Music and Recording Reviews

Avalon Emerson: Written into Changes
Dead Oceans DOC369CD (auditioned as CD). 2026. Bullion, Rostam Batmanglij, prods.; Keivon Mehdi Hobeheidar, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****

Avalon Emerson built her reputation crafting immersive deejay sets in Berlin's most vital clubs and on festival stages like Coachella, where she threaded together house, techno, and punk with nary a seam. Those sets were unpredictable and intuitive.

When the pandemic brought that world to a halt, Emerson, like everyone else, turned inward, writing and recording her own material at home. Her new album carries her deejay instincts into a songwriting framework. Built on syncopated rhythms and synth textures, the record moves along with an almost weightless quality. Its bright fun masks an emotional undercurrent that runs through its lyrics. That tension, between sonic flow and lyrical soul searching, is one of its most compelling features.

There are clear ties to the glistening synth-pop lineage of Emerson's youth, but here she reconfigures those influences into something modern and personal, full of airy melodies and dreamlike atmospheres. This album feels more assured than her earlier work. The songwriting is denser, and the sequencing has a stronger narrative flow. This is a mature experiment that feels like an intentional statement.

"Wooden Star" starts with soft, inviting synths, which then collide with grittier, abrasive textures, building to a thunderous pop march. The arrangement is layered and exploratory, rewarding but not requiring close listening.

"I Don't Want to Fight" rides a slinky, rock-inflected groove that feels familiar but remains elusive. Percussion anchors the track, but the stuff that surrounds it resists classification. This collage of tones and textures defies simple sourcing.

In a pop landscape often defined by repetition, Emerson's work feels different. She isn't chasing trends so much as reshaping them, creating a sound that's accessible and intriguingly off-center.—Ray Chelstowski

Rick Vito: Slidemaster
MoMojo Records MMJ404 (auditioned as CD). 2026. Vito, prod.; Vito, Obie O'Brien, Michael Lawson, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics *****

Rick Vito was established as a first-call session guitarist long before his slide work on Bob Seger's "Like a Rock," which helped propel the song to No.12 on the Billboard Hot 100, elevated him to a different cultural plane. For more than a decade, the song was ubiquitous thanks to Chevrolet's truck campaigns. It encapsulates what has always set Vito apart: a tone that feels American, open, expressive, and deeply rooted in blues and rock tradition. Vito carried that sensibility into his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, stepping into the formidable role left by Lindsey Buckingham and helping the band sustain its commercial and creative momentum.

In the years since, Vito has produced and refined a body of instrumental work that places his guitar voice at the front. This latest release plays less like a conventional album than like a cinematic suite, maybe a soundtrack evoking the wide terrain of a late-1960s Western. The spacious arrangements allow his slide guitar to function as narrator. At times, the tone is hushed and cautious; elsewhere it surges forward with a bold, declarative edge. The album echoes Mark Knopfler's Wag the Dog in its sense of restraint and pacing. Vito understands the power of space and he resists the temptation to overplay, letting phrases breathe and resonate.

Alongside a set of strong originals, Vito revisits material by Peter Green and reimagines a Sam Cooke melody. His interpretations are reverent, preserving the emotional core of the originals while creating space for his guitar lines to slip in and out of the arrangements, adding a lyrical dimension that feels organic and new.

Vito has described the project as his own take on Freddy King Plays. It's an apt comparison. This is a guitarist's record, grounded in feeling, tone, and storytelling. It affirms Rick Vito as a continuing resonant voice on guitar.—Ray Chelstowski

Paul Weller: Weller at the BBC (Vol. 2)
Parlophone/Warner Records 5021732945990 (CD). 2026. Various prods.; Geoff Pesche, Simon Murphy, many others, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****

Live at the BBC (Vol. 2) is a sprawling collection of performances recorded between 2008 and 2024, a worthy companion to 2008's Weller at the BBC, which documents 1988–2008. These performances took place in a wide range of BBC contexts, from the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, Drivetime, and Piano Room on Radio 2 to the Quay Sessions on BBC Scotland. The settings range from intimate and acoustic to appearances with the London Metropolitan Orchestra. Like that earlier set, this installment offers evidence that his music finds its fullest expression live. Freed from the constraints of the studio, Weller's performances offer new vantage points onto familiar material.

That sense of rediscovery is especially striking on "Wild Wood," one of Weller's signature songs. Here, it sheds its original earthiness, unfolding with a cosmic, trance-like quality. There's an unevenness to the collection that reflects Weller's restless creative spirit—a quality shared with most of his studio albums. He has never been overly concerned with polish.

Weller's affinity for reinterpretation is another strength. His cover of the Zombies' "Time of the Season" is one of the collection's most compelling moments. Stripped back to an acoustic core, it becomes something intimate and haunting.

When Weller leans into late-'60s R&B influences, the results are compelling. "Moving On" balances the grit of his vocals with lush strings and swirling, psychedelic guitar textures, underscoring his ability to merge classic influences with contemporary sounds. His mod roots are also on display: "That Dangerous Age" bristles with energy and swagger. The soulful "Broken Stones" is an apt ending for a collection that feels like a journey home. The compilation holds together well sonically despite drawing from a wide range of sessions and recording contexts.—Ray Chelstowski

Tedeschi Trucks Band: Future Soul
Swamp Family Music FAN03119 (LP). 2026. Mike Elizondo, prod.; Justin Francis, Bobby Tis, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****

When Gabe Dixon joined the Tedeschi Trucks Band, he stepped into a role shaped by the late Kofi Burbridge, long considered the group's musical center. Dixon brought his own sensibility to the keyboard chair, adding a songwriter's perspective that complemented the band's voice and helped unlock some of its most fully realized music to date. That evolution is evident on Future Soul.

In contrast to its voluminous (four-volume) predecessor, this is not a concept album but a cohesive set of songs bound by feel and tone. Despite the "future" in the title, this is a celebration of Southern soul, authentically echoing the roots-infused spirit of the Allman Brothers.

Derek Trucks chose to bring in an outside producer to address the sprawl of their previous album; he sought "fresh ears and an outside voice." Producer Mike Elizondo, the band's first outside collaborator in that role, deserves credit for subtly expanding the group's sonic range.

Opener "Crazy Cryin' "sets the stage with a deep, funky groove, layered with keys and horns that feel both structured and loose. The first single, "I Got You," reveals a lighter touch: bright, optimistic, and playful, suggesting a band having fun.

Susan Tedeschi is well-known for her vocal power, but the rich character of her voice is clearest in quieter moments. "Who Am I" is a standout in this regard, its melodic grace recalling the intimacy of Moondance-era Van Morrison.

"Shout Out" is a highlight of the album, riding a laid-back groove that feels endlessly sustainable. It blossoms with a chorus that pulls every vocal in the group into a collective heavenly space.

Derek Trucks bookends the album, opening with funk-inflected phrasing and closing with a lyrical slide solo that lingers, helping make Future Soul one of the year's most satisfying releases.—Ray Chelstowski