Consciously or not, the number five seems to have popped up in the selections for this edition of Spin Cycle. Whether for a project that took five years, or a fifth overall artist release, the power of the five hits clearly for this wide-ranging trio of new albums. Numerological, spiritual, and religious interpretations of the number proffer ideas of rebirth, of change. Humans utilize the five senses to help navigate the world around them, with five toes and five fingers on each appendage. And while I’m not overly symbolic all the time, I do believe that unseen patterns and energies can emerge and guide you when you least expect them to. So I’ll be on the lookout for what the number five means to me after the last couple weeks’ absorption of these fantastic listening experiences from near and far. Until then, high fives to you all!
Shadow Work – Rebecca Sanborn
For fans of Robin Bacior, Blue Cranes, Tiny Resistors
If there was even more evidence needed in support of the vibrancy and diversity of sound in Portland’s jazz community, give Rebecca Sanborn’s new eight-song cycle Shadow Work a spin. The multidisciplinary musician corralled an 18-piece ensemble from Portland’s jazz, classical, and indie music communities to realize the five-year project, which sees an auspicious release at this year’s Montavilla Jazz Festival on September 4.
Kicking off with “Minotaur,” Sanborn (also of local groups Blue Cranes, Loch Lomond, Swansea) maestros an artful, spacious pop monster that’s big on challenging your inner shadow-self while basking in warm keys and soaring vocals. A twisted guitar solo brings a sense of turmoil to the song, revealing Shadow Work’s conceptual depth. Odd tempos punctuate “So Easy,” with the push and pull of delicate, deft percussion from Ji Tanzer against an ominous rush of orchestral dynamics that peak and valley in all the right places. The song paints broad strokes across an airy, imaginative canvas of art-pop and jazz flourishes, with Sanborn’s pliable vocals questioning, “What do you make? / What’s at stake? / It’s exclusive / So then who gets to live / On such a grand scale? / What happens when we exhale?”
“Nadia’s Lullaby” features a stunning horn intro that yields an intimate, gorgeous composition of pianos, cymbal accents, and even vocals from Tanzer and Sanborn’s daughter, Nadia. And later, “The Big Room” tackles belonging and identity with a creepy-crawly intro and exits with a spiraling aural onslaught that slithers kinky guitars, layered vocal work, and an unexpected rhythmic oddity that captures the far-reaching scope of this seductive collection of songs.
Shadow Work drops Friday, September 4 on opening night of the Montavilla Jazz Festival. The album, released by the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble label, can be pre-ordered as a digital LP or on vinyl on PJCE’s Bandcamp. For more information on the Montavilla Jazz Festival, visit montavillajazz.org/festival.
Life in Small Places – Black Marble
For fans of Pylon, the Human League, Prefab Sprout
Chris Stewart’s synth-pop project Black Marble returns with a triumphant fifth album, Life in Small Places. And while its groove lies somewhere between a post-punk afterparty and a checkered new wave dancefloor, a Brooklyn sneer is always writhing just outside its periphery.
The album’s first track, “It Always Comes To Me,” announces a buoyant pop affair, with breezy guitars guiding a pathway for ample keys and relentless rhythms. On cue, “Anything” brings a moody dance track with liquid bass lines that flap and scatter around sparkling, reverbed guitar lines. Propelled by steady drum machine beats, Black Marble’s gloomy synth-pop is more than a nod to seminal ’80s acts like Pet Shop Boys or the Cure; it is a fluent reimagining of poppy goth with romantic dollops to help the medicine go down.
Songs like “Missing History” suggest larger landscapes of inner vision, quieting the mind with dusky tracks that hit right in the feels. The tune’s skronky synth pulse is tweaked before verse and chorus changes, retaining its sepia charms while folding in every shade of keyboard coloring. Programmed beats abound and pace Black Marble’s tunes with peppy tempos, as heard on the propulsive “Panopticon Calls.” “Other Man’s Dream” rips the script with dreamy tones stemming from a steady burn of crushed synth, amounting to a cold-wave dissonance that soothes the prevailing pop heat. As you proceed toward album finale “Sonny Boy,” you’re treated to perhaps the most melodic earworm on the record—which is saying something—and a becoming conclusion to a kaleidoscope of despondent synth goodies.
Life in Small Places dropped August 21 on Sacred Bones Records. The album is available as a digital LP, on vinyl, and on CD via the Black Marble Bandcamp. You can also catch Black Marble at Wonder Ballroom at 128 NE Russell on Saturday, August 29, 8 pm, $28-$45, all ages.
Yoo-hoo – Shintaro Sakamoto
For fans of Donald Fagen, Serge Gainsbourg, Beck
Since his solo career spawned following the demise of legendary Japanese psych-rock group Yura Yura Teikoku in 2010, enigmatic songwriter Shintaro Sakamoto has blazed a trail of softish rock in direct contrast with his band-centric endeavors. On his fifth solo album, Yoo-hoo, Sakamoto furthers the heavy-lidded energy with impossibly chilled-out tracks that give cure-all vibes for a whole host of maladies.
Yoo-hoo’s expansive tunes could soundtrack a slew of disparate environs, employing mood kayō grooves alongside tropicalia-soul for a riveting listen. Beginning with the single “Dear Grandpa,” Sakamoto’s effortless cool is delivered in a warped rocker replete with flute, shakers, and keys, among a variety of instrumentation helmed mainly by Sakamoto himself. Echoes of his psychedelic past emerge in the stoned croon of “Is There a Place for You?,” with trippy guitars and a wall of reverberating flutes that come screeching in from all directions like descending bats. Here, Sakamoto’s vocals are delivered as sleepy narratives to the overarching dreamscape of the album, giving soporific sheen to an already tranquil suite of songs.
“Numb” brings a funkier front to the collection, with tight guitar flourishes plotting a quickening swing with sassy sax, congas, and drippy bass lines. A yacht-rock haze shades “Why Do This?” with a descending verse that’s accented by cozy backups. Here, Sakamoto wears his songs like a second skin, filling out their spacious insides with tender vocals that live peacefully next to dabblings of exotica. Penultimate track “Ghost Town” is a lush orchestration that reins in a gamut of complementary marimba tones to achieve a meditative state of bliss sorely needed in an age where pure delight is harder to come by.
Yoo-hoo was originally released in January 2026, but was just given the vinyl treatment in the United States on July 31 via Sakamoto’s own Zelone Records. You can order the vinyl album via Rough Trade, or visit zelonerecords.com for more info.