Sun Kil Moon "Among the Leaves" (2012)

Among the Leaves
release date: May 29, 2012
format: 2 cd (LTD.)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Caldo Verde Records  - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "I Know It's Pathetic But That Was the Greatest Night of My Life" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Sunshine in Chicago" - 3. "The Moderately Talented Yet Attractive Young Woman vs. The Exceptionally Talented Yet Not So Attractive Middle Aged Man" - 4. "That Bird Has a Broken Wing" - 5. "Elaine" - 6. "The Winery" - 7. "Young Love" - 8. "Song for Richard Collopy" - 9. "Among the Leaves" (4 / 5) - 10. "Red Poison" - 11. "Track Number 8" - 12. "Not Much Rhymes With Everything's Awesome at All Times" - 13. "King Fish" - 14. "Lonely Mountain" - 15. "UK Blues" - 16. "UK Blues 2" - 17. "Black Kite"

5th studio album by Sun Kil Moon released on Caldo Verde. The album is much like the previous album by being primarily acoustic Spanish guitar-driven with Kozelek playing and singing, thus continuing the band as his solo project, at least for studio and album releases as Sun Kil Moon still exists as a live band with Jerry Vessel, Phil Carney and Anthony Koutsos. All tracks are written and composed by Kozelek, who seems satisfied by accompanying himself while strumming his guitar. I just long for his more orchestrated compositions like the title track, alas, it stands much alone.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Latin Quarter "Mick and Caroline" (1987)

Mick and Caroline

release date: Jan. 1987

format: vinyl (208 142) / digital (2009 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]

producer: Jason Coraro

label: Rockin' Horse / Arista - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Remember" - 4. "Nomzamo (One People One Cause)" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Negotiating with a Loaded Gun" - 6. "Burn Again" - 7. "Love Has Gone" (4 / 5) - 8. "The Night" - 10. "The Men Below"

2nd studio album by Latin Quarter, who now appears to have been 'promoted' from the sublabel Rockin' Horse to its mother company of Arista. Since the predecessor keyboardist Steve Jeffries and drummer Richard Stevens respectively, have been replaced by Martin Lascalles and Darren Abraham.

This one follows closely in the established sound and style found on the debut Modern Times (1985), although, it does turn out as a more coherent whole. Several strong compositions make it a better release including the band's greatest track ever: "Nomazamo (One People One Cause)". Nevertheless, it also contain some fillers, and on an overall level, the lyrics tend to reflect the same one-dimensional trait you'll find on the debut: a political correctness mixed with songs about social, racial, and global injustice - all effectuated with a raised finger in a sort of naive approach, as some know-it-all, at least in the long run, but "Nomazamo" nearly raises this album to utter greatness.

Mick and Caroline is imho the band's best studio album.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~
"Nomzamo"

"Nine children in one family
Nine Xhosa Wars
Nomzamo in 1960
Already victim of her country's law
I say 'laws', why dignify
The Sjamboks and the slammed cell doors?
In twenty years they gave her nineteen sentences - still
One People! One Cause!
One People! One Cause!
Nomzamo! Nomzamo...

Named 'Trial' but how often can
You take the stand?
Nomzamo left glued in Brandfort
Twenty years for a touch of his hand
But in touch and in the face of
The Robben Islands and the bleak Pollsmoors
I see 'separate' - I see 'development' - still
One People! One Cause!
One People! One Cause!
Nomzamo! Nomzamo...
Nomzamo - you say it's part of your soul
Nomzamo - one day you'll paint it
Red, black, green and gold...

Told today that they release you
That you had paid your debt
Nomzamo in her own damn country
How much more boorish can these people get?
But you refuse to get the message
Of waving whips, in bloody semaphore
Where only gunfire's indiscriminate - as always
One People! One Cause!
One People! One Cause!
Nomzamo! Nomzamo..."

~ ~ ~

Gangway "Whatever It Is" (2019)

Whatever It Is

release date: Apr. 5, 2019

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: Janus Nevel Ringsted, Henrik Balling

label: RCA, Sony Music - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "The Sea the Moon and the Stars" - 2. "Colourful Combinations" - 3. "See If I Care" - 4. "Confident and Ordinary" - 6. "Don't Want to Go Home" - 10. "Always Crying"

8th studio album by Gangway follows more than two decades (22½ years) (!) after That's Life (Sep. 1996), which up to this surprisingly new collection of brand new material has been filed as the band's final. Perhaps, because the end-result never felt as a decent attempt to main songwriter Henrik Balling, he managed to re-unite the band in its original line-up as it was some 20 years ago with Allan Jensen on lead and backing vocals, Torben Johansen on keyboards, guitar & backing vocals, and with Henrik Balling on guitar, keyboards, programming & backing vocals. Co-producer Janus N. Ringsted is additionally credited keyboards, programming, drums and percussion. As of 2017 Balling already announced the band's ressurection, which led to a series of concerts as their comeback.

Stylistically, it doesn't seem like two decades has passed, and at times it does seem a bit dated when they take up tones of drum'n'bass and techno-pop reminding us all of the 1990s and especially Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. And then, is this new album actually bettering their '96 album? The short answer is yes! It's definitely better, although, it's not up there among the band's best efforts. The national press met the album with appraisal and positive reviews - and the song "Colourful Combinations" - preceding the album as a single release in Jun. 2018 - has been played from the Summer of 2018 up until the album release on local and national radio stations, but that's almost the only great song on an entire album, although, it was followed by two more singles before launching the album: "Don't Want to Go Home" (Nov. 2018) and "Confident and Ordinary" (Mar. 2019).

The best thing is that the band got back together, and only the future will tell if they managed to follow-up on the good reviews. Thanks for the attempt, but it's not really great.

[ Gaffa.dk, Politiken, Ekstra Bladet 4 / 6, Jyllands-Posten 5 / 6 stars ]

Paul Weller "True Meanings" (2018)

True Meanings
release date: Sep. 14, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Paul Weller
label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Soul Searchers" - 3. "Mayfly" - 6. "What Would He Say?" - 7. "Aspects" - 13. "May Love Travel With You" - 14. "White Horses"

14th studio album by Paul Weller, who is also credited as sole producer like he was on A Kind Revolution (2017).

Where his latest solo albums all have been in the alternative rock genre showing various contemporary musical influences, this is something quite diverse. It's a primarily acoustic-driven folk rock and singer / songwriter album, although, it also bears traits of a mellow chamber pop with bold use of strings. The overall sensations, however, is a quiet sincere collection of songs that bonds nicely with the ballads he has written throughout his entire career, be it with The Jam, The Style Council or as solo artist.

As Mark Beaumont of NME remarks "Paul Weller’s career has always ebbed and flowed between the incisive and the pastoral, one minute joy-riding through a town called Malice, the next punting soulfully down the Cam." And yes, that might be so, and what if? It's not entirely up to Weller to release cutting edge game-changing music where he do have his hits and misses - and mostly the latter. It's always nice to hear his own true-meant ballads instead of pretending he's shaping new styles with the young ones, and this album may not be his Nebraska or King of America album, but it does suit his voice and age very nicely.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, 4 / 5, NME 3 / 5 stars ]

Lana Del Rey "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" (2019)

Norman Fucking Rockwell!
release date: Aug. 30, 2019
format: digital (14 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Jack Antonoff and Lana Del Rey
label: Interscope Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Norman Fucking Rockwell" - 2. "Mariners Apartment Complex" - 3. "Venice Bitch" - 5. "Doin' Time" - 6. "Love Song" - 8. "How to Disappear" - 10. "The Next Best American Record"

6th studio album by Lana Del Rey (aka Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) is primarily produced by Jack Antonoff and Del Rey - producing 11 of the album's 14 tracks, which has a total running time exceeding 78 minutes.
Lana Del Rey is undoubtedly one of America's contemporary major pop stars selling millions of albums all over the world. Her polished melancholy femme fatale style has never really caught me as something... desirable or highly original. Music for the masses, our time's Tina Turner, Kim Wilde and The Bangles - artists I never bothered listening to in the 80s. Regardless, her status and musicality on the safe side of the road, I have to grant her that this is her best effort ever. The album contains some nice half-daring tunes and especially strong lyrics. Much as usual, the new album has been followed by a (long) list of singles, where both tracks #2 and #3 "Venice Bitch", were released a year earlier - the latter being a major hit in a considerably shortened version, which makes much sense 'cause the album version at 9:37 minutes seems unnecessarily long. Track #14 ("Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have - But I Have It") was released Jan. 2019 without making any notable entry on the singles charts. Also track #5 was released before the album in May, a song that has also had some airplay. Succeeding the album release, tracks #11 and #4 are so far the only singles to be released, both without any top entries on the singles charts; however, the album has been met by critical acclaim, and it has so far made it to #3 on the Billboard 200 in the US, but peaks at the top in both Switzerland and in the UK.
I think it's truly a bunch of nicely produced songs where the common denominator is more than meets the eye. This is much more than a nicely wrapping, and I do understand the positive reviews, although, I think many are way over the top in critical acclaim. But it's music meant to please, and nothing's wrong with that, and then it offers a layer on top of that, which is nice. In a way, this complexity is also suggested in the front cover. At first, you see a so-so kind of stereo-typical pop music cover with no deeper meaning to it, and then you realise that the sunset glow in back of the image really is a whole country on fire - both hinting at contemporary physical forest fires and the symbolism of a fire running through a country and / or modern society.
Anyway, I'm still not really a big Lana Del Rey fan - never was. It's music for the broad masses, major radio stations will love it - apart from all the beeps 'cause Lana, she makes a fair use of explicit lyrics - and I even think my old mum will enjoy it, though I will probably not listen much to this despite all my recognition 'cause I don't enjoy the singing voice of Lana, which to me is someone trying too hard to sound like Hope Sandoval [see Mazzy Star] and then she stays too much in the same pitch regardless the subject and I just find the whole wrapping too pure mainstream colourless to my liking. All that said, it's undoubtedly still her so far best album.
[ 👎allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, 4,5 / 5, Slant 4 / 5, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5, NME 5 / 5 stars ]

Etta James "The Essential Modern Records Collection" (2011)

The Essential Modern Records Collection (compilation)
release date: Apr. 5, 2011
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
label: Virgin Records - nationality: USA

15 track compilation album by Etta James primarily focusing on the earliest sessions recorded by Etta James for Modern Records between 1955 and 1957, which means that the album is not a normal best of collection trying to embrace all of an artist's career.

Mogwai "Every Country’s Sun" (2017)

Every Country’s Sun

release date: Sep. 1, 2017

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC - TRR291CD)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]

producer: Dave Fridmann

label: Temporary Residence Limited - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Coolverine" - 2. "Party in the Dark" - 3. "Brain Sweeties" - 4. "Crossing the Road Material" (live on KEXP) - 8. "Don’t Believe the Fife" (live on KEXP) - 9. "Battered at the Scramble"

9th studio album by Mogwai following 3½ years after Rave Tapes (Jan. 2014) and 1½ years after the soundtrack album Atomic (Apr. 2016). It's Mogwai's first studio album since the departure of founding member John Cummings, and it's made with producer Dave Fridmann who also produced the band's third album Rock Action (2001), and with that in mind it may signal an attempt to bring back some of the magic from their past. It's 11 new compositions ranging from 4 to 7 minutes with a total running time just under an hour.

And what is back is the dynamics of slow / fast and soft / hard, only not in mere old-time guitar-dominant fashion but in concordance with their musical growth through ambient and electronic stages.

The album was not an immediate favourite, but I have come to see it as a much more complex work, which combines and evolves - and ultimately: points to a new phase of glorious music. The album was well-received in the UK securing the band another top-10 entry with the band's so far highest charting album at number #6 on the albums chart list.

Recommended.

[ bandcamp ]

[ 👉allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 7,6 / 10, The Guardian, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]