The Gun Club "Mother Juno" (1987)

Mother Juno
release date: Oct. 19, 1987
format: cd (2006 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Robin Guthrie
label: Flow Records (Remaster) - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Bill Bailey" - 3. "Lupita Screams" - 4. "Yellow Eyes" - 5. "The Breaking Hands" (5 / 5) - 6. "Araby" - 7. "Hearts" - 8. "My Cousin Kim"

4th studio album by The Gun Club originally released on Red Rhino is the band's first release after its reformation and it follows more than three years after The Las Vegas Story (Jun. 1984). Between these two, Jeffrey Lee Pierce released his solo album debut Wildweed in the Spring of '85, but for this he has reformed the band in a line-up featuring guitarist Kid Congo Powers, bassist Romi Mori (lead guitar on track #4), and with drummer Nick Sanderson. Pierce has written and composed all tracks and the band still sounds like no one else. Blixa Bargeld of The Bad Seeds plays guitar on "Yellow Eyes".
It's quite amazing how the band seems to just continue where the 1984 album ended considering that one half of the band wasn't taking part in the making of that particular album. I never got hold of any of their original albums at the time of their release, but Mother Juno was an album I found at the local library but didn't quite appreciate in '87. The only album that I really liked was The Las Vegas Story from 1984. The version, I have purchased of Mother Juno is a remastered edition including the bonus disc titled "The Berlin Tapes", which seems like a nice find. "The Breaking Hands" is a marvelous track - fans of the band would probably call it over-produced, and it IS a strange cocktail to have Robin Guthrie as album producer but Pierce apparently had his own ideas about The Gun Club, also when keeping in mind that the band's second album Miami was produced by guitarist Chris Stein of Blondie. And Pierce had been entrigued by Guthrie. Alledgedly, Romi and Pierce had met Guthrie and Liz Frazer of the Cocteau Twins at a music festival and from that positive meeting, Pierce had found a gateway to get in touch with Guthrie and ask him to produce an upcoming new album. Pierce and Mori were at this point a couple, and Pierce had relocated to Berlin as the band found it more attractive to play and perform in Europe as the band simply had more fans here. Also, Cave and the Bad Seeds, with whom Powers had played with, were mostly hanging out in Berlin.
Stylewise, The Gun Club and Cocteau Twins are nowhere near one another, nor with regards to genre for that matter but I really like this album as it has a fine delicate feel of garage rock, the ever-present hesitating energy of Pierce, and a productional side that tries to catch up and embrace it all and yet still leaves room for all the quirkiness.
The front cover is a painting by Danish-born artists Claus Castenskiold, who also fronts several releases by British punk rock band The Fall.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

The National "Sleep Well Beast" (2017)

Sleep Well Beast
release date: Sep. 8, 2017
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,67]
producer: Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Nobody Else Will Be There" - 2. "Day I Die" - 4. "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" - 8. "I'll Still Destroy You" - 9. "Guilty Party" - 10. "Carin at the Liquor Store" - 12. "Sleep Well Beast"

7th studio album by The National, produced by the Dessner brothers follows nearly 4½ years after the fine Trouble Will Find Me (May 2013). Apparently, the album doesn't add much new to the band's well-known formula of a softer version of post-punk revival in combination with chamber pop, and it does start much like what could sound as a collection of left-overs from the 2013 album. But it only appears that way, 'cause it also reveals a slight twist / a new dimension to their sound, adding layers of synths, electronic sound effects, and drum programming to their familiar soundscape. It's done in a highly sophisticated manner, where the overall impression of a change of style isn't disrupted by obvious additions. The long list of additional brass and strings musicians also suggest a bolder chamber pop direction than the end result actually reveals, all because of intelligent layering and arrangements that support an idea - or: the whole picture.
The album may not contain a new "Bloodbuzz Ohio" or "I Need My Girl" but less will do, and I think, that the notion of 'less is more' really frames this album pretty neatly.
The quintet remains the same as The National has established from its second album out, but a few adjustments have seen the daylight since then, e.g. the entire band often used to be credited the various songs on their early albums, or the individual compositions had various songwriters from band members - mostly with vocalist Matt Berninger as songwriter, but with this, the majority of the songs have lyrics by Berninger and his wife Carin Besser [the 'Carin at the Liquor Store'?], and the music is mostly composed by the Dessner brothers, or just Aaron Dessner.
The album was generally met by positive reviews and it has become the band's internationally best-charting album to date topping the chart lists in countries such as Canada, Ireland, and the UK despite not performing as well as the band's former albums in the US. No less than five singles were released from this album with track #4 as first single - followed in order by tracks #9, #10, #2, and #8 with the first and the second as the best charting single releases.
What may appear as the grey and dull replica of former material has definitely turned out as a grower, imho. Recommended.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Q Magazine, Mojo, NME, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello "Brutal Youth" (1994)

Brutal Youth
release date: Mar. 8, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Mitchell Froom and Elvis Costello
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Pony St." - 2. "Kinder Murder" (4 / 5) (live on Letterman) - 3. "13 Steps Lead Down" - 4. "This Is Hell" - 5. "Clown Strike" - 7. "Still Too Soon to Know" - 9. "Sulky Girl" (official video) - 11. "My Science Fiction Twin" - 13. "Just About Glad" - 15. "Favourite Hour"

14th studio album by Elvis Costello follows an usual three years since his latest album Mighty Like a Rose (1991). The album is like the '91 release co-produced by Mitchell Froom and it's Costello's first album since Blood and Chocolate (1986) to feature The Attractions. They are not credited on the cover (or spine) but are listed as backing band on five of the songs. The relative long hiatus - for Costello - in between albums doesn't mean he didn't produce and compose music. As soon as the recording sessions for his '91 album was over (Winter '90/'91), he was engaged in composing and writing music with film-composer Richard Harvey for the BBC Channel 4 TV-series GBH, released Jul. '91, in '92 he began a collaborative work with the classical act The Brodsky Quartet with whom he released the album The Juliet Letters (Jan. '93), AND he wrote and composed all songs songs for the Wendy James' solo debut Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears (1993) - half of these co-written by Costello's wife Cait O'Riordan. So, no! The man is bloody productive as always.

Critics were rather divided on this (see below) ranking the album from mediocre to near masterpiece. Stephen Erlewine from Allmusic criticises the production sound: "Unfortunately, all this nostalgia and good intentions are cancelled by the retention of producer Mitchell Froom, whose junkyard, hazily cerebral productions stand in direct contrast to the Attractions' best work.", and Chris Willman in Los Angeles Times on the other hand: "You don’t have to have underrated Costello’s recent work to agree this is his finest album since his last with the Attractions, 1986’s Blood and Chocolate.”

Brutal Youth was promoted as a return to former heydays and it's striking how Costello has left the orchestrated arrangements of brass and strings somewhat behind instead of focussing on simpler song structures. That said, it's not Blood and Chocolate part 2 - the power pop songs are outnumbered by more singer / songwriter and pop / rock material but it IS a fine album that gave promises of a return to form of one of Britain's most acclaimed contemporary songwriters.

[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Blender, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5, NME 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Sällskapet "Disparition" (2018)

Disparition

release date: Mar. 16, 2018

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,15]

producer: Sällskapet

label: BMG Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights 2. "Morgenlicht" - 4. "Westerplatte" - 5. "L'autostrada"

3rd studio album by the Swedish duo-project Sällskapet and its first without founding member Joachim Thåström, who left guitarist Pelle Ossler and multi-instrumentalist Niklas Hellberg in 2015. Here, the two have composed nine new songs with German guest vocalist Andrea Schroeder, who is credited as songwriter of eight songs - track #4 is an instrumental, and Thåström appears as guest musician on two compositions. Scroeder has previously released three solo albums - all with titles and lyrics in English, and she plays a major role on Engle og dæmoner (2012) by Danish band Farmen, and she appears on Thåström's Centralmassivet (2017) with backing vocals on one song.

Musically, it's related to Nowy Port from 2013, although, the soundscape has lost some of the experimental bits and instead focused more on scarse instrumentation and melody-structure, which may be referred to as 'ambient-industrial', and then of course it makes a considerable change having German as vocal side. Schroeder's singing voice actually fits the dark arrangements nicely. Her alto coloured tone echoes the sound of Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich without sharing obvious original qualities but it adds a certain 'pop noir' quality, but the music tends to stay much on the same track throughout most of all 43 minutes, which makes it a bit of a bland experience.

Not all bad, but mostly interesting without breaking musical boundaries.

Andrew Hung "Realisationship" (2017)

Realisationship [debut]

release date: Oct. 13, 2017

format: digital (9 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,44]

producer: Andrew Hung

label: Lex Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Say What You Want" - 2. "Elbow" - 4. "Private Commercial" - 5. "Whispers" - 7. "Sugar Pops" - 8. "Animal" - 9. "Open Your Eyes"

Studio album debut by electronic artist Andrew Hung, one-half of the duo Fuck Buttons, following his soundtrack to the British comedy film "The Greasy Strangler" (2016) by Jim Hosking.

Stylistically, this falls quite far from music by Fuck Buttons by being much more founded on melody, vocals, and traditional music compositions. Blanck Mass [Benjamin John Power], the other half of Fuck Buttons, released his third album World Eater earlier this year, and if you'd expect something similar from Hung that's not really the case. Instrumentally, the music is still electronica, but where Fuck Buttons, and to some extent Blanck Mass, both focus on instrumental progression and complexity, Realisationship is more simple with loanes from Aphex Twin and LCD Soundsystem, and in a way, it's like a condensation of that.

I find it much in common with the alt. dance and indietronica of LCD Soundsystem with focus on synthpop and drum beats, but the music here is commonly labelled as 'chiptune' - which implies sounds stemming from early computer systems and video games. On top of melody-based compositions, Hung swings and sings through nine compositions running a total of 37 minutes. There's a fine positive dance-related energy and still a highly simplistic tone - at times it feels a bit too narrow, but it still sounds like a refreshing breeze. It's not too complicated, but also with only little to offer in terms of impressive arrangements and strong songs. It's fine, it's definitely good, and not so much more.

[ Uncut 3,5 / 5, SputnikMusic 4 / 5 stars ]

Tom Waits "Bad as Me" (2011)

Bad as Me
release date: Oct. 24, 2011
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan
label: ANTI- - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Chicago" (4 / 5) - 2. "Raised Right Men" (4 / 5) - 3. "Talking at the Same Time" - 4. "Get Lost" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Pay Me" - 7. "Back in the Crowd" - 8. "Bad as Me" (4,5 / 5) - 10. "Satisfied" (4 / 5) - 12. "Hell Broke Luce" (5 / 5) - 13. "New Year's Eve"

17the studio album by Tom Waits following Real Gone (2004) with seven full years.

What a comeback album! Everyone should own a copy. Much of what makes it so great is Waits ability to combine all the styles he has experimented with over four decades into one harmonious release. Bad as Me contains vocal jazz, electric blues rock, cabaret music with ties to Kurt Weill, and it contains experimental art rock tunes linking to Captain Beefheart - all of this mixed well and thoroughly together into single compositions, as well as being poured over the entire album.

Still, there are quite big differences between the individual tracks and there is of course the special Tom Waits touch to hold it all together. Also, I think this is the first time he really succeeds with his most experimental expression since Swordfishtrombones (1983) and through it manages to create songs of the highest quality.

As of 2018 Bad as Me remains Waits' most recent studio album and should it be his final album, it's definitely a fine work to end an astonishing career.

Highly recommended.

2011 Favourite releases: 1. The Streets Computers and Blues - 2. Tom Waits Bad as Me - 3. Liz Green O, Devotion!

Creedence Clearwater Revival "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" (single)

Have You Ever Seen the Rain / Hey Tonight, 7'' single

release date: Dec. 29, 1970

format: vinyl (LBF 15440)

[single rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,58]

producer: John Fogerty

label: Liberty - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" - - B) "Hey Tonight"

Single release by Creedence Clearwater Revival with two songs taken from the album Pendulum (Dec.1970). Like all tracks on the album, these two songs were written, arranged and produced by John Fogerty. Some issues have flipped A and B-sides (British, French, Italian, Spanish, and some German issues).

I got the single from the older brother who had purchased it in the early 70s.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

LCD Soundsystem "American Dream" (2017)

American Dream
release date: Sep. 1, 2017
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]
producer: James Murphy
label: DFA / Columbia - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Oh Baby" (live) - 2. "Other Voices" - 3. "I Used To" - 4. "Change Yr Mind" - 6. "Tonite" - 7. "Call the Police" - 9. "Emotional Haircut"

4th studio album by LCD Soundsystem who had re-united in 2016 is like the third album basically a James Murphy project-album featuring old associates. Looking at the credit list for the album, Murphy plays almost all instruments, though Al Doyle also contribute on several tracks, but official band members Pat Mahoney, Nancy Whang, Tyler Pope, Gavin Rayna Russom, Matt Thornley and Korey Richey nearly only appear on one or two tracks.
Stylistically, LCD Soundsystem still plays on some of the same sources - with some tracks being more electronic, some in the rock genre of alt. dance and dance-punk, and then there are more bold elements of synthpop scattered all over the album, which together with the electronic bits makes it a rather fresh and energetic collection of songs that makes me think of Underworld - only with more power.
In my mind, this is not only the best studio album and a nice surprise by LCD Soundsystem, it's also one of the best albums of 2017.
[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Daily Telegraph, NME, The Guardian 5 / 5 stars ]

Ane Brun "Sketches" (2008)

Sketches

release date: Sep. 2008

format: digital (15 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: Ane Brun

label: Balloon Ranger Recordings - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "The Treehouse Song (Sketches Version)" - 2. "The Fall (Sketches Version)" - 3. "The Puzzle (Sketches Version)" - 4. "My Star (Sketches Version)" - 6. "Changing of the Seasons (Sketches Version)" - 11. "Gillian (Sketches Version)" - 12. "Don't Leave (Sketches Version)"

Album by Ane Brun is the collection of her demos for her most recent album Changing of the Seasons (Mar. 2008). Some music sites file the album as Brun's fifth studio album but since all songs here have all been released previously in full studio arrangements, it should rightfully be regarded as a supplement alongside remix and live albums.

Sketches is a fine collection - especially if you enjoy stripped-down alternate versions. Imo, Brun has one of the finest singing voices in contemporary pop but I still prefer her more fully versions. That said, the album really underlines what a great instrument her voice is, and in this regard it appears to be something that she's fully aware of - in regard to her releases as well as her musical focus when comparing to her first two albums as more classic folk releases.

Young Marble Giants "Colossal Youth" (1980)

Colossal Youth [debut]

release date: Feb. 1980

format: cd (1994 reissue)

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

producer: Dave Anderson, Young Marble Giants

label: Les Disques du Crépuscule - nationality: Wales, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Searching for Mr. Right" - 2. "Include Me Out" - 4. "Eating Noddemix" (4 / 5) - 6. "N.I.T.A." - 8. "Music for Evenings" - 12. "Salad Days" - 13. "Credit in the Straight World" - *18. "The Clock"

*Bonus track on '94 reissue taken from Testcard E.P. (ep) (1981)

Studio debut and only album by Walesian post-punk trio, Young Marble Giants, originally released on Rough Trade Records. The band was founded by the Moxham brothers, bassist Philip and primary songwriter, composer, and guitarist, Stuart, together with vocalist Alison Statton. In the course of band's early lifetime also keyboardist Peter Joyce took part in the formation, but here they have been reduced to a trio, where Stuart is also credited organ.

Style-wise, this is something quite orginal at a time when punk rock was still alive and new styles emerged on the music scene while no one understood new potentials in indie pop and jazz pop, but Young Marble Giants were pioneers. Unfortunately, they dissolved as early as 1981 after which Stuart amd Philip Moxham continued briefly as another remarkable act called The Gist - a single album, Embrace the Herd made almost single-handedly by Stuart was released in '82.

Colossal Youth is truly an album to know of.

[ allmusic.com, Blender 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Uncut 5 / 5, Pitchfork 9,3 / 10, Rolling Stone, Spin 4 / 5 stars ]

Martha Wainwright "Sans fusils, ni souliers, à Paris..." (2009)

Sans fusils, ni souliers, à Paris... (live)
release date: Nov. 24, 2009
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Hal Willner
label: V2 - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "La foule" - 4. "L'accordéoniste"

3rd album by Martha Wainwrigth, where the full title is Sans fusils, ni souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record following the acclaimed I Know You're Married but I've Got Feelings Too (May 2008). The album is not the expected new studio album. Instead, it's the live recordings of three concerts from mid-June 2009 at Dixon Place Theatre, New York, thus not what the title could imply recorded in Paris, France. The album title is with reference to the lyrics of "Les Grognards". All songs are Wainwright covers of familiar Edith Piaf songs and it's basically a tribute album.

It's indisputable that Wainwright is a most talented vocalist with a large repertoire and register, and as a French-Canadian she may possess a natural bond with French culture and traditions, and although she is highly capable as a singer, I just don't think she is up to the task particularly convincing on this arena. Wainwright is known for mastering contrasts between the emotionally vulnerable and the more expressively devilish, and yet here her voice seems to lack an emotional attuned dimension that you find in Piaf's versions, but also in songs performed by Mireille Mathieu, who have given most of these songs a different and personal quality.

It's not an unambiguously bad album, where Wainwright misses the mark - it's only more so that others have done it better.

[ Sunday Tribune 3 / 5, The Times, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

Nena "Oldschool" (2015)

Oldschool

release date: Feb. 27, 2015

format: cd (Deluxe Edition)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Samy Deluxe (aka Samy Sorge)

label: Laugh + Peas - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Oldschool" - 2. "Lieder von früher" - 3. "Genau jetzt" - 4. "Ja das wars" - 7. "Berufsjugendlich" - 8. "Sonnemond" - 11. "Magie" - 12. "Kreis" - 14. "Peter Pan"

12th studio album by Nena following a little more than two years after Du bist gut (Nov. 2012). The standard issue contains 13 tracks with a running time of 43 minutes, whereas the Deluxe Edition comes with an additional four songs - not collected at the end but scattered here and there all over the album, and it comes with a total running time at approx. 58 minutes.

Stylewise, the album is a bit of a turn to more electronically-based compositions and at the same time with a fresh incorporation of elements from songs of Neue Deutche Welle of the 1980s without sounding 'oldschool'. The title obviously both refers to the lyrical content as well as the new take on older styles. Surprisingly, the album comes with several great songs, the whole album being a fine uptempo diverse collection, and in general, this is actually turns out as one of Nenas all-time best studio albums!

Recommended.

Sharon Van Etten "Are We There" (2014)

Are We There
release date: May 26, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,04]
producer: Sharon Van Etten, Stewart Lerman
label: Jagjaguwar - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Afraid of Nothing" (live) - 2. "Taking Chances" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Your Love Is Killing Me" - 4. "Our Love" - 5. "Tarifa" - 6. "I Love You But I'm Lost" (live) - 8. "Break Me" - 11. "Every Time the Sun Comes Up"

4th studio album [not counting her 4-5 non-label and self-released albums and mini-albums as CD-R handouts] by Sharon Van Etten released on the independent label Jagjaguwar.
Stylistically, Van Etten embraces the huge singer / songwriter pool of indie pop and indie folk with equal bits of alt. country and alt. rock.
The album was met by almost universal acclaim, and was Van Etten's commercial breakthrough album peaking at position #25 on the Billboard 200 and as high as #6 on the Top Alternative Albums chart list in the US, and the album was enlisted on allmusic.com's list of "Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums" alongside acclaimed artists like Lykke Li, Fear of Men, Future Islands, Little Dragon, Owen Pallett, Swans, and St. Vincent.
The album has really grown on me over the past 3-4 years, and I must confess to have re-discovered Van Etten a bit late as someone to pay attention to, and Are We There was also my first encounter with her music. At first I found her a bit colourless and anonymous, but it seems she has kicked in a door and invited me in 'cause all I hear now is truly fine musicianship. Her voice is quite original - somewhere between strong female artists like Patti Smith, Cat Power, PJ Harvey and Lana Del Rey. Her tonal singing voice contains the strong blatant explosiveness of Smith and Harvey but also the mellow-inner-felt melancholic alto of Power and Del Rey. Some have mentioned her as a female counterpart to Nick Cave. I don't consent to that comparison but understand what people imply with a "dark" lyrical universe, though I find the three former artists share more of the same characteristics. Some times I think more of the female Stuart Staples, but why the need to compare? Van Etten is great on her own terms. Just leave her time to find the door in. The album is easily her best album out and a natural contender to album of the year.
This is an extraordinary and highly recommended gem.
[ allmusic.com, Q, NME, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

2014 Favourite releases: 1. Ukendt Kunstner Forbandede ungdom - 2. Kent Tigerdrottningen - 3. Sharon Van Etten Are We There

Bombino "Nomad" (2013)

Nomad

release date: Apr. 1, 2013

format: cd

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

producer: Dan Auerbach

label: Nonesuch - nationality: Niger

Track highlights: 1. "Amidinine (My Friend)" (4 / 5) (live - live - acoustic live) - 3. "Azamane Tiliade (The Era of Young Girls)" - 6. "Adinat (People)" - 7. "Her Tenere (In the Desert)" - 9. "Aman (Water)" - 11. "Tamiditine (My Darling)"

2nd international studio album by Omara 'Bombino' Moctar (aka Goumar Almoctar) following his 2011 album Agadez. Bombino was born in Niger and fled with his father and grandmother to Algeria when he was ten, where he initated his musicial upbringing before returning to Niger in '97 and his professional career started. When the Tuareg Rebellion erupted in 2007 he moved to Burkina Faso until the conflict settled in 2010 and he once again returned to his homeland. Bombino's playing style reflects his musical upbringing listening to cassettes with Jimi Hendrix and Mark Knopfler, reggae-influenced African contemporaries as well as the stylistic impressions from Tuareg guitarist Haja Bebe, who has been a musical teacher of his.

Nomad is a warm and beautiful mix of Western musical influence and a variety of African tradition - it's smooth and meandering and it comes with a solid flavour of the blues.

Soccer Mommy "Clean" (2018)

Clean [debut]

release date: Mar. 2, 2018

format: digital (10 x File, MP3)

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

producer: Gabe Wax

label: Fat Possum / bandcamp - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Still Clean" (acoustic live) - 2. "Cool" - 3. "Your Dog" (4 / 5) - 4. "Flaw" (live) - 6. "Last Girl" - 7. "Skin" - 8. "Scorpio Rising" - 10. "Wildflowers"

Studio album debut by Soccer Mommy aka Sophia Regina Allison who has written and composed all tracks on her first full-length after releasing material on cassette and CDr's only, and after gaining widespread recognition via her bandcamp-profile. Her ep debut For Young Hearts came out in 2016 and it was followed by Collection in 2017 - both of which seems to consist of songs from single issues and compositions made over a longer time-span and basically should be considered compilations, I guess.

Allison was born in Switzerland and moved to the US with her American parents as relatively young settling in Nashville, Tennessee, and her musical influences is said to comprise Natalia Imbruglia, Slowdive, Taylor Swift, and Avril Lavigne, which does make much sense when listening to Clean, although, I think there's an edgier side to Allison's compositions here that could point in the direction of Alanis Morrissette and / or other artists from the 90s college rock scene and then also echoing the spirit of Swedish The Radio Dept. and early Kent.

Admittedly, I have only caught up with this one after being introduced to her second album, the acclaimed Color Theory (Feb. 2020), which figures on many critics' year-end lists but to me didn't quite live up to the hype but it had me check this one out, and imo, Clean is a more refreshing album and it doesn't leave me with the same impression of tending towards being slightly overproduced. I find it a more satisfying experience listening to this her scraped down debut where the balance of uptempo / slow-burning melancholy and an ever-presence of lo-fi home-recording sensation is intact and that sound plays a vital part in producing something grounded, and say more genuine.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, NME, Independent 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,4 / 10, Uncut 3,5 / 5, 👎Mojo, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Papir "Papir" (2010)

Papir [debut]

release date: Dec. 1, 2010

format: digital (5 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]

producer: Troels Bech [masterered by]

label: self-released - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "Kurl Te Pow Ralise" - 2. "Lykk Trep-R Hi-Losé" - 3. "Une Frensal N-Erit" - 4. "Rogter Sot Oe Koft"

Studio album debut by Danish space rock and prog rock trio Papir consisting of guitarist Nicklas Sørensen, bassist Christian Becher Clausen, and drummer Christoffer Brøchmann Christensen. The band was founded in Gladsaxe, Copenhagen around 2008. The album consists of four instrumental pieces, and it was originally released on vinyl by independent label Red Tape, and later made available as downloadable via the band's bandcamp profile. The album mentions no producer credits, but Troels Bech is credited mastering and the band is credited mixing.

Stylewise and musically, the band explores experimental progressive rock with bonds to 1970s krautrock and German prog rock band Can in particular.

The album is not an immediate favourite but it definitely isn't without talent. There's both something disturbing, something fascinating, and a great deal of originality to these four compositions.

Sten & Stanley "Får jag följa dig en bit på vägen" (1967) (single)

Får jag följa dig en bit på vägen, 7'' single

release date: 1967

format: vinyl (F77005)

[single rate: 2 / 5] [2,12]

producer: ?

label: Decca - nationality: Sweden

Tracklist: A) "Får jag följa dig en bit på vägen" - - B) "Kapten Kidd"

Single release by Swedish schlager and 'dansband' Sten & Stanley named after two of the founding members Sten Nilsson and Stanley Gransström. The two songs stem from two albums, the title song is taken from Röd var din mund, and the B-side is found on Sten & Stanley's australiska sångbok, both released in 1967.

This single was part of my parents' record collection, and it's a single I knew of at age 6-10 but never really enjoyed - probably because it's styled as schlager music.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

The Divine Comedy "Victory for the Comic Muse" (2006)

Victory for the Comic Muse
release date: Jun. 19, 2006
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Nel Hannon
label: Parlophone Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "To Die a Virgin" - 2. "Mother Dear" (live on Later) - 3. "Diva Lady" - 4. "A Lady of a Certain Age" (4 / 5) (live) - 5. "The Light of Day" - 7. "Party Fears Two" (4 / 5)

9th studio album by The Divine Comedy is very much like a part two to Absent Friends from 2004, and also much on par with that, making it a very fine release.
"Party Fears Two" is a great cover version of a (likewise great) new romantic track by The Associates from their debut album Sulk (1982), which Hannon nicely succeeds in transposing to his own chamber pop version [Associates original version].
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars, The Guardian 4 / 5 ]

Sinéad O'Connor "Gospel Oak" (EP) (1997)

Gospel Oak, ep

release date: Jun. 3, 1997

format: cd

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]

producer: John Reynolds

label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: 1. "This Is to Mother You" - 2. "I Am Enough for Myself" - 3. "Petit Poulet" - 4. "4 My Love" - 5. "This Is a Rebel Song" - 6. "He Moved Through the Fair" (live)

EP release by Sinéad O'Connor following nearly 3 years after Universal Mother (Sep. 1994). O'Connor may have wanted the predecessor to add new dimensions to her public image but her engagement in various causes, her unmasked political position, and what may be seen as a confrontational nature didn't make the media focus on her music - it had become difficult not to refer to O'Connor's involvement in this or that, and her own willingness, you could say, to participate in TV shows and debates weren't doing her much good throughout the 90s. In early '96 O'Connor gave birth to a daughter, Brigidine Roisin, and nearly immediately O'Connor found herself engaged in a custody battle with the girl's father, Irish journalist John Waters. A process that first came to an end in '99. And once again, O'Connor's love life wasn't without major struggles. In fact, as of '99 it was reported that O'Connor had been hospitalised after attempting suicide.

The Gospel Oak ep thus comes out at a time of disarray and it continues much of the emotional angle she tuned in on with Universal Mother. There's something of a grounding sensation to it where she makes efforts in dwelling on what really matters. Many critics saw it as something more genuine than the predecessor and also with a strong revivalist tone to it. To me, that doesn't seep through, and I generally see it more like an epilogue to what she showed us with her '94 album. Thematically, I think these two releases are closely bonded with songs about motherhood, children, and about true love. Then, she also dedicates the album to "the people of Israel, Rwanda and Northern Ireland" and she has given the album a personalised Star of David containing an extra small dot / circle / star, or perhaps a fetus of sorts. This symbol first fronted the predecessor. I guess, she's really determined about her religious belief and just wants it to express her religious position as someone, who now shares faith with the jewish people and at the same time is someone who understands and respects the rastafari religion. Musically, this comes out as even more quiet and ambient-like than what she presented three years earlier but it has that same soothing sensation to it, as if really wanting to showcase the gentler embrasing and tolerant side. In any case, to me, it just becomes yet another naive expression to a mostly religious-driven mission that drives her music - through and through.

I find it difficult to evaluate this one properly. The thing is, I don't hear a lot of great songs that really appeal to me, and I think that's a good indicator to whether I enjoy something or not. What I do hear is O'Connor's mighty fine vocal singing about love and caring but throughout the album held on her Jewish-Christian-belief, which just soothes an over-the-top appraisal of some divine presence, which in the end makes this touching on unbearable to listen to. I know that's quite harsh, but ultimately, music always serves a purpose, and if one aspect becomes too dominant, then other intensions will be harder to hear and see, and therefore to salute. For my part, I really appreciate O'Connor's vocal but on this, the messaging becomes too apparent and detached from her role as the strong musician she rightfully is. Imo, the album is far from her two great first ones and it's just one of several that indicate what a troublesome life she leads. Unfortunately.

Gospel Oak is her final studio release on the Chrysalis mother label (most of her releases came out on Ensign but was distributed by Chrysalis), and they released the first compilation album So Far... The Best Of with O'Connor's music on Ensign / Chrysalis counting songs mostly taken from her two first studio albums but effectively from the first decade of her career.

The Gospel Oak ep is not one of her best releases and not recommended.

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

The Cranberries "Something Else" (2017)

Something Else
release date: Apr. 28, 2017
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: The Cranberries
label: BMG - nationality: Ireland

[ playlist of album songs ]

7th studio album, or: 7th official band release is a collection of ten previously released songs in acoustic versions recorded live at the University of Limerick, Ireland with the addition of three new songs (#2, 7 and 13). The album follows a series of live albums (8 albums in 2010 recorded at various European locations and another 2 live albums in 2012 also in Europe), and it presents some of the band's most popular compositions in acoustic / orchestral versions with the addition of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, which really distinguishes this from ordinary live albums.
The album was met by positive reviews and a following European live tour was scheduled, but during its initial stage in late May, the remaining dates were cancelled due to O'Riordan's health problems. Also the American tour was subsequently cancelled in July, and the band didn't get to do any further live performances that year. However, they managed to record O'Riordan's vocals for a forthcoming album when in Jan. 2018 it was announced that she had been found dead at London's Park Lane Hilton hotel. So in a way, this material feature the last official live recordings of The Cranberries and by Dolores O'Riordan, although, a successive and final album, In the End would be released in 2019.
As for track highlights, I find it too difficult a task to pick tracks at the expense of others 'cause there really are no fillers nor any mediocre tracks on an album that may require some familiarisation to these arrangements, but in the end, it's a truly fine result and a recommended album.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]