Mogwai "The Bad Fire" (2025)

The Bad Fire

release date: Jan 24, 2025

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: John Congleton

label: Rock Action - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "God Gets You Back" - 2. "Hi Chaos" - 4. "Fanzine Made of Flesh" - 6. "If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others" - 7. "18 Volcanoes" - 9. "Lion Rumpus"

11th studio album by Scottish band Mogwai following four years after As the Love Continues (Feb. 2021) sees a turn to hot producer name of John Congleton (Lana Del Rey, The Killers, Sharon Van Etten, Modest Mouse, St. Vincent,... to name a few) - a name that, imo, doesn't appear as a natural first choice, but hey, the band, or the managers may have thought they were in need of a distribution hack (?). Perhaps, Dave Fridmann didn't have the time? I think Fridmann have proved that he suits the band really really well, and he has always been a guarantee of a prominent production.

Compared to the excellent 2021 album, it's not a completely different release but it does feel like an inferior collection of compositions where the usual wide span has been narrowed in - confined - restricted, and the end result is of something where there's definitely steam but not enough coal to make the difference. The exceptions are "Hi Chaos", which sounds more like a left-over bonus track from the '21-album and "Fanzine Made of Flesh", which is the closest the band has been to switch to indie pop.

The Bad Fire is not a poor album and far from it, but after such a great achievement it does feel as inferior. What I miss here is a stronger direction - what is it really? It's obvious that the band has come a long way since Come on Die Young (1999) and that synths have by now become a more integral part of the band's primary instrumentation but where As the Love Continues showcased a fine mix that allowed for guitars to be fully heard side by side or together with huge electronic arrangements, this new outing sort of blends everything into one huge pot where new boundaries are no longer being pushed or new soil is investigated. To me, this is undoubtedly Mogwai, which means it can't be bad, and it never is. It's just that they sound like the music has been restricted from delivering as freely as it could.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Mojo 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7,4 / 10, Rolling Stone, 👍PopMatters 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Sarah Vaughan "Crazy and Mixed Up" (1982)

Crazy and Mixed Up

release date: 1982

format: vinyl / cd (1985 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,85]

producer: Sarah Vaughan

label: Pablo Records - nationality: USA

Studio album by Sarah Vaughan released on the Pablo label is recognised as one her better albums in the last decade of a long career. The album follows the release of Send in the Clowns (1981) recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra also on Pablo. Crazy and Mixed Up is a collection of standards and vocal jazz songs, which count the two Rodgers & Hart songs "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and "You Are Too Beautiful", the Kosma and Prévet composition "Autumn Leaves" (org. ""Les Feuilles mortes") with English lyrics by Johnny Mercer, the Haymes and Brandt classic "That's All", and four other fine and nicely fitting compositions by various others - all showing that Vaughan in her late 50s still is alive and kicking.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 4 / 4 stars ]

Tindersticks "Soft Tissue" (2024)

Soft Tissue

release date: Sep. 13, 2024

format: vinyl (Lucky Dog41LP) / digital (9 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]

producer: Stuart A. Staples

label: Lucky Dog / City Slang - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "New World" - 3. "Nancy" - 4. "Falling, the Light" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Always a Stranger" (4 / 5) - "The Secret of Breathing" - 3. "Turned My Back" (4 / 5) - 4. "Soon to Be April"

14th studio album by Tindersticks following 3½ years after Distractions (Feb. 2021) is as usual produced by songwriter and front-figure Stuart Staples, who is credited all songs, two tracks (#A4 and #B4) are co-composed with bassist and keyboardist Dan McKinna.

From scratch on, it's evident that Soft Tissue goes in quite a different direction than the electronic bits suggested on the predecessor - except for the drum-programming heard on track #2 "Don't Walk, Run". These eight / nine songs - the vinyl issue comes with eight tracks, the digital with a ninth bonus track "New World (Edit)" - are kept at more normal running lengths varrying from 3:35 to 6:15 mins, but what's most striking is a strong dominance of strings - making it a characteristic chamber pop album. And then, when strings are not dominating the song arrangement, keyboards either hold focus with a sound of an accordion or a Wurlitzer piano or an organ are often taking the leading stance. Perhaps with the exception of track #B3, which is a soul-like chorus-based warm side-step, but overall the songs are arranged in quiet, simple, and mellow tones. Ordinary drums are hardly heard throughout the album - instead, there's either subtle jazz-like percussion, glockenspiel, bells, or bongos as musical accompanies.

Once again, it's an album where Staples' narating and haunted vocal dominate the picture, but it's done with delicacy and that neccesary variation that makes it all so much more appetising.

As with the 2021 album, cover art is credited Staples' daughter Sidonie Osborne Staples.

Tindersticks Ince again deliver a solid and strong collection of songs to it's long list of modern staples.

Recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, 👍The Guardian 4 / 5, Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

The Dukes of Stratosphear "25 O'Clock" (1985)

25 O'Clock

release date: Apr. 1, 1985

format: cd (2009 remaster - APECD023)

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

producer: John Leckie, Swami Anand Nagara, The Dukes

label: Ape House - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "25 O'Clock" - 2. "Bike Ride to the Moon" - 3. "My Love Explodes" - 4. "What in the World??…" - 5. "Your Gold Dress" - 6. "The Mole From the Ministry" - 13 "Black Jewelled Serpent of Sound (Radio Caroline Edit)" - 14. "Open a Can of Human Beans" - 15. "Tin Toy Clockwork Train"

Debut album by project-band The Dukes of Stratosphear - basically XTC having fun playing psychedelic rock the way it sounded in the mid to late 1960s. The original album released on Virgin Records is a six-track Mini-album with a total running length of less than 27 mins, and the 2009 remaster (issued on Andy Partridge's label Ape House) add another nine tracks of demos and outtakes extending the running length to 49 mins. At the time, XTC was a trio of vocalist & guitarist Andy Partridge, vocalist & guitarist Colin Moulding, and lead guitarist & keyboardist Dave Gregory, and with the inclusion of Dave's brother Ian on drums, they here perform as The Dukes. On the album they're credited as Sir John Johns, The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelius Plum, and E.I.E.I. Owen [!]. Producer John Leckie is credited both with his actual name and with his alias: Swami Anand Nagara.

Stylewise, it's a strong attempt in producing music with a Syd Barrett-version of Pink Floyd in mind. Alledgedly, everything was played and recorded with old equipment [wiki about the album].

For most of their career, XTC has played with elements of psychedelic rock - on later albums they're exponents of neo-psychedelic rock, and it's obvious how this side-project may be seen in the stylistic progression of XTC - especially considering the traits of the albums that followed, e.g.: Skylarking (1986), Oranges & Lemons (1989), Nonsuch (1992), Apple Venus Volume 1 (1998).

The album was promoted by Virgin as an actual debut of sorts - a collection of 1960s compositions made by an unknown act, which finally had been released. Most tellingly, the album sold twice as many records as the predecessor The Big Express (Oct. 1984) by XTC at a time when no one knew of the actual identity of the band.

25 O'Clock is a powerful album, and both as original psychedelic rock and in the discography of XTC. It's an album that may require some time accustomising and although released on April Fools' Day and exposing plentiful of British humour the music is not entirely meant as a joke.

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

The Smile "Cutouts" (2024)

Cutouts

release date: Oct. 4, 2024

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Sam Petts-Davies

label: XL Recordings - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Foreign Spies" - 2. "Instant Psalm" (4 / 5) - 3. "Zero Sum" - 4. "Colours Fly" - 8. "The Slip" - 9. "No Words" - 10. "Bodies Laughing" (live)

3rd full lenght from The Smile follows only 9 months after Wall of Eyes (Jan. 2024) and it's a collection of outtakes - 'cutouts' from the same recording sessions that led to the predecessor. It's a total of ten tracks with a running length of approx. 44 mins.

Not surprisingly, this new album sounds much like the former, and at a first listen it doesn't bring out new sensational singles but given some time, it may actually fall out as the better of the two. It's not that Johnny Greenwood and Thom Yorke have neglected the experimental side in their many former releases, and Radiohead wasn't exactly famous for their standard rhythm section but it appears that with the inclusion of drummer Tom Skinner (Sons of Kemet), there has been a valuable addition of jazz vibe to Yorke and Greenwood's drafts. Skinner has an exploring nature where syncopation adds up on the natural weirdness of Greenwood and Yorke compositions, which turns everything into synchronised improvs with a strong sense of creative coherence, and the jazz element makes it extremely vibrant. Just as some critics suggest, I think the bottom-line of Cutouts is that it represents more free improvs thus making it more experimental, and yet the selection of compositions make a fine coherent whole where you really get to hear what great musicians they all are. Which of these two releases you prefer is a matter of taste, and in the long run, they may be regarded much more on par.

For the time being, I prefer this one. I think, i's a fine grower - but gosh, imagine they had originally released it as a double album!

Recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com, Slant 3,5, The Guardian, NME, 👉Pitchfork 8 / 10, 😲MusicOMH 5 / 5 stars ]

Signe Svendsen "Hvem vil ikke elskes igen" (2022)

Hvem vil ikke elskes igen

release date Oct. 14, 2022

format: vinyl (LGLP2201) / digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]

producer: Lars Skjærbæk

label: Lydia Gramophone - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Tiden" - 2. "Du fik hendes øjne" - 3. "Hvem vil ikke elskes igen" - 4. "Sig at solen rejser sig" - 6. "Ville give dig alt" - 7. "Hun sagde det" - 9 "Lydia" - 10. "Uden aftale"

5th studio album by Signe Svendsen following a little more than 2½ years after Det forlyder (Jan. 2020) is like all of her albums produced by Skjærbæk, who also contributes on guitars, mandolin, synths, and on backing vocals - his younger brother Troels plays bass, and Lars' daughter Sofie Juliane is backing vocalist. The album has been made with a handful of handpicked musicians, which also include multi-instrumentalist Christoffer Møller, who has often teamed up with Skjærbæk as acclaimed producer-duo Mahler & Bir. Svendsen's own label Lydia Gramophone is named after her grandmother, and she's the centre of the strong "Lydia" (track #9), where Svendsen recounts the harrowing fate of her grandmother.

Hvem vil ikke elskes igen ['Who Wouldn't Be Loved Again'] follows Svendsen's mellow-styled folk, ballad-line of singer / songwriter releases. The pen has been sharpened and the songs appear more personal and really suit the minimalist musical expression on what clearly comes out as Svendsen's best album to date. This is truly an album without fillers and imho, it's the Danish album of the year.

Highly recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6, Politiken, BT 5 / 6 stars ]

The American Breed "Bend Me, Shape Me" (1967) (single)

Bend Me, Shape Me, 7'' single

release date: 1967

format: vinyl (KSS 6)

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

producer: Bill Traut

label: Stateside - nationality: USA

Track highlights: A) "Bend Me, Shape Me" (4 / 5) (other mix) - - B) "Mindrocker"

Single by The American Breed taken from the forthcoming second album Bend Me, Shape Me (Feb. '68). Also the B-side appears on the same album. The title song may have been an international hit thanks to this version but originally, it's a song by the American songwriter duo Scott English and Larry Weiss. About one year earlier, the song was first released by another American band: The Outsiders, and their version of the song is found on the band's third album In (released Feb. '67 but recorded in '66). In between these two, another band made the first cover of the song and that was the all-girl group The Models with their only (single) release in 1966 [The Models' version] (released prior to The Outsiders' album but recorded after). It's peculiar listenening to these highly different three versions of the same song and still being all released within a year's time. In retrospect, I think the version by The Models appears as the most daring with its acid, psychedelic, and Phil Spector-like production. In that regard, The Outsiders' version is more stripped down and a more straight song but that's also the one with the purest rock appeal held in a typical garage rock style. And then The American Breed came along and made it an international hit song with a much bolder mainstream appeal. Listening to the two earlier versions, it does appear that The American Breed take up some of the arrangements from both earlier recordings albeit it's nevertheless the most polished version of these three recordings. The song has later been covered by various other acts but over the years, it's The American Breed, who has gone down in music history with the most wide-spread rendition of this fine song.

This very single, was one of my favourites from when I was 10-14 years old. I guess, my brother must have purchased it at some early point before he threw himself over British psychedelic rock of the 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.

Tommy Steele "Singing the Blues" (1957) (ep)

Singing the Blues, 7'' EP

release date: Feb. 1957

format: vinyl (DFE 6389) (1957 repress)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,45]

producer: ?

label: Decca - nationality: Engalnd, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Singing the Blues" - 2. "Rebel Rock" - - B) 1. "Knee Deep in the Blues" - 2. "Elevator Rock"

EP release by Tommy Steele - on the the back cover and on vinyl labels, this is credited 'Tommy Steele and the Steelmen'. Tracks #A1 and #B1 are credited American songwriter Melvin Endsley and both #A2 and #B2 are songs written by Tommy Steele. Endsley's title song was a major hit in the US for Guy Mitchell, which was released almost simultaneously with Steele's version, which on the other hand became a British number 1 hit and a hit song all over Europe. Puzzlingly, both Mitchell and Steele's versions exchanged places at the top of the singles charts in several countries.

This particular repress comes from my parent's record collection. I clearly recall playing this at 7-12 years of age, and it was an early favourite of mine at a time when I mostly enjoyed music by The Beatles, country, beat, and rock & roll. I also remember the song "A Handful of Songs" (taken from the soundtrack album The Tommy Steele Story from May 1957) as probably the most popular song by Steele in my childhood years. The early stage performances with Steele miming to his most popular songs showcased Steele as a more well-tempered Bill Haley and Elvis Presley type of clone, which I guess made rock & roll more likeable for those who associated rock & roll with bad-mannered and uncontrollable youngsters. Tommy Steele has gone down in history as the first British star of rock & roll but he was soon followed by Cliff Richard as a more enduring pop-star.

In retrospect, this ep is an important document of early rock & roll history, but it also puts Steele in a category of his own trying hard to copy American icons without actually having much to offer himself. Yes, he helped transforming rock & roll into something more digestible, he exemplified a new type of rock-and-roller but he mainly delivered via covering others. On this ep, Steele's own two contributions sound heavily inspired by Bill Haley and Chuck Berry, and his second album out, the soundtrack to The Tommy Steele Story says much about form over matter with only little relevance and understanding to how music becomes legend. That said, Steele certainly has a place in the story books on how rock & roll became an international phenomenon and he plays a major part in the stylistic evolution of popular 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.

Barry Ryan "We Did It Together" (1970) (single)

We Did It Together, 7'' single

release date: 1970

format: vinyl

[single rate: 2 / 5] [2,18]

producer: Paul Ryan

label: Polydor - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "We Did It Together" - - B) "Lay Down"

Single release by English songwriter (and photographer), Barry Ryan (Sapherson, aka Barry Davison) of the twin-brother duo 'Paul & Barry Ryan'. This single seems to stem from a time when Barry had concentrated on a solo career while twin-brother Paul assisted him in writing songs and producing, and the title track somehow appear like a most fitting desription of how the two brothers found their way in show business.

This particular Danish print probably comes from my older brother's record collection. I do recall playing this at 7-12 years of age, but it never caught my interest. Stylewise, it sounds much inspired by The Walker Brothers with a love for heavy orchestrated arrangements. Barry and Paul did experience som success after Barry went solo, e.g. with the single hit "Eloise" (1968) (much later also a hit for punk rock band The Damned).

~ ~ ~

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.

Johnny Madsen "Godt nyt" (2015)

Godt nyt

release date: Sep. 25, 2015

format: cd

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

producer: Chief 1 (aka Lars Pedersen)

label: REO / Universal - nationality: Denmark

16th and final studio solo album by Johnny Madsen. This is posted on the day it was publicly known that Madsen had passed away, Nov. 4, 2024 (age 73). The album is the only one by Madsen that I purchased shortly after it came out. I never was a huge fan but I really enjoyed much of the music he made from 1982 to 2015, and also in the lasting trio Dalton together with Lars Lilholt and Allan Olsen. I think, I first noticed one of his songs after he had launched his third album Chinatown, Yellow Moon og Den Sorte Fugl in 1987 when I came across the title song and "Halgal halbal" - two songs that had some radio airplay. I thought of these songs as highly original and not without appeal, although, I wasn't a big fan of the blues, and simply wasn't ready for his sometimes surreal original take on the genre back then. His follow-up Udenfor sæsonen (Aug. 1988) was a national breakthrough and it's an album that brought several classics with it, incl. the title track, "Færgemanden", "Komadibovser", and "Tidlig mandag morgen". With that album, he established himself as a contemporary artist with an unusual strong original take on soft blues rock in a most original style and certainly notable for his ear for his local dialect, garnered with strong lyrics and his rasping singing voice.

Godt nyt ['Good news'] may sound like an inappropriate title to pick on this day, but with Madsen's sense for the surreal, an abundance of irony, and a gift for word-play, this title could be as good as any to pay tribute to his gifted soul. The album provides us with a mature and personal look on modern life with well-placed comments on social media, globalism, traditions, and smaller things from everyday life. I really like this one. It both contain great hooks, well-crafted and powerful arrangements but it also has a certain Lo-Fi tone to it that makes you think of something echoing early rehearsals in an organic kind of way, as an ingredient of authenticity, which is a quality I think stick to all his records. He leaves us with a solid discography that I need to dig more into 'cause his music is there, and I do know several of his albums, and they're definitely all worth knowing.

Thank you for the music, Johnny. Keep rockin'!

The Walker Brothers "Living Above Your Head" (1966) (single)

Living Above Your Head, 7'' single

release date: 1966

format: vinyl

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

producer: John Franz

label: Philips - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "Living Above Your Head" - - B) "Young Man Cried"

Single release by US pop trio The Walker Brothers consisting of John Walker (aka John Maus), Scott Walker (aka Noel Scott Engel), and Gary Walker (aka Gary Leeds) none of which were related. The single is a Spanish, Dutch, and Danish only release with the title track taken from the trio's second album Portrait (1966). The title track is a cover by US pop group Jay & The Americans taken [original] from the album Living Above Your Head (1966) - the B-side is credited Scott Walker and producer John Franz.

This particular Danish print comes from my parents' record collection. I recall playing this at 7-12 years of age, and remember finding it one of my prefered singles. Stylewise, it's vocal harmony-based baroque pop.

~ ~ ~

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.

Illeborg & Lysdal "Hjertekamre" (2004)

Hjertekamre

release date: 2004

format: cd (APCD 60067)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]

producer: Jens Lysdal

label: ArtPeople - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Hjertekamre" - 2. "Kan ikke huske" - 3. "Den mælkehvide måne" - 5. "På må og få" - 9. "Alt kan gå i stå" - 11. "Paradis"

Collaboration album by the two folk and singer / songwriter soloists Laura Illeborg and Jens Lysdal. Admittedly, neither have taken up much space in my music collection, as I have always found it difficult to listen to Danish contemporary soft folk which mostly comes with bonds to a schlager genre I associate with kitch and an indefinable ingredient of something non-professional, which of course is completely ungrounded and also is an undeserved criticism. I have no idea from where that has its foundation, but when consciously approaching music you tend to reject, for whatever reason and all because of a judgemental position, not to forget (ugly) double-standards - meaning: the poorest reasons of all, then you should instead try to be more open-minded and focus on a want to dig out an understanding of the obvious qualities that many others see so easily.

The sudden death of Laura Illeborg early October this year made me curious about her music, as I simply had no idea of what she had produced. Illeborg only lived to be 55 years of age but she has made a solid list of releases in what I understand is a varied discography. Initially, she performed as backing vocalist on various releases for a vast number of artists from all genres and styles, and from 1996 as soloist - her debut album is Lyv mig natten lys (1996) - as collaborator, and featuring vocalist, she has long gone ensured her name in Danish music history. Jens Lysdal is likewise an artist who started out accompanying others, primarily as guitarist and backing vocalist, after which he initiated a solo career with A Matter of Time (1995). Lysdal is a multi-facetted musician with roots in jazz, folk, country, and everything in between and close by, and in company with Illeborg the two showcase a wide repertoire in a soft corner of contemporary Danish folk. And I do enjoy it. The album contains 11 songs of which nine have lyrics by Illebord and music by Lysdal. Track #8 is co-written by Lysdal, and the end-track is exclusively credited Lysdal, who also performs as multi-instrumentalist and as producer. Stylewise, you could label it ballads with elements from jazz, pop, and folk, and it's music arranged with a classic set of minimal instrumentation, focusing on vocal, electric (jazz) guitar, bass, percussion and a small doze of keyboard. It's music made with melancholy as a centre point but balanced with a lightness running through the whole album. Some songs stand more alone as quiet vocal performances, while others engage with more tempo without being uptempo arrangements.

Laura Illeborg performs with her strong original vocal, and she obviously masters the slow intimate parts as well as more uptempo pop variants. No wonder, she has a long record as featuring vocalist in the studio, and together, Illeborg and Lysdal appear like a strong duo. In Illeborg's discography, the album follows what may be regarded as her national breakthrough, the album Lidt in Love (2002), and it's succeeded by the well-received album God vagt (2007).

Hjertekamre is a solid and well-executed album in the soft corner of folk that should appeal to fans of jazz, ballads, and folk.

Daniel Norgren "Wooh Dang" (2019)

Wooh Dang

release date: Apr. 19, 2019

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

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]

producer: Daniel Norgren

label: Superpuma / self-released - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 2. "The Flow" - 3. "Dandelion Time" - 4. "The Power" (4 / 5) (live) - 5. "Rolling Rolling Rolling" - 6. "So Glad" - 8. "The Day That´s Just Begun" (live on KEXP)

[ full perfomance on KEXP ]

Studio album by Swedish guitarist and songwriter Daniel Norgren originally released on vinyl and cd on Superpuma Records, and released as digital album via Norgren's bandcamp profile. The album is filed as Norgren's seventh full-length studio album and it follows two studio albums released in 2015: The Green Stone (Oct. 2015) and Alabursy (Apr. 2015). Since then, he has released a US-promotion compilation Skogens frukter (May. 2017) released on vinyl for the American market only.

I only recently knowingly discovered the music by Norgren. I was watching the 2022 Italian film "Le otto montagne" ("The Eight Mountains"), an adaptation by directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeerschof of the 2016 novel debut by Paolo Cognetti, and I then made sure to pay attention to the music credits at the end of the film, and there I noticed that Daniel Norgren was credited all music. The music score was a most fitting mesmerising dimension to a beautiful film and it left me curious to check out more about this artist. I then discovered Norgren's bandcamp site - understood he is Swedish, although, I had been convinced it was an American artist - I then purchased several of his digital albums after receiving Wooh Dang, which appears to be his most recent studio album, and one that made me want more. All of his albums, or at least all of his seven full-length studio albums that I have come to know of, seem differently shaped. From his first album out Kerosene Dreams (2006) - an album which for some reason isn't included on his bandcamp site and an album I have come to know of via a major streaming service (and which isn't part of my six purchases) - through to Outskirts (2008) and Horrifying Deatheating Bloodspider (2010), Norgren appears much influenced by especially Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart, and then from Buck (2013), Alabursy and Green Stone, his music influences appear more complex with a stronger country foundation, and they all represent music with bonds to more original blues traditions with a bolder accentuated folk at the base, and then you could also say similar things of his more apparent experimental approach on his later albums.

Wooh Dang is modern indie folk with an experimental touch from someone who must be familiar with bluegrass, roots rock and a whole world of country. In that way, it's hard to pin out other Swedish acts as natural influences when Norgren's touch mostly sounds if shaped through the ages of American outback culture. Daniel Norgren is not only a great songwriter and composer, he also narrates and sings in a highly original tone. You can't always tell where it's going, but the journey, so far, is only a most delightful and pleasant one.

Highly recommended.

👉[ Norgren on bandcamp]

Paul Weller "66" (2024)

66

release date: May 24, 2024

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]

producer: Paul Weller

label: Polydor - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Ship of Fools" - 2. "Flying Fish" - 4. "Nothing" (4 / 5) - 5. "My Best Friend's Coat" - 6. "Rise Up Singing" - 7. "I Woke Up" - 9. "Sleepy Hollow" - 11. "Soul Wandering" (4 / 5)

17th studio album by Paul Weller following three years after Fat Pop (Volume 1) (May 2021) is not the perhaps expected Volume 2, when focussing on the title - it's more than close enough though, 'cause fact is, Weller certainly has found his melody treasure box in recent years and simply seems unable to make an unrelevant album. By the way, 66 has a double meaning in that it both refers to the year 1966 and a time when music came through as something in strong growth, production-wise, terms of more fully arrangements, and to specific soul-hits of that year - the front cover art by Peter Blake (who also made the cover for Stanley Road) sets the tone of that particular year quite nicely - and then of course the title hints at his current age. The album is released the day before his 66th birthday and it's Weller's first in a long series not to feature his near usual musical kindred: engineer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and co-composer Jan 'Stan' Kybert; however, the album both feature stable instrumentalists as well as several more prominent appearances, which count Suggs (aka Graham McPherson of Madness), Bobby Gillespie (of Primal Scream), Christophe Vaillant (of Le SuperHomard), Erland Copper, Steve Cradock, Noel Gallagher, Richard Hawley, Dr. Robert (aka Robert Howard), and Hannah Peel. For this, Weller has both written and composed, but also with inspiration from other songwriters found matching melodies, or simply co-written songs with various others. The remarkable side to that is a strong coherent collection of diverse songs, where Weller's vocal hardly ever sounded this expressive.

The album might as well be titled 'Volume 2 (66)' or something similar as it takes up the baton from the 2021 album. It's not strictly from the same night out on town as the '21 album came with more uptempo songs and this one appears more of a mellow-mooded breed - perhaps followed by a melancholy considering all the years gone by? Some tracks contain a certain The Style Council touch, at least when speaking Café Bleu-period quality, a nostalgic tendency also found on his most recent predecessors. And generally speaking, it's a well-balanced album soothing in blue and misty colours of softness that nevertheless still welcomes you inside with the impossible mix of musical aristocracy and working-class appeal and with a strong sense for stylistic diversity without losing one bit of coherency. On top of that, the melodies stand next to one another seeking your attention - it's simply filled with strong songs and already applies for the title as one of his majors. Impressive, that's what this is, and naturally highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, 👍The Guardian, 4 / 5, Clash 3,5 / 5, Record Collector 5 / 5 stars ]

Bo Sundström "Det kanske händer" (2021)

Det kanske händer

release date: Feb. 19, 2021

format: vinyl / cd

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

producer: Jonas Kullhammar

label: Columbia / Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

3rd solo album by Bo Sundström and the follow-up to his acclaimed 2018 vocal jazz album Mitt dumma jag - svensk jazz is much of a second coming to an established formula. The title track ['It Might Happen'] is a free translation of classic "It Could Happen to You" written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke. It's all predominantly old vocal jazz classics in new arrangements with translated lyrics to a common tone to make one coherent whole of originals covering a wider range of genres and styles, and once again, it's a sheer pleasure to listen to Sundström and his hand-picked backing band. One original track by Sundström has also found its way to another mighty fine acchievement, and in this outing, I think Sundström acchieves more at a time when Bo Kaspers Orkester appears to have lost some steam. We only have to see if he will take some of this new-found success back to the band playground and perhaps introduce us to a full circle with BKO returning to bolder jazz influence. I for one, would like to see that instead of a band who appears too eager to follow contemporary patterns. But that aside, there's an ocean of classic folk, standards and vocal jazz songs to rewrite, re-arrange and to release as future solo albums, and I'm pretty convinced there will be a growing audience for this 'cause Sundström just seems to have found his way.

Recommended.

Cassandra Jenkins "My Light, My Destroyer" (2024)

My Light, My Destroyer

release date: Jul. 12, 2024

format: vinyl / digital (18 x File, FLAC) (Deluxe Edition)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]

producer: Andrew Lappin, Cassandra Jenkins

label: Dead Oceans - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Devotion" (4 / 5) - 2. "Clams Casino" - 3. "Delphinium Blue" (4 / 5) - 5. "Aurora, IL" - 6. "Betelgeuse" (4 / 5) - 7. "Omakase" (4 / 5) - 9. "Petco" - 11. "Tape and Tissue" - 12. "Only One" - *15. "Hailey / Hayley (Only One)" - *17. "Stardust"

* Bonus track on Deluxe Edition

3rd studio album by Cassandra Jenkins following the acclaimed An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (Feb. 2021) and more recently the following release of demos and outtakes released as (An Overview on) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (Nov. 2021). The standard vinyl and cd issues of the album contains 13 tracks with a total running time of just under 37 minutes. The digital Deluxe Edition (and the 2-disc cd issue) extends the running time to 52 minutes [ find it on bandcamp ]. The title of the album comes from the song "Omakase" and its chorus lines: "My lover - My light - My destroyer - My meteorite".

The album is held in the same original style and tone as her 2021 album. It's therefore made with a distinct sense for sophistication. It's a perfect blend of new age, jazz, indie rock, sophisti-pop, and with delicate use of field recordings. A couple of the bonus tracks are more experimental with bold use of field recordings and less focus on coherency - especially track #17, "Stardust" appears as one long experimental. The album is, however, no less than yet another amazing release. The whole album is meant for attentive listening and it works as a complete work - and more so than a collection of individual songs.

My Light, My Destroyer is one of this year's absolute best albums. For now, it's in my top-3, but I only suspect it to go higher.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut 4,5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 8,0 / 10, 👍Mojo, The Guardian, Slant 4 / 5 stars ]

Jessica Pratt "Here in the Pitch" (2024)

Here in the Pitch

release date: May 3, 2024

format: digital (9 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Jessica Pratt & Al Carlson; Peter Mudge; Matt McDermott

label: City Slang - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Life Is" (TV performance) - 2. "Better Hate" (4 / 5) - 3. "World on a String" (4 / 5) - 4. "Get Your Head Out" - 7. "Empires Never Knows" - 9. "The Last Year"

[ Live on KEXP ]

4th studio album by Californian folk artist Jessica Pratt, which follows more than five years after Quiet Signs (Feb. 2019), and just like that this new album counts nine tracks and a total running time of just under 28 minutes.

It's not far from her 2019 album, but that doesn't necessarily mean lesser. Listening to Pratt in 2024 is like being transported on a time machine revisting the 1960s easy listening / baroque pop-period where she could have listened to Phil Spector, The Carpenters, Nick Drake, and / or Stan Getz and João Gilberto. It's... oh so quiet, a bit other-worldly but altogether very relaxing and comforting like a plaid gently swept over your cold legs on a Winter's night. Pratt has a distinct laid-back alto vocal. At times she reminds me of Richard Hawley but mostly she sounds like no one else, and Here in the Pitch is simply Pratt's best album to date, and what a wondrous release that is.

Here in the Pitch is no less than one of this year's absolute best and a highly recommended release.

[ allmusic.com, Under the Radar 4,5 / 5, Pitchfork 8,8 / 10, 👍The Line of Best Fit 4 / 5 stars ]

Last Dinosaurs "KYORYU" (2024)

KYORYU

release date: May 21, 2024

format: digital (13 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Last Dinosaurs, Oscar Dawson & Scott Horscroft

label: Nettwerk - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Keys to Your Civic" - 3. "Self-Serving Human Being" - 4. "Paranoia Paradise" (feat. Glaze) - 5. "14 Occasions" - 6. "Wait Your Turn" - 10. "Afterlife"

5th full-length studio or a compilation (?) album by Australian dream pop and indie pop quartet Last Dinosaurs following 1½ years after From Mexico with Love (Oct. 2022), which again followed Yumeno Garden (Oct. 2018). Since their 2022 album, the band released two EPs, RYU (Nov. 2023) and KYO (Apr. 2024), and the tracks from these two actually constitute KYORYU, basically reducing the album to a compilation, but then this has become a quite common promotion procedure - regardless, what you may think of it. But it means that the first five tracks are identical to KYU, and tracks #7-13 are all taken from RYO. The digital issue (from the band's bandcamp site) comes with one extra track (track #6), and the total running time clocks in at 49 minutes.

It's all fine melodic indie / dream pop focusing on harmony-driven arrangements. At times it's a bit too slick, a bit too sugary. For my taste. I find, there's a turn towards K-Pop music on this, but it's nevertheless nicely executed. I just don't suspect, it's an album I will return to that regularly. I simply miss more edge, and a bolder original sound.

2023 'RYU' ep

2024 'KYO' ep

Søren Huss "Vi fik mere end vi kom for" (2024)

Vi fik mere end vi kom for

release date: Apr. 5, 2024

format: cd

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

producer: Søren Huss & Christian Balvig

label: Universal Music Group - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 3. "Sensommerdrøm" - 4. "Et støvet loop i inderste rille" - 5. "Langt ude, langt oppe, langt nede og langt, langt væk" - 7. "Kinddans" - 8. "Lyden af os under ét tag" - 10. "Stoledans"

5th studio album by Søren Huss following 4½ years after Sort & hvid til evig tid (Sep. 2019) is despite the time span an album of a familiar style. His 2019 album was in a way a final statement that his songs are eternally bound to both dark [sort] and light [hvid] sentiments. Some critics had early on directed some criticism to his blue-toned melancholic soundscape, and made attempts in writing positive and lighter songs but Huss has made it clear that his musical tone is one of many blue notes. In that regard this only follows suit with his prvious albums. It's music filled with harmony, light tones and uplifting moments AND it's soothing with melancholy.

The musical expression is far from that of Saybia - only the vocal is familiar, but that's how Huss primarily comes out on his own. All songs are credited Huss, and his backing band is a mix of staple instrumentalists. Guitarist Lars Skjærbæk has been aboard on the most recent three albums, and bassist Morten Jørgensen and drummer Jesper Elnegaard have both been stable musicians on all of Huss' solo albums.

Vi fik mere end vi kom for ['We Got More Than Expected'] is by no means a poor collection of new songs, and in that regard it's a most fitting title in that it's also an excellent description of the album. The title is taken from track #5, which appears as the central song of the album. Huss stays on a safe path - he certainly has been on these roads before, and some songs could easily be followed by older material without anyone finding it a disturbing change. Huss has never been afraid of narrating about his personal life and about existential crisis. Huss has found himself in a depressive state, and that's central to these ten new songs, and that theme is not new to fans of his discography. That said, it's a return to his more minimalist songwriting as found on his two first albums. It's still an original sound with a strong influence from folk rock and a whole world of balladry with a subtle touch of jazz. It's music for solitude, for rainy days and for a attentive listening, and once you have accustomed and adjusted your expectations, it's like a cleansening bath in Autumn leaves.

[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6, Politiken, Ekstra Bladet 4 / 6 stars ]

Jan Johansson "Jazz på svenska" (1964)

Jazz på svenska

release date: 1964 (HELP-030)

format: vinyl (2013 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,16]

producer: (rec. by Oluf Swembel)

label: Heptagon Records - nationality: Sweden

Studio album by Jan Johansson originally released on Swedish label Megafon is Johansson's third album and it's no less than the best sold Swedish jazz album ever. The album consists Johansson's arrangements of Swedish folk songs, which are characterised by minimalist instrumentation with Johansson on piano accompanied by Georg Ridel on double bass. The abum count twelve compositions with a total playing time of approx. 34 minutes. The 2013 vinyl reissue is based on remastering of the original tape recordings and have been made by Jens and Anders Johansson, who are also founders of Heptagon Records and sons of legendary Jan Johansson.

This album is a must-have in any collection of jazz, and if you think Getz / Gilberto is one of the best jazz albums from '64, you really need to know this one.