BRITTANY HOWARD | YOUNG PILGRIMS | TENESHA THE WORDSMITH | NEUE GRAFIK ENSEMBLE | ZOE’S SHANGHAI

Hello again friends, freaks and fans of future jazz of the kind that “needs a little lie down” if it sits next to a radiator too long.

Have I got some bangers for you this week!

First up – and sweeping in like a heat wave from across the Atlantic – is Brittany Howard – known to many of you as Ms. Alabama Shakes. Her debut solo single History Repeats is a bluesy stomp that guarantees to get you hot under the collar. It’s also this week’s Charm Offensive.

In at two, and your Military Coup selection is Birmingham’s own Young Pilgrims, whose sludge metal / jazz hybrid track Canal Tripping is about as refreshing as a dip in your local waterway on a warm Summer day.

Bringing on a cold sweat is Tenesha the Wordsmith’s Why White People Can’t Call Me Nigga. The spoken word artist casts a critical eye over the treatment of African-American people in the US and also provides your Peaceful Protest choice.

Turning the heat back up at four is Neue Grafik and his newly assembled ensemble. His broken beat / grime / jazz ode to loving the London life, Hedgehog’s Dilemma is the Guerrilla Warfare piece this week.

And finally, providing your Quiet Riot is Zoe’s Shanghai. Their song No Cure sizzles and shimmers with nu-soul sensuality until breaking out into absolute fire on the outro.

So, if any of that has you reaching for your hand-held fan and your parasol, by all means, hear more here…

BRITTANY HOWARD: HISTORY REPEATS
YOUNG PILGRIMS: CANAL TRIPPING
TENESHA THE WORDSMITH: WHY WHITE FOLKS CAN’T CALL ME NIGGA
NEUE GRAFIK ENSEMBLE: HEDGEHOG’S DILEMMA
ZOE’S SHANGHAI: NO CURE

P.S. You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –