Q-Music: Women’s world of song

By Gregg Shapiro

Sunny War

Beginning with her first full-length album in 2018, Sunny War (born Sydney Lyndella Ward) has

established herself as an artist of merit. Fans of Brittany Howard and Rhiannon Giddens will likely

appreciate War’s new album “Armageddon in a Summer Dress” (New West). Beginning with the rocking locomotion of “One Way Train” to the modern spiritual “Bad Times” (with its “Bad times stay away” mantra), to the haunting “Ghosts” and the modern blues of “Cry Baby” and the unexpectedly

bouncy “Debbie Downer,” War continues to be a wonder. Her lineup of guest artists, including Tre

Burt, Valerie June, John Doe, and Steve Ignorant, is also impressive. [Sunny War performs

as part of the Evanston FolkFestival in Dawes Park on Sept. 6]

“No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire” (Island/Made of Elves) is the debut LP by Experimental folk-pop singer/songwriter Dora Jar (aka Dora Jarkowski). She shares a musical sensibility similar to that of

Lorde and Billie Eilish but is distinctive enough not to be confused with either. Whether she’s working with electro beats, as on “Ragdoll,” “Smoke Out the Window,” and “Behind The Curtain,” or more

organic instrumentation on “Debbie Darling,” “This Is Why,” the Yoko Ono-esque “She Loves Me,” and the Lana Del Rey-like title track, Dora Jar makes music that benefits from repeated listens. [Dora Jar

performs at The Rave / EaglesClub in Milwaukee on Sept. 13.]

On her amazing 2021 album “The Turning Wheel,” Oakland, CA based Spellling (aka Chrystia Cabral) sounded like a 21st century version of the late Julee Cruise, with a touch of Kate Bush. Her “deeply

personal” new album, “Portrait of My Heart” (Sacred Bones) puts her harder rocking side on full display on “Drain,” “Love Ray Eyes,” “Alibi,” and “Satisfaction.” Chaz Bear (of Toro y Moi) joins Spellling on “Mount Analogue,” and songs such as the dramatic pop of “Ammunition” and the propulsive title number

demonstrate Spellling’s versatility.

To say that there’s no shortage of country divas is an understatement. I mean, where the hell did Lainey Wilson come from? This makes the challenge of standing out from the crowd an even more arduous task than when it was just Loretta, Tammy, and Dolly, or Miranda, Maren, and Kelsea, let alone Reba or Kasey. Esther Rose seems to understand that and illustrates the point on her new album “Want” (New West). Rose sets herself apart right from the title track with which she opens the album, and there’s not a clunker amongst the songs that follow, of which highlights include “Tailspin” (on which Rose in joined by Video Age), “Scars” (featuring Dean Johnson), “Ketamine,” “Had To,” and the gorgeous “Color Wheel.”

You don’t have to be a Spanish speaker to comprehend the irresistible attraction of queer Latinx artist Reyna Tropical (aka Fabi Reyna). Recipient of a 2025 Libera Award (honoring independent musicians and their support teams) for Best Latin Record, “Malegría” (Psychic Hotline) is Reyna Tropical’s full-length debut album. Integrating various Latin musical influences, the black vinyl LP, which includes a colorful poster, is described as “a voice and a platform for the joy and injustices living with the spectrum of Queer Love & Afro-Mexico.” Dedicated “in loving memory of Sumo” (Nectali “Sumohair” Díaz, Reyna Tropical’s late bandmate), you might think the songs would be somber. On the contrary, tracks such as “Suavecito,” “Lo Siento,” “Cartagena,” “Conexíon Ancestral,” “Puerto Rico,” and “Cuaji,” are lively, pulsating with inviting rhythms. One listen and you will understand why it’s natural for listeners to continue seeking comfort in this “warm blanket” of an album.

Anyone the least bit familiar with the meteoric rise of Alanis Morissette knows it wasn’t as meteoric as it appeared. By the time her 1995 breakthrough album “Jagged Little Pill” was released, she was already a music veteran with two albums released in her Canadian homeland. But we all know what happened after she teamed up with songwriter/producer Glen Ballard. Turns out he knew exactly what to do with Morisette’s powerful voice and songwriting skills. The result was a record deal with Madonna’s Maverick Records label, and a multiplatinum, award-winning album that spawned numerous hit singles, as well as a Broadway musical. Of course, this meant that Morissette had her work cut out for her when it came to the follow-up, 1998’s “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab), newly reissued on SACD and LP in an Original Master Recording edition. Opening with “Front Row,” featuring her rapidfire delivery of a lyric-packed song that has more in common with Ani DiFranco than, say, her fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell. It’s a song that would have fit in well on her previous album. Charttopping single “Thank U” and “Baba” find Morissette on the kind of spiritual quest that artists often experience following massive popularity. “That I Would Be Good” (another of the album’s singles), “Are You Still Mad,” “Can’t Not,” and “Joining You,” also echo Morissette’s knack for creating list songs. Perhaps the album’s most daring number, “The Couch,” incorporating the Eastern musical influence that permeates the whole project, is a song about a therapy experience, that can be listened to sitting up or lying down.

Artistic and stylistic evolution was as important to Morissette as it is to Valerie June on her outstanding

new album “Owls, Omens, and Oracles” (Concord). Like Morissette, June has a distinctive and

unmistakable vocal quality that immediately helps listeners identify the performer. “Owls, Omens, and

Oracles” kicks things off in high gear with the roof-raising “Joy! Joy!” that is exhilarating as its title suggests, with the ability to stir the soul of even the dourest listener. June indulges her retro side with the delightful yearning of “All I Really Wanna Do” and “Endless Tree.” June’s Memphis roots come to the

surface on “Love Me Any Ole Way,” “Trust The Path,” “Changed” (on which she’s joined by The Blind Boys of Alabama), and you better believe her when she sings “My Life Is a Country Song.”

Jesika Von Rabbit is both a musical artist and a performance troupe. Said troupe includes queer member Beautox Rocks, a self-described “dancer/performance artist/ weirdo.” There’s plenty to dance to on the new LP “Bunnywood Babylon” (Dionysus), including the electro gallop of “Wacko,” “Gotta Keep My Buzz Going,” “I Can’t Find Me,” and the retro-rock of “Go Back To L.A.”

Can we all agree that, with the possible exceptions of Thalia Zedek and Taylor Swift, there is a particular

sonic quality related to female singer/songwriters connected to Massachusetts? I remember thinking

the first time I listened to the sophomore album by Kris Delmhorst that she was reminiscent

of formerly Mass-based Jonatha Brooke. You can still hear that influence on Delmhorst’s new album

“Ghosts In the Garden” (krisdelmhorst.com), on the title tune, for example. Like Sunny War, Delmhorst has a stellar line-up of guest musicians, including queer singer/songwriter Ana Egge, Anais Mitchell, Rachel Baiman, Anna Tivel, Rose Cousins, and Jeffrey Foucault. Standout cuts include “Not

The Only One,” “Wolves,” “Age of Innocence,” and “Dematerialize.”

On devilishly red vinyl, “Switcheroo” (Innovative Leisure), the debut album by Gelli Haha, creator of the Gelliverse, is 21st century retro-disco to the nth degree. Integrating the “vintage gear” of producer Sean Guerin (of De Lux), the album is as much fun as the kooky cover suggests. “Spit,” “Tiramisu,” “Bounce House,” “Funny Music,” and “Pluto Is Not A Planet It’s A Restaurant” belong on every party playlist this summer (fall, winter, and spring, too!). Combining a seductive dance beat, a revealing spoken-word monologue, and a catchy chorus, “Piss Artist” is as they say in Boston, “wicked pissah.”

The only thing missing is a yellow bandana.