Front Country - Impossible World - This album (and in particular the first few tracks), was what got me through most of election week. Holding out for a miracle, indeed.

Quincy Jones - Talkin’ Verve - A collection of Quincy large ensemble pieces that I wound up listening to thanks to the inclusion of “Comin’ Home Baby” on the soundtrack of Netflix’s splendid new chess drama, The Queen’s Gambit.

Native Dancer - Tides - My buddy Russ hipped me to this band (he usually hips me to cool bands), and they are good.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - Self Titled - This one came to me thanks to a Strong Songs listener question, and I’ve really been digging the record. I bet these guys are fun live.

Jukio Kallio - Kuvankaunis - My friend Matthew told me about this singer, and his album is just extremely pleasing to listen to. Soft, soaring pop with some lovely harmonies.

King Gizard and the Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana - What a band! I already mentioned the Q&A episode where I talked about these guys, but they’ve got a hell of a discography for me to discover. This album was played on modified microtonal instruments, and it shows. Listen for a while, and you’ll just start to feel a little bit dizzy.

Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Black Star - A classic, and one that I hadn’t spent enough time listening to. Talib crushes so hard on this album, good lord. Also, this record is a good reference for a ton of the quotes Lin-Manuel Miranda worked into both Hamilton and In The Heights.

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher - Probably one of the hottest albums of the year, so it doesn’t exactly require my endorsement, but it’s really good. A useful reminder that mixes don’t need a lot of high frequencies to sound good.

Fleet Foxes - Shore - It’s so cool to see a band like the Foxes still making interesting, fresh-sounding music after so many years. I hadn’t really listened to anything of theirs since their self-titled debut, but they’ve definitely still that magic sound.

Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson - I keep getting requests to talk about Nilsson on Strong Songs, and after listening to this album all the way through… yeah, I really gotta make that happen. The challenge will be picking a song, since Nilsson was such a chameleon. Maybe I’ll just go with “Gotta Get Up,” since we all so recently lived through the great Russian Doll election week.

Moses Sumney - Aromanticism - I learned about Moses when his song “Lonely World” popped up on Lovecraft Country. This album is a whole mood - it can get a bit overwhelming if you listen to it all at once, but man, what a sound. “Lonely World” remains the standout for me, but I like the whole album.