Sigur Rós "Átta" (2023)

Átta

release date: Jun. 23, 2023

format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold - 45 rpm) / digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]

producer: Sigur Rós, Paul Corley

label: Von Dur / Krúnk - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Glóð" - 2. "Blóðberg" - 3. "Skel" - 4. "Klettur" - 7. "Gold" - 10. "Átta"

8th studio album by Sigur Rós following a whole decade after Kveikur. Since then, the band has released the remix album Route One, the 'endless mixtape' Liminal, Limnial 2, and the soundtrack Odin's Raven Magic (Dec. 2020). In early '22 the band announced that Kjartan Sveinsson had rejoined the band - he had left in early 2012 - again, making it a trio of Jónsi, Hólm and Sveinsson, but still no replacement for drummer Orri Dýrason, the band has made the new album with little focus on drums and percussion. Former touring member (2012-13) Ólafur Ólafsson is credited as additional personnel playing percussion on an album, which also counts London Contemporary Orchestra and several horn instrumentalists. The album is produced by the band and with American sound artist Paul Corley, who was installed as music director for Sigur Rós in 2016.

The album both reinstates former virtues of harmony-driven melodies with especially Jónsi delivering his characteristic singing style but it also appears as a new version combining a quiet ambient sound of keyboards and synths in unison with the addition of strings and horns. It's almost made completely without traces of drums, bass or guitars, but with a compositional 'progressive' ingredient, the songs echo former album moments of sheer beauty.

At first, the album may appear as closed and very etheral, but it contains more when given the attention it deserves. It's not necessarily among the band's most audience-friendly experiences - it may denote introspectiveness and fragility but it comes with 'hidden' layers to unfold, and I really enjoy the musical journey it invites us on. With Átta, Sigur Rós is definitely back on full sails.

Highly recommended.

[ Pitchfork 7,2 / 10, 👍NME, Clash, Exclaim! 4 / 5 stars ]

2023 Favourite releases: 1. Anohni and the Johnsons My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross - 2. Ukendt Kunstner Dansktop - 3. Sigur Rós Átta

Lotte Kestner "Walk Unfraid" (2023) (single)

Walk Unafraid, single

release date: May 30, 2023

format: digital (1 x File, FLAC)

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]

producer: self-produced

label: self-released (bandcamp) - nationality: USA

Tracklist: "Walk Unfraid (R.E.M. cover)"

Single release by Lotte Kestner released via the artist's bandcamp-profile in support of #bravehood ('a community of many supporting children in emergency situations').

The original is taken from the R.E.M. album Up (1998), and the song is one of my personal all-time favourites by the great band from Athens, Georgia. Kestner is famous for making cover versions, and this one is a highly remarkable and original version by being a lo-fi stripped-down song but also a multi-layered track by the way she has made use of several tracks in the mixing of the recording - to some extent in an unusual manner in the case of Kestner covers that are often quite simple arrangements. That alone makes it a most interesting version, as she has made lots of covers using only guitar with vocal, or piano with vocal, but to hear how she maintains a minimalist expression while turning up on the arrangement-button is something new and a most welcome introduction to her soundscape.

Cat Power "Covers" (2022)

Covers

release date: Jan. 14, 2022

format: cd (BRC687, Japan)

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

producer: Chan Marshall

label: Domino / Beat - nationality:

Track highlights: 1. "Bad Religion" (live) - 3. "Pa Pa Power" - 6. "Against the Wind" - 8. "These Days" - 10. "I Had a Dream Joe" - 12. "I'll Be Seeing You" (4 / 5)

11th studio album by Cat Power following nearly 3½ years after Wanderer (Oct. 2018) is Power's first with Domino after leaving Matador. Cat Power has previously made covers and made it one of her strongest assets. And as the title here suggests, this one appears as a sequel to her The Covers Record from 2000. This new selection more or less copies the idea of covering songs from a large variety of styles and periods. The diversity in the original material is extremely wide, as she covers songs of neo-soul (Frank Ocean), vocal jazz (Billie Holiday), country rock (Bob Seger), celtic rock (The Pogues), folk pop (Jackson Browne), and punk blues (Nick Cave), just to mention one half of the songs. It's an extreme span, although, yes, Cat Power ensures stylistic connection in these new arrangements. I'm just not entirely convinced about the idea to grab songs from any musical shelf to see if it will work. It's possible, yes, but is it that original? And then, she even challenges the idea of having a mutual foundation in the arrangements 'cause there is no common foundation there. "I Had a Dream Joe" comes so close to the original that it somehow sticks out, and several other songs do exactly that - so there goes coherency like it does on her 2000 album. In that regard it's somewhat like repeating what could have been an obvious mistake from her first covers album, although, this new collection betters the former. Chan Marshall is a gifted arranger, and she could possibly have done better when chosing original songs. What on the other hand work really well, is her intense emmotional contribution to well-known songs. She seems capable of covering whatever song and still make it hers. She's an absolute wonderful interpretor and performer - just love that vocal.

Recommendation: probably mostly for fans.

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