I love ambient music but I don't always give its creators the respect they deserve. I can tell the difference between Tony Rice and Normal Blake as easily as red from blue, but most people just hear bluegrass guitar. Similarly, I often just hear ambience. I'm making an effort to be a little more active when listening to this kind of thing. Which I know defeats the purpose. Whatever its a really beautiful album in the subtlest way.
I hadn't listened since Bowie died. I was so in love with the album when it came out, I didn't want to risk desdacrating it by revisiting it. While it will always be held up as a gold standard of ‘Death Bed Records,’ Black Star is brilliant in every way. The saxophone is the album's defining sonic feature for me - totally unique, something no one but Bowie would ever play. Ten out of ten.
Juan Wauters is one of my favorite dudes out there. This EP is a low-key companion to Wandering Rebel, one of the best records of 2023. It's mostly Spanish versions of the songs he usually sings in English and English versions of the songs he usually sings in Spanish. The lone new track P.O.V. is the highlight - it's both stark and whimsical in its observation of the innumerable tragedies stemming from homelessness in LA. Totally worth the listen.