Neon Jazz: The Unheard Mixtape 1: Interview with Jazz Saxophonist, Composer & Educator Matthew Evan Taylor
“Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist, Composer & Educator Matthew Evan Taylor.”
I Care If You Listen: The Unheard Mixtape 1: Follow to the End Celebrates Experimentation and Black Expressive Culture
Matthew Evan Taylor’s The Unheard Mixtapes has reconciled his artistic identity as a classical composer focused on social justice, Black expressive culture, and experimentalism.
An Earful: Spiritual America Review
This is the kind of big, bold, sometimes even crazy symphonic work of which we could use a lot more, with orchestral brass and strings competing with fat synthesizers, rock drums, choral singing, and more.
Textura: Spiritual America Best of 2019
On paper, the project could appear bombastic, what with the army of resources utilized, yet he somehow makes full use of said resources without the result becoming overblown.
WNMU: Spiritual America Best of 2019
With this collaboration between Nonesuch Records and New Amsterdam, walls of genre are broken down as sounds morph and blend throughout Spiritual America.
Second Inversion: Spiritual America Top Albums of 2019
Brittelle’s inimitable blend of chamber pop forms a shape-shifting sonic collage: ripped edges, buzzing synthesizers, melodies that echo, morph, and transform in an instant—like a rush of memories overwhelming the senses.
Pitchfork: Spiritual America Review
Andy Stack has been even more secret-saucy… the structures he helped build under the visionary pop-classical song cycle Spiritual America.
Indy Week: Spiritual America Review
One of the most astonishing records of 2019 has slipped under many radars, likely because it’s hard to describe, categorize, and explain.
Bust Review: This World Is Too ____ For You
A striking blend of orchestral and goth music, this album is a slow-burner that is equal parts heart wrenching, sexy, and meditative.
National Sawdust Log: Playlist (Waves of light)
“William Brittelle – Spiritual America – Wye Oak, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Metropolis Ensemble/Andrew Cyr (New Amsterdam/Nonesuch; due May 3, 2019)”
BrooklynVegan: 22 New Songs Out Today
“Wye Oak, The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Metropolis Ensemble join together to perform a song-cycle written by composer William Brittelle, and a Wye Oak piece reimagined by Brittelle, on Spiritual America, due out May 3 via Nonesuch. The first single from the project, “Forbidden Colors,” places Jenn Wasner’s vocals over a multilayered chamber orchestra piece.”
WNYC: Captivating Chamber-Electro-Pop by Emily Wells with Metropolis Ensemble
For this world is too ___ for you, Emily Wells works in the space between art-pop and neoclassical chamber music using electronic and acoustic instruments and hip-hop production in elegant layers to support her singular and dramatic vocals.
Diandra Reviews It All: Emily Wells’ This World Is Too ____ For You
Emily Wells’ This World Is Too ____ For You is a gorgeous orchestration of how “too much” we can feel the world, life, or a person is within our sphere.
At Large: Review and Interview with Emily Wells
Discovering Well’s music feels like finding Narnia on Spotify. I keep returning to the trove of music trying to unpack all the little bits all the while worried that I’m going to miss the larger picture.
Broadway World: Emily Wells to Release New Album
“Violinist, singer, composer and producer Emily Wells confirms the release of her forthcoming album.”
The Nation: The Genre of Post-Genre
William Brittelle’s Spiritual America has drawn from classical music, punk rock, and electronica to produce music that is at once free-ranging and a thrill to experience.
My Classical Notes: Concertos Review
Mr. Dorman lets his Baroque influence run wild. The works are concise three-movement forms in the standard configuration, but he has not entirely removed the rhythmic complexities that drive his other works.
New York Times: Review: David Kaplan Riffs on Schumann’s Spirit
Mr. Kaplan played “New Dances of the League of David,” a 60-minute suite that incorporates new miniatures by this 21st-century band of composers into Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze,” a project commissioned by Lyrica Chamber Music and Metropolis Ensemble.
Genius: Cousin Review
Nina Simone's creepy-while-somehow-soothing voice is a perfect paint for the canvas that the string-heavy beat provides.
Spectrum Culture: Cousin Review
The angular melody, dissonant background strings and Simone’s nervous, vibrato-laden voice establishes a menacing presence.