There Stands the Glass

The Top Ten Albums of June 2026
1. SML- Spontaneous Music Live
One of my favorite bands doing a few of my favorite things.

2. Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson- Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
Interspatial.

3. Patricia Brennan and Sylvie Courvoisier- Talamanti
Crystal silences.

4. Zoh Amba- Eyes Full
My review.

5. James Brandon Lewis- Omni
With Aruán Ortiz, Brad Jones and Chad Taylor.

6. Alden Hellmuth- Tether
With Logan Kane, Miller Wrenn and Justin Brown.

7. Tierra Whack- Whack’s Museum
Whack-a-Mole.

8. Converge- Hum of Heart
My preferred form of rock.

9. BCMC- Stash
My review.

10. Vince Staples- Cry Baby
Undermined by unfortunate production choices.

The Top Ten Reissues and Reimaginings of June 2026
1. Peggy Lee- Too Marvelous for Words
Swinging in 1955.

2. Heiner Goebbels- Walden
A bonkers Thoreau-themed song cycle recorded in 1998.

3. Mekons- Horrorble: Mekons vs. Tony Maimone in Dub Conference
Remix of the 2025 album Horror.

The Top Ten Songs of June 2026
1. Al Xapo and Benzoo- “Fosta Fosta”
Party in South Africa.

2. Rapsody- "God Gotta Afro"
Natural.

3. Rico Nasty- “Rituals”
Transgressive sacraments.

4. Maxo Kream- “6 Months Clean”
Relapse.

5. Ye featuring Don Toliver- "OK"
KO.

6. horsegiirL- "that's my beach"
Quicksand.

7. Charli xcx- “Wink Wink”
Ha ha.

8. 1010benja- “The Whole Damn World (Ain’t Dry Enough…)"
Soaked.

9. Tinishe- “Too Easy”
Simple.

10. Joyce and Tutty Moreno- “Is This Love?”
What the world needs now.

The Top Ten Performances of June 2026
1. By Storm and Lerado Khalil at the Encore Room
My review.

2. Cimafunk at FIFA Fan Festival KC
My review.

3. Christian Death, Gene Loves Jezebel and Descartes a Kant at recordBar
My review.

4. American Wild Ensemble at White Recital Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

5. Paul Simon at Starlight Theatre
My review.

6. Ensemble Ibérica at Polsky Theatre
My Instagram snapshot.

7. Miles Swaminathan at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church
My Instagram snapshot.

8. Elisha Israel and Az-One at Thompson Park
My Instagram clip.

9. Made in France at Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.

10. The Vincents at Meadowbrook Park Festival
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Original image of Christian Death’s Maitri and Valor Kand by There Stands the Glass.

I forced myself to choose between appearances by Christian Death and Joe Jackson in Kansas City this week. Christian Death’s general admission show at the recordBar had a compelling underbill and a $35 price tag. A reserved seat at the back of the floor for the British veteran’s concert at the Uptown Theater cost $57.

I settled on small. My decision was validated upon entering recordBar at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 8. Armed with costumes, props and melodies, Descartes a Kant was blowing the minds of earlybirds. The charming Mexican glam-pop band was a wonderful surprise.

Gene Loves Jezebel provided a different form of astonishment. Based on the heavy MTV rotation of “Motion of Love” in the late 1980s, I expected frothy pop. Instead, the band played sleaze-rock in the vein of Guns ‘N Roses. My head rebelled, but my heart submitted to the 50-minute-set.

Attending a Christian Death show in 2026 is as transgressive as visiting at a Hot Topic store in a suburban shopping mall. Deliriously campy and occasionally unintentionally amusing, the current lineup of the seminal goth-rock band entertained about 150 people for ninety minutes.

What do Descartes a Kant, Gene Loves Jezebel and Christian Death have in common? Nothing! The gloriously nonsensical lineup is among the reasons I’m glad to have spent four hours at recordBar crossing Christian Death off my live music bucket list. Joe Jackson will have to wait.

June 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Concert Review: Christian Death, Gene Loves Jezebel and Descartes a Kant at recordBar