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'!

Robert Forster "Songs to Play" (2015)

Songs to Play

release date: Sep. 18, 2015

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Robert Forster, Luke McDonald & Scott Bromiley

label: Tapete Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 2. "Let Me Imagine You" - 4. "And I Knew" - 6. "I'm so Happy for You" - 8. "Turn on the Rain" - 9. "I Love Myself and I Always Have" - 10. "Disaster in Motion"

6th studio album by Robert Forster following a full 7½ years after The Evangelist (Apr. 2008). Apparently, most of these songs were written in 2010 / 2011 but weren't recorded until around five years later. Forster has explained that he needed a break in his music career, and initially had set himself up for a five-year hiatus, which then turned into seven... It was a period during which he wrote music articles and simultaneously worked on his autobiography. The album has been made completely without former collaborators Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson. Forster clearly wanted to make a fresh restart and in their place he has invited the two members from Australian The John Steel Singers: Luke McDonald and Scott Bromiley - both as multi-instrumentalists. Forster produced the band's 2010 debut Tangalooma and together they then played some of these songs, which would end up on Songs to Play, and here the two are also credited as co-producers. Forster's wife, Karin Baümler, previously participated on his albums playing violin and doing backing vocals, but on this, she has played a fuller part on all tracks, and together with drummer Matt Piele from Forster's tour band, they all form the new backing 'band', which of course gives the output new colours.

Although McDonald and Bromiley have been given rein to contribute with their ideas, it's still very much a Robert Forster solo with lyrics and music credited the man himself. The style is laid in an acoustic contemporary folk rock characterised by strong bonds to classic rock & roll in its simplest form. At times it's uptempo without being danceable rock and the songs appear with a marked lightness compared to the gloomier tone on his previous albums.

Songs to Play is an album where the music has come to the fore and Forster successfully acts as a classic singer / songwriter without being weighed down by his former achievements, suppressed emotions and the melancholy, which have been natural traits in the past, and by that, the album could pave the way for a new dynamic in his original musical realm. In any case, it's not an album, as the predecessor, that sounds like falling in between The Go-Betweens and a solo album - it's definitely a pure Robert Forster release on which he deals with the present.

The front cover is a photo of Robert and Karin's daughter Loretta Forster.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

Sun Kil Moon "Universal Themes" (2016)

Universal Themes

release date: Jun. 2, 2015

format: digital

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

producer: Mark Kozelek

label: Caldo Verde - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "The Possum" - 2. "Birds of Flims" - 4. "Cry Me a River Williamsburg Sleeve Tattoo Blues" - 6. "Garden of Lavender" - 7. "Ali / Spinks 2" - 8. "This Is My First Day and I'm Indian and I Work at a Gas Station"

7th studio album from Mark Kozelek's solo project Sun Kil Moon following a little over one year after the critically acclaimed Benji (Feb. 2014). Musically, it is somewhat in the same vein as his other recent albums, although, there's a new bearing of compositions with a more informal tone. This approach consists of several passages of spoken word and compositions consisting of more complex arrangements, where parts of songs sound like single tracks that together form a whole. The album features a reunion with Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, who also appeared on Benji, and who here is only other musician besides Kozelek on all tracks. There are quiet semi-classical tracks, compositions where Kozelek mostly dwells on pure narration, tracks with a more distinct folk feel, and more uptempo sequences that remind us of his former heydays with Red House Painters. And then there are abrupt shifts from distorted electric guitar to acoustic passages and vice-versa, as well as passages that mostly sound like studio improvs.

The album consists of 8 compositions of relatively long playing length with the shortest track ("Ali / Spinks 2") at 6:45 minutes, and the longest ("Garden of Lavender") running for more than 10 minutes, and a total playing length of 60 minutes. Kozelek seems long ago to have given up on the idea of ​​reaching a greater audience and he basically sounds like someone who only releases music for his own pleasure - which is a super nice premise, and in that way, Universal Themes is so unlike anything else. I like Kozelek's weird universe, his acoustic guitar sound, his melancholic and occasionally devilish expression where he sounds like a distant cousin of Black Francis.

Universal Themes is not an album with ear hooks but with distinctive songs about colourful people from Kozelek's life. It's narrations of meetings with family members and short and long stories about daily life - life and death. There are also the usual references to the sport of boxing, specific boxers (Ali / Spinks) and it all needs to be taken in at full length and preferably just attentively listened to.

Recommended.

The front cover image, as on the latest album, is a photo by Mark Kozelek.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Q Magazine, Spin, NME 4 / 5 stars ]

Robin Guthrie & Mark Gardener "Universal Road" (2015)

Universal Road

release date: Mar. 23, 2015

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,04]

producer: Robin Guthrie & Mark Gardener

label: Soleil Après Minuit - nationality: UK

Track highlights: 1. "Universal Road" - 2. "Dice" - 7. "Sometime" - 10. "Blind"

Collaboration album by Robin Guthrie and Mark Gardener produced by the duo and released on Guthrie's label. Guthrie's most recent release was yet another collaboration work, the 2014 soundtrack album White Bird in a Blizzard, made with longtime collaborator Harold Budd for a movie by Gregg Araki, who also directed the film for which Guthrie and Budd made their collaboration debut Mysterious Skin: Music from the Film (2005). Guthrie's most recent solo album is Fortune from 2012.

Together with Gardener the two artists share a common background in "classic" 1990's dream pop. Guthrie was one of the founders of the Scottish trio, The Cocteau Twins, who released eight full-length studio albums from 1982 to 1995, and Gardener is lead vocalist and guitarist in the English shoegazing quartet, Ride, who debuted with the acclaimed Nowhere back in 1990 - a band who originally released four studio albums from 1990 to their split in 1996. However, the band reformed in 2014 and they have released a fifth studio album in 2017 and have a sixth album have been announced for release later in 2019.

Musically, the album comes closest to the music by Ride as it's dream pop with Gardener's typical melancholic vocals and a strumming guitar sound, which doesn't really rhyme too strongly with Guthrie's discography. Guthrie's ethereal swirling and echo-fused guitar appears here and there as background fill but it doesn't really put a solid fingerprint on an album where Gardener seems to "steal the show".

It's all very nice and well-composed but it also sounds very much like music made at least two decades earlier. Sometimes you find Guthrie starting a song quite nicely after which Gardener's vocal and britpop harmonies turns it into something else. And it's not so much that Gardener destroys Guthrie's intro, but more that their mutual efforts backfires into something less original. I'm not impressed and feel they could have utilised their individual strengths better - instead it sounds like bits and pieces from their earlier works smashed together without obvious attempts in making new music.

A bit of a disappointment.

Björk "Vulnicura" (2015)

Vulnicura
release date: Jan. 20, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Björk, Arca
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Stonemilker" - 2. "Lionsong" - 4. "Black Lake" - 5. "Family" - 7. "Atom Dance" (feat. Anohni) - 8. "Mouth Mantra" - 9. "Quicksand"

8th studio album by Björk is co-produced by Venezuelan electronic producer / musician Arca [aka Alejandro Ghersi]. Stylistically, a Björk studio album is always within an art pop universe, and here she attributes that with chamber, ambient pop and electronic. It's not far from what she has released before - perhaps the biggest change is the distance to her most recent album Biophilia (Oct. 2011), although, they share the common theme of nature. In many ways this is closer to a mix of her three consecutive albums around the new millennium: Homogenic (1997), Vespertine (2001), Medúlla (2004), and frankly, Vulnicura sounds much like the outcome of a combo of all three albums.
Without containing obvious hits, I think the result is her most interesting album in more than 14 years. An alternative title could have been 'Homogeneous', 'cause that's also what it is.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, NME, Spin 4 / 5 stars ]
=> Needledrop review

The Wainwright Sisters "Songs in the Dark" (2015)

Songs in the Dark [debut]

release date: Nov. 13, 2015

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,84]

producer: Brad Albetta (recorded by)

label: Play It Again Sam - nationality: Canada / USA

Track highlights: 2. "Hobo's Lullaby" (live) - 9. "Long Lankin"

Debut album from The Wainwright Sisters counting Canadian Martha Wainwright and her younger American half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche, daughter of their common father, Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche, American vocalist and known from the vocal group The Roches. Prior to this, in 2013 Martha Wainwright released the soundtrack album Trauma: Chansons de la Série Télé, Saison #4 - collecting the music from the entire season 4 of the Canadian edition of the TV series "Trauma", and her latest studio album is Come Home to Mama (Oct. 2012). Lucy most recently released her second solo studio album There's a Last Time for Everything (Oct. 2013) and earlier that year she released Fairytale and Myth (Mar. 2013) as a duo release with her mother Suzzy Roche.

Songs in the Dark consists of 16 classic lullabies in the form of folk and singer/songwriter compositions mainly from the 60s, but also from earlier, as well as from the following decade. These include compositions of their familial ancestry: from their father, Loudon, Martha's mother Kate McGarrigle, and tracks from Lucy's aunt, Terre Roche. In addition, you'll find songs by Paul Simon, Richard Thompson, Townes Van Zandt, Cindy Walker, Irving Berlin, as well as three traditionals often known in versions by Woody Guthrie (including track #2). The album's credit list includes several family members: Aunt Anne McGarrigle and her children, Lily and Sylvan Ranken, and Aunt Jane McGarrigle.

These are acoustic tracks held in typical vocal-based arrangements accompanied only by acoustic guitar, sometimes by violin and bass, and generally characterised by the absence of percussion and other rhythmic instruments other than the sporadic sound of bells. In general, it is a slightly one-sided album, where vocal dynamism is missing. Like the sisters Anne & Kate McGarrigle, the two half-sisters here are known for strong vocals but on the album you'll find few challenging melodies, where you miss the fine two-partness that Anne and Kate mastered, and perhaps the intention is just to collect a series of lullabies and play those as they should and should be used: to put people to sleep. At least it's a bit of a long-sufferance.

Recommended mostly for 'little ones' who are ready to sleep.

[👎 allmusic.com 4 / 5, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine, 👍Mojo 3 / 5 stars ]

Modest Mouse "Strangers to Ourselves" (2015)

Strangers to Ourselves
release date: Mar. 17, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,74]
producer: Isaac Brock, Tucker Martine, Brian Deck, Andrew Weiss, Clay Jones
label: Epic Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Strangers to Ourselves" - 2. "Lampshades on Fire" (live) - 3. "Shit in Your Cut" - 5. "Ansel" - 6. "The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box" - 7. "Coyotes" - 8. "Pups to Dust" - 12. "God Is an Indian and You're an Asshole" - 14. "The Best Room"

6th studio album by Modest Mouse is the band's first full studio album in 8 years, and the line-up has changed considerably over this relatively long time span. Former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who only took part in the band line-up from 2006-09, left the band (and joined The Cribs in 2009) and he was replaced by Jim Fairchild. 2012 meant even bigger changes as founding member and bassist Eric Judy and percussionist Joe Plummer both left the band - their replacements were Russell Higbee and Davey Brozowski, and the band was expanded by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Lisa Molinaro - and in 2014 also percussionist Ben Massarella, who had previously contributed on The Moon & Antarctica joined the group. This means that by now only the band's leader, vocalist and lyricist Isaac Brock and drummer Jeremiah Green have been in the band since 1993, and that Modest Mouse, which started out as a trio by now has become an octet.
The long time span and a completely new line-up sounds like something that would leave more than a significant mark on the output, but Strangers to Ourselves ultimately sounds like Modest Mouse more than anything and almost strangely follows closely on the path laid out on the 2007 album. Brock and Green sharing the steering wheel apparently guarantee the destination of the ride, where the journey perhaps has become more laid back and gentle. A song like "Lampshades on Fire", "Ansel" and "The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box" are songs that could easily have been part of the 2007 release, whereas other compositions are less energetic and seem more driven by narration. Without being weak, the opening title track really takes off in a completely new territory, which could scare some fans off, but the whole album is more than anything a solid experiment and pleasant return of this fascinating band. From my perspective, the album is a typical Modest Mouse album as it contains chorus-founded and melody-driven uptempo tracks and a particular amount of quirkiness. It also has the qualities of stronger albums as it unfolds itself along the way. It seems that no matter what happens in and around this band, Isaac Brock remains the captain of this vessel called Modest Mouse, and he makes sure that no matter the obstacles ahead, he'll bring forth the goods.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Q Magazine 3 / 5, Rolling Stone, NME 3,5 / 5, Uncut 4 / 5 stars ]

Nena "Oldschool" (2015)

Oldschool

release date: Feb. 27, 2015

format: cd (Deluxe Edition)

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

producer: Samy Deluxe (aka Samy Sorge)

label: Laugh + Peas - nationality: Germany

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

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

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

Recommended.

Laura Marling "Short Movie" (2015)

Short Movie

release date: Mar. 23, 2015

format: digital (13 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Laura Marling, Matt Ingram, Dan Cox

label: Virgin - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Warrior" - 2. "False Hope" (live) - 3. "I Feel Your Love" - 5. "Strange" - 6. "Don't Let Me Bring You Down" - 7. "Easy" - 8. "Gurdjieff's Daughter" (studio session) - 9. "Divine" - 12. "Short Movie"

5th studio album by Laura Marling follows two years after Once I Was an Eagle (May 2013), and it marks a strong stylistic turn. It's not that Marling has made an album in an entirely different genre or style, but the album may come as a bit of a surprise to those familiar with her most recent albums from 2011 and 2013 with focus on light and subtle instrumentation. Short Movie sees Marling embarking on a more outward and more electrified side of indie folk. There's still room for quiet and introspective songs but also a counter-balanced aggressiveness, which actually suits her singing voice and her other songs in a refreshing way. Not to compare with other artists, but some songs had me thinking of an energy I find in Martha Wainwright and also in PJ Harvey - again without comparing 'cause Marling makes all songs here sound exactly as her own, which they are, but she comes out as a more multi-facetted artist in the most positive way. Once again, Marling proves her worth as a songwriter and as vocalist and this new album, is my new preferred Laura Marling album.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,4 / 10, The Guardian, NME, Spin, Exclaim! 4 / 5 Stars ]

Cornershop "Hold on It's Easy" (2015)

Hold on It's Easy
release date: Feb. 2, 2015
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,33]
producer: Tjinder Singh
label: Ample Play Records - nationality: England, UK

8th studio album by Cornershop follows nearly three years after Urban Turban - The Singhles Club.

This is something entirely different by being an easy-listening remake [thus the title] of the band's debut album Hold on It Hurts from 1993 and seems to be made exclusively by Tjinder Singh with the assistance of additional musicians and completely without steady band member Ben Ayres.

The album has only been issued in vinyl and digital download formats.

Hold on It's Easy is interesting with its alternate versions of familiar songs but it's nevertheless a somewhat strange and less powerful collection of songs, and the album may serve more in a collection for completionists.

The Fratellis "Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied" (2015)

Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied
release date: Aug. 21, 2015
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Tony Hoffer
label: Cooking Vinyl - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Impostors (Little by Little)" - 3. "Baby Don't You Lie to Me!" - 12. "Down the Road and Back… Again"

4th studio album by The Fratellis is like the debut album Costello Music (2006) produced by American producer Tony Hoffer who has co-written all songs with Jon Fratelli.
The album may feature Hoffer back with the band, but the dynamics are not really there. It's the band's so far most introspective and least energetic release, and I don't find that the songs have enough quality to equal the band's former releases. In fact, I find that Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied is the band's so far low point.

Neil Young "The Monsanto Years" (2015)

The Monsanto Years
release date: Jun. 29, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Neil Young & John Hanlon
label: Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "A New Day for Love" - 3. "People Want to Hear About Love" (live) - 6. "Workin' Man" (live) - 8. "Monsanto Years" (live)


36th studio album by Neil Young released as 'Neil Young + The Promise of the Real' is something as antique as a protest album. The band 'Lukas & Promise of the Real' is made up of frontman Lukas Autry Nelson (son of Willie Nelson) on guitar & backing vocals, Corey McCormick on bass, Tato Melgar on percussion & backing vocals and with Anthony Logerfo on drums. Furthermore the band feature Lukas' brother Micah Nelson on electric guitar, electric charango and on backing vocals.
Stylistically, it's nothing new as they play country rock and folk rock. Some of the songs a more hard rock-shaped and mostly just sound like Young with Crazy Horse. Apparently, Young's long-time friendship with the Nelson family bound them stronger together after the 2014 Farm Aid project and paved the way for a collaboration album.
The protest thing here is against the American agricultural corporation Monsanto, which has found itself involved in many controversies - on the American continent, in Asia and in Europe most of which apparently dealing with the company's role in the handling of chemical waste and pesticides, and its production of GMO-related (Gene-Modified) crops and seeds as well as PCB-material. All of which sounds pretty nasty.
Anyway, the album turns out a bit like Neil Young has landed his freight ship on a subject that has caught his attention. He is a farmer - or: he is running a farm and has been preoccupied with ecological farming and ideas of 'green' products throughout the years. He has also been working on making car engines run on various types of energy, and in my mind, he sort of does whatever he wants. Lately, he has been highly productive musically - putting lots of energy into releasing new material, as if he ponders on when to leave the planet, and whenever something crosses his path, he puts "the plane down" and deals with it before taking off to another project that make him turn his head. This is a bit like that. Having been involved in Farm Aid, he perhaps felt like he needed to pay tribute to that idea by releasing a studio album in that "ballgame". And here it is!
The album mostly gained positive reviews, although, I don't find it that good and feel much like Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone. The great songs are absent and at best some compositions sound much like Neil with Crazy Horse, but others just sound like old-school protest songs without much else to offer than some lines about what Monsanto did wrong, which make me think more of Neil's old collaborative project-band CSNY - as they didn't always find the common ground. Having said that, Neil is Neil Young, and he can do whatever he wants in this world, and this is a project that he engages in and that ain't bad.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, The Guardian 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Blaue Blume "Syzygy" (2015)

Syzygy [debut]
release date: Oct. 23, 2015
format: digital (10 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Aske Rud Jørgensen, Blaue Blume
label: A:larm - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Candy" - 2. "Sky" - 3. "Bouyant Forces" - 4. "Thinking of Roxy" - 5. "On New Year's Eve (Reprise)" - 8. "Tranquil Curtains" - 9. "Before the Sun Blows Up Our Lungs"
[ The Syzygy sessions ]

Studio full-length album debut by Danish dreampop band Blaue Blume following its ep debut Beau & Lorette (June 2014).
Musically, the band builds on inspirational sources as diverse as Cocteau Twins, Jeff Buckley, and Antony and the Johnsons. In that respect it's quite original, and what seemed like a promising release with the 2014 ep turns out as a more solidified and wholesome affair with this one.
Yes, it's a mighty fine accomplishment but alas, I think, too few (will ever) know of it. The band's decision to only release through streaming services and on vinyl makes it less accessible, which I think is really bad as the music requires high fidelity equipment. The soundscape is spacious and voluminous - how does that comply with streaming services with 192 / 256kps?
The album is the last in the initial line-up with Peter Bøgvad on bass.
[ EDIT of 2022: Thankfully, the band has now made their music accessible in FLAC-format from their bandcamp profile! ]
[ Soundvenue 5 / 6, Gaffa.dk 6 / 6 stars ]

Jean-Michel Jarre "Electronica 1: The Time Machine" (2015)

Electronica 1: The Time Machine
release date: Oct. 16, 2015
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Jean Michel Jarre
label: Columbia Records - nationality: France

Track highlights: 4. "Automatic (Part 1)" (with Vince Clark) - 8. "Suns Have Gone" (with Moby) - 11. "Zero Gravity" (with Tangerine Dream) - 12. "Rely On Me" (with Laurie Anderson) - 13. "Stardust" (with Armin van Buuren)

16th* studio album by Jean-Michel Jarre is his first real studio album in 8½ years following the album Téo & Téa (2007). It consists of 16 tracks composed and played with 15 different collaborators featuring artists such as Air, Vince Clarke (Erasure), Moby, Fuck Buttons, Pete Townsend, and Laurie Anderson, and as its title suggests, it's the first of two collaborative albums of this sort.
Musically and stylistically, the album represents (at least on some of the songs) a move towards vocal-founded electronic and more strict compositions in terms of popular music tradition. According to Jarre himself, who had invited various artists to participate in his project, his intentions were to make an album that paid tribute to electronic music and an album that would reflect the link between his musical history to other artists, who were either deeply involved or closely (or somewhat) related in the making of electronic music.
My first impression was luke-warm but I have come to see greatness in this project, and knowing a few of the details about this album makes it much more interesting, but it also wins over time.
[ Renowned for Sound 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Gaffa.dk 4 / 5 stars ]

*Some mention it as his 17th, 18th or 19th album requiring his 2001 album Interior Music (exclusively released for Bang & Olufsen in 1000 copies), his 2004 remix album Aero, and / or Oxygène: New Master Recording from 2007 being regarded as studio releases.

Thåström "Den morronen" (2015)

Den morronen

release date: Feb. 11, 2015

format: digital (9 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Niklas Hellberg, Ulf Ivarsson, Thåström

label: Razzia Records - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Gräsfläckar" - 4. "Kom med mig" - 5. "Alltid va på väg" - 6. "Slickar i mig det sista" - 8. "Långsamt genom" - 9. "Psalm"

8th studio album by [Joachim] Thåström following Beväpna dig med vingar (2012) is the third consecutive album featuring producer Ivarsson but here he's assisted by Thåström and Niklas Hellberg, who constitute the music project Sällskapet with Pelle Ossler but Hellberg was also exclusive producer on Thåström's acclaimed Skebokvarnsv. 209 (2005). Between this and his 2012 album, Thåström released Nowy Port as the second with Sällskapet in 2013, but this was to be his last with the project as he decided to step out of the trio after the release of Den morronen. Also the third man of Sällskapet, Pelle Ossler contributes here as guitarist. All songs are, however, credited Thåström and Hellberg. Two tracks feature old associate of Imperiet, Per Hägglund as co-composer.

In Hellberg, Thåström seems to have found an almost perfect match as he appears to know how to concentrate the musical focus as someone who understands Thåström's qualities. Compared to Beväpna dig med vingar the album is slightly less dynamic and also lacks truly great tunes without being a lesser release. It still contains fine songs but appears to stay more on a narrow line throughout the album; however, it's also clear that Thåström has found his pen for telling interesting personal stories, which uplifts and creates a fine touch of quality.

Interesting and another fine studio album from the best solo artist in all of Scandinavia.

In Dec. 2015 Universal Music released the extensive 10-disc boxset ...Ungefär så här comprising Thåström's solo career. It contains 8 solo studio albums (including this) and two bonus-cds titled "Fuzzbox 1" and "Fuzzbox 2" with demo and live recordings of music spanning 25 years and it includes a 108 pages hardback book - needless say, for die-hard fans, and if you already have or know of his solo albums, you basically 'only' get two bonus cds.

[ 👍Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

Paul Weller "Saturns Pattern" (2015)

Saturns Pattern
release date: May 11, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Jan 'Stan' Kybert, Paul Weller
label: Parlophone Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "White Sky" - 2. "Saturns Pattern" - 3. "Going My Way" (live on CBS) - 4. "Long Time" - 5. "Pick It Up" - 6. "I'm Where I Should Be" (live on CBS) - 7. "Phoenix" - 8. "In the Car..." - 9. "These City Streets"

12th studio album by Paul Weller is a very strong release. He has tuned down on the electronic part, as heard on the predecessor Sonik Kicks (2012) and successfully made a new blend of his own, incorporating mod revival, pop soul and singer / songwriter without repeating former successes and put that cocktail into a contemporary context.

As a first impression I found it one of the best releases in 2015, and also making it Weller's best solo.. album.. ever. The album kept growing, and by the end of the year it was for some time my absolute favourite in a strong year.

Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

2015 Favourite releases: 1. Mellemblond Fra et sted - 2. Paul Weller Saturns Pattern - 3. Alabama Shakes Sound & Color

Mathilde Falch "Alle taler" (2015)

Alle taler

release date: Oct. 22, 2015

format: cd (MATFA15)

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

producer: Christian Ki Dall

label: self-released - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Det eneste du skal sige" - 2. "Det jeg ville se" - 3. "Alle taler" - 4. "Det jeg allerede har" - 5. "Ild i min røg" (4 / 5) (live) - 9. "Stikkende savn"

3rd full-length studio album by Mathilde Falch following Bag mine øjenlåg (Mar. 2014) is made with a new producer, just like her two previous albums has been made with unique producers. This approach secures some kind of progression in terms of soundscape and focal point in the arrangements. Like the predecessor, the album isn't a lengthy one as it consists of ten tracks with a total running time just exceeding 33 minutes.

Stylewise, the album is Mathilde Falch's most rocking album to date, although, it contains a few slow ballad-like singer / songwriter tunes, and despite already being an artist in her own rights, the album stands as her national breakthrough, and especially the song "Ild i min røg" was an instant radio hit.

Not unlike her father, Michael Falch, she makes music with obvious bonds to the music by one certain Mr. Springsteen, but imo, Mathilde doesn't sound like a mere copy of an American idol but actually performs with much original confidence, and on Alle taler she understands to balance the quiet, sincere, personal, and the dirty, and the album is easily represents her so far best collection of songs.

Recommended.

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

Richard Hawley "Hollow Meadows" (2015)

Hollow Meadows
release date: Sep. 11, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Shez Sheridan, Richard Hawley, Colin Elliott
label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Still Want You" - 2. "The World Looks Down" - 5. "Long Time Down" - 6. "Nothing Like a Friend" (4 / 5) - 7. "Sometimes I Feel" - 9. "Welcome the Sun" - 10. "Heart of Oak" (live on Later)

7th full studio album by chamber pop singer / songwriter Richard Hawley introduces guitarist Shez Sheridan as co-producer to the solid collaborative unity of Colin Elliott and Hawley. The album still feels very much like a return to form in the sense of being closer related to his great 2005 album Coles Corner, and which means he has put aside some of the more experimental aspects as found on his two most recent albums. The album is quiet, slow and with focus on the ballad-like stories about unrequited love.
I easily find it bettering his somewhat mediocre 2012 album Standing at the Sky's Edge but also bettering his fine 2009 album Truelove's Gutter and by that releasing one of his top 3 albums ever.
[ allmusic.com, NME 4 / 5 stars ]

The Prodigy "The Day Is My Enemy" (2015)

The Day Is My Enemy
release date: Mar. 30, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Liam Howlett, Neil McLellan
label: Take Me to the Hospital - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Day Is My Enemy" - 2. "Nasty" - 4. "Ibiza" (feat. Sleaford Mods)

6th studio album by The Prodigy was about 6 years in the making. Apparently, the album was a band effort, as contrary to the last two albums with Howlett in control of everything. According to Howlett the word 'violent' kept coming up when describing the album, and truth is, it's rather fitting. It's almost like an edited version of The Fat of the Land, from 97, only angrier.
I must confess that I haven't been a great fan of the band since the mid-90s, and have often been disappointed about their musical change into a more hip hop universe with heavy sampling and tribal, however, this is in a sense a return to form, although, I rejected it the first many times. It has a certain quality - it's quite good, but I don't really find it near great.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5, Drowned in Sound 2 / 5 stars ]

Trickfinger "Trickfinger" (2015)

Trickfinger [debut]

release date: Apr. 6, 2015

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,97]

producer: Trickfinger

label: Acid Test - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "After Below" - 2. "Before Above" - 7. "100mc4" - 8. "Phurip"

Full-length studio album debut by Trickfinger aka John Frusciante, thus not really being a pure musical debut as such, but Frusciante obviously is in need of a moniker to explore an electronic playground. His name is welded into an alt. rock sphere and Trickfinger in that respect sets him free to start anew. All tracks are credited Trickfinger as composer, instrumentalist, producer, and mixer.

Although, Frusciante explored electronic music on his most recent album Enclosure (Apr. 2014) this is something different by being only electronic music. It's instrumental progressive electronica, and in the style of acid house and idm. It's a bit of a mish-mash in terms of styles. It could indicate that Frusciante has become fascinated by the history of electronic music and that he has incorporated music from various periods in his own blend. That's not to say, it's a different approach from other electronic artists, but in this case Trickfinger comes out as something less original - there's a lack of direction, which isn't to say it's of lesser value.

With his new Trickfinger project, Frusciante once again showcases his very traits as an artist who only lives in non-conformity - his very name is a guarantee of musical progression. Trickfinger is a new direction for Frusciante, and a new territory to explore. This first album is a promissing start, although, there's much inspiration from other artists - e.g. Aphex Twin, Trentemöller, and with a certain influence from Jean-Michel Jarre - but Frusciante himself is an ingenious music maker and he will undoubtedly again produce more original works.

[ Exclaim! 4 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 5,9 / 10 stars ]