Suffering Jukebox

This week's episode features an interview with Tortoise bassist and guitarist Doug McCombs. Tortoise play Brisbane, for the first time in a decade, alongside Chris Brokaw and Plainer at Crowbar on Sunday 31st May. Find out more about Tortoise (and purchase their music) here; https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/touch and https://tortoise.bandcamp.com/music

Nick's Pick of the Week is Marisa Anderson's The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music, which was released on Friday May 22nd. You can hear it in all the usual places, or purchase it here; https://marisaanderson.bandcamp.com/album/the-anthology-of-unamerican-folk-music and my review can be read below.

Marisa Anderson: The Anthology Of UnAmerican Folk Music (Thrill Jockey)

Released May 22nd 2026

Marisa Anderson is one of the most interesting and distinctive guitarists currently working within the field of experimental music. A serial collaborator, Anderson has worked with innumerable artists throughout her career, including Big|Brave, William Tyler and Jim White, to name just a few. Her latest solo album, The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music is as unique as Marisa’s playing; with an unusual origin story to boot!

A collection of interpretations of traditional songs from countries and regions impacted by conflict with the USA, the roots of The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music lie in the archives of the Bob Dylan Center — and before that in the record collection of Harry Smith. Smith, who passed away in 1991 was many things, an artist, filmmaker and anthropologist, with gnostic beliefs and bohemian lifestyle, he was also, most importantly, a record collector and preserver of traditional music. 

Each of the songs on The Anthology Of UnAmerican Folk Music are instrumental, with Anderson performing all the instruments, with the exception of Gisela Rodríguez Fernández, who adds violin and viola to several tracks. Some of the songs are performed on acoustic guitar (Quodlibet, Rabāba, Taqsim For Guitar etc.) whilst others feature electric guitar, notably Hamb, Rop Koh and Pair Of Duduk. In addition to guitar, Anderson embellishes many tracks with flourishes of electric keyboards, synths and other atmospheric instruments.

On the surface, The Anthology Of UnAmerican Folk Music is a beautiful, peaceful listen, until one reflects upon the criteria for each song’s selection. Every single one originates in a place affected —with some still being impacted to this very day— by the brutality of American interventionism. It’s a sobering fact, especially when one considers the USA’s recent actions in Venezuela and Somalia, the ongoing campaign against Iran and the its current blockade of Cuba. As wonderful as the songs are, The Anthology Of UnAmerican Folk Music serves as a far too stark reminder that those in power can’t help but continue to make the same mistakes, again and again and again.

Nick Stephan