albums i listened to all the way through

posted this week and every week (30)

Sep 07, 2025

This past week was a whirlwind.

The new Fall semester pushed its way into my working life with a slight chill and not just from the drop in the temperature! The back-to-class energy is brisk and flowing amongst all the new arrivals and returning students. There is so much to be done. Just this week, I have four classes to teach. At least one of them is a Zine Workshop!

Onto the moonlighting as a Subslacker portion of the newsletter…

I spent my Wednesday evening in Brooklyn attending a Benefit Concert hosted by the band Hiding Places, featuring a ton of great local acts like Pencildive and Nara’s Room. They hosted two nights of live music and produced a compilation full of incredible artists like Colin Miller, Elijah Wolf, villagerrr, and so many more. All proceeds from compilation sales go directly the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).

I highly recommend you all check it out on Bandcamp and support an incredibly important cause.

I was also invited by Josh Datko to attend an incredible performance of The Bloody Sonnets at La MaMa on Friday evening. As a burgeoning history student, I studied the Great War with great interest and high regard. While my classmates seemingly preferred the Second World War for its distinctly American involvement and clearcut valor, I loved reading the antiwar poetry of Wilfred Owen and appreciating the twists and turns of such a spectacularly nuanced war.

Josh’s Bloody Sonnets translation series has been a welcome return to this part of my formative existence. So was the show, honestly. It was a moving exploration of Pavol Országh and his prolific antiwar poetry, heightened too by references to other poets like Rilke and Kipling.

I loved getting to meet Josh and fellow Substacker Daniel V. Gaglio in the real world. I was thinking about the fact that I’ve met several of my favorite Substackers in a single year! Ah, the power of this community :D

If any of you cool cats aren’t subscribed to Josh yet, please do yourself a massive favor and do that as soon as possible. I’m sure his full review of the show will be much better. I’ll even give you the link:

Why have I heard such mixed things about the new Big Thief album?

I thought it was quite an interesting departure from their usual sound, perhaps an intentional choice given bassist Max Oleartchik leaving the band in 2024. It’s a clear shift away from the Big Thief alt-folk we’d grown accustomed to, but I’m not sure that’s entirely a bad thing.

Sure, it’s hard to beat the genius of Masterpiece and Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, both seminal records in their own right. However, I am willing to embrace the new Big Thief, principally because of their choice to turn this album into a celebration of their varied community of musicians and recording artists. They are learning how to exist again, leaning on their friends to create something new and unlike their previous work. Just take a look at those liner notes. Great stuff :D

Personally, I really liked “Words,” “No Fear,” and “Grandmother.”

Here are the albums/compilations I listened to this past week: