Consumer Guide: December, 2022

Joining a polysyllabist in battling the algorithms: a midwestern folkie, Congolese avant-gardists, quiet songs with roots in Alabama and Texas, gorgeous textures that span Asia and Africa, and more.

Willi Carlisle: Peculiar, Missouri (Free Dirt) Covering Utah Phillips and Almeda Riddle, citing J.D. Salinger and E.E. Cummings, Midwestern folkie who’s proud of both labels applies his wavery tenor to “people who don’t fit in.” “Meritocracy’s a lie,” as he noted on 2016’s Too Nice to Mean Much, so in this world where “somebody’s true religion’s always …