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 ]

I Break Horses "Warnings" (2020)

Warnings

release date: May 20, 2020

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Maria Lindén

label: Bella Union - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Turn" (4 / 5) - 2. "Silence" - 4. "I'll Be the Death of You" - 6. "The Prophet" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Neon Lights" - 8. "I Live at Night" - 9. "Baby You Have Travelled for Miles Without Love in Your Eyes" (4 / 5) - 10. "Death Engine"

3rd studio album by I Break Horses as a follow-up to the more than six year old Chiaroscuro (Jan. 2014) is much as usual produced by the band's dynamo, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer Maria Lindén, and it's like the duo's two previous albums released on British label Bella Union.

Six years is a long time between releases in modern popular music culture, but it's the pace of Lindén and percussionist Fredrik Balck who seem in complete control, although part of the explanation for the long wait may have to do with Lindén's perfectionism and the fact that some recordings were lost. The album consists of 12 tracks varying from 1 to 9 minutes and with a total running time of 54 minutes.

Musically, the album lands somewhere in between the first two albums - Hearts from 2011 with its guitar-driven shoegaze and My Bloody Valentine-esque wall of sound versus the more electronic synthpop release from 2014. You'll find energetic uptempo tracks with almost inaudible guitar as background instrumentation, but otherwise it's a more strict synthpop and electropop version of dreampop guided by keyboards, synths, and drum programming, the duo presents here. Lindén is undoubtedly the duo's leading figure - in addition to her vocal contributions, she handles guitar, bass, and keyboards, while Balck, in addition to his part of co-songwriter, apparently is content to contribute as the duo's rhythmic planner.

Warnings has been released to fine reviews, and it's an album that may leave you with a feeling of something ingenious and original pointing back to the best by The Knife, but which also borrows from Cocteau Twins and Radio Dept., but cleverly avoids imitation, because it appears thoroughly new. Lindén doesn't reveal an impressive vocal as some contemporary pop artists, but on Warnings the vocal side is more of a contribution to the tone of dreampop in line with the sound of a synthesiser or the keyboards, and the rhythmic contribution of percussion and drum programming varies from trance-like monotony over more traditional simple rhythm structures to something almost dynamic organic as you would find on albums by The Creatures.

With Warnings, I Break Horses has made a minor masterpiece by balancing the positive energy of their debut with the greater rhythmic complexity of the follow-up. It's a huge musical overview with ties to various styles, which creates rare dynamics, and it's an inviting and captivating sound that deserves all the great reviews. With Warnings the duo has made a most surprising leap to the front of bus.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Under the Radar 4,5 / 5, NME, 👍The Line of Best Fit 4 / 5 stars ]

2020 Favourite releases: 1. Gorillaz Song Machine, Season One - Strange Timez - 2. Kesi BO4L - 3. I Break Horses Warnings

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd "Another Flower" (2020)

Another Flower

release date: Dec. 4, 2020

format: digital (9 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Robin Guthrie

label: Soleil Après Minuit - nationality: Skotland, UK / USA

Track highlights: 1. "Some Smoke" - 2. "Perfect Fire" - 4. "November Day" - 5. "After Dark" - 7. "Harlequin Delight" - 8. "Very Slender Homage"

Final collaborative project between Scottish dream pop master Robin Guthrie and American composer and minimalist Harold Budd. The album is not a bunch of brand new compositions but actually a collection of more than seven years old recordings, which now see the light of day. Possibly, they were intended as another joint work between the now 58-year-old Guthrie and 84-year-old Budd, but it now appears as their last joint work, as Budd was hit by COVID-19 before the album came out and eventually died from complications related to the decease on Dec. 8, 2020 - only 14 days before the album release. As noted in the accompanying liner notes, the album is "Written and performed by Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd during a rainy Summer in Brittany, 2013". It isn't directly mentioned that the album was recorded over a single day or over a matter of sessions, but most often they basically worked in the moment with the recorder running, and while the music was created and performed from start to finish. Perhaps this music wouldn't have been released had Budd not passed away so abruptly 'cause fact is: these compositions are seven-year-old recordings with which Guthrie now choose to pay tribute to his long-time musical playmate. And Harold Budd may not have heard the album in its entirety and with the tracks precisely ordered as they appear here - but Budd heard it all, because he was there himself.

As usual, it's the gentle atmospheric sounds that dominate Guthrie and Budd's music. Since these compositions they have released more than a handful of joint albums, either as musical scores for feature films or as their own releases. They are both listed here as performers and composers of all music, and as usual only Guthrie is credited as album producer. It's another chapter in a common ethereal ambient style that clearly touches on new age and doesn't walk on entirely new paths. The elder Budd is a classically-schooled pianist and composer, and he has early admitted to an improvisational and minimalist expression, which has proven to go quite well with Guthrie's preference for an airy guitar sound. Their final recordings together in terms of chronology was their collaborative works resulting in the 2014 soundtrack White Bird in a Blizzard for the film of the same name directed by Japanese-American Gregg Araki, who had also made "Mysterious Skin" in 2005, for which Guthrie and Budd introduced their collaborative work. In addition to these soundtracks, together they composed and made After the Night Falls and Before the Day Breaks released simultaneously in 2007 as two individual releases, and later they released Bordeaux in 2011. That same year, they also released Winter Garden as a joint project with Italian musician Eraldo Bernocchi.

Another Flower is, as the title suggests, another distinctive work from Guthrie and Budd - another flower. Perhaps, this was a metaphor Budd used about their compositions or works - we don't know for sure. Guthrie came up with the title after Budd's death - it could also be a reference to Budd himself, as a flower that was here, it was seen, admired, and is now gone. Musically speaking, it's not the large and complex compositional structures that characterise their compositions, but it's music created in a shared moment and in a warm, friendly common expression. You could object that they cling on to the same colours, the same airy timbres, which in way they do, but these are tones that contain something valuable by being created as common breaths expressed in music, and which show themselves as a unique and living organism.

Although new age as such is not really a favourite genre of mine, the album here expresses something quite unique. It's the evidence of both musicians' fondness for the instantaneous - the moment of creation, and they both allow / invite one another to contribute without one or the other dominate the soundscape, or you end up sensing one over the other, and that's a great strength and quality to be able to strike a common note when improvising. When one leads, the other follows suit, and they set out in a common unknown direction with equal vigor to a common end.

Another Flower may not be a work that indicates new paths or inspires new styles, but the music clearly has its merits, and occasionally I feel the music strikes an expression that reminds me of other big names of ethereal music, such as Palle Mikkelborg or Ryuichi Sakamoto, but always without giving impression of plagiarism. When I shut my eyes, I can easily conjure up internal images of underwater footage from Luc Besson's "Le Grand Bleu", which had music by Éric Serra. It's done sincerely and beautifully, and it's perhaps Guthrie and Budd's greatest swan song. At least I haven't heard them perform better than on this album.

Recommended.

Sigur Rós "Odin's Raven Magic" (2020)

Odin's Raven Magic (soundtrack)

release date: Dec. 4, 2020

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Sigur Rós [?]

label: Krúnk - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 2. "Alföður orkar" - 3. "Dvergmál" - 4. "Stendur æva" - 5. "Áss hinn hvíti" - 7. "Spár eða spakmál" - 8. "Dagrenning"

Soundtrack album, or so it has been described by the band on its bandcamp site. The music here is actually "an orchestral collaboration between Sigur Rós, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Steindór Andersen and Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir which premiered 18 years ago at the Barbican Centre in London [...]" [written in 2020] - it premiered at the Barbican Centre in London, Apr. 21, 2002, which means the band had not yet released its third studio album as the collaboration falls between the second, Ágætus byrjun (Jun. 1999) and [ ] ('the brackets album') (Oct. 2002).

In hindsight, 'cause I didn't know about it until it was released in 2020, it's remarkable album. Near majestic. I understand the term soundtrack, although it's 'only' the music to an ancient Icelandic poem without a visual side to it. It's orchestrated, but nevertheless it also feels like a post-rock, or experimental transgressing piece of art. It's neo-classical and experimental rock - but it works unlike many other such attempts of a fusion between classical music and music from the pop culture.

Odin's Raven Magic is simply a truly wonderful album.

All tracks are credited Jón Þór Birgisson, Georg Hólm, Orri Páll Dýrason, Kjartan Sveinsson, Steindór Andersen, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir.

Toyah "Love Is the Law" (1983)

Love Is the Law
release date: Oct. 24, 1983
format: vinyl (HOTLP 83003) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Nick Tauber
label: Safari Records / Hot Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "I Explode" - 4. "Rebel Run" - 5. "Martian Cowboy" - 6. "Dreamscape" - 7. "Time Is Ours" - 10. "The Vow"

5th studio album by Toyah [band name] following Changeling (1982) originally released on Safari Records is the final album by the band Toyah. After this, Toyah Wilcox released her first solo album Minx (1985) under the same name. The majority of the songs here are written by Toyah and composed by guitarist Joel Bogen, just as they had shared credits on previous releases, and perhaps there is some kind of hidden sign of an imminent breakup of the band in the fact that the members had come and gone - bass players, keyboardists, and drummers were often different individuals on the band's first four albums. This is also the final album with one of the founding musicians of Toyah: guitarist and main composer Joel Bogen, with whom Wilcox wrote and composed the majority of the band's music. Bassist Phil Spalding (in the band from '81) appears on only three out of a total of ten tracks on the original album. On the remaining songs he has been replaced by Brad Lang, who here is one of three new members only appearing on this. The other two are: keyboardist Simon Darlow, and new drummer Andy Duncan. However, Darlow would later, from around 2007, again assist Wilcox.

In terms of style, it's clear that the band here has taken a significant step into the world of synthpop mixing that with a richly orchestrated art pop à la Kate Bush, and somewhat with the same inspiration as you may hear on the band's most recent two albums - just listen to "The Vow", and here it's most obvious how much synthesisers have come to fill the soundscape. The connection to the '70s is minimized, and the album introduces a new path, which is not quite pure neo-romantic but which may still be classified as synthpop. On Toyah's first two albums, the inspiration blatantly came from German Nina Hagen, and Toyah most of all sounded like an English clone of Nina Hagen Band. And with this new album, I can't quite shake the thought that a new German artist might have been a big inspiration. Nena, or perhaps you may think of Toyah Wilcox as the slightly outlandish image of Kate Bush trying to be Nena - or vice versa.

Love Is the Law was the only release by Toyah that I purchased when it had only just come out and I've completely forgotten why I found it interesting in the first place. I wasn't a big fan but had listened to some of their hits, such as "I Want to Be Free" and "It's a Mystery" from the fine Anthem from 81, which I purchased much later, but I probably just came across the album in the local music store and noticed the cover and having the familiar songs in mind, and then upon listening through it, I may possibly have been impressed by the fine change in production sound. Also, I may have even listened to "Dreamscape" as the first track on the B-side, which is quite a magnificent cut when comparing to other new wave releases from that year. However, I do remember that I rather quickly tired of / was fed up with Wilcox's vocal and the pompous arrangements, which still reminded me of 1970s progressive pop / rock, although, Wilcox herself with her singing style appeared with the 'right profile' - i.e. a punk rock attitude, which on the one hand linked her with contemporary artists such as Hazel O'Connor and Nina Hagen, and on the other hand also with Debbie Harry and especially Kate Bush, who was actually a form of guarantee that it couldn't be all bad. And Love Is the Law is by no means a poor or mediocre album, even if time has not made it easier to listen to. Back then, I think, it was seen as something innovative and quite modern, but it's also an album that simply doesn't reach the same original quality as Anthem, which imho clearly is Toyah's all-time best.

[ Pop Rescue 3 / 5 stars ]

Cat Power "The Greatest" (2006)

The Greatest
release date: Jan. 9, 2006
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]
producer: Stuart Sikes
label: Matador / P-Vine Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "The Greatest" (4 / 5) (live on Later) - 2. "Living Proof" (live on Letterman) - 3. "Lived in Bars" (officiel video) (live on Later) - 5. "Empty Shell" - 6. "Willie" - 7. "Where Is My Love" (officiel video) - 12. "Love & Communication"

7th studio album by Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) following a full three years after You Are Free (Feb. 2003). Like all Power's other albums, The Greatest is in the quieter end of folk rock and singer / songwriter genre with elements from alt. country and traditional blues. What's new here is especially a far more indie pop-tinged series of songs in larger-than-usual arrangements, which by that don't have 'the usual' clear lo-fi touch. The album therefore seems more airy, varied and lighter than most of her other albums, which have often carried an excessive heavy melancholic mood. The songs here appear brighter and lighter, even though Power's vocals are not that different and without ever displaying the big register, but which nevertheless has its own qualities, which are mainly rooted in a charismatic hoarse and occasionally almost whispering intonation, which can lead thoughts to Lana Del Rey and Hope Sandoval with a common starting point in Laura Nyro.

The Greatest is Cat Power's highest-charting album to date on the US Billboard 200 peaking at number #34, but it reached number #20 in Australia and at number #45 in the UK. The album won the Alternative Shortlist Music Prize (an award running from 2001 to 2007) ahead of names such as Band of Horses, Joanna Newsom, and Tom Waits - an award for which her 2003 album was also nominated without running with the award.

Imho, The Greatest is Powers best album to date and therefore also a recommended place to delve into the special universe of Cat Power.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, NME, Q 3 / 5, 👍Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,9 / 10 stars ]

Lingua Ignota "Wicked Game" (2018) (single)

Wicked Game, single

release date: Aug. 7, 2020

format: digital (1 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Kristin Hayter

label: Sargent House - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Wicked Game"

Single release by Lingua Ignota issued via her new label Sargent House is one of several covers Kristin Hayter has recorded in the wake of the album's success with Caligula (2019). An all-covers album has been rumoured in the process but so far she has released singles in 2020 of "Jolene" (Dolly Parton), "Kim" (Eminem), and then this one by Chris Isaak as digital download singles only. Most recently in the series of covers, a 4-track ep, Agnus Dei, consisting of two covers of extreme black metal / grindcore and two compositions by Händel and J.S. Bach, respectively, was released in Feb. 2021.

"Wicked Game" has already been immortalised in its original version and through several fine covers, but Lingua Ignota's version is undoubtedly another that should be remembered. It's made with great respect of the original expression and tone, and still Hayter has nonetheless shaped it according to her own musical expression. She has managed to add another layer of desolation to the song without her regular use of black metal, throat singing, and metal noise. There is no doubt, however, who stands beind this version, and one can only guess that a great future could await Hayter if she would dare to throw off the brutal black-heavy noise in order to establish herself further as an artist. At least she shows a fine example of that right here.

[ bandcamp ]

Cat Power "The Covers Record" (2000)

The Covers Record

release date: Mar. 21, 2000

format: digital (12 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]

producer: non-produced

label: Matador - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - 7. "I Found a Reason" - 12. "Sea of Love"

5th studio album by Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall [pronounced 'shawn], aka Charlyn Marie Marshall) following 1½ years after the album Moon Pix (1998), which is cited by many as her first significant studio album.

The Covers Records is, to no surprise, a collection of covers by many diverse artists. You'll find tracks by famous artists such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and the Velvet Underground, tracks made famous by Nina Simone and Mae West, and there are tracks by (to most) more unknown names such as Phil Phillips, Papa Charlie Jackson, and Michael Hurley. There's also room for a reinterpretation of Cat Power's own track "In This Hole", previously released on What Would the Community Think, Power's third album and Marshall's first on Matador released in '96 while Power was still associated with the name of Chan Marshall's band, although in practice she had already gone solo here.

The album is entirely acoustic and stripped down to a minimal of instrumentation and most probably also recorded on a single recording track with only Chan Marshall singing and playing guitar. On some tracks, it's her piano that is only accompaniment, and only on "Salty Dog" the participation of guitarist Matt Sweeney is heard. Typically, for Cat Power, no producer is indicated on the album, and in this case it's probably only sound engineers who have set up microphones and then started and finished the recording.

It's restrained to lo-fi regardless the original arrangements and therefore most tracks fall quite far from their original expression. It's Chan Marshall solo, and it's heartfelt, but maybe also a bit one-sided - at least for my liking. The album garnered some good reviews, but it's not among my favourites. Admittedly, Marshall has an insistent melodic vocal and sings with great emotion, making all the songs her own. For me, the problem is that the tracks slide (too much) into each other and end up sounding one-stringed, and she's just not an instrumentalist virtouso or (for that matter) a singer with a big register. If you're not familiar with Cat Power, I will recommend listening to her predecessor, Moon Pix or the successor You Are Free (2003), which may be regarded as her commercial breakthrough.

[ allmusic.com, NME, Spin 3,5 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5, 👍Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Blanck Mass "In Ferneaux" (2021)

In Ferneaux

release date: Feb. 26, 2021

format: digital (2 x File, FLAC - SBR267digital)

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

producer: Blanck Mass

label: Sacred Bones - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Phase I" - 2. "Phase II" - 3. "Starstuff (Single Edit)" (bonus track)

5th studio album by one-man project Blanck Mass follows 1½ years after Animated Violence Mild (Aug. 2019) (the album is released on bandcamp).

Compared to all other albums credited Blanck Mass this one is of another construct, so to say. All other previous albums contain various different compositions - most of which are of 'normal' running times going from 2 to 10 minutes, however, this contains two tracks only that basically are one composition split in two to fit traditional vinyl releases. "Phase I" has a running time just above 21 minutes and the "Phase II" a running time just below 20 minutes, but when played as digital files it's clear they appear seamless parts of the same composition - the digital album comes with a third 'bonus track': "Starstuff (Single edit)", which in essence is an edited outtake of the first part of "Phase I".

Musically, this has turned out as more complex, with greater variation, which implies both ambient moments, and bits of almost extreme white noise - and everything in between.

My initial verdict had me think of In Ferneaux ['Inferno'] as a step back and to what could sound like a minor work, but after having played it over several times, I kinda like the result, although, it's still a complex and somewhat experimental release that also bridges his more progressive work released under the moniker Fuck Buttons together with Andrew Hung and that of his solo music as Blanck Mass. In some ways because this is both more ambient and experimental in the way Fuck Buttons has styled their albums, and to some extent more upfront and 'hard', and yet, progressive bits, here and there, could point to inspiration in early techno days.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 7 / 10 stars ]

Robert Forster "The Evangelist" (2008)

The Evangelist

release date: Apr. 21, 2008

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]

producer: Mark Wallis & Dave Ruffy

label: Tuition - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "If It Rains" - 2. "Demon Days" (solo live) - 3. "Pandanus" - 4. "Did She Overtake You" - 5. "The Evangelist" - 6. "Let Your Light in, Babe" - 9. "It Ain't Easy" - 10. "From Ghost Town"

5th studio album by Robert Forster is his follow-up to Warm Nights (Sep. 1996) and thus released a full 12 years after his most recent solo album - and there are a various reasons to that [see The Friends of Rachel Worth, album #7 by The Go-Betweens], which among others things involves the re-formation of The Go-Betweens in '99 and, in particular, the sudden death of Forster's musical friend, Grant McLennan, May 2006. The two songwriters had begun work on what should have been the band's tenth album together, and three of these are included here - as tracks #2, #6, and #9. One year following McLennan's death, Forster resumed his solo career with a series of concerts featuring Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson, and in the autumn of 2007 the trio returned to the same studio in London where they had recorded the band's final Oceans Apart (2005) in company of McLennan and producers Wallis and Ruffy, now to record this very album.

Musically, it doesn't fall far from the band's final outing, and in Forster's solo discography it's perhaps a little cleaner than most his other albums, although lyrically it naturally includes the grief over his painful loss. The album also stands a bit on its own in that it contains much of the soul and colours of The Go-Betweens and in that way positions itself somewhere in between Forster solo and the band, which also was put to rest with the passing of McLennan. And by containing tracks written for the band, it's bound to be very special. Nearly all Forster's solo albums have a certain unfinished quality to them, but The Evangelist appears quite elaborated as a whole, and together with his solo debut Danger in the Past (1990) this clearly stands as one of his best. Then is it even Forster's best solo? And yes, I think it is - and then it's probably his only solo album, which was partly made with the help of McLennan.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Slant 4 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 7,6 / 10, Uncut 5 / 5, The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Lily Allen "Sheezus" (2014)

Sheezus

release date: May 5, 2014

format: digital (14 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]

producer: various

label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "L8 CMMR" - 4. "Our Time" - 7. "As Long as I Got You" - 8. "Close Your Eyes" - 12. "Hard Out Here" (4 / 5) (live)

3rd studio album by Lily Allen following more than 5 years after It's Not Me, It's You (Feb. 2009) again features producer and songwriter Greg Kurstin, but here in a smaller part compared to the 2009-album.

Thematically, Allen stays much to the same formula of singing about relationships - explicit details of what you really wouldn't want to experience in that particular arena of your private life, and she has found her own funny way of exposing everything from sex and the downsides of her partner to artistic competition as part of contemporary music business. Yes, Allen has always been outspoken about the use of her first person's fictional stories as completely and 100% made-up narratives. Still, it's striking how these stories share similarities with that of her own life. Regardless that, she onfolds witty stories that make it all that more interesting. That is generally speaking because on Sheezus - the title being an obvious wordplay of 'She' and 'Jesus' (i.e. a she-version of Jesus) - the musical aspect doesn't deliver on a scale we have become accustomed to when speaking of Lily Allen. Stylewise, it's a mixed bag of britpop and electropop with the latter style being reduced somewhat on this one compared to the predecessor. Tracks like "L8 CMMR" and "Air Balloon" does sound like paler imitations of songs and a style presented by M.I.A. but what's most crutially missing are obvious hits.

The promotion single "Hard Out Here" is a mighty fine pick to introduce an upcoming album but when it stands alone on the actual full-length release it's not hard to understand the lukewarm reviews the album garnered. Four following singles are simply not on the same level, and clever lyrics, bucketfuls of irony, and a bunch of witty songs are not really enough to save this from being Allen's least favourable album to date. That said, Allen is still someone to watch out for with the songs she has put out on two consecutive albums. This is indeed her first miss and in the long run, Sheezus is an album that drowns in indecisiveness and immitations, and / or: generic pop sounding too much like Katy Perry, M.I.A., Kate Nash, you name it, instead of carrying an original tone of its own.

Not recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Spin 2,5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 5,4 / 10, The Guardian, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Slant 3,5 / 5, NME 1,5 / 5 stars ]

Toyah "The Changeling" (1982)

The Changeling
release date: Jun. 30, 1982
format: digital (1999 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Steve Lillywhite
label: Connoisseur Collection - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Creepy Room" - 2. "Street Creature" (tv performance) - 5. "Angel and Me" - 7. "Life in the Trees" - 8. "Dawn Chorus" - 10. "Brave New World"

4th studio album by Toyah following the band's most successful album Anthem (May 1981) and now together with one of rock music's new star producers, Steve Lillywhite, who had only just worked with XTC, Peter Gabriel, Thompson Twins, and U2. Originally released on Safari Records, the album contains ten songs nearly all written and composed by Toyah Wilcox and Joel Bogen - with one track co-written with bassist Phil Spalding. The '99 Enhanced CD edition contains an additional six tracks. As an almost entirely natural development, the band's line-up has changed once more in two positions: keyboardist Adrian Lee and drummer Nigel Glockler, who both only appeared on the '81 album are here replaced by Andy Clark and Simon Phillips, respectively.

Stylistically, it's as if the band is trying hard to stay on the same musical path with its own mix of orchestrated new wave and art pop combo, which at the same time appears to lend from 1970s symphonic rock and progressive rock with a more contemporary uptempo smartness. With this, Toyah produced another top-10 album and the band's second-highest charting album, peaking at No. #6 on the national albums chart, and the only single from the album, "Brave New World" peaked at No. #21.

Although the artistic distance from the band's most recent album is quite small, The Changeling still sounds more like a collection of outtakes from the stronger album, and at the same time you may assume that the success of the '81 release also has had something to do with the good sales figures with which the album was met here, because The Changeling as such, didn't produce any notable hits. Both lyrics and music deal with the mysterious and a fantasy world, which is suggested by the front cover. On the songs, Wilcox narrates about "Gladiators", "War", "Warriors", "Breaking free", "New destinations", " Mysterious world", etc. - something that she should cling to on the successor - and she hangs on to topics related to the future and science - and not really about alienation (as contemporaries like Siouxsie & the Banshees or Nina Hagen), but more like a kind of welcoming towards the new and unknown, and in that way you could point out that in relation to the trends, Toyah went her own way.

The band tries hard to produce a worthy sequel to their fine Anthem but ultimately fails to repeat the success - perhaps because the attempt appears too obvious. The formula and the style are more or less from the same area but the songs are not, and it's reasonable to ask if this album really deserves a reissue edition with six bonus tracks.

Not recommended.

Icehouse "Primitive Man" (1982)

Primitive Man
release date: Sep. 20, 1982
format: vinyl / cd (2002 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Iva Davies and Keith Forsey
label: Chrysalis / Diva Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Great Southern Land" - 2. "Uniform" - 3. "Hey, Little Girl" - 4. "Street Cafe" - 5. "Glam (instrumental)" - 7. "One by One" - 9. "Mysterious Thing" - 10. "Goodnight, Mr. Matthews"

2nd studio album by Australian synthpop and new wave band Icehouse following two years after the bands debut Icehouse (1980) - released under the name of Flowers. This album is quite extraordinary as it's basically a solo-project release as lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and only songwriter of the band, Iva Davies, recorded all songs of the album all on his own only with some help from co-producer Keith Forsey. The album is still released as a band effort, although, credits on the album leave no information about this. Apparently, Davies wrote and composed all songs, supplied backing vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, and drum programming, and then Forsey added percussion to the recordings. After this, the rest of the band then gathered up with Davies to promote the album for a following live tour. And for that, the band presented a new line-up with Iva Davies on vocals, guitar & keyboard, Michael Hoste on keyboards, John Lloyd on drums, and then adding three new members: Bob Kretschmar on guitar, Guy Pratt on bass, and Andy Qunta on keyboards & backing vocals.

Primitive Man was met by critical acclaim and peaked at number #3 on the national chart list, it topped the list in New Zealand, peaked at number #5 in Germany and it was a small hit in most of the Scandinavian countries. The single "Hey, Little Girl" remains the band's best-selling single. It was, however, surpassed by two positions in Australia by the release of the first single "Great Southern Land" peaking at number #5, but it didn't make noteworthy entries except for in New Zealand.

The album was the first I came across by this great Australian band. As I recall, it was quite popular in the Fall of '82 / Spring of '83. Stylistically, it blends various styles of art pop, new wave, and sophisti-pop, which really wasn't a familiar style back then - but the album really was one of the first true sophisti-pop albums leaning on Roxy Music, David Bowie, Japan, and probably influencing upcoming artists like Simple Minds, David Sylvian and The Church. At the time of the release I found it too mainstream sounding, although, in retrospect, it really is a strong and most vital album.

Highly recommended.

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

Jesu & Sun Kil Moon "30 Seconds to the Decline of Planet Earth" (2017)

30 Seconds to the Decline of Planet Earth

release date: May 5, 2017

format: digital (9 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]

producer: Mark Kozelek & Justin Broadrick

label: Caldo Verde - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "You Are Me and I Am You" - 3. "Needles Disney" - 4. "The Greatest Conversation Ever in the History of the Universe" - 5. "He's Bad" - 6. "Bombs" - 7. "Twenty Something"

2nd collaborative work by electronic artist Jesu (aka Justin Broadrick) and alt. folk artist Mark Kozelek released on Kozelek's label Caldo Verde. The first album by these two isn't much more than the year old album Jesu / Sun Kil Moon (Jan. 2016).

Stylewise, this is not just a second chapter to his joint-productions with Broadrick as this appears more in line with some of Kozelek's other recent releases, which means without electric and / or rock-instrumentation as backing, as was the case with the Jesu / Sun Kil Moon album. Instead, this turns out like another chapter to Kozelek's improv-sounding and spoken-word-like progressive experimental and long sessions about everything and nothing - and mostly: small dairy-snippets from recent impressions of ordinary lived life and small conflicts with people he meets on any random day in his everyday life. And yes I know, some would say it's ramblings, or they would describe it as babbling along. Anyway, to me it's both, meaning sometimes I get why people have negative feelings about it, and then, at other times I'm equally entertained. Musically, this album is more like subdued electronic / experimental backing music by Jesu. Mark Kozelek has recently excelled in this type of spoken-word compositions on solo releases either using his name, Mark Kozelek, e.g. on Night Talks (ep) (Mar. 2017), and on solo releases as Sun Kil Moon, e.g. on Universal Themes (Jun. 2015) as well as on his most recent Sun Kil Moon album Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood (Feb. 2017). In that sense, this one sounds more than a new chapter to that as opposed to a natural follow-up to his and Broadrick's first collaboration album - there's just a longer distance to that.

Regardless, if Kozelek issues music in his own name, as Sun Kil Moon, or he invites someone else in as collaborator, the end-result comes close to something installed and directed by Mark Kozelek. Track #4 and #5 here are the album's highlights and they both follow a pattern in Kozelek's artistic progression where he dwelves on story-telling in a progressive set-up of sorts, arrangements where the backing instrumentation works as sound tapestry, and when it really works, it comes out as a fascinating synergy. The downside is twofold: it sounds similar, and sometimes much alike other fine tracks, and often it doen't really work, but there are always these glimpses of 'whoah! That's just gooood.' Pure sunbeams.

I find that this is easily bettering their first album out where Broadrick perhaps brought some original remains of alt. rock and industrial rock to the table that I didn't enjoy in the company of Kozelek.

This ain't bad. It may not be great, but there's definitely more to it than what first meets the ears, and if granted attention, it's funny, entertaining, and really off but in that non-politically correct way of intentionally who gives a f*c# anyway!

[ 👍allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, PopMatters 3 / 5 stars ]

Sinéad O'Connor "Throw Down Your Arms" (2005)

Throw Down Your Arms

release date: Oct. 4. 2005

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]

producer: Sly and Robbie

label: Chocolate and Vanilla - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 2. "Marcus Garvey" - 4. "He Prayed" - 6. "Curly Locks" - 8. "Prophet Has Arise" - 9. "Downpressor Man" - 10. "Throw Down Your Arms" - 12. "War"

7th studio album by Sinéad O'Connor follows three years after the fine but mostly neglected Sean-Nós Nua (Oct. 2002), and much like was the case with the former, this album consists of newly arranged cover songs. Before this she released the 2-disc compilation She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty (Sep. 2003) consisting of 'rare' recordings (soundtrack songs, collaborations, B-sides) and one cd consisting of a live concert from 2002. O'Connor had been outspoken about this being her final album. It does make sense in the way it was launched and the scope of it, but obviously she changed her mind about this. Also, earlier this year the compilation Collaborations (Jun. 2005) was released by EMI / Capitol - basically a collection of songs O'Connor had made with other artists while signed on Ensign / Chrysalis.

Throw Down Your Arms is O'Connor paying tribute to the genre of reggae. She had early on in her career been influenced by reggae, and later on she also found comfort in the culture of rastafari. The album is one of a few without John Reynolds, and instead the album has been recorded in Kingston, Jamaica and produced by the legendary duo of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, who also plays drums and bass on the album.

As a Sinéad O'Connor release the album does fall far from her initial records, and also when comparing with Universal Mother (1994) and Faith and Courage (2000), but as a tribute to a whole genre it works quite fine. It doesn't add much to the great selection of songs but of course O'Connor's vocal provides a certain novelty that turns it into something more.

For me, the album has a touch of obscurity to it that both makes it interesting / fascinating and worth checking out, and then it only really makes me wanna listen to the originals, which in a way isn't a bad thing. That could be said about her Am I Not Your Girl? album, but this is actually paying tribute to the originals instead of being something entirely diverse. It's not bad and then it's neither great.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Blender, 👉The Guardian 3 / 5, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]

Rum 37 "Guldstol mod yderste kaj" (2017)

Guldstol mod yderste kaj

release date: Jan. 27, 2017

format: vinyl (TARGET1703LP) / digital (10 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Rum 37?

label: Target - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Caligula" - 3. "L.L.R." - 4. "Der går et smil gennem skovene i år" - 5. "Mestervaerk" - 6. "Kalifornien" - 8. "Brænder dæk" - 10. "Svanerne sang"

2nd full-length album by Rum 37 follows 4½ years after Mellem rum (Oct. 2012). Like the band's self-titled ep debut Rum 37 from 2011, no producer credits are listed on the album, only recording, mixing, and mastering personnel, and the album is recorded by Klaus Sandberg and Rum 37. The main reason to the long interval from their most recent release to this must be attributed the fact that during the recording sessions in 2014 - with intentions to release the album in late 2014 / early 2015 - drummer Mikkel Lumbye all of a sudden passed away, Nov. 2014, 37 years old, leaving the band reduced to a trio of vocalist Kristian Helmuth, guitarist Camillo (Gino) Askjær, and bassist Søren Adolph. The release was naturally much delayed and has only been realised with the aid from friends and the support from former associates [source: targetgroup.dk].

All songs are credited Rum 37. The album contains ten tracks - tracks #2 and #9 are short instrumentals - with a total time running just below 37 minutes. The end track "Svanerne sang" is the longest composition with a playing time of 7 minutes.

Guldstol mod yderste kaj [translates to strangely sounding 'Sedan Chair on the Last Pier'] (the title is a line from "Caligula") is with lyrics entirely in Danish and when comparing with the 2011 and 2012 albums, it's evident that the band here has transformed to something of more substance. The music is still in the light-end of alt. rock and indie pop with a strong influence from other Danish acts, such as Love Shop, Minds of 99, and Mellemblond, and with a strong musical influence from Swedish band Kent, however, whether the band takes notes from this or that, they here appear in their most original shape so far, which ultimately makes Guldstol mod yderste kaj a more than well-crafted album. The album was met by positive reviews and following the album release, the band was expanded to a quartet as drummer Rasmus Holmboe was included as official member. Rum 37 played a few concerts in 2017 and now appears to be on a hiatus. There are no further info to be found regarding touring dates or other news, and the band's Facebook-profile hasn't been updated since 2017, so Guldstol mod yderste kaj remains the most recent release from the band and it could very likely be the final release by this promising quartet.

Recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6, GFRock.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

Gróa "Gróa" (2018)

Gróa [debut]

release date: Apr. 26, 2018

format: digital (7 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: ?

label: Post-dreifing - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Prakkari" - 2. "Downward Dog" (live) - 3. "Ocean Is Amber" - 4. "EoEo" (live) - 7. "Lokadans (Onofos)"

Studio album debut by Icelandic three-piece Gróa comes with an album title stylised in capital letters. The name of the band is taken from Norse mythology and the völva, and goddess of knowledge named Gróa. The trio consists of the two Maríudóttir sisters: drummer Hrafnhildur Einars Maríudóttir (aka Hrabba) and younger sister Karólína Einars Maríudóttir (aka Karó) on guitar and lead vocals teamed up with bassist Fríða Björg Pétursdóttir.

The trio plays an experimental type of art punk, which here appears inspired by punk rock, post-punk, and noise rock, but it's also tempting to list Björk, The Sugarcubes, and Kukl as natural inspiration sources, although, there's also an original tone burried in these quite diverse compositions. This album of seven tracks [sold on bandcamp] with a total running time of just over 23 minutes is a fine and refreshing short take on established styles, and it will be exciting to follow the trio in a near future, as they manage to come out with something to offer other than the ordinary, which succeeds both in terms of melody and as an alternative to mainstream music.

Recommended.