Wire Town

The Top Kansas City Albums and EPs of 2025 (so far)

The 25 Best Kansas City Albums of 2025 (so far)

1. Carl Allen- Tippin'
Plastic Sax review.

2. Stik Figa- A Small Fortune
The riches of maturity.

3. Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier- Soul Song
Plastic Sax review.

4. Sandbox Percussion- Cerrone: Don’t Look Down
Elevated.

5. Samantha Fish- Paper Doll
Tougher than nails.

6. Idle Heirs- Life is Violence
Brutal beat downs.

7. Vinny Golia, Dan Clucas, Kevin Cheli and Seth Andrew Davis- Orchid
Plastic Sax review.

8. Kansas City Chorale- The Mirage Calls
Oasis.

9. TheBabeGabe- Honeypop
Toothsome.

10. The Freedom Affair- The Freedom Affair
Righteous.


11. Jake Wesley Rogers- In the Key of Love
Maximalist pop.

12. Nathan Granner- Gordon Getty: Goodbye, Mr. Chips
An opera based on James Hilton’s novel.

13. Jackie Myers- What About the Butterfly
Plastic Sax review.

14. Rich the Factor- 2K10th Street
Fresh takes.

15. Bob James and Dave Koz- Just Us
Plastic Sax review.

16. All Night Trio- Yeah Sun
Plastic Sax review.

17. Henry Scamurra- Urban Forum
Plastic Sax review.

18. Adam Larson- Push to Exit
Locked in.

19. Wire Town- Riffin’ on Grand
Plastic Sax review.

20. Eddie Moore- What Makes Us
Made men.

21. Xion Sound Waves- In This Celestial Life
New Age gospel.

22. Hot Club KC- Dream Dancing
Plastic Sax review.

23. Season to Risk- 1-800-MELTDOWN
Psychotic reactions.

24. Michael McClintock- Here and There
Plastic Sax review.

25. Brody Buster- Redemption
Confessions.


The Ten Best Kansas City EPs of 2025 (so far)

1. RMW and Maadcxmmander- Pretty Boy Swag
Crank that.

2. Greg LaFollette- Liturgical Songs, Volume One
Holy, holy, holy.

3. Rich the Factor- Snow Money
Grab a shovel.

4. Flora From Kansas- Homesick
Teen spirit.

5. Claire Adams- Passenger Seat
A trip to Laurel Canyon.

6. The Almighty Trouble Brothers- A History of Poor Decisions
Flirtin’ with disaster.

7. Reality’s Demise- Demo
Corrosive thrash.

8. Rich the Factor- Make America Grit Again
Poll numbers.

9. Jass- April Showers
Refreshing.

10. Jean & The Eclairs- the a.m. EP
Good morning.


The year-end tabulation for 2024 is here.

The Top Kansas City Albums and EPs of 2024 (so far)

The Top Twenty Kansas City Albums of 2024 (so far)

1. Willi Carlisle- Critterland
Feral folk.

2. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin'
Plastic Sax review.

3. Behzod Abduraimov- Shadows of My Ancestors
Prokofiev, Ravel and Saidaminova.

4. Charles McPherson- Reverence
Plastic Sax review.

5. Waxahatchee- Tigers Blood
KC.

6. Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas and Ted Nash- Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols
Plastic Sax review.

7. Logan Richardson- Sacred Garden
Plastic Sax review.

8. Danielle Nicole- The Love You Bleed
KCUR's audio feature.

9. Karrin Allyson- A Kiss for Brazil
Plastic Sax review.

10. The Kansas City Symphony- Brahms: Reimagined Orchestrations
Virgil Thomson’s arrangements.

11. WireTown- Kansas City
Plastic Sax review.

12. Scott Dean Taylor and Seth Andrew Davis- Infidels
Plastic Sax review.

13. Jennifer Knapp- Kansas 25
Reworking of 1998 milestone.

14. Alber- Lento
Electro-jazz.

15. The Hearers- elevators come undone
Grandaddy-esque.

16. Brian Scarborough- We Need the Wind
Plastic Sax review.

17. Jeff Shirley- Contigo
Plastic Sax review.

18. Michael Davidson and Ellen Sommer- Skybreak
Trombone and piano.

19. Christopher Burnett- Originals
Plastic Sax review.

20. Doubledrag- Alone With Everyone
Shoegaze.

The Top Ten Kansas City EPs of 2024 (so far)

1. Midwestern- Reflections
There Stands the Glass review.

2. Burning Bush Demo 2024
Exodus.

3. Drew Williams- Wobble
Plastic Sax review.

4. Rich the Factor- Souped Up Sofa
KC’s the town.

5. Eddie Moore- Aperture: Solo Piano Works
Plastic Sax review.

6. Nate Hofer- Decommissioned
Ambient steel guitar.

7. Rich the Factor- Souped Up Sofa 2
Midwest tygoon.

7. Little Miss Dynamite- Grow Up
Firecracker folk.

9. Scott Hrabko & The Rabbits- Other Cats, Other Bags: Vol. 2
Louche troubadour.

10. The Fun Guy- From the Attic to the Underground 
Garage rock.

January 2024 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Oper Graz’s production of Giuseppi Verdi’s Macbeth by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of January

1. Willi Carlisle- Critterland
Folk masterstroke.

2. Abdullah Ibrahim- 3
The octogenarian in peak form.

3. Piotr Anderszewski- Bartók, Janáček, Szymanowski
On an overgrown path.

4. Philip Glass- Solo
Greatest hits hits hits hits hits hits hits hits.

5. Kali Uchis- Orquídeas
Panoramic pop.

6. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin’
My review.

7. Luis R Conriquez- Corridos Bélicos, Vol. IV
What border?

8. Danielle Nicole- The Love You Bleed
My audio feature for KCUR.

9. The Smile- Wall of Eyes
Frippery.

10. Behzod Abduraimov- Shadows of My Ancestors
Prokofiev, Saidaminova and Ravel.


Top Ten Songs of January

1. Joel Ross- “bach (God the Father in Eternity)
Sanctified.

2. Brian Harnetty- "The Workbench"
A loving sound collage.

3. Mary Halvorson- “Desiderata
Now that’s what I call shredding!

4. Idles- "Gift Horse"
Ugly as homemade sin.

5. Sleater-Kinney- "Small Finds"
Needles.

6. Sprints- "Heavy"
Gravity.

7. Erick the Architect featuring George Clinton- "Ezekiel's Wheel"
Cosmic slop.

8. SleazyWorld Go- ​​"32 Bars"
Shots fired.

9. Ana Tijoux featuring Pablo Chili-E- "Dime que"
Chee-chee-chee, lay-lay-lay.

10. Ufo361 featuring lucidbeats and Ken Carson- "RICK OWENS"
If the shoe fits…

Top Ten Concerts of January

1. Isata Kanneh-Mason and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Helzberg Hall
My review.

2. UMKC Conservatory’s “Suor Angelica” at the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
My Instagram photo.

3. Joyce DiDonato’s master class at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram photo.

4. Joyce DiDonato with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall
My review.

5. Arnold Young’s RoughTet at Westport Coffee House
My Instagram clip.

6. Wire Town at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

7. Bryan Hicks, Matt Otto and Charles Gatschet at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram photo.

8. Cynthia van Roden at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.

9. Jun Iwasaki’s violin master class at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram photo.

10. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s master class at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church
My Instagram photo.



The previous monthly recap is here.