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#232: Jess Williamson, “Sorceress”

Other than a vague idea of how her debut album sounded like, we knew almost nothing about Jess Williamson the moment we walked into the dark backroom of a Nijmegen venue to listen to her songs. Or at least try to, as the audience seemed to be more interested in catching up with their buddies before Kevin Morby took the stage. That being said, our most vivid image of that night is staring at the stage as Williamson played the broodingly gorgeous “Heart Song” off her forthcoming album. We had to go up and tell her we could get her to play a few shows back in Portugal. That never happened, but 100% of her future albums ended up being featured here. Of course they were. “Sorcerer” is the latest instalment in a perfect streak of stellar records. It’s out now.

Plus: new tracks by Josiah JohnsonTommy Alexander, Sumbuck, The JayhawksRose City Band, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Chris Maier, OwenSilverbacks, Crack Cloud, Hanni El KhatibKhruangbinSINEAD O’BRIENKATE NVJim White and Marisa Anderson musicneubauten.orgI Break HorsesPhoebe BridgersNicole AtkinsPerfume GeniusLA PRIESTCharli XCXHappyness, and Lily Hayes.

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#184: Damien Jurado, “In the Shape of a Storm”

Less than one year after the release of the excellent “The Horizon Just Laughed”, Damien Jurado is back with his 14th LP, the first on Mama Bird Recording Co. and Loose Music. It’s impressive how his songwriting keeps getting better with time – Jurado’s output between “Saint Bartlett” and now is arguably the best of his career – and this (mostly) acoustic collection of songs that clocks at a mere 27 minutes is by no means a secondary volume of his immense discography.

Plus: new tracks by Todd Snider, Paper Beat Scissors, Carl Broemel, Richard Hawley, The Mountain Goats, Alex Schaaf, Courtney Barnett, Aldous Harding, Heather Woods Broderick, Mega Bog, Sonny & the Sunsets, Os Amigos dos Músicos, Evripidis and his Tragedies, Trond Kallevåg Hansen, Lily Hayes, Palehound, Jesca Hoop, Lowly, Mutual Benefit, Josh Ritter, John Paul White, Anthony D’Amato, and Adam Carroll.