“Honora” - Flea
Released March 27, 2026 through Nonesuch.File under: alternative
Multi-instrumentalist and long time musician Flea, best know as the bassist in Red Hot Chili Peppers, has release his long awaited solo album Honora, an title that holds significant familial value to him and his life. Flea plays bass, trumpet and and performs load vocals on several tracks, and is joined on Traffic Lights by Thom Yorke (Radiohead, Atoms For Peace), and on the cover of Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman (most famously performed by Glenn Campbell) by Nick Cave (The Bad Seeds, The Boys Next Door) on lead vocals. Also joining Flea as session musicians on Honora are long time band-mate Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Mauro Refosco (RHCP and Atoms For Peace), Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes, RHCP, M Ward), and Jeff Parker (Tortoise).
The album itself is a pastiche of musical ideas, many written by Flea himself, but also including the cover of Wichita Lineman, an instrumental cover of Frank Ocean’s Thinkin Bout You, and a brilliant cover of George Clinton’s Funkadelic epic Maggot Brain. The lead single is the anti-war anthem A Plea written by Flea, an earnest plea to the world to be kind, be caring, and not turn away from injustice:
“Build a bridge Shine a lightMake something beautifulI don’t care if it’s a little scrap of squiggly crayon on a paperMake something beautiful and see somebodyGive it to somebodyI’m not being corny this shit is real”
This album could be a huge miss, being so eclectic, being very ambitious, and being far from the mainstream, but the strong points of this album really keep the whole project afloat from start to finish. It reminds me in ways of Andre 3000’s massive pivot to a sprawling flute album when he released New Blue Sun in 2023, in that it’s a deeply personal project and done with true musical skill and artistry.
Listen to “Honora” on:Apple Music }|{ Spotify }|{ Tidal
“Event Beat” - Holy Fuck
Released March 27, 2026 through Nonesuch.File under: electronica/experimental
Event Beat is the 6th album by Canadian electronic/alternative four piece Holy Fuck, and it’s proven to be quite a showstopper. Constantly experimenting with sounds, and with a bent toward recording “as live as possible”, Event Beat is an album with constant surprises, new melodies and catchy hooks, and ever-funky bass-lines keeping the deep groove of the album alive.
While it’s not as purely experimental as previous albums, this album holds its own as supremely listenable; tracks like Elevate, Czar, and Evie all deliver hummable melodies, while Bricks, Ice Box and the title track Event Beat all come form a more experimental place.
At times Event Beat sounds like it could belong in the 2010s NYC scene with bands like !!! and LCD Soundsystem, and at other times it sounds like later Sonic Youth or even Stereolab. But throughtout it shies away from purely electronic sounds, with a rounder band-sound in the mix.
Over 40 minutes and 11 songs, Event Beat is an eclectic but ultimately rewarding listen.
Listen to “Event Beat” on:Apple Music }|{ Spotify }|{ Tidal