Soundwaves: Funky Brazilian jazz, raw nerve rap, Latin skater thrash, and a no-frills supergroup

Way back when, a couple of lifetimes ago, I made scraps of a living off writing about music and culture. I was young, the world was different, life was cheap and uncomplicated, and music was much more of a focus for me.

Nothing is as cheap or simple as it all used to be, but old habits die hard. I still go out of my way to find new (and new old) music, and I still write about it regularly, but I stopped sharing the work because I can’t seem to write anything to completion these days. The older version of my One For The Road newsletter almost always included some music writing. I now have countless unfinished docs of rough drafts, halfassed musings, and subpar prose about albums and genres and artists.

So in an effort to get back to writing more regularly about music, I’m gonna try to put together something every month, with three or four key offerings from whatever my regular rotation is at the time.

The rules: Snap reviews, only stuff I like, streaming and/or vinyl, links where I can. Let’s jump in…

Azymüth, Demos (1973 - 75) Vols 1 & 2 (Far Out Recordings, 2019)

Outside of Arthur Verocai’s masterpiece eponymous LP, the record that best represents Brazilian jazz/funk/pop fusion in my ears is the 1977 Azymüth album, Abuja Nao Com Mosca. It’s only streaming on YouTube at the moment, and has always managed to elude me on vinyl. These two Demos LPs were released in 2019—I finally found them on vinyl earlier this year at Paris’ legendary Superfly Records—and they’re as just as bonkers as the rare ’77 classic. They’re also far less polished, which somehow makes them…even funkier?

Aesop Rock, I Heard It’s A Mess There Too (Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2025)

The most straightahead rap record from this multisyllabic veteran maybe since 2000’s Float (and maybe my favorite since then too). It's chocked full of effortlessly smart and stingingly relevant rhymes, incongruently catchy hooks, and beats stripped down to infectiously head-nodding basics. It’s been a constant streamer for me lately.

Cardiel, Live from "Vesubio Grabaciones" – Ciudad de México (Cardiel, 2024)

Thrashy skate punk duo from Venezuela by way of Mexico City, with monster riffs, unrelenting rhythms, and little bits of fucked up dub/ska inserted throughout (I swear that part is fresh too). I caught their KEXP performance this past September and was blown away, especially by drummer Samantha Ambrosio—she’s an absolute monster on the kit. This live studio recording EP has been regularly rattling my windows.

Orcutt Shelly Miller, S/T (Silver Current Records, 2025)

A modern indie supergroup if ever there was one: Bill Orcutt from Hairy Pussy (guitar), Steve Shelly from Sonic Youth (drums), and Ethan Miller from Comets on Fire and Howlin Rain (bass) lay down searing instrumental guitar work over hypnotically rhythmic bass and masterful drumming. It was recorded live at Zebulon in LA, and it sounds great (especially on vinyl).

What are you listening to these days—hit me up at onefortheroad[at]maxsidman[dot]com and send me some links.