Veteran musician Jai Uttal has been making devotional music for years, and quite a few listeners whose own cosmologies are a million miles from Jai's have found these records deep and inviting. His latest, Let Me Burn (out 8/4), is intended as "a balm for post-pandemic stress," and if you can get with a great many chanted "hare krishnas" and "hare ramas" (which you probably can if you're any kind of George Harrison fan), you may well find it as soothing as a spa getaway. Moving across the stylistic spectrum, the set incorporates everything from Indian and jazz textures to gospel/soul to country/folk. Opener "Campfire Sri Ram," featuring Kirtan luminaries Deva Premal & Miten, is a particularly lovely excursion. The title cut—which is much closer to a traditional pop song—moves from delicate incantation to an easy groove that recalls Peter Gabriel. If you can surrender yourself to the spiritual sparkle of it all, this is balm indeed.

Veteran musician Jai Uttal has been making devotional music for years, and quite a few listeners whose own cosmologies are a million miles from Jai's have found these records deep and inviting. His latest, Let Me Burn (out 8/4), is intended as "a balm for post-pandemic stress," and if you can get with a great many chanted "hare krishnas" and "hare ramas" (which you probably can if you're any kind of George Harrison fan), you may well find it as soothing as a spa getaway. Moving across the stylistic spectrum, the set incorporates everything from Indian and jazz textures to gospel/soul to country/folk. Opener "Campfire Sri Ram," featuring Kirtan luminaries Deva Premal & Miten, is a particularly lovely excursion. The title cut—which is much closer to a traditional pop song—moves from delicate incantation to an easy groove that recalls Peter Gabriel. If you can surrender yourself to the spiritual sparkle of it all, this is balm indeed.