Echoes and Moments

Sunrise at Haleakala, Maui. Sunlight screams into my eyes, The heat melting any illusions Or ghosts that haunted me before I awoke. Still my heart longs for the day When listlessness will be replaced by Memory Intact And the breaths come easier, freed From yokes of self-constructed shackles. The thrust of my regret keeps jabbing Inward, deeper, to the center Of great Longing, where all doubts gather And pool at the feet of my Memory, The tower that I long to tackle yet never Seem to surmount, its lofty heights Climbing beyond the first breaths of the dawn. And then the Rest returns: That great awakening in my mind, Where once I failed to understand all Now the hopes and dreams come screaming back, yes back! Again is my hope kindled. Alive am I, a man - fear need not hinder me, Let it fade beneath a soft, swift sunrise.

As the rain mist gently cools the air outside the creaky windows of my home here in Fresno, the world slows down a bit and I am afforded the perfect opportunity to listen to some new music. It is, after all, Friday*, and as we herald the weekend, let's reflect on some of the best new tunes to cross our airwaves. There are many candidates to consider, but for now I'll focus on three artists and their latest releases. So far 2016 has been a great year for new music, and there seems to be more to come on the horizon. I am, of course, giddy with excitement over the new Radiohead release on Sunday , and although I lament that I could not come close to getting tickets for their summer tour, I can enjoy a new video release in anticipation of their imminent album drop. That album will have to wait for a review of its own, but for now I'll dive into the three featured albums that have stayed with me over the past few weeks. To begin, I travel sonically to the land of my birth, th...