BEST OF 2013:Arctic Monkeys "AM" (2013)

AM
release date: Sep. 9, 2013
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,21]
producer: James Ford, Ross Orton
label: Domino Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Do I Wanna Know?" - 2. "R U Mine?" (4 / 5) - 3. "One for the Road" - 4. "Arabella" - 6. "No. 1 Party Anthem" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Mad Sounds" - 8. "Fireside" - 9. "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" (acoustic) - 12. "I Wanna Be Yours" (4 / 5)

5th studio album by Arctic Monkeys is in my mind, the band's best album since the debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), thus making it their second best effort so far. It's still pretty new to me, but I've already played it more than the predecessor Suck It and See (2011) and Humbug (2009), the latter being their lowest point. It's not a return to the sound of the debut but a fine work showing what an excellent songwriter, Alex Turner is. Just before the band's last album (2011), Alex released the solo album (or ep), the soundtrack Submarine (2011) with much more quiet music and a distinct singer / songwriter profile, and that new style shines through on this one. The album comes out as a more mature release. It contains singer / songwriter folk rock but still reeks of garage rock and alt. rock, which makes it rather complex but still pretty coherent, and then it may be heavily influenced / inspired by Reed, Bowie, and Lennon / The Fab Four, but without plagiarism.

2013 Favourite releases: 1. Arctic Monkeys AM - 2. Tindersticks Across Six Leap Years - 3. De Efterladte Alvorsord og etagevask

Julian Cope "Jehovahkill" (1992)

Jehovahkill

release date: Oct. 19, 1992

format: digital

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]

producer: Julian Cope & Donald Ross Skinner

label: Island Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Soul Desert" - 2. "No Hard Shoulder to Cry On" - 4. "The Mystery Trend" - 5. "Up-Wards at 45º" - 6. "Know (Cut My Friend Down)" - 10. "Poet Is Priest..." - 11. "Julian H. Cope" - 12. "The Subtle Energies Commission" - 13. "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fine" - 14. "Fear Loves This Place"

8th studio album by Julian Cope follows only two months after Cope's first best of album Floored Genius - The Best of Julian Cope and The Teardrop Explodes 1979-91 and 1½ years after Peggy Suicide (Apr. 1991) is also Cope's final on Island Records.

The album follows closely the style of the '91 album, although with a stronger influence from krautrock. Thematically, you'll also notice several similarities, as this has also been divided in phases - here three of a kind and with a total of 16 tracks and playing length of just over 70 minutes, this is yet another relatively extensive album, where Cope dwells on themes of global environment, modern lifestyle, and religion, which undoubtedly are his major subjects at this point. The album is sometimes referred to as the second in Cope's trilogy about Mother Earth - with Autogeddon (1994) as his final - and with all three releases delivering their specific perspective on the conditions of the planet. Jehovakill mainly touches the theme of religion with focus on the paradoxically huge importance that Christianity has acquired [the title: Jehovah = Christ with the addition of 'overkill', literally meaning 'too great importance' on the subject] in relation to 'our' older origins in the form of early pagan faith - which is reflected in the front cover depicting the outline of the rock formation "Callanish Stones", which seen from above takes shape of a [Christian] cross but is dated to approx. 3.000 years BCE. Originally, Cope intended to name the album "Julian H. Cope" with reference to "Jesus H. Christ", but the record company objected, just as they weren't exactly happy on the recorded material, so Cope had to add several (more) acceptable tracks to an album that still ends up evoking memories of Skellington (1989) and Droolian (1990), and probably more than Island Records cared for, which ultimately caused the company to break with Cope.

Much like Peggy Suicide the new album was met by positive reviews and also peaked at number #20 on the UK albums chart, Cope's second highest ranking (only bettered by Saint Julian and its position as number #11). Still, the sales figures weren't enough for Island, who perhaps focused more on the international reaction, and the album didn't perform that well outside Britain. The only single released from the album was "Fear Loves This Place" peaking at number #42. Incidentally, Cope never landed a top-10 single, and his highest-ranking single of all time remains "World Shut Your Mouth" with its number #19 - a song taken from Saint Julian.

Jehovakill is an exciting acquaintance, which both contains an incredible variation of styles and genres, but which nevertheless appears as a whole. You'll find energetic short songs with focus on rock, quiet ballads cut across folk rock and a singer / songwriter scene, neo-psychedelia mixed with krautrock and funk, and then there's also rave, ambient, experimental bits and improvs at large. Needless say, it's a pretty complex album, where Cope has a lot on his mind. At a first listen, you're invited in one direction, and on later visits you may feel taken to a completely different place. In that way, you'll find music for many hours, yet Cope ties it all nicely together. Overall, it comes across as his second best, and it probably deserves more than the praise it has received anyway.

Jehovakill is highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Select 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

The Divine Comedy "Liberation" (1993)

Liberation
release date: Aug. 16, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]
producer: Neil Hannon, Darren Allison
label: Setanta Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Festive Road" - 3. "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" - 5. "Your Daddy's Car" - 8. "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" - 10. "Victoria Falls"

2nd studio album by The Divine Comedy. Although, the band had not officially disbanded, it was by the end of '91 already reduced to a one-man band, led by Neil Hannon, who apparently consider this the debut album neglecting the first release with a very different output. In fact, the music on this is much closer to his most recent album release than to that of its immediate predecessor from 1990. The style is chamber pop (inspired by Scott Walker of the late 1960's and early '70s) with focus on Hannon's narrating portraits of characters inspired by various famous novelists, or his ironic or sarcastic comments on everyday-life in Britain. All songs (except one) are written and composed by Hannon.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Anohni "Hopelessness" (2016)

Hopelessness

release date: May 6, 2016

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]

producer: Anohni, Hudson Mohawke, Oneohtrix Point Never

label: Secretly Canadian - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Drone Bomb Me" - 2. "4 Degrees" - 3. "Watch Me" - 4. "Execution" - 5. "I Don't Love You Anymore" - 8. "Why Did You Separate Me From the Earth?" - 9. "Crisis" - 10. "Hopelessness" - 11. "Marrow"

First album released as Anohni is basically the fifth full-length studio album from Antony Hegarty - BUT, since the artist changed her name to ANOHNI (stylised in capitals), this is quite naturally a different release. Anohni is not chamber pop and art pop - the voice is there of course, but style-wise this is quite different from what people has come to associate with Antony and the Johnsons. It's a cross-over electronic album with uptempo beats and sampling as foundation, and the result is an alt. dance, electropop and synth-pop fusion with a blend of experimentation. Previous albums were all written, composed and produced by Anohni herself, whereas Hopelessness is the product of a collaborative effort. All tracks have lyrics by Anohni but the music has been made with either Ross Birchard or Daniel Lopatin, Both collabrators are credited as co-producers: Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Lopatin) and Hudson Mohawke (Birchard).

Thematically, the title may state 'bleak' and 'deep', and that's not entirely wrong. The songs are like modern protest songs about desperation in politics, concerning the environment / the planet, but musically, there's something uplifting as a contrast to the lyrical content, which makes it bareable, and ultimately: makes it succesful as music you can actually stand listening to.

The album has been met by widespread acclaim and once you're able to stop comparing with previous releases, Hopelessness frankly shines in its own right. Anohni's voice is an exceptional instrument, and the songs work as standalone compositions and as a rather diverse but nevertheless tight body of work.

Highly recommended.

[ Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine, 👍NME 4 / 5, Pitchfork 9 / 10, The Guardian 5 / 5 stars ]

Robert Forster "Calling From a Country Phone" (1993)

Calling From a Country Phone

release date: Oct. 24, 1993

format: cd

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]

producer: Robert Forster

label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 2. "121" - 3. "The Circle" - 6. "Cats Life" - 8. "Drop"

2nd studio album by Robert Forster following nearly three full years after his acclaimed debut Danger in the Past (Nov. 1990). In this period, he began a new life in Germany with German musician Karin Bäumler, and he produced the second album for Bäumler's band Baby You Know. This is the first album with Forster as sole producer after having co-produced albums with his former band, The Go-Betweens. All compositions are credited Forster, who is joined by a handful of new backing band musicians, most of which play in the Brisbane country-rock band COW [abbr. for "Country or Western"] including drummer Glenn Thompson, who should later play with Forster as solo artist and on releases with the reformed The Go-Betweens. The country-style comes through on many of the songs here, despite the fact that Forster had already written the songs before joining with his new crew. It may still be indie pop and singer / songwriter but there's the typical slide and picking of guitar-sound on most tracks, which adds a country / western-feel to the album, and hence the title.

Calling From a Country Phone gained positive reviews but I don't really concede to that. I enjoy his solo debut, which seems quite original, and here you still notice his songwriting skills, whereas the music score doesn't distinguish Forster from many of his idols of the 1960s and early '70s because of the bold use of country-styled arrangements, but I guess that's only a matter of preferences, and then I'm not a country-kind-of-a-person.

The Durutti Column "Obey the Time" (1990)

Obey the Time
release date: Dec. 1990
format: digital (fact 274)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]
producer: Vini Reilly
label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Vino della Casa Blanco" - 3. "Fridays" - 5. "Art and Freight" - 10. "Vino della Casa Rosso"

8th studio album by The Durutti Column released on Factory Records and produced by Vini Reilly. This was a bit of a musical disappointment to me. The interesting part about the album is Reilly's experimentation with the electronic genre. He explores new styles and 'machinery' but the end result is not favourable on this one, which was his last studio album at legendary Factory Records. The company declared bankruptcy in '92 and Reilly found a temporary record label in Italy.
After this he released two semi-studio albums Dry (1991) and Red Shoes (1992) both on the Italian record label Materiali Sonori (both with some new tracks but also new versions of older material) before returning to England and the label Factory Too to release Sex and Death (1994).
[ allmusic.com hands it 2 in 5 stars ]

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "Skeleton Tree" (2016)

Skeleton Tree
release date: Sep. 9, 2016
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Nick Launay
label: Bad Seed Ltd. - nationality: Australia

Tracklist: 1. "Jesus Alone" - 2. "Rings of Saturn" (4 / 5) - 3. "Girl in Amber" - 4. "Magneto" - 5. "Anthrocene" - 6. "I Need You" - 7. "Distant Sky" - 8. "Skeleton Tree"

16th studio album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is a quiet and emotional release with stress under singer / songwriter. During the recording sessions for the new album, Nick Caves 15-year-old son Arthur died from an accidental cliff fall, which naturally, had a huge impact on the completion of the album. Several songs were rewritten, new ones were included, and the sound was altered to fit themes of loss, death and grief. What could have been an almost identical sound and style to its successor, Push the Sky Away from 2013, shows instead a much more scarce instrumentation and an even more naked Cave, who digs in and narrates about his loss. He does that quite wisely, making it an album about general aspects about loss, death and grief, and at the same time manages to create fine songs.
One of the best albums of the year, and frankly, one of the absolute best ever from Nick Cave.

Recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, NME, Q Magazine, The Guardian 5 / 5 stars ]

Sällskapet "Nowy Port" (2013)

Nowy Port
release date: Apr. 10, 2013
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: Sällskapet
label: Razzia Records - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 4. "Bagatelle" - 9. "Del 2" - 10. "Rött liguriskt vin"

2nd studio album by Swedish trio Sällskapet - here on the new, independent Swedish label Razzia. The album succeeds the debut album Sällskapet with six years but musically, it follows quite closely on a similar path with Joakim Thåström as vocalist, Pelle Ossler on guitar, bass and piano, and with Niklas Hellberg on keyboard, synthesizer and programming.
Where the debut appeared lighter and with more focus on the electronic side, this contains clear experimental pieces and elements of darkwave, which is also underlined by featuring Swedish artist Anna von Hausswolff, who contributes with vocals on track #4. The title track is pointing towards the industrial rock genre, but apart from that the compositions are rather slow progressive works of minimal wave and darkwave.
Where the debut contained original and interesting compositions, I think, this disappoints by its more obscure sound experiments - like music that may fit some artistic video instalments rather than being a musical release only.
Joakim Thåström left the band reduced to a duo in 2015, and he was replaced by guest vocalist Andrea Schroeder on the band's third album Disparition (2018).
Not recommended.

The Streets "Everything Is Borrowed" (2008)

Everything Is Borrowed
release date: Sep. 15, 2008
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Mike Skinner
label: 679 / Locked On - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Everything Is Borrowed" (4 / 5) - 5. "On the Flip of a Coin" - 7. "Never Give In" (3 / 5) - 9. "Alleged Legends" - 11. "The Escapist" (4 / 5)

4th studio album by The Streets follows 2½ years after The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living (Apr. 2006). The album comes very close to the 2006 album, although, this appears lyrically brighter, more positive, and imho a bit better, as it contains at least two great tracks (the first and the end track), though, other tracks mostly leaves me indifferent.
[ allmusic.com, NME 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Björk "Post" (1995)

Post
release date: Jun. 15, 1995
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,94]
producer: Björk and Nellee Hooper
label: Mother Records - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Army of Me" - 2. "Hyper-Ballad" - 4. "It's Oh So Quiet" - 5. "Enjoy" - 7. "Isobel" - 8. "Possibly Maybe" - 9. "I Miss You"

2nd studio album by Björk. All tracks are produced by Björk, 7 tracks with Nellee Hooper, two with Graham Massey, two with Tricky and one with Howie B.
Stylistically, it's the natural follow-up to Debut with a slightly stronger trip hop element; however, it's still a huge blend of styles centered around electronic styles.
The album feature two of her best-fairing singles ever: "Army of Me" became her first top-10 single in the UK, but was later overtaken by "Hyper-Ballad" reaching #8 and "It's Oh so Quiet" - her highest ranked single ever at #4 on the UK single charts. The album is her best-selling album to date, and it reached #2 on the UK, the Australian and The Swedish albums chart lists.
Shortly after the release I found it slightly bettering her 93 album, and in terms of representing over-the-top production methods and embedded styles, it really is a glorious release. In retrospect, I find it - not as much a faded album, but perhaps compared to her strong debut, it does recycle many of its ideas, and is in that way the result of a strong matrix. Having said that, this is still one of her best albums and as such highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine, The Guardian, Spin 4 / 5 stars ]

Kent "Vapen & ammunition" (2002)

Vapen & ammunition
release date: Apr. 15, 2002
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Kent, Martin von Schmalensee, Zed Nagrano
label: RCA / BMG Sweden - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Sundance Kid" - 2. "Pärlor" - 3. "Dom andra" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Hur jag fick dig att älska mig" (5 / 5) - 6. "Kärleken väntar" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Socker" - 8. "FF" (4 / 5) - 10. "Sverige" (4 / 5)

5th studio album by Kent, who really has slowed down on the realisation time. Maybe they were inspired by the success of spending longer time in the studio with the predecessor. The fact is that it took the band three years working on this, and expectations were way up after the fine '99 album, and in my mind, this even betters the acclaimed Hagnesta Hill. The music is more subdued, and contains several great ballads, in a sense making it more Swedish in an almost Bergman way. I think, they went from trying to make English-versioned albums from 1997-2000, and having little success with that they then went 100% in the making of a Swedish album. Also, the music is a turn to a more electronic sound.
The album wasn't unnoticed as Kent won the Swedish Rockbjörnen (prize founded by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet) and Grammis (The Swedish Grammy given by Phonographic Industry Sweden) in 2002 for Album of the Year, and Joakim Berg won the prize as both Best Songwriter and Best Composer, and internationally, they also won the prize as Best Nordic Act at MTV Europe Music Award 2002. The album is the band's best-selling album to date topping the album charts in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, and with that they realised they were able to be successful singing in Swedish only. Also, the three singles issued from this fared better than before. "Dom andra" was issued Mar. 18, and it is the band's first number #1 single in Sweden [of a total of only 6 top-charting singles and eps in the band's long career with 11 studio albums topping the national chart list]. The second single, track #6, wasn't issued until July and the last, track #8, had its release in November - both peaked at number #2 on the singles chart list.
Vapen & ammunition is simply the band's so far best album.
Highly recommendable.

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~

"Hur jag fick dig att älska mig"

"Kylan blev min vän
Min ursäkt för att gömma mig igen
I musiken och Ziggy blev min bror
När du fann mig satt jag hjälplös vid ett bord
Jag som nyss föll till en obegriplig jord
Du blev min räddning så obegripligt stort

::Att du vill vara min

Du var aldrig rädd
För dom som kallat mig ”En skada redan skedd”
Du är musiken och Ziggy han förstod
Att jag som alltid varit stum behövde ord
Jag som tvekat, jag som aldrig vågat tro
Att jag har nånting så obegripligt stort

::Att du vill vara min

Ett under att du ser mig
Att du fortfarande ser mig
Ett under att du ser mig
Som någon som kan ge dig nånting
Som får dig att vilja vara min

::Att du vill vara min
::Att du vill vara min"

~ ~ ~

"Kärleken väntar"

"Brinn pengar brinn
Jag lovar du betyder nånting
Du orkar ta dig igenom det här
Du räcker till, så var den du är

Brinn pengar brinn
Jag vet att du är värd någonting
Du är hoppet i ett IQ-fritt land
Du är drömmarna jag drömmer ibland

:Visst känns det som att kärleken väntar

Brinn hjärtat brinn
Du vet du kan förändra allting
Det blåser genom staden i natt
Hör du sanningen, den lät som ett skratt

Brinn hjärtat brinn
Vår fiende är rädd om sitt skinn
Det räcker med en gnista ett bloss
Dom skulle vilja vara som oss

:Visst känns det som att kärleken väntar

[solo]

:Visst känns det som att kärleken väntar
:Visst känns det som att kärleken väntar"

~ ~ ~

"Sverige"

"Sverige, Sverige älskade vän
En tiger som skäms
Jag vet hur det känns
när allvaret har blivit ett skämt
När tystnaden skräms
Vad är det som hänt

Välkommen, välkommen hit
Vem du än är var du än är

Duka din veranda till fest
för en långväga gäst
I landet lagom är bäst
Vi skålar för en midsommar till
Färsk potatis och sill
Som om tiden stått still

Välkommen, välkommen hit
Vem du än är var du än är

Regnet slår mot rutorna nu
men natten är ljus i ett land utan ljud
och glasen glittrar tyst på vårt bord
Lika tomma som ord
Visst är kärleken stor

:Välkommen, välkommen hit
:Vem du än är var du än är"

~ ~ ~

"This Is England" (OST) (2007)

This Is England (OST) (soundtrack)
release date: 2007
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 7. Al Barry & The Cimarons "Morning Sun" (3,5 / 5) - 9. Toots & The Maytals "Louie Louie" - 10. Toots & The Maytals "Pressure Drop" (4 / 5) - 12. The Specials "Do the Dog" (3,5 / 5) - 15. The Upsetters "Return of Django" (3,5 / 5) - 20. Percy Sledge "The Dark End of the Street"

Original Soundtrack compilation album made for the fine full length British feature film "This Is England" (2006) directed by Shane Meadows. The movie is an interesting and disturbing portrait of working class England in the early 1980s, and the soundtrack is likewise interesting but also very varied. Best tracks are the reggae and ska tracks by Toots & The Maytalls (three tracks), Al Barry & The Cimarons, The Specials, and The Upsetters.
[ film trailer ]

The Poets "Four Days in Florence" (1987)

Four Days in Florence [debut]
release date: Sep. 1987
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Adam Peters
label: Replay Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Subversive" - 2. "Surface" - 3. "Four Days in Florence" - 4. "The Trapper Song" - 9. "Mingos Down Memory Valley"

Studio album debut by Danish art rockers, The Poets released on the independent Danish label, Replay Records. The band is formed by the two band members from the remains of the Danish post-punk art punk band Poets of the Signature (1981-86; included on the compilation album Somewhere Outside), vocalist and guitarist Troels Bech (also credited for accordion, piano & keyboards) and vocalists Lars K. Andersen. Here they play as a sextet together with vocalist Birgitte Bang, bassist Mads Frederik, organ-player Torben Engberg, and drummer Colin Wilkinson. Andersen has written all lyrics and Bech is credited as musical composer.
Stylistically, it involves a huge blend of styles, ranging from alt. rock, indie rock, and art rock with elements from jazz and fusion rock as well as progressive rock. It's music built using both traditional instrumentation as well as more electronic devices like drum machine, sequencer, and various keyboards.
My then verdict was an interesting release that just lacked coherency and enough original material to pay much attention, but I also concede that my later impression hands much more recognition to a band that didn't succeed as they rightfully deserved. Fact is, the music is truly ahead of its time. The conglomerate of styles and genres were anything but comme il faut. The closest you get to the style is art rock by The The, David Sylvian, and psychedelic rock by Julian Cope and the like, but nearly all of these artists also had their share of trouble in gathering acclaim from other than contemporary critics. Anyhow, the musical complexity is there - perhaps all that is absent are strong melodic compositions, and the lasting impression is an album of artistic originality without an overall lasting picture.

Radiohead "A Moon Shaped Pool" (2016)

A Moon Shaped Pool
release date: May 8, 2016
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Nigel Godrich, Radiohead
label: XL Recordings - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Burn the Witch" - 2. "Daydreaming" - 4. "Desert Island Disk" (4 / 5) (live) - 5. "Ful Stop" - 7. "Identikit" (4 / 5) - 8. "The Numbers" - 11. "True Love Waits"

9th studio album by Radiohead is a self-released album originally issued as a digital download album and a month later released on vinyl and cd through XL Recordings. The album follows more than five years after The King of Limbs (Feb. 2011). The sound is more like a combo of things they have already explored: The fine art rock of In Rainbows combined with a freer music, which both points to Kid A, Amnesiac, and The King of Limbs with its loops and sampling technique; however, here much more refined to match the characteristics of single compositions and with the addition of strings.
I really enjoy this album and have come to see it as a real grower where tracks also point to the solo works by Yorke, and I basically think of it as no less than Radiohead's second best album.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, The Guardian, NME 4 / 5, Rolling Stone, Spin 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Neil Young International Harvesters "A Treasure" (2011)

A Treasure [archival] (live)
release date: Jun. 10, 2011
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,46]
producer: Neil Young & Ben Keith
label: Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 11. "Nothing Is Perfect" - 12. "Grey Riders"

A live album by Neil Young released as Neil Young International Harvesters features live recordings from his 1984-1985 U.S. tour with the International Harvesters, and it's volume nine in Young's "Archives Performance Series" and the sixth to be released. The material is a blend of old familiar songs, newer ones and previously unreleased material all played in the style of country rock.
One could suspect Young from having landed in a track where he's 'obligated' to release a new album every year now time is ticking away. Sure, it's not going faster, but Neil may have come across the thought that he he doesn't have his life in front of him anymore. So when he doesn't feel like releasing brand new material, he can always turn to his "Archives".
I think, it's great that he wants to share all that filed material of his, but it does make it strange to sit down and be forced to think some 30 years back and think: "how good was it then?" vs. "how good is it today?" And regardless the answer be able to acknowledge these recordings from a contemporary point of view considering time, quality and legitimacy.
In the early and mid 1980s Young seemed lost. He bounced from one style to another trying to be modern or contemporary enough to keep up and still be popular or worthwhile. And he failed time after time releasing the albums Hawks & Doves, Re-ac-tor, Trans, Everybody's Rockin', Old Ways and Landing on Water - all unsuccessfully. Is this his way of returning to his dark(est) ages by pointing out that he stood firm and still played great songs? We can't really tell. But listening to the songs here I find it difficult to greet these country rock songs as "A Treasure" to pay tribute to. We've really heard this dozen times or more (or more), and no matter when, I don't really like Young's country rock. Period. Yes, when he played After the Gold Rush and Harvest it made sense, but not in the mid 80s or today. It doesn't contain memorable stuff and it's not good.
Not recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Trickfinger "Trickfinger" (2015)

Trickfinger [debut]

release date: Apr. 6, 2015

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,97]

producer: Trickfinger

label: Acid Test - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "After Below" - 2. "Before Above" - 7. "100mc4" - 8. "Phurip"

Full-length studio album debut by Trickfinger aka John Frusciante, thus not really being a pure musical debut as such, but Frusciante obviously is in need of a moniker to explore an electronic playground. His name is welded into an alt. rock sphere and Trickfinger in that respect sets him free to start anew. All tracks are credited Trickfinger as composer, instrumentalist, producer, and mixer.

Although, Frusciante explored electronic music on his most recent album Enclosure (Apr. 2014) this is something different by being only electronic music. It's instrumental progressive electronica, and in the style of acid house and idm. It's a bit of a mish-mash in terms of styles. It could indicate that Frusciante has become fascinated by the history of electronic music and that he has incorporated music from various periods in his own blend. That's not to say, it's a different approach from other electronic artists, but in this case Trickfinger comes out as something less original - there's a lack of direction, which isn't to say it's of lesser value.

With his new Trickfinger project, Frusciante once again showcases his very traits as an artist who only lives in non-conformity - his very name is a guarantee of musical progression. Trickfinger is a new direction for Frusciante, and a new territory to explore. This first album is a promissing start, although, there's much inspiration from other artists - e.g. Aphex Twin, Trentemöller, and with a certain influence from Jean-Michel Jarre - but Frusciante himself is an ingenious music maker and he will undoubtedly again produce more original works.

[ Exclaim! 4 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 5,9 / 10 stars ]

Esperanza Spalding "Emily's D+Evolution" (2016)

Emily's D+Evolution
release date: Mar. 4, 2016
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: Esperanza Spalding and Tony Visconti
label: Concord Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Good Lava" - 2. "Unconditional Love" (3,5 / 5) - 4. "Earth to Heaven"

5th studio album by Spalding now with legendary (Bowie-)producer Tony Visconti. Emily is Spalding's middle name, and the album is according to herself about going in the right direction. Well, she really experiments with influences on this one, which is hard to categorize in terms of specific style. It's 'fusion' no doubt about that, but it's not really jazz, although, several tracks have plenty of jazz-feel. It's also art pop and jazz rock build on r&b and funk. The first track "Good Lava" and "Earth to Heaven" both sounds inspired by St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) without too much jazz being more straight-forward, pointing to art rock, but that's not the impression throughout an album, I find staggering forward without a navigator. "One" is more like Kate Bush / Tori Amos with its low and high-pitched vocal performance. The album has it moments, surely, Spalding has a fine and warm vocal, but the music does not really unfold.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Mogwai "Ten Rapid (Collected Recordings 1996–1997)" (1997)

Ten Rapid (Collected Recordings 1996–1997) (compilation)

release date: Apr. 17, 1997

format: digital

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: Andy Miller; Paul Savage

label: Rock Action Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Compilation album by Scottish primarily instrumental post rock band Mogwai is the band's first full-length album and as the subtitle suggests it's a collection of singles and ep releases. Some of the tracks have been re-recorded for the album, whereas others are presented as they were recorded, and some of the early releases were give-away singles from live concerts. Mogwai was originally formed in Glasgow as a trio in '95 consisting of the guitarist Stuart Braithwaite and bassist Dominic Aitchison together with drummer Martin Bulloch. In '96 guitarist John Cummings also joined the band making it a quartet without a lead vocalist.

Musically, the band is influenced by post-punk gothic rock band The Cure, post hardcore American group Fugazi, noise rock American band Sonic Youth and shoegaze Irish band My Bloody Valentine. And then you could add elements from Slint and Pixies with some industrial rock influence, but basically, Mogwai sounds like none of the others in particular but have their own unique sound, and then they simply focus on instrumental music with a highly experimental and progressive structure. Some refer to the music as based on mathematical patterns, which by no means suffice but in a way it reveals the progressive, repetitive structure, which also shares patterns with 1990s electronic music.

On this, the band's first full-length album I think the most striking feature is the influence from both industrial rock and noise rock, where they explore the polarity of soft / silent and hard / abbrassive with abrupt changes.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Tom Waits "Beautiful Maladies (The Island Years)" (1998)

Beautiful Maladies (The Island Years) (compilation)
release date: Jun. 1998
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan
label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Best of compilation by Tom Waits released on Island Records AFTER he had left the label and signed with the small independent label, ANTI-.

The album contains 23 tracks taken from seven albums released over a decade starting with his '83 album Swordfishtrombones through to The Black Rider from '93.

It's hard to say anything sensible about the chosen order of tracks - which may seem to be a slightly randomised, but the chosen tracks as such are excellent in representing his musical heritage and the period while on Island Records. The easiest thing is to point to the songs that are not here - for example "In the Neighborhood", "Soldier's Thing", "Train Song", "Goin' Out West", but as highlighted material from a decade boiled down to a single cd issue, it does work as a fine selection.

The Divine Comedy "Fanfare for the Comic Muse" (1990)

Fanfare for the Comic Muse [debut]

release date: 1990
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,62]
producer: Sean O Neill
label: Setanta Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Ignorance Is Bliss" - 5. "The Rise and Fall" - 6. "Logic vs Emotion"

Studio debut album by The Divine Comedy. The music is indie pop jangle pop, pop / rock not far from the style of The Smiths (listen to tracks #5 & #6) and that of R.E.M. (listen to tracks #1 & #6).
In retrospect, the album has more of historical interest. The music seems unoriginal and is far from the style normally associated with the band and Neil Hannon. At this early stage The Divine Comedy is a band consisting of Neil Hannon on guitar & vocals, Lawrence Hoy on guitar, John McCullagh on bass, and with Kevin Traynor on drums.
Within a few years after this, the band was to be synonymous with solo releases by Neil Hannon, and over the years Hannon has himself disowned the album.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Thom Yorke "Tomorrow's Modern Boxes" (2014)

Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
release date: Sep. 26, 2014
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,48]
producer: Nigel Godrich
label: Landgrab - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "A Brain in a Bottle" - 8. "Nose Grows Some"

Second solo album by Thom Yorke released 8 years after his acclaimed solo debut The Eraser from 2006. Again, Yorke works with producer Nigel Godrich and the music is much the debut in the electronic and glitch pop genre. Since the 1st solo album, Yorke has rejoined forces with Radiohead and released two studio albums, and the track "Atoms for Peace" from the solo debut gave name to the eponymous project-band featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea and producer Godrich on keyboards, together with Yorke and several other well-established musicians - initially, just to perform tracks from Yorke's debut album live, but in 2013 this project released the album Amok. From the early Radiohead albums, Yorke has moved from musical styles built on post-rock and alt. rock references, via experimental and art rock to embrace the electronic genre. The interesting aspect about Yorke's turn on electronics is the inclusion and combination of what appears as more piano-based singer / songwriter compositions. Tomorrow's Modern Boxes contains many of the same elements as his first solo album, but I don't find it neither refreshing or really original. It appears both more coherent, and more meditative, but I must admit that I find it somewhat boring. Yorke is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and gifted musicians on this side of the new millennium, and I'm sure he will release great music again.
After this Yorke worked with Robert Del Naja (from Massive Attack) and together they made the music for the Mark Donne documentary "The UK Gold" (2015) (aka "Offshore Incorporated"), which was Yorke's first attempt with soundtrack music.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Astrud Gilberto "Astrud Gilberto's Finest Hour" (2001)

Astrud Gilberto's Finest Hour (compilation)
release date: May 15, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

A best of compilation album by Astrud Gilberto. The album consists of 20 tracks, and it comprises her best bossa nova and vocal jazz performances including her works with Walter Wanderley Trio, Stan Getz, (husband) Joaõ Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as her better tracks into standards and easy listening.
This is a fine collection.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5 stars ]