Les Negresses Vertes "Mlah" (1989)

Mlah [debut]
release date: (Jan.?) 1989
format: vinyl / cd (1991)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Clive Martin, Sodi (aka Sodi Marciszewer)
label: Delabel - nationality: France

Track highlights: 2. "Zobi la Mouche" (4 / 5) - 3. "C'est pas la mer à boire" - 4. "Voilà l'été" (4 / 5) (live 2019) - 5. "Orane" - 7. "Les yeux de ton père" - 8. "Il" - 11. "Marcelle Ratafia" - 12. "La danse des négresses" (live)

Studio album debut by French 8-piece orchestra Les Negresses Vertes ['The Green Negresses', or: 'The Green Black Girls'] consisting of lead vocalist Helno (aka Noël Rota, aka Helno Rota de Lourcqua), guitarist and backing vocalist Melino (aka Stéfane Michel Mellino), accordion player and guitarist Mathieu Canavese (aka Mathieu Crespin), bassist Paulo (aka Jean-Marie Dominique Paulus), harmonica player and trombonist Abraham Sirinix, trumpeter and percussionist Twist (aka Michel Ochowiak), pianist and percussionist L'Ami Ro (aka Joël Ruffier Des Aimes), and drummer Gaby le Magnifique (aka Laurent Gabriel). The band formed in the Autumn of '87 in Paris and has roots in the South of France and with many other national ties - e.g. to Algeria, Poland, Italy, and Spain. The album was originally released on French Off The Tracks Records and Razzia Disques, while international editions were released on several labels including Virgin, Sire, Polydor, and Warner Bros.

Stylistically, Mlah represents a huge mix of styles but is primarily bound to French musical traditions. There are obvious parts of folk rock and punk rock, which in places point in the direction of French Mano Negra, and / or British The Pogues, and then elsewhere more in the direction of Madness in a French version of ska. You'll also notice a strong influence from traditional music such as 'gypsy music', flamenco, muzette, and waltz, and the band's music has thus been referred to as 'gypsy punk' - although that designation is far from sufficient. Some have called Les Negresses Vertes a 'global-folk-punk-band', although that only serves to prove it more than ordinarily difficult to categorise the band's style.

I purchased the album back in '89 - and actually played it quite a bit, but unfortunately, I lost the vinyl version along the way. However, I have since got hold of a cd reissue containing two bonus tracks, and a copy of the same vinyl issue I once owned. The original version comes with 12 tracks and a total running length of approx. 42 minutes, while the '91 cd issue is approx. 48 minutes.

Mlah is the band's first, and in my view also their absolute best. There's an immediateness and a joy of playing, and the album mostly sounds like what it is: recorded live in a studio with all members in high spirits, which is aptly conveyed in the official music video for perhaps the their best-known song: "Zobi la Mouche" -  also listen to "Voilà l'été".

Highly recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Tindersticks "Distractions" (2021)

Distractions
udgivet: 19. feb. 2021
format: vinyl (LTD. blue vinyl) / digital (7 x File, FLAC)
[vurdering: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: Stuart A. Staples
selskab: Lucky Dog / City Slang - nationalitet: England, UK

Fuld trackliste: 1. "Man Alone (Can't Stop the Fadin')" - 2. "I Imagine You" - 3. "A Man Needs a Maid" - 4. "Lady with the Braid" - 5. "You'll Have to Scream Louder" - 6. "Tue-Moi" - 7. "The Bough Bends"

13. studiealbum fra Tindersticks efterfølger No Treasure but Hope (nov. 2019) og er udgivet på Stuart Staples' eget label, Lucky Dog, med hjælp fra det uafhængige tyske selskab City Slang. Bandet er stadig samme kvintet, bestående af forsanger, primær sangskriver og komponist Stuart A. Staples, guitarist Neil Fraser, basist og tangentspiller Dan McKinna, tangentspiller David Boulter og trommeslager Earl Harvin. Albummet indeholder blot syv numre og har en samlet spilletid på lige over 46 minutter, hvilket betyder, at flere numre har længere spilletid end de sædvanlige 3 til 4 minutter - selvom bandet på de seneste udgivelser har forsøgt sig med andre utraditionelle tiltag i udviklingen af bandets lydunivers. Lidt ukonventionelt starter albummet her med det absolut længste nummer, der varer mere end 11 minutter, og nummeret er da også usædvanligt for Tindersticks, da det har en tydelig elektronisk kant. Herefter fortsætter albummet mere traditionelt for bandet med ret simpelt opbygget chamber pop uden en masse dikedarer udover Staples' markante vokal oven på stille guitartoner, et næsten ikke-eksisterende ambient keyboard og svagt-hørbare strygere - og helt uden traditionelle trommer. Et andet nyt træk er tilstedeværelsen af covers. Ud af albummets syv numre er der tre coversange, og selvom originalversionerne er ret tilgængelige, har Tindersticks forvandlet disse til rene Tindersticks-sange, så det hele fungerer ret fint sammen. "A Man Needs a Maid" er en velkendt Neil Young-sang fra hans klassiske Harvest-album fra 1972, og den er her fuldstændig tilpasset et Tindersticks-univers med lyse korstemmer og Staples' kontrasterende mørkere vokal - resultatet er rigtig godt. Det efterfølgende nummer, "Lady with the Braid", er sandsynligvis en mindre kendt sang for de fleste, skrevet af [Dorothy] Dory Previn [aka Dory Langdon, aka Dory Previn Shannon] og hentet fra hendes andet singer / songwriter-studiealbum Mythical Kings and Iguanas fra 1971. Denne efterfølges af det sidste covernummer: "You'll Have to Scream Louder" skrevet af Dan Treacy til det britiske post-punk band Television Personalities og hentet fra 1984-albummet The Painted Word. Herefter fortsætter Distractions med en ligeledes næsten typisk Tindersticks-komposition med fransk tekst: "Tue-moi" ['Slå mig ihjel'], hvor Staples med sit engelsk-franske [beklager] gør sit bedste i fransk 'chanson'-stil, hvilket nok kun briter og visse smigrede franskmænd vil opfatte som noget ekstraordinært. Sangen er dog noget helt særligt på en anden måde, da det er Staples' inspiration fra og hans tanker om attentatet på det franske spillested Bataclan i 2015 - et spillested, som Tindersticks har besøgt flere gange. Albummet slutter lidt, som det starter - med et lidt mere eksperimenterende nummer med tape-loops og 'anden elektronik', selvom det stadig mest bare lyder som Tindersticks i det lidt jazzede hjørne. På sin vis minder albummet om Staples' seneste soloudspil, albummet Arrhythmia fra 2018, som er første gang, man bemærker Staples eksperimentere med elektroniske virkemidler. Dét album var også usædvanligt på grund af sine ret lange kompositioner.

Alt i alt, er Distractions et album, der byder på både nyt og gammelt, og som umiskendeligt er Tindersticks, der for alvor har skruet ned for arrangementerne, men det er et album, der vinder over tid. Det velkendte chamber pop-element er kun svagt til stede, mens der i stedet er blevet plads til noget eksperimenterende, der låner fra både moderne stilarter og fra jazz.

Tindersticks fortsætter med at lave fascinerende musik - det virker som om, de har fundet deres helt egen plads i alt. rock-sfæren med plads nok til at fortsætte eksperimenterne uden samtidig at miste den kunstneriske fremdrift. Og jeg er fristet til at spørge: "Hvornår har det her band egentlig lavet et dårligt album?" Det er i hvert fald meget længe siden, og det har bestemt ikke været tilfældet, siden bandet var ramt af interne konflikter omkring årtusindskiftet.

Stor annbefaling.

Coveret til albummet er krediteret Sidonie Osborne Staples - datter til Stuart Staples & Suzanne Osborne.

[ 👍allmusic.com, Uncut 4 / 5, musicOMH 4,5 / 5 stjerner ]

Band of Horses "Mirage Rock" (2012)

Mirage Rock

release date: Sep. 18, 2012

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Glyn Johns

label: Columbia - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Knock Knock" (live) - 3. "Slow Cruel Hands of Time" - 4. "A Little Biblical" - 6. "Dumpster World" - 8. "Everything’s Gonna Be Undone" - 9. "Feud"

4th studio album by Band of Horses follows 2½ years after Infinite Arms and it introduces Glyn Johns as producer. For once, the line-up remains unchanged from the previous album.

Initially, the album was met by quite positive reviews with critics stating that the band continues to deliver a remarkable strain of folk rock, but after some time the overall reception seemed to be less overwhelming with fans seing this a step down. The band gained some succes with the promotion single "Knock Knock" but both that and the two following singles (tracks 3 and 9) failed in the charts and the album didn't perform like the predecessor.

In my mind, the band performs fine, Bridwell sings with enthusiasm, and overall the album appears as nice and warm, but it also has a tone of something anonymous. The biggest lack is its coherency with some tracks appearing as mere fillers. A few tracks are truly fine and stand out as solid workmanship, but compared to the first two albums, this is goes down as a pale immitation.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine 3 / 5, Pitchfork 4,0 / 10, Spin 2 / 5 stars ]

Tom Waits - Studio albums from 1-17

Pos.		Album		Release year		Album rate
1.		Swordfishtrombones		1983		4,58
2.		Small Change		1976		4,32
3.		Heartattack and Vine		1980		4,28
4.		The Heart of Saturday Night		1974		4,18
5.		Bad as Me		2011		4,12
6.		Frank's Wild Years		1987		4,08
7.		Blue Valentine		1978		4,06
8.		Rain Dogs		1985		3,96
9.		Mule Variations		1999		3,94
10.		Bone Machine		1992		3,88
11.		Nighthawks at the Diner		1975		3,86
12.		Closing Time		1973		3,85
13.		Real Gone		2004		3,78
14.		Foreign Affairs		1977		3,68
15.		Alice		2002		3,48
16.		The Black Rider		1993		3,33
17.		Blood Money		2002		3,18

Adrianne Lenker "Songs & Instrumentals" (2020)

Songs & Instrumentals

release date: Oct. 23, 2020

format: 2cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: Phil Weinrobe

label: 4AD - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Two Reverse" - 2. "Ingydar" - 3. "Anything" - 4. "Forwards Beckon Rebound" - 5. "Heavy Focus" - 6. "Half Return" - 8. "Zombie Girl" - 9. "Not a Lot, Just Forever" - 10. "Dragon Eyes" - 13. "Music for Indigo"

Double solo album by Adrianne Lenker from the New York-based band Big Thief following the release of Big Thief's 2019 album Two Hands (Oct. 2019) for which Lenker single-handedly wrote and composed nearly all songs much to the usual tradition within the band. Songs & Instrumentals has been issued as double album in vinyl and cd formats and then it also exists as two single albums released in digital formats via bandcamp.com. Thing is, "Songs" is the title of the vocal side of the album (running 40:15 minutes) and "Instrumentals", well yes, it goes to show - and apart from that, this 'second part' only consists of two compositions - here, tracks #12 and #13. "Music for Indigo" and "Mostly Chimes" run for 21:12 and 16:12 minutes respectively. Apparently, the album came about as the band's live tour activities had been brought to an abrupt end due to the COVID-19 lock-down.

This solo outing by Lenker doesn't fall far from the albums by Big Thief but in general Lenker's solo songs tend to be more instrospective, more quiet singer / songwriter and more stripped down material without the distinct bond to an indie rock scene, and with this one she reveals an even more subtle and near lo-fi-arranged intimate collection that just feel like the most natural thing - which in the case of Adrianne Lenker, it probably just is. In fact, the whole album appears to only have Lenker as performer on guitar and vocal (as well as painter for the cover) with Phil Weinrobe as recording engineer.

Lyrically, it's deeply personal, yet on a general level of instrospectiveness. It's about how to deal with emotions linked to separation, loss and... human suffering, and then, it's nevertheless light-hearted music all because of light strumming acoustic guitars and a gentle vocal aided along with delicate percussion. Regarding 'track highlights', it's difficult, if not impossible, to point out specific songs when in fact it's the whole album as an experience that makes it really good.

Songs & Instrumentals is a most welcomed album.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, NME, Uncut 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,8 / 10 stars ]