September 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Welsh National Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of September 2025

1. Trio of Bloom- Trio of Bloom
Nels Cline, Craig Taborn and Marcus Gilmore.

2. Vox Clamantis- Pärt: And I heard a voice
Spectral spirituality.

3. Olivia Dean- The Art of Loving
Near-perfect pop.

4. Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura- Ki
Spartan piano and trumpet duo.

5. Cécile McLorin Salvant- Oh Snap
My kind of mixtape.

6. Atmosphere- Jestures
My review.

7. Mulatu Astatke- Mulatu Plays Mulatu
Ethiopian twilight.

8. Rochelle Jordan- Through the Wall
Don’t stop ‘til you get enough.

9. Les Arts Florissants- Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice
Oui français.

10. Jeff Tweedy- Twilight Override
One’s too many and thirty ain’t enough.

The Top Three Reissues and Reimaginings of September 2025

1. Joni Mitchell- Joni’s Jazz
One side now.

2. Kassa Overall- CREAM
My review.

3. Gary Bartz- The Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control
Slow jamz.

The Top Ten Songs of September 2025

1. El Michels Affair featuring Norah Jones- "Carry Me Away"
Surf.

2. Kali Uchis featuring Raven Lenae- “Cry About It!”
Rainin’ in my heart.

3. Mariah Carey featuring Anderson Paak- “Play This Song”
Grown-and-sexy.

4. Rauw Alejandro featuring Mon Laferte- "Callejón de los Secretos"
Boulevard of broken dreams.

5. Tortoise- “Layered Presence”
Slow and steady.

6. Danny Brown- “Starburst”
Glitchy and twichy.

7. Black Lips- “Sx Sx Sx Men”
Filthy numerology.

8. Speed- "Peace"
Only one mode.

9. Lorna Kay- “I’m Never Drinking Again (Again)”
Hair of the dog.

10. Mike Reid and Joe Henry- “History”
Lovely lament.

The Top Ten Performances of September 2025

1. Callie Day and Isaac Cates at Grant Recital Hall
My Instagram clip.

2. 10cc at Ranch Mart Shopping Center
My review.

3. Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds and Dan Jones and the Squids at recordBar
My Instagram clips here and here.

4. Isaac Cates’ Affirmations: A Night of Worship with Oleta Adams, Callie Day, Angela Crawford, Alicia Peters-Jordan and Chrystal Rucker at the Church of the Resurrection
My Instagram clip.

5. Devin Gray at The Ship
My Instagram clip.

6. Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

7. Deftones, Idles and the Barbarians of California at T-Mobile Center
My review.

8. Henry Scamurra, Isaiah Petrie, Spencer Reeve and Jade Harvey at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival
My Instagram clip.

9. Nathaniel Gumbs at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
My Instagram clip.

10. Rex Hobart and the Honky Tonk Standards at SarKoPar Trails Park
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Concert Review: Deftones, Idles and Barbarians of California at T-Mobile Center

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I had ninety minutes to slap together a 400-word concert review of Deftones’ performance at a Kansas City casino in 2011. Assigned a general admission pass by the daily newspaper, I had no choice but to immerse myself in the ecstatic ebb and flow of the pit.

The debilitating volume and turbulent physicality rendered me insensible. My assessment was almost certainly incoherent. Deftones’ headlining appearance at the T-Mobile Center on Wednesday, September 17, made me realize I needn’t have felt inadequate about the tight deadline 14 years ago.

The ephemeral sludge and psychedelic crunch of Deftones’ performances is rooted in vibe rather than intellect. Much as it did for 1,200 fans in 2011, the band induced 12,000 people into a narcoleptic trance last night. (My seat in a remote corner of the arena was comped.)

I had a similar experience at Dia de los Deftones in San Diego in 2018. My memory of sets by Future, Ho99o9 and Doja Cat is more distinct than my recollection of Deftones’ metallic impressionism.

The punks in Idles don’t share Deftones’ murkiness. In addition to explicitly addressing immigration and fascism, front man Joe Talbot led the crowd in a chant of “Free Palestine.” Here’s a clip of "Gift Horse".

If Idles embodies the spirit of ‘76, The Barbarians of California represent the crassness of television beer commercials. The magnificence of the band’s stoner rock riffs was negated by the cheesiness of vocalist Aaron Bruno. Most everyone lapped it up.

August 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Národní divadlo Brno’s production of Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of August 2025

1. Linda May Han Oh- Strange Heavens
My review.

2. Aruán Ortiz- Créole Renaissance
Créolité.

3. Emily D’Angelo, Ben Bliss, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Metropolitan Opera- Tesori: Grounded
My review.

4. Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin- Ghosted III
Haunting.

5. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- That Wasn’t a Dream
Too good to be true.

6. Sara Ruiz- Telemann: Fantaisies Pour La Basse de Violle
Viola da gamba.

7. Endlings- Parallel 03
End times soundtrack from Raven Chacon and John Dieterich.

8. The Good Ones- Rwanda Sings with Strings
Rapturous.

9. Miguel Zenón Quartet- Vanguardia Subterránea
Basement tapes.

10. Deftones- private music
Public record.

The Top Three Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of August 2025

1. Woody Guthrie- Woody at Home, Vol. 1 + 2
My review.

2. Anat Fort- The Dreamworld of Paul Motian
My review.

3. Antone’s 50th Allstars: 50 Years of the Blues
Tough Texas blues.

The Top Ten Songs of August 2025

1. Cécile McLorin Salvant- “What does blue mean to you?”
All blues.

2. Gabriel Jacoby- "Be Careful"
Voodoo.

3. Earl Sweatshirt- "Gamma"
Everybody loves the sunshine.

4. Patricia Brennan- "Antlia"
Lost in the stars.

5. Sam Gendel- "Stair 1"
Spiral.

6. Chance the Rapper featuring Jamila Woods- "No More Old Men"
Wisdom of the ages.

7. Carin León and Kacey Musgraves- "Lost in Translation"
Cómo se dice “fun”?

8. Margo Price and Tyler Childers- "Love Me Like You Used To"
A la Loretta and Conway.

9. Rodney Crowell- “Maybe Somewhere Down the Road”
Perspective.

10. Brad Mehldau- “The White Lady Loves You More”
Elliott Smith as chamber music composer.

The Top Ten Performances of August 2025

1. Horsegirl, Sweeping Promises and Godcaster at the Bottleneck
My review.

2. Seth Davis, Jeffrey Goulet, Alexander Adams, Shanté Clair and Krista Kopper at Grand Avenue Temple
My Instagram clip and snapshot.

3. Lil Wayne and Tyga at T-Mobile Center
My review.

4. Ann Pham, Sherry Dou and Ann Marie Rigler at the 13th Annual French Organ Music Festival at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
My Instagram snapshot.

5. Aaron Sizemore, DeAndre Manning and Brian Steever at the Music House
My Instagram clip.

6. Adam Galblum and Eddie Moore at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snapshot.

7. Bobby Watson at Jay McShann Pavilion
My Instagram clip.

8. Kitty Degler and Robert Pherigo at All Souls Unitarian Church
My Instagram snapshot.

9. Mike Bourne & KC Boogie at Black Dolphin
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Moon City Big Band at Franklin Park
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

September 2020 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the English National Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s “Death in Venice” by There Stands the Glass.

Top Five Albums

1. Prince- Sign O’ The Times (Super Deluxe)

Eight hours of electrifying brilliance.

2. Steve Arrington- Down to the Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions

The glorious comeback of the famed funkateer.

3. The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection

My review.

4. Ainon- Drought

My review.

5. Deftones- Ohms

Veterans in fighting form.

Top Five Songs

1. Alicia Keys featuring Khalid- "So Done"

Me too.

2. Elizabeth Cook- “Stanley by God Terry”

Dim lights, thick smoke and loud, loud music.

3. Tyler Childers- "Long Violent History"

Southern man.

4. Conway the Machine featuring Flee Lord, Havoc and Lloyd Banks- "Juvenile Hell"

Ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.

5. Gillian Welch- "Picasso"

Both recently released sets of “lost” material are astonishingly excellent.

Top Five Livestreams

1. Bad Bunny- atop a bus in New York City

2. Midwest Chamber Ensemble- at BRC Audio Productions

3. Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle- Verzuz battle

4. Melissa Aldana Quartet- at Smalls

5. Hyde Park Jazz Festival (Alexis Lombre Quartet, Greg Ward’s Rogue Parade, etc.)

I conducted the same exercise in August, July, June, May, April, March, February and January.