Gossip Wolf first became acquainted with multi-instrumentalist Joel Styzens via his remarkable hammered dulcimer playing on the Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble album III, which Reader writer Bill Meyer praised in May for its attempts at “musical transcendence.” As you might expect from that record’s shimmering acoustic textures and accessible melodies, Styzens’s own compositions play out across an open vista of unfussy, tuneful minimalism that evokes an easy, natural splendor. Styzens says his new album, Resonance (which drops Friday, September 29, via his own Relax Your Ears imprint), is “based on connection and how we resonate with each other, with nature, with the great beyond. It’s a celebration of the challenges and triumphs of life and the potential for transformation.” On “Esplanade” and “Heritage Garden,” the dynamic sweep of his dulcimer playing gets perfect accompaniment from UK cellist Sophie Webber, local pianist Rob Clearfield, and Chicago-born string quartet Atlys. On Saturday, September 30, Styzens celebrates with a record-release show at the Old Town School of Folk Music, where he’ll be joined by cellist Herine Coetzee Koschak and Atlys members Jinty McTavish and Genevieve Tabby.
According to his Bandcamp page, Joel Styzens uses Whamdiddle dulcimer hammers.
Gossip Wolf has been eager for a new project from rapper Matt Muse since 2019’s Love & Nappyness, which shares its name with his annual wintertime hair-care drive and concert fundraiser. Thankfully, Muse dropped the Bandcamp-only EP Three for a Dollar in July (a fellowship-funded collaboration with the Economic Security Project), and on Tuesday, September 19, he self-released the EP So Far, So Decent. He powers through the all-too-brief set of songs on this newest project with calm assurance—he sounds at ease even when he accelerates his spry, melodic flow on “Leave Here,” skimming over rippling synths and minimal percussion.
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