Goat "World Music" (2012)

World Music [debut]

release date: Aug. 20, 2012

format: cd

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

producer: ?

label: Rocket Recordings - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Diarabi" - 2. "Goatman" - 3. "Goathead" - 5. "Golden Dawn" (live) - 7. "Run to Your Mama" (live) - 9. "Det som aldrig förändras / Diarabi"

Studio album debut by Swedish music collective Goat [stylised: GOAT] founded in Gothenburg, and according to the band's bandcamp profile originating from the (Swedish!) village of Korpolombolo, thus implying connections to ancient voodoo cult religion. All members have masked their identity and also perform masked - not unlike The Residents. One of the three 'core' members has been identified as Christian Johansson. Track #1 is a cover credited Malian musician Boubacar Traoré (included on his 1990 debut album Mariama), whereas the remaining compositions are all credited the band.

Musically, World Music represents a huge melting pot of stylistic influences, just as the title indicates with inspiration from various parts of the planet, and then you could add that everything is made with psychedelia at the centre of attention. Some tracks are afro-pop-founded, some are more krautrock-inspired, others reek a certain jazz fusion-feel, but you'll also find hard rock bits and everything is nearly naturally experimental and mostly progressive instrumental, although, some tracks are made with clear vocal harmonies. A fitting description is found on the album site explaining: "The band takes in many influences, from the Afro groove that is central to the album, through to head nodding psych, post-punk, turkish rock, kraut repetition and astral folk."

The album has generally been met by positive words from international critics - only Swedish music magazine Gaffa is more reluctant in its review. Imo, it takes a few spins to get accustomised, but if you happen to enjoy early Zappa / The Mothers of Invention and think a cocktail with 1980s The B-52's sounds like an interesting mix, then GOAT may be what you're looking for. Despite the wide stylistic variations, it actually feels like a musical whole, which is a great accomplishment.

Recommended.

[ The Guardian 5 / 5, Clash, musicOMH, PopMatters 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,1 / 10, Gaffa.se 3 / 6 stars ]

Sinéad O'Connor "How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?" (2012)

How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?

release date: Feb. 21, 2012

format: cd

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

producer: John Reynolds

label: One Little Indian - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "4th and Vine" - 2. "Reason with Me" - 3. "Old Lady" - 4. "Take Off Your Shoes" - 5. "Back Where You Belong" - 6. "The Wolf Is Getting Married" - 7. "Queen of Denmark" - 9. "I Had a Baby"

9th studio album by Sinéad O'Connor follows 4½ years after the double album Theology (Jun. 2007). Back on this, is producer, drummer and co-composer (and O'Connor's first husband) John Reynolds, and that alone has been some sort of guarantee of a more coherent and better album in the discography of Sinéad O'Connor. The album also welcomes back guitarist Marco Pirroni, who played on O'Connor's first two albums and on Universal Mother.

The album is a return to the music most people will associate with the artist's name. It's pop / rock and it's more uptempo than any of her recent albums - in fact, since her great 1990 international breakthrough. There are no reggae or traditional Irish folk songs here, and for those who thought O'Connor was all over with, this might be something to check out. Lyrically, she hasn't changed one bit, as it's very personal songs about lived life, life as a mother, a lover, and it's also quite private songs about being in love, having babies with someone else, and not knowing where to turn to when life makes you stumble along the way. In that way, not much has changed in O'Connor's lyrical universe, but what's important here, is her ability to turn the songs into catchy melodies, again.

It's a mighty difficult job to try to rank her albums after the first two "wonders". This is defintely one her better attempts in finding back to whatever worked in the beginning of her career. There's a fine balance of soft and hard, uptempo and slow, and in that way the album comes through as a diverse and fulfilling experience. It becomes evident that O'Connor no longer possess the same singing voice, which allowed her to reach extreme high pitches, but there's an underlying force when instead she expresses deeper emotions, whether it's done with a near whisper, a rasp, or by yelling out forcefully.

To me, this was a nice surprise as I didn't expect much - and it's actually a lot. Imo, this is simply her fourth best album overall, which really makes it worthwhile. My personal top 5 by Sinéad O'Connor goes like this: 1) I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990), 2) The Lion and the Cobra, 3) Faith and Courage (2000), and after this one 5) Sean-Nós Nua (2002).

Recommended.

[ 🙂allmusic.com, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,6 / 10, The Guardian 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

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 ]

The Raveonettes "The Observator" (2012)

The Observator

release date: Sep. 11, 2012

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,68]

producer: Richard Gottehrer & Sune Rose Wagner

label: Vice Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Young and Cold" - 2. "Observations" - 5. "Sinking with the Sun" - 6. "She Owns the Streets" - 7. "Downtown" - 8. "You Hit Me (I'm Down)" - 9. "Till the End"

6th studio album by Danish duo The Raveonettes follows 1½ years after Raven in the Grave (Apr. 2011). This time, instead being exclusively produced by Sune Wagner and / or the duo, Wagner has made contact with the producer of the band's first albums - his old idol, Richard Gottehrer, who was a member of US-band The Strangeloves and who later produced albums for acts like Dr. Feelgood, Blondie (first two albums), and The Go-Go's (first two albums), and his song "I Want Candy" (co-written with Bern Berns, Rob Feldman and Jerry Goldstein) has later been covered by many artists since its debut in 1965. Gottehrer is also well-known for having established Sire Records with Seymour Stein in '66 - a label that was known specialising in US releases with British underground artists. As producer, Gottehrer represent a particular immediate garage-rock styled sound, which I guess someone like Phil Spector may have elaborated on for his own distinct multi-layered sound but the Gottehrer-sound is a more direct, less post-produced sound that has some live-quality to it, although, it also goes for being less spacious without the loss of dynamics. In the case of Sune Wagner, the point is, he has that fondness for an original 50s/60s sound that still resonate the artist's product and which links with both garage rock and surf rock, and this is also how Gottehrer was chosen to procude the first two album for The Raveonettes.

The Observator is a short acquaintance of 31 minutes total running time but as an album release it appears much more of a whole than the predecessor, and then it comes out without a cleaner sound than most of the band's other releases. Some may think of it as sounding half-finished but I sense a stronger will to focus on simplicity in a way of binding the songs together - and that appears as a strength. The dream pop element is absent from this one, where you will be reminded of a sound from previous decades in combination of noise pop. With less instruments and simpler arrangements, I sense the common traits for the entire album instead of something pointing here and there. Perhaps, you won't find the best songs by The Raveonettes on this one but instead it works on a different level than the less successful 2011-album as that of a coherent release.

Recommended.

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

Sun Kil Moon "Among the Leaves" (2012)

Among the Leaves
release date: May 29, 2012
format: 2 cd (LTD.)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Caldo Verde Records  - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "I Know It's Pathetic But That Was the Greatest Night of My Life" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Sunshine in Chicago" - 3. "The Moderately Talented Yet Attractive Young Woman vs. The Exceptionally Talented Yet Not So Attractive Middle Aged Man" - 4. "That Bird Has a Broken Wing" - 5. "Elaine" - 6. "The Winery" - 7. "Young Love" - 8. "Song for Richard Collopy" - 9. "Among the Leaves" (4 / 5) - 10. "Red Poison" - 11. "Track Number 8" - 12. "Not Much Rhymes With Everything's Awesome at All Times" - 13. "King Fish" - 14. "Lonely Mountain" - 15. "UK Blues" - 16. "UK Blues 2" - 17. "Black Kite"

5th studio album by Sun Kil Moon released on Caldo Verde. The album is much like the previous album by being primarily acoustic Spanish guitar-driven with Kozelek playing and singing, thus continuing the band as his solo project, at least for studio and album releases as Sun Kil Moon still exists as a live band with Jerry Vessel, Phil Carney and Anthony Koutsos. All tracks are written and composed by Kozelek, who seems satisfied by accompanying himself while strumming his guitar. I just long for his more orchestrated compositions like the title track, alas, it stands much alone.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Robin Guthrie "Fortune" (2012)

Fortune

release date: Nov. 26, 2012

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]

producer: Robin Guthrie

label: Soleil Après Minuit - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Cadence" - 2. "Circus Circus" - 3. "Ladybird" - 4. "Tigermilk" - 7. "Forever Never"

5th solo album by Robin Guthrie follows 1½ years after Emeralds (May 2011) and is possibly the first to only be issued on Guthrie's own label Soleil Après Minuit, although most of his solo material and collaboration albums also have been released in some secondary format on the label.

Fortune doesn't stir anyone's image of Robin Guthrie. In fact it sound very much like the "B-side" to Emeralds with an ethereal and ambient style built around Guthrie's slow-burning guitar harmonies with as much echo and delay effects you can get.

The album has been issued via Darla Records for vinyl issues, but it seems he's no longer being promoted, which explains why it's difficult to find any official reviews. Quite naturally, Guthrie doesn't sell in large numbers - I think his income may depend on projects: film scores, producer or mixing credits, and that his new releases to a large extent are financed via his technical status. And that again may explain why his music sound so much alike. For Guthrie, it's no more a desire to create new styles, better selling albums, but much more the result of his love for a specific kind of sound. He doesn't care if critics, distributors or radio stations find his music dull or off the target. Still, when you're familiar with his collaboration works with Harold Budd, his solo albums Carousel (2009) and Emeralds (2011), then you may begin to wish as I do: what if Robin Guthrie had someone else produce his album - his next solo release? Wouldn't that be something! He has developed a sound that is almost touching on sterile, where every effect-pedal needs a fixed position, so that the guitar swirls in the exact same way it did one or maybe even two decades ago. Yes, he is a sound engineer and a sound wizard, but how I wish he could learn some new tricks.

That said, Fortune is warm honey for your ears. So find yourself a moment of peace. Turn up the volume and put on Fortune. Sit down in your favourite chair. Close your eyes. Wait. Wait. Wait. Listen!

Recommended.

Mogwai "Les Revenants EP" (2012) (ep)

Les Revenants EP, ep

release date: Dec. 17, 2012

format: digital (4 x File, MP3 - ROCKACT73D)

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

producer: Mogwai

label: Rock Action Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Wizard Motor" (4 / 5)

4 track ep release by Mogwai preceeding the release of the soundtrack album Les Revenants (Feb. 2013). Three of the compositions are also found on the full soundtrack album, although only the first track, "Wizard Motor" is kept (almost entirely) in this version, whereas the two other tracks (tracks #3 and #4) offer quite different arrangements, and the short track #2 doesn't figure on the soundtrack.

Just as with the full album, it's difficult to embrace these compositions as anything else than a music score, but "Wizard Motor" sticks out as a fabulous track that doesn't sound like anything else and simply makes it worth to know this ep.

Martha Wainwright "Come Home to Mama" (2012)

Come Home to Mama
release date: Oct. 16, 2012
format: cd (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Yuka Honda
label: V2 - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "I Am Sorry" (live) - 2. "Can You Believe It" (4 / 5) - 4. "Proserpina" - 5. "Leave Behind" (live) - 8. "I Wanna Make an Arrest"

3rd studio album by Martha Wainwright following three years after her Piaf live album Sans fusils, ni souliers... (Nov. 2009) and 4½ years since her most recent studio album, the acclaimed I Know You're Married but I've Got Feelings Too (May 2008). The album is produced by Japanese-American artist Yuka Honda, who previously worked in the role of producer until 2000 for a limited number of artists, which also includes the debut album Into the Sun (1998) by Honda's then-boyfriend, Sean Lennon, and Wainwright's album here was apparently recorded in Sean Lennon's home studio. Sean Lennon plays bass on two of the standard album's ten tracks, and Honda is also credited on keyboards, synths and for drum programming on several tracks. The deluxe edition contains three demo recordings as bonus material.

The album is Martha's first since the passing of her mother Kate McGarrigle at the age of 63 in 2010, and several of the songs are said to be centered on the loss.

Come Home to Mama - whose title, by the way, is a line from the track "Prosperina" - is more the musically and stylistically natural extension to her most recent 2008 studio album, making it a more pure pop / rock, folk pop, and singer / songwriter release.

Aside from the song "Can You Believe It", the album doesn't offer definite hit material, but several quite fine compositions. Her 2008 album bore certain traces of inspiration from PJ Harvey, and here I think more of an influence from Kate Bush and / or Tori Amos that intrudes - and quite generally, I think it points to Wainwright's most evident artistic weakness. All of her albums seem to contain tracks that in some way show some form of admiration or inspiration from others - whether it's her parents' folk tradition, brother Rufus's puffed-up arrangements, or other role models' idiosyncrasies. And it both results in releases pointing in several directions (apart from her 2009 Edith Piaf live album), and at the same time takes the focus away from Wainwright's very own qualities. She's undoubtedly a skilled songwriter and she has a great voice, but her greatest gift has probably been to imitate anyone, and unfortunately, she still often falls into imitation rather than cultivating her own position.

Despite challenges, I think this album is her second best so far, and it's by no means uninteresting. The selected tracks here also show what she's capable of when she sounds most like herself.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

~ ~ ~

Note: A double CD tribute album Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle in honor of Kate McGarrigle was released Jun. 2013 featuring a wide range of artists including Loudon Wainwright III, Jane and Anna McGarrigle, Sloan Wainwright (Loudon's sister), Rufus and Martha Wainwright on live recordings from four tribute concerts over three years from the first in Jun. 2010 in London, two concerts in May 2011 from New York and the last in Jun. 2012 from Toronto. The album contains 34 tracks, most of which were written and composed by Kate McGarrigle.

Efterklang "Piramida" (2012)

Piramida
release date: Sep. 24, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Efterklang
label: Rumraket / 4AD Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Hollow Mountain" - 2. "Apples" - 3. "Sedna" - 4. "Told to Be Fine" - 7. "Black Summer" - 10. "Monument"

[ Trailer for the new album ]

4th studio album by Efterklang following 2½ years since the last album Magic Chairs (2010). Since that, Thomas Husmer left the band and Efterklang was then reduced to a trio consisting of vocalist and songwriter Casper Clausen, keyboardist Mads Brauer and bassist Rasmus Stolberg. German electronic musician Nils Frahm feature on tracks #1, #7, and #8.

Here the band take their style further into indie-pop territory but also explore a dream pop universe and more so leave some of the classical and art rock experiments somewhat behind. Before recording the album, the band went to the deserted arctic island of Spitsbergen, Norway, to make field recordings and by the use of senses gather up a natural source of sound structure that would eventually make a starting point and a foundation for their successive writing of songs for the album.

It's still unmistakably the sound of Efterklang with progressive song structures filled with rich organic textures and influences from ambient electronic but still with more focus on traditional song structure, and here and there (tracks #2-4, and #10) Casper Clausen makes me think of Matt Berninger of The National. I really enjoy this new-found blend of theirs and easily find it the band's so far best album.

[ allmusic.com, Under the Radar 4 / 5, 👍PopMatters 3,5 / 5, Drowned in Sound 4,5 / 5 stars ]

The Durutti Column "Short Stories for Pauline" (2012)

Short Stories for Pauline
release date: Jun. 18, 2012
format: cd (fbn 36)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "At First Sight" - 2. "Duet" - 3. "College" - 4. "Invitations" - 5. "Destroy, She Said" - 6. "Model" - 7. "Journeys by Vespa" - 8. "Take Some Time Out" - 9. "A Silence" - 10. "Mirror A" - 11. "Cocktail" - 12. "Telephone Call" - 13. "Mirror B" - 14. "A Room in Southport"

23rd studio album release by The Durutti Column issued on Factory Benelux and produced by Vini Reilly. It's hard to fit in the category of new material as all tracks are from what was an abandoned album that Reilly worked on back in 1983, and which could/should have been his fourth studio album with the same title as here, and therefore it carries the original production number fbn36. Instead, Factory Records, or i.e. manager Tony Wilson, persuaded Reilly to work on what became the neo-classical Without Mercy (1984). That album only consists of two tracks but one will find that the tracks contain themes and pieces that has been incorporated from various tracks on this, the abandoned album. Some of the tracks have previously been released on a compilation album titled Lips That Would Kiss (1991), also by Factory Benelux.
[ official release info, see here ]
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Michael Kiwanuka "Home Again" (2012)

Home Again [debut]
release date: Mar. 26, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Tell Me A Tale" - 2. "I'm Getting Ready" (4 / 5) - 3. "I'll Get Along" (3,5 / 5) - 4. "Rest" - 5. "Home Again" - 6. "Bones" - 7. "Always Waiting" - 8. "I Won't Lie" - 9. "Any Day Will Do Fine" - 10. "Worry Walks Beside Me" - 11. "On Your Way"

This is a very promising debut album by this young talented folk, soul, singer / songwriter. Among others, he has been compared with Otis Redding and Van Morrison, and there's every reason to it. Now I'm only looking forward to his next release.

The Cranberries "Roses" (2012)

Roses
release date: Feb. 14, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Cooking Vinyl - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Conduct" - 2. "Tomorrow" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Raining in My Heart" - 6. "Schizophrenic Playboy" - 9. "Astral Projections" - 11. "Roses"

6th studio album by The Cranberries feature Stephen Street, who produced the band's two first albums, back in the producer seat, and that is a welcomed return. Street did help the band creating a fine balanced and broad sound, which in a way dissolved somewhat on the following albums.
The album doesn't contain that many great tracks but I find that the sound is back on track - O'Riordan's vocal and backing harmonies in collaboration with jangle pop elements and string arrangements secure a rather fine comeback album that may better the last 3 albums by The Cranberries, but which frankly, only just contain good enough material for an ep, as it also contains a number of clear fillers.
[ allmusic.com, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Kent "Jag är inte rädd för mörkret" (2012)

Jag är inte rädd för mörkret
release date: Apr. 25, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Kent, Stefan Boman
label: Sonet Records - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "999" (4 /5) - 2. "Petroleum" - 4. "Jag ser dig" (4 / 5) (live) - 5. "Tänd på" - 6. "Beredd på allt" - 8. "Färger på natten" - 9. "Låt dom komma" - 10. "Hänsyn" (4,5 / 5)

10th studio album release by Kent who is back to a two year shift between albums. This is the first time I think the band hasn't been able to reinvent themselves with great success. Undoubtedly, the album is more than just fine. The single tracks are rather good song writing, and the whole thing is really well-produced and everything. Maybe I shouldn't pay too much attention to the expectation about new music and / or new stylistic progress. After all, many artists, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, and new chamber pop / indie pop bands like The National and Tindersticks may face fine reviews when they release music that fans expect to be within certain boundaries. My own expectations to this album are just a bit unfulfilled 'cause Kent has proven to be a band that keeps searching new territories - they have accustomed their fans to exactly that, and then this time they sort of... stay on the track of En plats i solen, which, after all, is a warm and shiny spot... So why the sulky face? This is good! Though,... Yes yes, I know!
Highlights are "999", "Jag ser dig", both uptempo tracks that are meant to be played LOUD, and then the astonishing "Hänsyn", which is really up there among the very best of Kent ballads ever.

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~

"Jag ser dig"

"Över Klara kyrktorn steg en blek och bitter sol
Trafiken kryper blank som skalbaggskal i månskenet
Ditt hjärta rusar förbereder terrordåd
Du är snabb som ljus men kommer aldrig härifrån

Och jag följer dina gnistor under tunga moln
och jag vet exakt vart du ska gå
En lögn blir lätt en sanning när den kommer inifrån
och det enda som är säkert är att
Jag ser dig
Jag kan se dig

Vi nålar upp experter bleka män med mörkersyn
De cirklar tyst kring offren som ett moln av Neurosedyn
De är lugnet över landet deras ord är fria från bly
Håll hårt i era barn nu
man skjuts i ryggen om man flyr

Kan man bygga nåt som bär oss med så lite ljus
nu när kärleken blev trött och blind
Kan man få alla de här bitarna på plats till slut
när det enda som är säkert är att
Jag ser dig

Stäng ute verkligheten
Älskling slut ögonen
Hör du melodierna i natthimlen
Det kommer ta en evighet
Vi sluter ögonen
och lyssnar på en psalm som bor i hjärtslagen
Vad som helst utom verkligheten
Jag kan se dig äntligen
Min vän jag hör en sång i dina andetag
Rakt in i evigheten
Älskling slut ögonen
och lyssna men vad fan du måste lyssna nu
för Jag kan se dig…"

~ ~ ~

"Hänsyn"

"Han vet att han gör fel
Han vet att du oftast har rätt
Du räknar aldrig poäng
Bryr dig inte om vem som vinner

Han vet att han gör fel
att du står bakom
och tar emot honom
när han faller
Bara en av tusen detaljer

Som gör att han älskar dig
som gör att man älskar dig
som gör att jag älskar dig
Som gör att vi älskar dig

Du kommer alltid i tid
men jag har aldrig sett dig skynda
det slår mig när jag ser dig gå iväg
så rak i ryggen så mjuk i hållningen
du är som en förtrollning

Som gör att man älskar dig, som gör att man älskar dig
Som gör att jag älskar dig - som gör att vi älskar dig

Jag gör dig så illa ibland
jag ser spår av dina tårar
du väntar ingenting och du har alltid
haft så lätt för att förlåta
bara en av tusen små gåtor

Som gör att han älskar dig, som gör att man älskar dig
Som gör att jag älskar dig - som gör att vi älskar dig"

~ ~ ~

Alanis Morissette "Havoc and Bright Lights" (2012)

Havoc and Bright Lights
release date: Aug. 28, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Guardian" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Woman Down" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "'Til You" (3 / 5) - 4. "Celebrity" (3 / 5) - 5. "Empathy" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Lens" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "Spiral" (4 / 5) - 8. "Numb" - 9. "Havoc" (3 / 5) - 10. "Win and Win" (3,5 / 5) - 11. "Receive" - 12. "Edge of Evolution"

8th studio album release by Alanis Morissette. The album received mixed reviews but I think, it's better than most of what else is released in the genre of singer / songwriter, pop / rock. Alanis has a saying with her lyrics - her subjects may be heard of before but she's an intelligent songwriter, and her music is never boring or dull. The style is as usual a product of a genuine will to be sincere and personal, and the music is often voluminous, spacious anchored around her strong singing voice. Sometimes her music tends to be too heavy orchestrated for my liking, e.g. on "Receive", but overall, this is far from a lesser release.

The Killers "Battle Born" (2012)

Battle Born
release date: Sep. 18, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor (et al)

label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Flesh and Bone" (live on Letterman) - 2. "Runaways" (4 / 5) - 3. "The Way It Was" - 6. "Deadlines and Commitments" - 7. "Miss Atomic Bomb"

[ full album ]

4th studio album by The Killers following four years after the band's previous studio album Day & Age (2008). Since that, they released the live album Live From the Royal Albert Hall (2009). The album features several names to the producer role with Steve Lillywhite on 6 out of a total of 12 tracks, Damian Taylor on 5, Brendan O'Brien on 4, and with the band, Stuart Price and Daniel Lanois all producing one track each. With the turn to both Lillywhite and O'Brien they sort of return to a more alt. rock sound than they intended with their previous album.

I think, the album betters Day & Age. Actually, it shows some of the same energy as the debut, only the style is more shaped in an American (say Bruce Springsteen) rock tradition here - often referred to as heartland rock. Tracks #2, #3, and #7 are included on the best of album Direct Hits (2013).
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Ukendt Under Andet Navn "Ekskursion" (2012) (ep)

Ekskursion, ep
release date: Jun. 12, 2012
format: cd (ukendt 002)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Troels Bech, Henrik Olesen
label: non-label - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Håb i respirator, drømme i drop" - 3. "Centralnervesystem" - 5. "Far vel hjem" - 7. "Sangen synger sig selv"

2nd solo ep by Henrik Olesen (from Olesen-Olesen) under the moniker of Ukendt Under Andet Navn is a 7-track ep with a running time at just under 18 minutes. All songs are played by Olesen and Bech (who also produced for Olesen-Olesen for their 2003 album), and Thomas Thomsen participate and is credited as co-producer on three songs (tracks #4, #5, and #7).
Musically, it's different from the ep-debut from 2010 by being darker and with a certain post-punk feel - either thanks to electronic drums and / or synthpop keyboards and a simplistic melodic drive (especially tracks #2, #3, and #7).
The simplicity, or: minimalist production is a trait the album shares with the 2010 debut, but apart from that it has a different feel and soundscape, which makes me think of inspiration from early New Order, Depeche Mode and late Joy Division - bands that also were formative in creating Henrik and brother Peter H. Olesen's earliest bands, Sort-Hvide Landskaber and Greene, and a few tracks sound as if they could have been included on the Greene debut from 1992 or the Olesen-Olesen debut Indenlands udenbys from 1997.
A short but altogether fine collection of original compositions where the music feels like the dominant part.

The Bryan Ferry Orchestra "The Jazz Age" (2012)

The Jazz Age
release date: Nov. 26, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,98]
producer: Bryan Ferry & Rhett Davies
label: BMG Rights Management - nationality: England, UK

14th studio album by Bryan Ferry released by The Bryan Ferry Orchestra is a collection of Ferry compositions released on various albums from the early Roxy Music days and his later solo albums, but re-organised for and re-worked into traditional jazz as played in the 1920s and 1930s with a strings and brass backing band.
Stylistically, we're talking contemporary jazz, ragtime and swing, and not only is the orchestral instrumentation according to the aforementioned time but also the recording and production sound are in the spirit of that era, insofar that it feels completely genuinely old. Although, all original compositions were with Ferry on lead vocal, this release is completely without any vocal performance, and Ferry himself is "only" credited as composer, producer and bandleader.
The original Roxy Music and Ferry tracks are sometimes truly hard to recognise but the overall impression is a solid and original release. I would, however, have loved and preferred to hear these songs in vocal arrangements as the natural follow-up to his fine album As Time Goes By (1999). Having said that it's a "solid" and "original" release, although that does not imply that I enjoy it. I find it somewhat redundant.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Nena "Du bist gut" (2012)

Du bist gut

release date: Nov. 2, 2012

format: 2 cd (Deluxe Edition)

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

producer: Derek von Krogh

label: Laugh + Peas - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Das ist nicht alles" - 2. "Schmetterling" - 3. "Lied Nummer eins" - 5. "Freiheit" - 8. "Wo ist mein Zuhause" - 15. "Du bist gut"

11th studio album (not counting her many releases with music for children) by Nena following three years after Made in Germany (Oct. 2009). Disc 1 contains a total of 15 tracks with a running time surpassing 71 minutes - this is also released as the standard album. Disc 2 contains 8 live recordings of some of her most familiar songs, four of which are new studio live recordings and four recordings from a live concert in Berlin.

Nationally, the album made it as high as to number #2 on the albums chart list but critics didn't meet it with a warm welcome, in fact, the album is regarded as one of her weaker solo albums, and critics mostly found that it failed to showcase anything new from an artist who was caught on repeat. I admit that it sums up much of her previous work, and the best thing here is Disc 2 and especially the Berlin live recordings.

The front cover art is credited Nena's daughter Larissa Kerner and her son Sakias features on vocals on a few tracks.

The Chemical Brothers "Don't Think" (2012) (live)

Don't Think (live)
release date: Mar. 27, 2012
format: dvd & cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: The Chemical Brothers
label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

👉 Official playlist trailer

Great live album by The Chemical Brothers is first and foremost a film-documentation of the duo's concert concept recorded from the duo's 2011 live performance at Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. The sticker on the front cover reads 'The Chemical Brothers Present Don't Think Live From Japan'.
It's always a bit hard to review live albums, and electronically-founded ones aren't making it any easier but with the visual dimension it adds a great deal to the live experience. The album is issued in dvd and cd format, which means that Disc 1 is the dvd footage including 20 tracks of live recordings and Disc 2 compiling 11 selected audio tracks. The compositions all come from various albums over time but the great thing about electronic artists performing live, and especially in this case, is their ability to create new music based on their own original material, and this one is absolutely in the high-end of live performances as they understand to build the compositions together and make it a fascinating whole. Compared to e.g. Sigur Ròs and their mighty fine Inni live album, this is simply a better live performance in the sense that The Chemical Brothers' old repertoire played live is transformed into brand new material - instead of 'only' playing popular songs like they sound on the original studio albums (as SR does so well). The Chemical Brothers produce live versions of well-known tracks that are stuffed with interceptions and interpretations of their own material to make everything fit to the moment. Now, that's living the art!
Highly recommended.

Ásgeir Trausti "Dýrð í dauðaþögn" (2012)

Dýrð í dauðaþögn
release date: Sep. 11, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: Guðmundur Kristinn Jónsson
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Hærra" - 2. "Dýrð í dauðaþögn" - 4. "Leyndarmál" - 6. "Nýfallið regn" - 7. "Heimförin" (live version) - 8. "Að grafa sig í fönn"

Studio debut album by Icelandic Ásgeir Trausti is somewhere in the quiet region of dreampop, and it's easy to mention related artists like Emilíana Torrini, Jónsi, and múm, but that's also too narrow-minded, and one might just as well include Sigur Rós and Björk as musical familiarities - fact is Trausti makes his own blend and only his high-pitched singing voice and the Icelandic language guides the listener to the island of Iceland. Stylistically, it's in the genre of folk, and really: in the style of folktronica and singer / songwriter making American Bon Iver a closer musical stylist than any of the aforementioned.

The album won in four categories at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2012 including the Album of the Year prize, and it became the best-selling album debut in Iceland overtaking popular albums from Björk and Sigur Rós. A translated English-spoken version "In the Silence" was released in 2013 but this is the original album, and I do really enjoy it and also prefer this over Bon Iver.

Although, the quiet melancholy, which flows on the majority of the compositions, I really like it when there's a contrast with energetic outbursts like on "Nýfallið regn"; however, Dýrð í dauðaþögn is a fine and recommended album.