Things I Enjoyed in 2022: The Chieftains "Bear's Sonic Journals The Foxhunt, the Chieftains Live in San Francisco 1973 & 1976"

 The story goes that Jerry Garcia met them on a radio show in KSAN & requested them to be the opening act for Old & In the Way. (The O&ITW set is out there on the "Live at the Boardinghouse the Complete Shows").

As with every other release in this series that I've heard, the sound is fantastic. Whatever you think of Owsley, he was a fantastic taper.  The 1973 set here is from the Boarding House, while the 1976 set is from the Great American Music Hall. There are certainly some sonic differences, but neither show is one to skip.

If you only know the Chieftains from their later years, when they seemed to record albums stuffed full of guest stars, you don't really know the band.  This is a killer band, and if you are interested in traditional Irish music you really need to do yourself a favor & give it a listen. 

Things I Enjoyed in 2022: Alabaster DePlume "Gold"

 There's no doubt in my mind that music can have healing and restorative properties. I'm pretty sure that Alabaster DePlume thinks so as well.  His last album, "To Cy and Lee, Instrumentals vol 1" was perhaps the most satisfying listen of 2020. "Gold" is different, incorporating more of his spoken word and feeling a hair more of a pop album. It's a beautiful listen, and one I returned to again and again throughout the year.

Things I Enjoyed in 2022: Neil Young "Noise & Flowers"/"Citizen Kane Jr Blues"

 Just like in 2021, Neil Young released another bunch of albums in 2022. None of them are bad, & if you are a fan you will probably want to pick them all up. My 2 favorites are "Noise & Flowers", where Neil is backed by the Promise of the Real & "Citizen Kane Jr Blues", a live record from 1974.

Things I Enjoyed in 2022: Big Thief "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You"

 This is probably where my tastes align with whatever critical consensus exists for 2022. And I have to say it's surprising to me that I've enjoyed such a quirky bit of indie rock so much for most of the year. This is a big sprawling album, and it seems to give & give with new things revealed each lesson.

Things I Enjoyed in 2022: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio "Cold as Weiss"

 I just discovered this band in 2022. They are a few albums in it seems, and honestly every single one I've heard is great. Here's a fantastic set from KEXP.

Things I Enjoyed in 2022: Molly Tuttle "Crooked Tree"

 I can't say that Molly Tuttle is the latest in the festie > Berklee > industry pipeline, but she's the one who got the most attention in 2022, and for good reason. "Crooked Tree" is an attention grabbing collection of modern bluegrass, scoring high marks in performance, production, and songwriting. Personally, the elements that set MT apart from others in that same group are first her singing voice, which thankfully is not from the school of Alison Krauss, and the songwriting. While every song here is not an instant classic, there are several, and she clearly has the potential to release that album in the future.

You're As Cold As ice

Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, SL Huang, Rivers Solomon, “The Vela” (Serial Box, 2019)

Space Opera has undergone so many changes over the years. I think about the early days, which seemed rather like A Boys Own Adventure In Space, to the days of SPACE EMPIRE, to the long technical epics from the UK, to the current wave of space opera which seems strongly informed by the visual SF of Star Wars, Firefly, and Battlestar Gallactica (v2.0).

The Vela groups together several of the newer writers of space opera to tell a fast paced engaging story.  I am already a fan of some of these authors, and am intrigued by the others, so obviously I was interested.

How did it play out? Was I satisfied?

We are presented with a story spanning solar system where use of destructive technology is destroying their solar system. Planets are having to be abandoned, and that is creating all sorts of problems. Our protagonists are sent in the midst of this mess to conduct some government business with plausible deniability.

If you are not familiar with Serial Box, the basic idea is that you get sequential chapters written by different authors.  The experience is not unlike watching a TV show on a weekly basis. You enjoy the chapter you are reading, but are definitely excited to see what comes next.

Did this deliver? Was I satisfied?

Yes, absolutely.  There’s a lot of action in this story, with cliff hangers galore. If anything, I felt at times like the onrushing plot took away from time that could be spent with character development. Now that’s a tricky thing, and one person’s delightful banter is another’s wasted time.

What honestly surprised me is how much I found myself thinking about this book after I finished. My ridiculously long lag in writing down my thoughts has meant that I have had perhaps more time than others to reflect.  And I’m really impressed at how a book that deals with so many important current themes – climate change, refugees, humanitarian aid – also felt so fast paced and really being about the plot and action.

I would absolutely recommend this to fans of contemporary space opera. It sits in a space somewhere between The Expanse and the Wayfarers series.

Thanks to Serial Box for hooking me up with a review copy!  Sorry for the lengthy delay!