Digging for Something with M. Palma of Public Diplomacy Records
Overlooked, underrated, over-hated or regionally specific gems.
I’m reaching out and asking writers, band members and music curators to tip us all off to their favourite underrated albums, overlooked or unfairly obscure gems… even the downright over-hated. Hopefully it’s another fun way for you to find some new-to-you music to love.
Joining me today is M. Palma of Public Diplomacy Records, which is a guide to building a record collection with an eye on tracking the evolution of popular music.
They were kind enough to write a nice introduction for themselves, so I’ll leave them to it:
I’m beefing up my record collection with history in mind. For a decade, in the 2000s, I partook in the new music criticism/promotion hustle that I love to see is a robust community here on Substack. Independent radio stations, audioblogs, record stores, a little record label, I did it all. It was wonderful. Then life happened, career happened, attention wandered here and there. And I lost touch.
Maybe 10 years ago, I started getting back into my physical record collection. I bought records regularly but haphazardly. New, old, whatever fun stuff was in the ‘new arrivals’ bin at my local record store, and so forth. This obviously also coincided with the rise of streaming platforms. Gradually, access to particular music became less of a concern and the idea of what I wanted to invest in to have that tactile-album-listening experience became more of one.
I want a small library of modern art that reflects (very, very roughly) the evolution of popular music. I want the “important” stuff, at least to my American ears. I want to invest in quality and intrigue and compelling and moving and history-affecting.
So, that process is my Substack, Public Diplomacy Records. My attempt to build this record collection intently, starting in 1960 and picking 30 LPs a year until 2020. Forcing myself to do the research and write little blurbs on context and impression are an additional way to engage with the music and get a better understanding of how it fits in with the popular music industry picture. If you are into the idea, please subscribe! I’d like to build a parallel, reader-generated list of albums I stupidly overlooked in addition to my own selections.
For The Discover Tab, however, I want to do something a little different. I am going to highlight five albums from my new music hustling days that I think didn’t get the attention they deserve. In other words, albums I crushed on hard that the general listening public foolishly overlooked. FOOLISHLY!
(Also, every one of these records needs an American LP release. Also also, I did six records because I am long-winded, and I debated shoehorning in His Name is Alive’s Sweet Earth Flower: A Tribute to Marion Brown from 2007 but feared not being invited back…)
And now, let’s get to their album recommendations:
Colorlist - Lists (2008, Off)
Genres: Ambient, Chamber Jazz, Avant-Garde Jazz
M. Palma says:
The intersection of the 2000s Chicago post-rock and jazz scenes. I spent my formative music years in the Windy City, and those two scenes shaped my tastes probably more than any others.
Colorlist, the duo of drummer Charles Rumback and reedist Charles Gorzcynski, mine the sounds of both. They have the open ears and taste for slowly evolving moodiness that Chicago labels like Thrill Jockey, Kranky, and Drag City exemplified, even though this came out on a Belgian label. (Shame on you Chicago labels!) And they employed up-and-coming jazz players from the north and west side at the time, including Matthew Lux, Jason Ajemian, and Bill MacKay.
The record plays with a bradycardian pulse, melodic figures and rhythms that loop back on themselves as Gorzcynski and Rumback patiently improvise off the resulting drones. I dig it in particular when they let in more atonality, such as on “Living Mausoleum” and “The Swim Around.” It creates more intrigue, where some of the other tracks are just entryways for you to get lost in your feelings.
Colorlist will go on to produce a few more equally compelling records, with Hefty Records honcho John Hughes eventually joining the group to make it a trio. I also heartily recommend Rumback’s records on Astral Spirits as well as his collaborations with Ryley Walker.
Dan says:
I had to take a moment to see if there was a difference between Colorist, and The Colorist (aka The Colorist Orchestra, of Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist) and it turns out there is.
I have a lot of time in particular for this overlap of the Chicago post-rock and jazz scene as mentioned above, but this was totally off the beaten path for me. Very cool stuff.
Indigo Trio - Live in Montreal (2006, Greenleaf)
Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz
M. Palma says:
Speaking of Chicago jazz. In 2006, the Chicago Tribune named Nicole Mitchell the “Chicagoan of the Year” for her work with the music and arts education communities in the city.
The extraordinary flautist teams up here with two long-time collaborators, percussionist Hamid Drake and bassist Harrison Bankhead, under the banner of the Indigo Trio, a small group that was recorded much too seldomly. (Also in 2006, Mitchell and Bankhead were both part of the band Frequency and released a similarly great self-titled album.)
This live recording, as part of a short-lived series on Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf Music label, is all feel and grace. Mitchell displays her lyricism throughout, never forced, playing to the sound of her city and creating melodic textures that the rhythm section responds to with an audible smile. “Velvet Lounge Bounce” is exemplary of this, their ode to Fred Anderson’s southside nightclub. They find truly lovely moments of interaction, such as on “Thankfulness,” and play the solo-and-support game with their take on Mitchell’s “Afrika Rising.”
This, along with 2007’s Black Unstoppable, billed under Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, are two of my favorite Mitchell releases in a varied and wonderful discography. And if you want even more, From the River to the Ocean, also released in 2007 and billed to Anderson and Drake, also features Bankhead and is on my very shortlist of favorite albums ever.
Dan says:
Live jazz is really a whole other thing, and I think this captures the energy very well. The flute, bass and drum set-up is awesome and there’s a lot of surprises in these performances.
Parker and Lily - The Low Lows (2004, Warm)
Genres: Slacker Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Slowcore, Indie Pop
M. Palma says:
Has a record ever been as appropriately titled as this one? Parker Noon and the beehived Lily Wolfe put the end of their 10-year relationship on tape. Supposedly, the separation-of-ways happens as they are producing this album, so this is not a scripted affair. Instead, these emotions are of the moment, and it certainly sounds like it.
You could call the music dream pop, but it would be one of those filmic dreams where everything is hazy and slowed and draining of color. There is also the outline of cosmic country in the guitar twang, and, when the horns hit on “June Gloom” or the drum machine sputters to a start “Suit of Fire,” it sounds a little like Elephant 6, six whiskey-doubles deep.
Noon sings, but you’ll need liner notes for the lyrics. Regardless, you clearly catch the emotion in his tone, gloomy and reflective, crackling through what sounds like an AM radio, layered on top of a bed of organs. It is all so melancholy, you’ll want to be careful when you put it on; it will take some time to climb back out of this one.
Noon will spin off a new band, The Low Lows, out of this record. I quite like Fire on the Bright Sky, which builds on the sound established here.
Dan says:
Talk about moody. They are right when they said “it will take some time to climb back out of this one.”
Jim Guthrie - Now, More than Ever (2003, Ba Da Bing! / Three Gut)
Genres: Indie Rock, Indie Folk, Folk Rock, Chamber Pop
M. Palma says:
I’m still waiting for indie rock to best this record. You can have all of your Arcade Fires and your Vampire Weekends, leave me Jim Guthrie.
The Canadian singer/songwriter certainly received appropriate credit when this record was released, his fourth for Three Gut, the Toronto label named after Guthrie (his name flipped around): it was nominated for a Juno Award and even charted on Canadian radio.
I get it! One perfect indie-rock nugget, folksy and melancholy and curious, after another. Nothing complicated, nothing over-thought. The lyrics are up-front and have a nice slant to them so that you can map on your own situation to their grammar.
You might describe Guthrie’s singing voice as a bit precious, but I find it to be super-endearing. All innocence and sincerity, exactly what I want from this type of music. The songs have just enough production to give them a bit of cinematic flair, much thanks to the string arrangements of pre-solo Owen Pallett. There may be nothing particularly ground-breaking or genre-shifting about this album, but every spin still leaves me emotionally satisfied all these years later.
Guthrie won’t produce a ton of solo albums following this one. He instead transitioned to soundtrack and video game work, including on the popular Nobody Saves the World.
Dan says:
Before Guthrie went on to have an illustrious career in video game music, they were known for their prolific career which spanned groups like Royal City, the Canadian super-duo Human Highway and their own solo efforts.
To many Canadians, Guthrie’s voice is unmistakable. And yet, they fit into this kind of underrated list because despite having been nominated for many awards, they’re not exactly a household name.
There’s nothing like hearing Guthrie’s voice after an absence from listening to their stuff. I was immediately brought back to my days re-listening to Alone at the Microphone or hearing my friends talk about how good A Thousand Songs was. Was a delight to revisit this one.
Their 2013 release Takes Time is a good one too.
Cougars - Nice, Nice (2003, Go-Kart)
Genres: Indie Rock, Punk Rock, Noise Rock, Post-Hardcore
M. Palma says:
Feels like I need to include something a bit more aggressive.
Cougars, yet another Chicago outfit, is the best possible outcome for your hometown ska band following the decline of the 90s’ third wave ska revival. They formed in the early 2000s out of the ashes of Hot Stove Jimmy, including keeping the horns.
But you certainly won’t find any up- and off-beat rhythms here. Instead, dense, heaving chugs of sound that still hold an appreciation for pop-punk hooks. Think some unholy love-child of the Bosstones, the Get-Up Kids, and the Jesus Lizard. Frontman Matt Irie has one of those singing voices that sounds like he is doing permanent damage to his throat with each line of lyrics.
The horns and synthesizers add a bit of brightness and texture to the sludgy two-guitar attack, but they are mixed as supportive elements, so as not to create the impression that this is anything but a sweaty sleazefest of testosterone rock. (You probably got the sense of that from the album cover alone.) It fucking rips from the opening seconds to the galloping conclusion. Just great Chicago noise for the pit.
Cougars are still around and having fun, if their Wikipedia page is any indication. I am just discovering they had an album come out a couple of years ago that I look forward to rocking out to.
Dan says:
Here’s one I’m lightly familiar with, as Hot Stove Jimmy put out one of my favourite hidden gems in the ska genre with Theme For a Major Hit. As a result, I was intrigued where the band members turned up and as a result I have heard this album at least once.
Not sure I can beat the explanation of their sound above, as it nails it. This doesn’t top Theme For a Major Hit for me, which strikes the perfect balance of the noise rock and third wave ska genres, but it really scratches the itch for noisy but melodic rock music a la Rocket from The Crypt for me… so I dig it.
São Paulo Underground - Sauna: Um, Dois, Três (2006, Aesthetics / Submarine)
Genres: Avant-Garde Jazz, Samba-jazz, Electronic, Nu Jazz, Electroacoustic, IDM
M. Palma says:
Rob Mazurek’s name is a trigger for me, in the sense that if it is included in an album liner notes, I am listening.
The cornetist and composer most known for his connection to the (yup, you guessed it) Chicago jazz scene moved to Brazil in the early 2000s. There, he met percussionist Mauricio Takara, a kindred spirit in exploring the connections between the avant-garde sounds of the 70s and 00s in their respective countries.
São Paulo Underground is the first production coming out of those jams: a retro-futuristic groove that is one part Don Cherry, one part Hermeto Pascoal, and one part Chicago Underground Collective.
Electronic sounds buzz and hum, head-nodding rhythms create momentum, Mazurek dips in for the occasional melodic riff on his cornet (fusion-Miles style), and the sounds of the São Paulo urbanscape creep in. They manage to find a nice balance between abstract and form. A great headphones record if there ever was one.
Soon after this record, the São Paulo Underground expanded to include keyboardist Guilherme Granado and drummer Richard Ribeiro. They’ve released a new record every few years, and most appropriately, collaborated with Pharoah Sanders for 2014’s Spiral Mercury (billed as Pharoah & the Underground).
That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.
I'm really enjoying the Jim Guthrie album, thank you both.
(also I submitted a list of albums to Dan which might be up next week, which has includes a Canadian Indie-pop album from the same era. I would be curious, if happen to listen to it, how you feel it stacks up against Now, More Than Ever).