Sonic, it was rather hard to conceive how they could possibly come close let alone best that perfection. Well, no worries there as the second single “Skate” is another retro soul dance gem that is absolutely pitch perfect on the production side. For those who are more optically oriented, the video is a street-level rollerskating afro-puffed rainbow of a visual that is just as good.
Alice Russell – Heartbreaker (Sefi Zisling Remake)
One of the best soul singers in the UK is back with a deluxe edition reissue of To Dust, which is her 2013 introduction to the world for most fans out there. This tune sees a jazz-centric version with a good bit more than a hint of afrobeat tossed in from Tel Aviv-based veteran producer and multi-instrumentalist Sefi Zisling.
Khruangbin – “First Class” (Soul in the Horn Remix)
The band that says they are from Houston, Texas just for cover of their true intergalactic heritage here on earth are back with one of the best collab remix albums of the past couple of years. While this remix album has become a huge phenomenon for major artists like Khruangbin over the past couple of years, this remix LP of 2020’s Mordechai is set apart by not only having some great known names like Quantic and Soul Clap on there, but also giving true underground DJ’s and producers like NYC’s Natasha Diggs and Chicago vet Ron Trent a shot in the major limelight. Mordechai Remixes is available everywhere now.
Nemo Cee – “Sunday Afternoon”
This is the opening tune to the artist’s three track EP called simply A. Born in Tijuana, Nemo has bounced between Mexico and California during his life and is now based in Oaxaca. While he may not have a huge profile by any stretch, the beats as evidenced here are almost as righteous as his political side, which he puts right in his bio.
IDER – “cbb to b sad”
One of our tunes of the week for August, this is a lovely lamentation on the dishonesties that occur internally between couples on an everyday basis, which the London femme duo call “the ick.” Explaining further, they state, “It’s a confession to staying in a relationship that you know isn’t right for you because you don’t want to deal with the inevitable sadness that comes with ending it.” IDER’s sophomore LP shame dropped August 6 and is a very quality listen front-to-back.
MF Robots – “Brand New Day”
You might get thrown off by the “MF” in the moniker, but it only means “Music For,” ya dig? This is the new project founded by Brand New Heavies originator Jan Kincaid and former band vocalist Dawn Joseph. “Brand New Day” is the lead single to their upcoming Break The Wall LP, which drops November 26, so definitely do mark it.
PawPaw Rod – “Thin Lines”
PawPaw Rod is Rodney Hulsey, a singer and rapper hailing from Oklahoma City, who blends ’60s soul with the cadence of hip hop — like a woozier Bill Withers or Gil Scott-Heron. A PawPaw Rod EP is out September 17 on Godmode, which is the label behind Channel Tres, Yaeji, and JPEGMafia amongst others.
Alanna Royale – “Fall In Love Again”
This is part of an as-yet unsigned LP that is getting majorly touted by everybody who’s heard it in full. Nonetheless, this single was dropped in July by Colemine Records and, like the rest of the album, was produced by Monophonics maestro Kelly Finnigan. The artist herself hails from Boston and is now based in Nashville, hitting the road on the West Coast leg of the delayed-due-to-Covid Monophonics “It’s Only Us” tour, which kicks off in September.
Bicurious – “Palapalapa”
For those of you unitiated, this is an absolutely thrashing two piece band out of Ireland that first came to our attention in 2019 with the release of “I Don’t Do Drugs, I Just Sweat A Lot,” which was a smashing epic of metal, jam rock, and just general cheekiness. Now comes the band’s debut LP (re)constructed, which dropped July 30 and has nine songs that clock in at a hefty, shape-shifting 46 minutes and change.
Paul & The Tall Trees with Adrian Quesada – “Love Doesn’t Need To Be Heavy”
Lead man Paul Schalda and his famed band are back as of August 6 with their latest EP, I Understand. While obviously not as long as 2019’s So Long full-length, this one is also stylistically different, with an even more pensive and pausing approach to the arrangements punched in by Paul’s own sensical pleadings and explanations to facilitate a far better life and world.
August Releases
Jungle – Loving In Stereo (August 13)
Davendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson – Refuge (August 13)
Junior Mesa – Cirque du Freak (August 13)
Lorde – Solar Power (August 20)
Villagers – Fever Dreams (August 20)
Big Red Machine – How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last (August 27)
Chvrches – Screen Violence (August 27)
Steve Gunn – Other You (August 27)
Watch Out for These
Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (September 3)
LANY – gg bb xx (September 3)
Manic Street Preachers – The Ultra Vivid Lament (September 3)
Amyl and the Sniffers – Comfort To Me (September 10)
James Blake – Friends That Break Your Heart (September 10)
Park Hye Jin – Before I Die (September 10)
The Vaccines – Back In Love City (September 10)
Jose Gonzalez – Local Valley (September 17)
Brittany Howard – Jaime Reimagined (September 24)
Poppy – Flux (September 24)
The Author
Daniel J. Springer (aka “Danno”) is the creator, host, writer, editor, and producer of The Drop with Danno, broadcasting nightly on GFN 98.7 FM in Gwangju and 93.7 FM in Yeosu between 8 and 10 p.m. Prior to this, he was a contributor to several shows on TBS eFM in Seoul, along with being the creator and cohost of Spacious and White Label Radio on WNUR in Chicago.
You can find “The Damyang Drop,” his monthly collaborative playlist with The Damyang House, on YouTube and Spotify. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @gfnthedrop