Pino Daniele "Terra mia" (1977)

Terra mia[debut]

release date: 1977

format: vinyl (2015 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Claudio Poggi

label: EMI - nationality: Italy

Studio album debut by Pino Daniele (aka Giuseppe Daniele). This reissue was made available following Daniele's death, Mar. 2015.

Joakim Berg "Jag fortsätter glömma" (2022)

Jag fortsätter glömma [debut]

release date: May 27, 2022

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Joakim Berg

label: Universal Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Barn av vår tid" - 2. "Begravningsbål" - 3. "Aniara" - 4. "Låtsasvärlden" - 5. "Legender" - 7. "Var vi kom ifrån" - 9. "4" - 10. "Mer än ingenting"

Studio solo album debut from Kent frontman follows 6 full years after the final album by Kent Då som nu för alltid. Berg has written and composed all music except one track composed with former Kent guitarist Martin Sköld, and the album is also with Berg as only producer.

Musically, he has been engaged with writing and composing music for others but here hecomes out with his own material. Then how is it? Is it Kent material, or something completely different? Well, national critics are a bit divided here - and then, how could it be any different, you may ask. Aftonbladet og Gaffa.se are overwhelmed whereas Expressen with its 3 / 5 stars, which in a way says more being somewhat cheap on stars than the textual review by Anders Dahlbom.

No, it's not new musical terrain, and no, it's not incorporating new guitar or bass riffs, nor is it reflecting anything associated with indie rock, but what it does contain in abundance is Berg's melancholic vocal fronted soft melodic synthpop tapestry. Of course it would hardly make much sense expecting energetic guitar rock or uptempo basslines. How would it then be something new? Berg has moved along, and he showcases his ability with words despite he may be in need of a backing band, or at least someone else to provide the music with new seasoning. Overall, it's better than feared, but not really as good as you may have hoped for. The whole album stays (too) much in the same emmotions and the arrangements appear slightly narrow, but it both contains uptempo chorus-based songs and slower compositions. all aside, it's just a delight to hear Berg's voice again.

[ Aftonbladet 4 / 5, Gaffa 5 / 6, Expressen 3 / 5 stars ]

Mazzy Star "So Tonight That I Might See" (1993)

So Tonight That I Might See
release date: Oct. 5, 1993
format: cd / vinyl (2022 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: David Roback
label: Capitol Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Fade Into You" (4,5 / 5) (live on Later) - 2. "Bells Ring" (4 / 5) - 3. "Mary of Silence" - 7. "Unreflected" - 9. "Into Dust" - 10. "So Tonight That I Might See"

2nd studio album by Mazzy Star following nearly 3½ years after the debut She Hangs Brightly (1990). Since then, the band signed with Capitol after the Rough Trade division closed in the US, and it appears that although both Keith Mitchell and Will Cooper of Opal participate on the album, they are merely additional personnel, and Mazzy Star has become what it basically always was: the duo-project of composer, guitarist and pianist David Roback and songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Hope Sandoval.

At first, the album sounds much alike the predecessor, in tone and especially sound, as the style has become even darker and mesmerising with drone-like guitar-sequences with Sandoval's haunting vocal on top.

"Fade into You" became the band's first and only top-100 single in the US peaking at #44; however, the band may never have aimed at making hit songs and becoming mainstream artists, but the album is often found listed among the best Dream Pop albums ever made [Pitchfork's 30 best dream pop albums].

The album comes out as the aural version of a highly original dream landscape - both hauntingly beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Roback and Sandoval appear more laid back on this, although, some tracks are 'noise rock' influenced and the title track sounds unimaginable without thinking of "The End" by The Doors and (perhaps also) "Heroin" by Velvet Underground, but overall I find it bettering their debut. This is simply their best studio album.

Now, did anyone say Lana Del Rey? Well, I betcha she heard this one!

Highly recommendable.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut 4,5 / 5, NME, Sputnikmusic 4 / 5, Soundlab 5 / 5 stars ]

Stromae "Multitude" (2022)

Multitude

release date: Mar. 4, 2022

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]

producer: Stromae

label: Mosaert Label / Universal - nationality: Belgium

Track highlights: 1. "Invaincu" - 2. "Santé" - 3. "La Solassitude" - 4. "Fils de joie" - 5. "L'enfer" - 8. "Riez" - 9. "Mon amour" - 10. "Déclaration"

3rd studio album by Stromae following almost 9 full years after Racine Carrée (Aug. 2013) - a time of both international acclaim and personal turmoil. Stromae went on long tours in the US and in Africa, and then had to pull the plug from performing to recover again. Apparently, he suffered from anxiety and spent a long time rethinking his career. He only resurfaced again in 2021 with his first single from this album, the song "Santé".

Racine Carrée was a step forward from a promising debut and was a massive success - it's really no wonder that the skyrocketing success he has experienced is something that may be more than overwhelming, and with Multitude he not only does it again - he simply takes another step forward. The single "L'enfer" was played everywhere, and I first thought of it as merely another pop song, but it's so much more than just that. Stromae himself is the result of a mixed marriage, but his musical style is a gigantic mix of Euro-pop, American R&B, African and Asian popular music, AND with obvious bits of folkore from all over the world - yet, his music is styled to just fit his expression. All the global influences are destilled into a personal and strict sound that doesn't make you question its coherency.

At first, I found the album contained 2-3 great songs, but soon they kept surfacing, and here at the end of the year, I think of it as one the best albums of the year.

[ NME 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,0 / 10 stars ]