May’s local music mix is proof that an artist’s output can feel fresh at any stage of their career, regardless of genre. This month, two Berklee jazz professors released an album of expansive improvisatory music, while a trio of rap upstarts put out a vivid, inventive LP inspired by classic Black films. These are worlds apart from the other projects on this list, which include a teaser from the ninth album by a legendary DIY band, a new single from twangy indie rockers and the sophomore album from a rising Lynn emcee. All five feel like they’re charting something new.
Matt O’Connor has never been verbose. In the course of 10 years as the lead singer and songwriter of the alt-rock band Tuxis Giant, they have developed an ability to trace the contours of an entire story in a few lines of concise, evocative imagery. Ahead of its upcoming album, “You Won’t Remember This,” Tuxis Giant has released its first single. “Last Laugh” feels like an achievement of succinct songwriting, even in the context of O’Connor’s tightly written past work. Clocking in at just under two minutes, the song ambivalently exposes the futility of chasing a substance-fueled high. “All I wanted was a buzz that’s endless,” O’Connor sings, somehow conveying sincerity despite the absurdity of the remark. “Now I feel it, now I feel it, now I feel it baaaaad.” O’Connor’s voice wilts slightly on that final word, “bad,” in an expression of regret. Then the drums enter and the song chugs to life, as if to admit that sometimes, we just can’t help indulging in bad things. — Amelia Mason
DeevoDaGenius, Kil The Artist and BLUEHILLBILL, ‘Bleu Magic’
“Errbody eating even if it’s off one plate,” BLUEHILLBILL raps on the song “Porsche Cayenne.” This line is the best way to describe the synergy between the three artists on the album “Bleu Magic. ”Deevo Da Genius produces a wide range of beats across the 12 tracks, from the soulful vibes on “Bleu Magic (Memories)” to the heavy drums that demand attention on “The Man.”
Rappers BLUEHILLBILL and Kil The Artist cleverly complement Deevo’s style with their carefully crafted bars. “Change your mind/ You change reality/ Touch the galaxy from balconies/ Fallacies, from n—-s with dual personalities,” BLUEHILLBILL raps on “20 Percent.” On “Bleu Magic (Memories),” Kil The Artist pulls in a cultural reference with his stealthy mention of T.I.’s “Grand Hustle Records” while referencing how efficiently he’s outside hustling himself.
These two artists have worked together since BLUEHILLBILL went by Billy Escobar, among other aliases. With this shared history, and DeevoDaGenius’ production, the music sounds so natural. “Bleu Magic” is a dynamic display of beat making and wordsmiths symbiotically building on those rhythms. — Noble
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The lead single off the upcoming ninth studio album from these Boston DIY legends doesn’t come off immediately optimistic. A blistering, multi-phased rocker driven by tense snare rolls and sharp guitar work, the track “wrestles with the idea that there is no enlightenment, no end to suffering,” according to a press release.
That explains the rage in Pile frontman Rick Maguire’s voice as he alternately croons and yells through verses about a future that “unkindly grips your nerves” and an inescapable melancholia. During a brief moment of quiet, he confesses, “I’m starting to believe it wouldn’t at all have mattered if I’d hit all the right notes.”
But the band plays as if the stakes have never been higher. Backed by a gorgeous string section and increasingly frenetic drumming, it is a masterclass of tension and release that culminates in a heavy, intricate, face-scrunching breakdown before gracefully petering out. Ironically, Maguire and company prove with this track that they have learned something over the years: the best art isn’t occupied with its reception. — Lukas Harnisch
In the face of adversity, Suriel doesn’t buckle — he builds. From chronicling his experience with exhaustion-induced seizures to bringing listeners into his former reality of living in a shelter home, the Lynn rapper’s catalog is flush with examples of flipping life’s hardest moments into hard-hitting bars and kernels of wisdom.
His latest release, a seven-track project called “PRESSURE,” places that tension front and center. As a collaboration with Lynn producer Teathetruth, the album finds Suriel after a fallout with his prior management and business partners, striking out on his own in every sense of the phrase — finding a new job, a new home in Puerto Rico, and launching a new company called Hustle Music Group. The silken flow of “PRESSURE” belies the upheaval, but Suriel’s grit is apparent as ever. “PRESSURE” is an exercise in dauntless self-reliance, projected onto whoever’s tuned in like a beacon of motivation.
“I‘m getting comfortable/ Not even in the second act/ That means that anyone can get it/ In case you missed that,” Suriel raps on “THE GET BACK.” It’s no coincidence that that record is accompanied by a self-help book called “Diamonds,” which covers topics like entrepreneurship, accountability and faith.
“I wanted to show people that you don’t just hustle your way out,” he explained, “you have to heal your way out, too.” — Victoria Wasylak
Kim Perlak & Francisco Mela, ‘Spaces’
The classic 1981 film “On Golden Pond” was filmed at Squam Lake in New Hampshire. Now that same body of water has inspired a different kind of art: This graceful but inventive recording by the unusual duo of classical guitarist Kim Perlak and jazz drummer Francisco Mela.
Both of these Bostonians bring with them a lifetime of creative music-making. Perlak spent much of her career focusing on performing works by living classical composers before beginning to focus on her own compositions and improvisations over the last decade. The Cuban-born Mela has played with a galaxy of jazz stars and is currently the drummer for The Fringe, the legendary free jazz trio that plays every Monday at the Lilypad in Cambridge. The two met as faculty at Berklee, where Perlak is the chair of the guitar department.
“Spaces” consists of four three-part pieces, all of them inspired by the natural environment. “Lake,” “Stream” and “Riverwalk” were all composed by Perlak before Mela added his improvisations. “Squam Suite” was spontaneously composed by the duo when they were recording the project at Squam Sound Studio in Ashland, New Hampshire. Released on guitarist Matthew Cochran’s Sacred Black label, “Spaces” is the kind of recording that rewards close listening, as Parlak and Mela discover the textures and silences that their unique pairing of classical guitar and percussion offer. It’s full of delightful surprises and can bring you into the natural world, even if you’re stuck inside. — Noah Schaffer
