Short Tracks: Best of 2025 series: Travis Hall Heart Museum
Travis Hall’s debut album, HeART Museum, is a genre-blending journey that fuses the elegance of classical opera with the soul-stirring essence of R&B and NeoSoul. Standout tracks include the debut single “A Day,” featuring a roller-disco groove and gospel undertones that conjure classic 1970s R&B while also carrying the author’s unique stamp. Halls’ vocal and […]
Short Tracks: Best of 2025 Series: Ambient Den
Prog rocker Ben Craven has been a favorite of mine since his exquisite 2016 album, ‘Last Chance to Hear’. While Craven has produced several stellar solo works since then, he has on occasion teamed up with keyboardist Tim Bennetts (Seven Day Mask) on several projects, including their work on Progaustralis live, and with drummer Dean […]
Short Tracks: Short Tracks: Best of 2025 series: Deborah Holland – I Made It This Far
No, the album isn’t Animal Logic III. Instead, it is a fresh, thoughtful, and daring look at life and aging. Holland produced the 11 songs, recorded in various studios in California and Vancouver, BC. Working with many engineers and mixers, Wendy Waldman and Abraham Parker, Holland gave the album a warm, intimate feel. “Thankful (Thanksgiving […]
Short Tracks: Best of 2025 series – Steve Porcaro- The Very Day
Steve Porcaro, a founding member of Toto, makes a bold, intensely personal statement with The Very Day that highlights his mastery as a songwriter while refusing to be confined by expectations. Nearly a decade after Someday Somehow (2016), Porcaro returns with an album that is expansive, sonically rich, and unashamedly adventurous. Songs like “Marilyn” and […]
Short Tracks: Best of 2025 series : Vernon Reid- Voodoo Telemetry
Vernon Reid has always been a restless innovator. As the driving force behind Living Colour, his guitar redefined what Black artistry could sound like in the late ’80s rock mainstream—equal parts metal, funk, jazz, and political urgency. With ‘Hoodoo Telemetry’, Reid returns to the solo spotlight, crafting an album that resists easy categorization. “Door of […]
Short Tracks: Best of 2025 Series (Jazz)
Jazz in 2025 didn’t just look backward or push forward—it did both at once, with purpose, grit, and imagination. This installment of Slang of Ages’ Best of 2025 Series (Jazz) highlights a wide, invigorating spectrum: live documents from master improvisers, deeply personal statements forged through adversity, large-ensemble works with social and historical weight, and small-group […]
Short Tracks: Celia Cruz – The Queen of Salsa: Centennial Tribute (Craft Recordings Reissue)- 2025
Some records don’t just survive time—they outrun it, dance past it, and dare you to keep up. The Queen of Salsa: Centennial Tributedoes exactly that. This Craft Recordings reissue isn’t just a celebration of Celia Cruz’s 100th birthday—it’s a living, breathing proof-of-life document for one of the most indomitable voices ever committed to wax. The […]
Short Tracks: Short Tracks/Best of 2025 Series (Reissues)
Tim Morse – Transformation – 20th Anniversary Tim Morse’s Transformation, released in 2015, is an impressive showcase of sophisticated songwriting, progressive rock ambition, and heartfelt musicianship. Best known for his work as a keyboardist, author (Yesstories), and member of the band Parallels, Morse brings a profoundly personal and musical sensibility to this solo effort, his […]
Short Cuts : The 12 Waves of Fernando Perdomo ( The Best Song From Each ‘Waves’ album – 2025)
Fernando Perdomo has all but completed his twelve-album prog-instrumental ‘Waves’ album series. The multitalented Perdomo has given listeners 120 songs over the last 12 months and is about to drop his ‘Best Of Waves’ series in a few days. Before he does, here are my thoughts on the best of each of the ‘Waves’ albums. […]
Short Tracks/Best of 2025 series-Transformation by Tim Morse (2025 reissue/expanded)
Tim Morse’s Transformation, released in 2015, is an impressive showcase of sophisticated songwriting, progressive rock ambition, and heartfelt musicianship. Best known for his work as a keyboardist, author (Yesstories), and member of the band Parallels, Morse brings a deeply personal and musical sensibility to this solo effort—his second following Tim Morse (2005). On Transformation, Morse […]