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.

Screenshot of the trailer for Opéra Comique’s production of Matthias Pintscher’s “Nuit sans aube” by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of March 2026
1. Irreversible Entanglements- Future Present Past
Stellar vibrations.

2. Ye- Bully
All is not forgiven, but Bully is undeniably excellent.

3. Alex Isley- When the City Sleeps
Diamond life.

4. Adam O’Farrill- ELEPHANT
Big ears.

5. Sylvie Courvoisier- Éclats: Live in Europe
With Drew Gress and Kenny Wollesen.

6. Mike Will Made-It- R3SET
A cavalcade of stars.

7. Immanuel Wilkins Quartet- Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1
Ascension.

8. Dave Adewumi- The Flame Beneath the Silence
With Joel Ross, Linda May Oh Han and Marcus Gilmore.

9. Jorge Drexler- Taracá
MPB via Uruguay.

10. Lise Davidsen- Live at the Met
A reprehensible recording of a ripping recital.

The Top Three Reissues and Reimaginings of March 2026
1. Alice Sara Ott- Jóhann Jóhannsson: Piano Works
Solo piano renderings.

2. Aerosmith- Aerosmith: Legendary Expanded Edition
The lines on his face have never been clearer.

3. Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra- Let Freedom Swing
History geeks and freedom fighters only.

The Top Ten Songs of March 2026
1. aja monet featuring Meshell Ndegeocello and Georgia Anne Muldrow- “elsewhere”
Heavenly.

2. Gabrielle Cavassa- “Angelo”
Swoonworthy.

3. Leikeli47- "Bad Guy"
Beez in the trap.

4. Jessie Ware- “Automatic”
Instinctive.

5. CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso- “Ha Ha”
Hee haw.

6. Vince Gill- "Lonely's What I Do"
He’s gonna fill their shoes.

7. Jim Lauderdale- “We Don’t See You Anymore”
Long gone.

8. Luke Combs- “Alcohol of Fame”
There stands the glass.

9. Elucid featuring Shabaka- "Equiano"
“The Interesting Narrative of…”

10. Dry Socket- “The Chop”
Portland hardcore.

The Top Ten Performances of March 2026
Due to a transformative life event, I attended only six performances in March.

The previous monthly recap is here.

June 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

March 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency