Jamila Woods

Agree with that though I think "Practice" is up there and "Headfirst" is a great closer.

Alfred OTM about her dab hand with a metaphor - the whole thing also works very well as a concept album (pretty much all of it is an expansion/exploration of the basic idea expressed by "Tiny Garden").

not sure how i missed "tiny garden" when it came out, but everyone is otm about it being one of the best songs of the year. am i off base in feeling some peter gabriel vibes?

It's better than Gabriel.

Ooh she's touring with Kara Jackson -- definitely going to get tix

Hell that's a combo right there, I should check on a show around here.

It took a couple days to adjust from the political to the romantic, but she has a talent for the extended conceit: backburners, wreckage rooms, boomerangs.
― hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, October 17, 2023 4:46 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Haha, I really thought for a moment those were creative descriptions of the type of songs she's good at. And you know, it could have been. I'm really entering this album tonight and it's comfy, part spinning part coolly surveying everything that surround us. It's coherent sonically but also sizzling with ideas, in a way that reminds me of the last Sudan Archives, though more polished and less wild.

And I agree Tiny Garden is a year highlight

so is "Boomerang," particularly the counter-vocal in the chorus.

I just think lyrically she approaches a simple and overused topic, ie that four-letter-word love, with the same invigorating approach she applies to other, weightier, more complex themes on the first two albums, and atomises the subject and pulls every element apart and delivers a really thorough and humane and interior and empathetic treatise on A Relationship, where she can understand and sympathise with the junk that's making the lover behave badly and even raise a hand, while at the same time stating it is not right and it is not to be tolerated. I'm thinking particularly Send A Dove in this regard. Also, it really reminds me of Miseducation in some ways, maybe the interstitial spoken-word parts, the skits, which I don't entirely think work and would skip if I could, but do, on the first few spins at least, estabilsh some enlightening, expanding context.

^ otm

Finally saw her live. In DC at the Howard Theatre. Sadly some folks were busy chatting loud, and her voice and the way it was mic'ed and heard there wasn't always powerful enough to overcome the noise of folks who can't stop talking. I still think she's pretty good, and enjoyed her singing and her between songs talk about relationships, Sudan, Palestine

Seeing her Friday. Did Kara Jackson perform? She was on the bill when I bought the tix but now seems to have been replaced :/

No. Forgot the name of the opener. It was African sounding but she was very American folkie sounding.

Opener was Uwade.

Show was solid. She had a very welcome crowd in Chicago, which made it a great atmosphere. Unfortunately the mix was quite bad for most the night; her voice is so thin and it was barely audible at times. Meanwhile the bass drum was turned wayyyy up for some reason. Nevertheless I really enjoyed hearing the new album’s songs live. It is her most accessible and straightforward, and everything translated really well. Highlight was a cover of Paramore’s “That’s What You Get.” She also slipped into Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” at one point; can’t recall if that’s from HEAVN? She has a lovely and giving vibe and presence, talking openly about her personal growth and the lessons that inspired her writing. I was very glad she performed “I Miss All My Exes” which is one of my favorite moments on the album and maybe the best example of her unique talents.

Sounds like a similar set to DC. Drum was high in the mix here also, and they had a glass partition around the drummer (which should have been a sign to mix her vocals louder).