Love what he's doing around 12:00

New Nels Cline Singers record (first in six years) out next month!

Loving this first single, can't wait.

Yeah, that's a gorgeous song there. I've never really listened to any of Nels' stuff besides a handful of songs that you've shared, Spenno, but I think it might be time to start checking it out.

Start with Lovers!

Over the last day or so I threw together this Spotify playlist to act as a rough introduction to the deep catalogue of Nels Cline.

NELS CLINE: A Brief Introduction



01. Canales' Cabeza (The Nels Cline Singers, Macroscope, 2014)
02. Cause for Concern (The Nels Cline Singers, Instrumentals, 2002)
03. Grow Closer (The Nels Cline Singers, Initiate, 2010)
04. Prayer Wheel (Nels Cline, Coward, 2009)
05. Ghost of the Piñata (The Nels Cline Singers, Instrumentals, 2002)
06. Lucile's Trip (The Nels Cline Trio, Silencer, 1992)
07. Maria, Alone (Nels Cline, Angelica, 1988)
08. Into It (The Nels Cline Singers, Initiate, 2010)
09. Floored (The Nels Cline Singers, Initiate, 2010)
10. He Still Carries a Torch for Her (The Nels Cline Singers, The Giant Pin, 2004)
11. As Close As That (CUP, Spinning Creature, 2019)
12. No Mercy (Nels Cline, Dirty Baby, 2010)

I tried to make this a pleasantly-flowing, not-too onerous listening experience which touched on everything from the beginning of Nels' career as a bandleader until now. Just a taster/sampler, really; lots of great tunes which I couldn't make fit.

I think Initiate (the first CD, the studio album) is probably the best general entry point, at least that's what got me hooked.

I love Initiate, too. I really need to do a deep dive into Nels's catalog -- for some reason I haven't had the urge to really explore his work, despite loving everything I hear.

I listened to Beam/Spiral three times today. I'm in love.

I really hope the new record maintains a similarish vibe throughout. I think that's what works so well for me about Lovers: I can listen to it front-to-back without interruption. Lots of his albums seem to alternate between languid vibey stuff, and more rocking uptempo stuff. Like Draw Breath has some of my favorite Nels songs, but I never want to listen to Attempted > Confection > An Evening At Pops > The Angel of Angels. All are awesome songs, but the mood shifts just don't work that well for me.

I really like the mix between wistfulness and frenetic spazz on (most of) Nels' records.

New track Segunda, featuring Jews' harp!:

New album this Friday. I ordered the vinyl but it won’t be here for another week or so, so I’ll start with the digital.

Pitchfork’s review is great. Grabbing my vinyl later today, but will listen to the stream this morning.

First listen was a half-listen while chasing my kid around the house. Tough to take it all in, but there are ample moments of brilliance. The addition of Skerik is awesome.

Spun it again last night. Early favorites are Segunda, Beam/Spiral, Headdress, Princess Phone, and A Place On The Moon. But I already forget what a couple of those sound like! There’s a lot going on here, but I could easily see this being one of my very favorite Nels records.

Share the Wealth is so good. "Beam/Spiral" just blew me away

Jorge have you listened to much Nels in the past?

Oh yeah. I'm not like intimately familiar with every thing he's done but I really admire him. I loved Lovers from a few years ago, as well as his wilder, Sonny-Sharrock-y stuff in The Giant Pin

Funny that every review I’ve read positions Stump The Panel as some sort of album centerpiece. It’s easily my least favorite track here. Which is to say it’s still pretty great, but I probably wouldn’t miss it if it were cut.

Loving Passed Down too