Matt Maltese, live at Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, 10-02-25 Wonderful show!

Foxwarren performing @Underground Arts in Philly, September 25th, 2025. I am obsessed.

“White Goose” by Anna Tivel, is a laid back revelation of a song, where the natural world gently embraces us humans, reminding us they we too are a part of this world. Awe has never sounded so hushed.

Just working my way backwards through Andy Shauf’s entire discography. Check out the production on this tune from his 2016 album “The Party”. It sounds like Steely Dan on barbiturates; woozy and sophisticated in equal measure.

The album reels are assembled! Now off to Sterling Sound Nashville for vinyl mastering.

I know nothing about this band/person named “Twain”, but they can sure make a great song! Visionary folk music, sort of in the spirit of early Victoria Williams. Highly recommended!

How is it possible that Paul Simon is still capable of surprising us in 2025? “Trail of Volcanos” is an exercise in restraint, but reaching for something truly sublime, like a whispered prayer:

Still hung up on Charlotte Cornfield. What an incredibly satisfying song:

Is there anything more luxuriously comforting than Shirley Horn singing a great old Johnny Mandel / Alan Bergman song?

“We Would Call This Place Our Home” by a band out of the Netherlands called Happy Camper, starts out as this unassuming pinecone of a tune, and grows into a majestic Douglas fir. Naturally, I’m obsessed:

I’ve mentioned @charlottecornfield.bsky.social before, and my admiration for her work has only grown since then. Her song “Storm Clouds” is an incredible piece of songwriting; the specificity in her lyrics, that incredible repeating bridge/coda, not to mention her performance. It’s all just perfect:

For the vinyl release of “Rabbit Songs” we’re doing everything we can to go directly from the original 1/2” tapes to the lathe; analog to analog. Today, we finally unearthed the original mixes for “Sailor” (once thought lost). A very good day!

Okay, I know I just posted about Foxwarren @foxwarrenhq.bsky.social, but that was before I found out that the band just released their 2nd album, and I’m already obsessed. Check out this gorgeous tune: those soft, major-7th-y chord expansions that float in at the choruses just melt me.

In the past 10 years, some of my favorite artists have realeased some of my favorite albums ever. And the one release I find myself returning to more than any other has to be the 2018 debut from @foxwarrenhq.bsky.social.

I’m breaking my social media fast because this particular version of this particular song is too good not to share. “Perfect Dark (Live at RAK)” by Flyte w/Madison Cunningham:

What a show! Just saw Chris Staples playing the most intimate rooftop concert you can imagine. Such a beautiful night of great songs!

Would you like to hear a really wonderful instrumental song? “I Fell in Love, Again” by Australian artist Sinj Clarke is as moody as it is melodic; familiar and aloof, like a passerby’s smile.

Dusting off the Rabbit Songs 1/2” mix reels for the upcoming vinyl release!

Just heard that we lost William Finn yesterday, and I am remembering that day back in 1990 when I first laid ears on his ‘Falsetto-verse.’ What a revelation! So stylized and theatrical, yet completely grounded in real emotions. It still inspires me after all this time.

“Every Little Thing” by Maddie Jay and Chase Ceglie is this bejeweled, fuzzy dream of a song. So many good ideas, and hooks upon hooks. Take a listen:

How does Chris Staples pack so much emotion into his songs when they are so restrained? Take “Always on My Mind”: the bursts of melody are almost sporadic, and the lyrics are basically beautifully-observed haikus. The overall effect is moving, unpretentious, and perfect.

Incredible, and worth the wait! Jeremy Jordan was born to sing this score!

Holy smokes, the new album from Joshua Burnside is blowing my mind! It feels both original and ancient, like some sort of future myth.

Tele Novella describe their music as “coin-operated medieval country songs through a 1950s western lens” which is both evocative and accurate. They totally scratch the same itch as folks like Calexico, Chris Isaak, and the great Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

This is like the platonic ideal of a country-gospel song! Salvation lies between Johnny Cash’s low-down drawl and Anita Carter’s high-lonesome soprano.

Listening to this beautiful song by Oisin Leech @oisinleech.bsky.social is the closest I’ve come to experiencing peace in a long time. Highly recommended!

I am completely charmed by this quirky epic “On The Bus” by a band named “Improvement Movement”. It travels to the most surprising places!

I know nothing about the band “Twain” but I’m pretty obsessed with their song “Fox (Yup Yup Yup)”. It kinda reminds me of Blitzen Trapper’s “Furr” in its depiction of the natural world and our place within it:

Self-described “writer song-singer” (love this!) @heathermaloney.bsky.social is certainly not lacking in ambition on her latest album; exuberant & alive, and bursting with imagery, “Exploding Star” is the title track, and it’s also a perfect description of her maximalist approach to songwriting.

Jim Pepper was a songwriter who found a way to combine jazz with his Native American heritage. His recordings are def worth seeking out if you’re unfamiliar. Here’s his most famous song, “Witchi Tai To” as performed by chamber pop pioneers “Harpers Bizarre”. The results are psychedelic perfection:

This terrific little song by “Viv & Riley” really captures the creeping dread that has stalked us all these last few years. The sweet, easygoing melody disguises an apocalyptic lyric, where the world ends, not with a bang, but a Warby Parker. “Is It All Over?” by Viv & Riley:

“The Magazine” by Rickie Lee Jones might just be the most under-appreciated album I know.

There’s a whole category of music that is made to played while driving at night. I don’t know if this genre has a name, but I do know it’s summed up by one song: “Moonlight Mile” by The Rolling Stones

Joshua Lee Turner and Allison Young are absolutely killing it as “The Bygones”. Here they are taking on a fine old Roger Miller tune, “Been a Long Time Leavin’”. The quality of musicianship on display here is mind-blowing:

All my favorite songwriters love Sam Phillips, and you should too. “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” is arguably her masterpiece, and a perfect place to start if you’re unfamiliar with her work:

I am super impressed by Toronto-based songwriter, Charlotte Cornfield @charlottecornfield.bsky.social She has a great ear for mining hooks out of the unlikeliest melodies, and a great eye for specific, yet really nuanced details in her lyrics:

“What makes a house grand Ain't the roof or the doors. If there's love in a house It's a palace for sure.” — “The House Where Nobody Lives” by Tom Waits If ever a lyric deserved to be stitched in needlepoint and hung over a mantle, it is this one.

“All Dead, All Dead” by Queen is a great song for many reasons, not least of which are the production/arrangement ideas. The drums bursting in halfway through the chorus (and then out just as suddenly) shouldn’t work, but it’s tremendously effective. Small gestures, executed boldly is the lesson.

New release from long-time favorite, Sam Amidon @samamidon.bsky.social. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, he is known for boldly original reinterpretations of old folk songs. The new album has him working his magic on everyone from Ornette Coleman to Yoko Ono, plus great originals like this one:

When Wings released “Band on the Run” not only did they give us 4 hits in one, but they also included maybe the single greatest guitar lick ever recorded; coming out of “giving it all away” (talk about an appropriate lyric!) youtube.com/clip/UgkxcGy...

I miss David Lynch already. I find myself returning to this scene in particle, from his masterpiece, “Mulholland Drive”. That tension between comforting and threatening is instructive to say the least.

Okay, whoever came up with this sign is my kind of protester!

Sometimes, a fuzzed-out pop song is the perfect soundtrack for your day. Annie DiRusso gifts us a wonderful song by the Bklyn based artist Wormy. A great collaboration and def worth hearing:

Is Tevye’s dream from “Fiddler on the Roof” the single greatest ‘set piece’ ever written for musical theatre? This scene scared the hell out of me as a child. Now, it just terrifies me with how brilliant it is.

I’m a sucker for minor verses that lead into major choruses (think Squeeze’s “Pulling Muscles From The Shell”). Los Angeles-based songwriter, Addie Alaimo, shows us how it’s done on her latest release, “The Junction”. It’s the musical equivalent of a warm sun peaking through clouds on a gloomy day:

Over 50 years ago, Laura Nyro released her album, “New York Tendaberry.” Few albums have touched my soul more than this one, yet it remains a tough sell for a lot of folks. I have a feeling in another 50 years, it will still be ahead of its time.

The incomparable Nancy Wilson performing one of my favorite Oscar Hammerstein/Jerome Kern songs live on The Carol Burnett Show (late 60s/early 70s). What a performance, what a song!

Yet another young songwriter absolutely deserving your attention, Will Lynde really comes into his own on his new EP “Calm”. I love how specific and detailed he is with his piano parts. I also adore that lyrical reversal in the title track, “it’s just the storm before the calm.” Check it out:

Fantastic footage of Blossom Dearie performing in France circa 1961. She has influenced my own musical development as much as any artist. It’s her capacity to transmit both innocence and sophistication in equal measure that I find so compelling:

It’s time. Here is the annual posting of the best version of the best Christmas song ever written. Enjoy, and may G-d bless each and every one of us (we’re gonna need all the help we can get this year)!