ACL 2023 ~ The Top 20 Albums of the Year

This year’s Top 20 list is noteworthy for its variety, a reflection of the wealth of music on the market.  For every 200 albums submitted to ACL, only one makes our final list.  This makes it all the more remarkable

ACL 2023 ~ Top Ten Ambient

By our estimate, there was enough ambient music released in 2023 to fill every waking minute of every day.  How does one stand out in a genre that values slipping beneath the surface?  These ten artists found a way, whether

Tujiko Noriko ~ Crépuscule I & II

I stumbled across Tujiko Noriko’s recent project, Crépuscule I & II, completely by chance. Thanks to an excited tweet from a fellow critic (usually a good sign), “Fossil Words” jumped out at me from the swirling vortex of social media,