WILTLW: May 12, 2025

MIKE, Tony Seltzer - Pinball II

It’s The Godfather II of Queensbridge rap albums (though in truth I always preferred the original). Whereas the first Pinball was a tightly curated affair that saw MIKE and Tony largely meeting in the middle of their respective styles, the follow-up boasts a bolder, more muscular sound with heavier kicks, darker melodies, and slicker lyrics. In general It seems as if the two were emboldened to push the envelope further after the success of the original tape, and I’m glad they did, Pinball II is the freshest MIKE’s sounded in years.

Nourished By Time - Erotic Probiotic 2

Music, like time, is not linear. Songs arrive, once, twice, and then when you need them. I remember listening to this record when it came out but I didn’t hear it until last week. What struck me most were Brown’s lyrics, the way such simple images can be made to carry so much weight. I believe one of music’s greatest gifts is its ability to help you recognize and process dormant emotions, this album did that for me and there’s not much more to say about it really.

J Albert - Return to Sender

Master of micro electronics J Albert returns with another full length that turns up the energy, and volume, on last year’s equally excellent I want to be good so bad. This record’s more down-the-center Basic Channel dub techno, but with the same exacting attention to detail. The sounds on here are crisp and supple and there’s an incredible amount of depth to each track, great for headphones or the dance floor.

Eliana Glass, Barry Johnson, Diego Gaeta + V Ontiveros, STAT @ 2220 Arts + Archives

Lovely evening of music, I arrived just after Diego Gaeta and V Ontiveros started their set, they played a mix of jazz covers and originals for piano & voice. Barry Archie Johnson went next and I still don’t know how he made all those sounds on his guitar without a looper pedal. Eliana Glass released an early album of the year candidate a month ago and I was so keen to see her live that I bought a ticket to the NY show in a couple weeks before this one was announced. She played solo on the piano and it was as if the room filled with smoke around her, like incense at a Catholic mass.