Very happy, this week, to be able to include part of William Basinski’s gorgeous elegy for David Bowie, which serendipitously dropped last weekend amidst all the more headline-grabbing anniversary tributes.

Also here: something new from Alasdair Roberts (always a pleasure); that amazing Elliott Smith find again; the latest Awesome Tapes discovery; Rhiannon Giddens; the increasingly rewarding “Hired Hands” comp; and an interesting project from Randy Adams, where he spent one day a month, for a year, improvising on his guitar, and his now posted the epic results on Bandcamp. He bills it as “a reaction to the current ‘American Primitive’ guitar scene embodied by such artists as Glenn Jones, Daniel Bachman and Jack Rose.” Pushed for a reference point, James Blackshaw might not be a bad one: have a listen, anyway.

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1 William Basinski – A Shadow In Time (Temporary Residence)

2 Rhiannon Giddens – Freedom Highway (Nonesuch)

3 Various Artists – The Hired Hands: A Tribute To Bruce Langhorne (Scissor Tail/Bandcamp)

4 Awa Poulo – Poulo Warali (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

5 Elliott Smith – I Figured You Out (Kill Rock Stars)

6 Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Navigator (ATO)

7 Matt Jencik – Weird Times (Hands In The Dark)

8 Philip Lewin – Am I Really Here All Alone? (Tompkins Square)

9 Jesus And Mary Chain – Damage And Joy (Warner Bros)

10 Duke Garwood – Garden Of Ashes (Heavenly)

11 Alasdair Roberts – Pangs (Drag City)

12 The Shins – Heartworms (Aural Apothecary/Columbia)

13 Sheer Mag – Compilation LP (Static Shock)

14 Randy Adams – Invoking The Muse (Bandcamp)

15 Brokeback – Illinois River Valley Blues (Thrill Jockey)