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

Hvem vil ikke elskes igen

udgivet: 14. okt. 2022

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

[vurdering: 4 / 5] [3,86]

producer: Lars Skjærbæk

selskab: Lydia Gramophone - nationalitet: Danmark

Udvalgte numre: 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 studiealbum af Signe Svendsen følger lidt mere end 2½ år efter Det forlyder (jan. 2020). Albummet er som alle hendes udgivelser produceret af Lars Skjærbæk, som også medvirker som instrumentalist på guitar, mandolin, synthesizer og som korsanger - hans yngre bror Troels spiller bas, og Lars' datter Sofie Juliane er ligeledes med på kor. Albummet er blevet til i selskab med en tæt række kendte musikere, som også inkluderer multi-instrumentalisten Christoffer Møller, som i øvrigt ofte har dannet musikalsk partner med Skjærbæk i deres roste producer-duo Mahler & Bir. Signe Svendsens eget selskab Lydia Gramophone er i øvrigt opkaldt efter hendes bedstemor, som også er centrum for den stærke "Lydia" (sang #9), hvor Svendsen gendigter noget af den barske skæbne bedstemoren gennemlevede.

Hvem vil ikke elskes igen følger i Svendsens melankolsk-stilede folk og ballade-orienterede singer / songwriter udgivelser. Svendsens pen er gennem årene blevet skarpere, og sangene her står mere personligt skarpt og passer virkelig flot i det musikalske udtryk der manifesteres her, og albummet fremstår ganske enkelt som Svendsens hidtil bedste. Det er et album uden overflødigt fyldstof og efter min mening, kandiderer det til årets bedste danske udgivelse.

Stor anbefaling.

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

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]

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 ]

2024 Favourite releases: 1. Adrienne Lenker Bright Future - 2. Hurray for the Riff-Raff The Past Is Still Alive - 3. Cassandra Jenkins My Light, My Destroyer

Boygenius "The Record" (2023)

The Record [debut]

release date: Mar. 31, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Boygenius, Catherine Marks

label: Interscope - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Without You Without Them" - 2. "$20" - 3. "Emily I'm Sorry" - 6. "Not Strong Enough" (live on SNL) - 9. "Satanist" - 11. "Anti-Curse"

Studio album debut by 'super-group' boygenius consisting of the three American singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, who debuted together under the alias back in 2018 when releasing the 6-track ep Boygenius on Matador. All songs are credited the trio in collaboration, and the album sky-rocketed up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and most critics have applauded the album.

Musically, it's labelled as indie-folk, or indie rock, although, Interscope isn't an all independent label and all three singer-songwriters have made several acclaimed albums on their own. Stylewise, they share a lot together and the music here doesn't represent major stylistic variations. In many ways this very collaboration reminds us about Crosby, Stills & Nash when they decided to unite forces back in '69 and produce some highly original music together, although individually, they actually enjoyed stable solo careers. Boygenius is a collective force with individual strengths and together they support one another in a most natural way.

The album is included on numerous lists of the year's best albums, and it is a mighty fine collection of songs, although, as in the case with CS&N, I'm not extremely overwhelmed and the biggest fan. That said, Boygenius does appear as a strong unit with great potential.

And therefore, The Record is recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,2 / 10, NME, Rolling Stone 5 / 5, 👍Clash 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Lotte Kestner "At My Most Beautiful" (2023) (single)

At My Most Beautiful, single

release date: Aug. 4, 2023

format: digital (1 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: self-produced

label: self-released (bandcamp) - nationality: USA

Tracklist: "At My Most Beautiful (R.E.M. cover"

Single release and second consecutive R.E.M. cover from Lotte Kestner made available through her bandcamp-profile following the release of the single "Walk Unfraid" (May 2023).

Again, Kestner covers an R.E.M. favourite [the original] from the album Up (1998) and she does that with appropriate conviction. The song remains but heavily rearranged to fit Kestner's lo-fi production and a simple and serene expression. A prediction regarding her next covers relase is likely to feature a handful of covers of the great Athens-band.

Lotte Kestner "Walk Unfraid" (2023) (single)

Walk Unafraid, single

release date: May 30, 2023

format: digital (1 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: self-produced

label: self-released (bandcamp) - nationality: USA

Tracklist: "Walk Unfraid (R.E.M. cover)"

Single release by Lotte Kestner released via the artist's bandcamp-profile in support of #bravehood ('a community of many supporting children in emergency situations').

The original is taken from the R.E.M. album Up (1998), and the song is one of my personal all-time favourites by the great band from Athens, Georgia. Kestner is famous for making cover versions, and this one is a highly remarkable and original version by being a lo-fi stripped-down song but also a multi-layered track by the way she has made use of several tracks in the mixing of the recording - to some extent in an unusual manner in the case of Kestner covers that are often quite simple arrangements. That alone makes it a most interesting version, as she has made lots of covers using only guitar with vocal, or piano with vocal, but to hear how she maintains a minimalist expression while turning up on the arrangement-button is something new and a most welcome introduction to her soundscape.

Cat Power "Covers" (2022)

Covers

release date: Jan. 14, 2022

format: cd (BRC687, Japan)

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

producer: Chan Marshall

label: Domino / Beat - nationality:

Track highlights: 1. "Bad Religion" (live) - 3. "Pa Pa Power" - 6. "Against the Wind" - 8. "These Days" - 10. "I Had a Dream Joe" - 12. "I'll Be Seeing You" (4 / 5)

11th studio album by Cat Power following nearly 3½ years after Wanderer (Oct. 2018) is Power's first with Domino after leaving Matador. Cat Power has previously made covers and made it one of her strongest assets. And as the title here suggests, this one appears as a sequel to her The Covers Record from 2000. This new selection more or less copies the idea of covering songs from a large variety of styles and periods. The diversity in the original material is extremely wide, as she covers songs of neo-soul (Frank Ocean), vocal jazz (Billie Holiday), country rock (Bob Seger), celtic rock (The Pogues), folk pop (Jackson Browne), and punk blues (Nick Cave), just to mention one half of the songs. It's an extreme span, although, yes, Cat Power ensures stylistic connection in these new arrangements. I'm just not entirely convinced about the idea to grab songs from any musical shelf to see if it will work. It's possible, yes, but is it that original? And then, she even challenges the idea of having a mutual foundation in the arrangements 'cause there is no common foundation there. "I Had a Dream Joe" comes so close to the original that it somehow sticks out, and several other songs do exactly that - so there goes coherency like it does on her 2000 album. In that regard it's somewhat like repeating what could have been an obvious mistake from her first covers album, although, this new collection betters the former. Chan Marshall is a gifted arranger, and she could possibly have done better when chosing original songs. What on the other hand work really well, is her intense emmotional contribution to well-known songs. She seems capable of covering whatever song and still make it hers. She's an absolute wonderful interpretor and performer - just love that vocal.

Recommendation: probably mostly for fans.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,7 / 10, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Lotte Kestner "Radiohead Covers" (2023)

Radiohead Covers (ep) (compilation)

release date: Apr. 7, 2023

format: digital (4 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,63]

producer: Anna-Lynne Williams [recorded by]

label: self-released - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "All I Need" - 2. "Motion Picture Soundtrack" - 3. "How to Disappear Completely" - 4. "No Surprises"

Four previously released covers have here been compiled for digital download at Kestner's bandcamp profile. Tracks #1 and #2 are both included on Covers 2 (2020), track #3 was previously included on Covers (2015), and track #4 has previously been available on her bandcamp site. Covers are just a big part of Kestner's music, as most of her releases have included covers, and she has released several singles, eps, and full albums exclusively containing cover songs, so seing Kestner covering Radiohead isn't really a rare thing.

Her speciality, when speaking of covers, is her ability to make her very own and highly original ambient folk-versions of not-folk material, and in that regard it's always fascinating how she chose to arrange these songs.

The four Radiohead songs are all major classics by this great innovative British band and in Kestner's hands they shine anew. I do prefer the originals, but Kestner's versions are still intruiging renditions.

Grant-Lee Phillips "All That You Can Dream" (2022)

All That You Can Dream

udgivet: 20. maj 2022

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[vurdering: 3,5 / 5] [3,60]

producer: Grant-Lee Phillips

selskab: Yep Roc - nationalitet: USA

Udvalgte numre: 3. "Peace Is a Delicate Thing" - 4. "All That You Can Dream" - 5. "Rats in a Barrel" (akustisk live-optræden) - 8. "You Can't Hide" - 9. "My Eyes Have Seen" - 10. "Remember This" - 11. "All by Heart"

11. studiealbum fra Grant-Lee Phillips følger 20 måneder efter Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff (sep. 2020). Phillips har for længe siden taget hånd om sin egen musikalske karriere, herunder udgivelsen af musik på eget selskab, og det er normalt noget, der giver genlyd i musikken fra kunstnere, som arbejder på denne kontrollerede måde. Grant-Lee har også fundet sit eget udtryk, som holder sig tæt til en foretrukken sti, og i tilfældet med denne nyeste udgivelse, føles det næsten som efterfølgeren til hans album 2020 album. Det gør det dog ikke til et ringere album, da det betyder gennemarbejdede kompositioner, hvor 'less is more' i forhold til arrangementer og akkompagnerende musikere - tingene går simpelthen op i en højere enhed som meningsfuld musik. Grant-Lee selv optræder som multi-instrumentalist, hvilket naturligvis gør indspilningsprocessen lettere, og han har slået sig sammen med et par tilbagevendende musikere, som bl.a. tæller Eric Heywood på pedal steel og guitar, Jennifer Condos på bas og Jay Bellerose på trommer - alle spilledede med på Phillips' album fra 2020.

På trods af et begrænset udvalg af instrumenter føles det aldrig uinspirerende eller ensformigt, og det vel sagtens et tegn på håndværk, der beviser hans værd som komponist og arrangør. Mixet og produktionen har desuden præg af live-indspilninger i studiet, hvor man fornemmer tilstedeværelsen af både vokalisten og nærværet ved anslagene guitaren.

Jeg kan lide det, det er godt. Det er ikke et af hans top 3-album, men det er en samling sange, der emmer af kvalitet og autencitet.

Btw.: Forsiden er et maleri af Grant-Lee Phillips, der tilfældigvis også hobbyen med især landskabsmalerier (dette er en undtagelse).

[ allmusic.com, Uncut, Classic Rock 3,5 / 5, Mojo 4 / 5 stjerner ]

Band of Horses "Things Are Great" (2022)

Things Are Great

release date: Mar. 4, 2022

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Wolfgang Zimmerman & Benjamin Bridwell

label: BMG - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Warning Signs" (4 / 5) - 2. "Crutch" (4 / 5) - 3. "Tragedy of the Commons" - 5. "In Need of Repair" - 6. "Aftermath" (4 / 5) - 7. "Lights" - 8. "Ice Night We're Having" - 9. "You Are Nice to Me" - 10. "Coalinga"

6th studio album by Band of Horses is a most welcomed new release following nearly six full years since the band's last effort, Why Are You OK (Jun. 2016). Some probably had their doubts about the band's survival, but here they are, Band of Horses is synonymous with Ben Bridwell, and he's back with a new line-up. Since 2017 the band has been without guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bassist Bill Reynolds, who had both been stable members for a decade, and a new line-up has taken its time. Two new guitarists have been through and out - the most recent, Ian MacDougal played in the band from 2017, and he is still credited as guitarist on this but left the band prior to the album release - he was subsequently replaced by Brett Nash. Bassist Matt Gentling, who played in the band for a short period back in early 2007 after which he was replaced by Bill Reynolds, is now back as substitute for Reynolds.

Although, the album hasn't made impressive entries on the album charts, it has been met by quite positive reviews, and I fully understand the positive hype. Bridwell has simply done it again! Things Are Great follows so nicely in the path laid out by the band's first two - and so far only great albums, but now Band of Horses have made three! Forget Infinte Arms, Mirage Rock and even Why Are You OK. - they contain good and fine songs but are all rather uneven albums. This one on the other hand is up there among their best, and if it's a bit of a mystery why it hasn't been praised more, you may ask how Bridwell & Co. are able to come up with an album that is both so fresh and melodic yet so much in the "tradition" of the band's best songs made some 15 years ago. My guess is, the mystery lies in the fact that this band is more or less a one-man project, and if Bridwell has some great tunes, well, then you get to experience things like this!

Highly recommended!

[ 👍allmusic.com, Mojo, Classic Rock, Uncut 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7,3 / 10, 👎Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Faye Webster "I Know I'm Funny haha" (2021)

I Know I'm Funny haha

release date: Jun. 25, 2021

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Drew Vandenberg, Faye Webster

label: Secretly Canadian - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Better Distractions" - 3. "I Know I'm Funny haha" - 4. "In a Good Way" - 5. "Kind Of" - 6. "Cheers" - 9. "A Dream With a Baseball Player" - 10. "Overslept" (feat. Mei Ehara)

4th studio album from Faye Webster released two years after what is conceived as her breakthrough album Atlanta Millionaires Club. An unforseen aid has nursed the new album to international attention when ex-president Barrack Obama's Spotify playlist revealed it included the song "Better Distractions".

Webster continue on the same path of alt. country, indie folk mixed with elements from r&b and hip hop. At times it comes close to lounge and jazz pop, and then it also reach out to a stronger hip hop-influence but it mainly stays on a narrow stylistic space filled with lap steel, bass and jazz percussion together with Webster's gentle melancholia keeping everything on the same road. Compared to her 2019 album, the new album comes out as lesser challenging but also as a tighter release.

The album has been met by positive reviews and it has landed two US Billboard top 10 positions with a position as number #10 on the Americana / Folk chart list and a 9th spot on the Heatseekers Album list, and the album also ended as number #11 on Pitchfork's 2021 year-end-list.

Webster is definitely an artist to look out for, and with I Know I'm Funny haha, she has made her most coherent and so far most fascinating album.

Recommended.

[ 😶allmusic.com 3 / 5, 👍Under the Radar 7,5 / 10, NME 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,4 / 10, Uncut 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Lotte Kestner "Lost Songs" (2022)

Lost Songs

release date: Feb. 11, 2022

format: digital (13 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,70]

producer: Anna-Lynne Williams

label: self-released - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Open Ocean" (4 / 5) - 2. "Slip" - 3. "Weaving" - 5. "Colors That Did Not Exist" - 8. "You Must Have" - 12. "Fade Away" - 13. "Inside of Love"

Solo album by Lotte Kestner (aka Anna-Lynne Williams), former songwriter and vocalist in Seattle folk-quartet Trespassers William, a band which after years with an ever-changing line-up ended up as the duo-project by the only lasting members: Williams and composer / guitarist Matt Brown. After the split from Brown, Williams had a short stint and made two albums with Ormonde - another duo-project (this time with Robert Gomez) - she then concentrated on her already highly original solo career as Lotte Kestner (debuted with China Mountain in 2008).

Lost Songs appears to be her seventh, eigth or ninth solo album. It's not the easyist task to enlist her solo albums. Some releases are pure cover albums, some are alternate mixes, remixes, and with titles like Solo Versions (2017) and Other Versions (2018) it's rather hard to distinguish what's really new releases in a traditional sense. And Lost Songs follows this pattern by both being a studio album of 13 tracks but also a collection of songs composed over [what I read somewhere is] a ten year period. On previous releases Kestner has made it a bit of her thing to do cover versions, and on this you'll find two songs: "Everything I Wanted" by Billie Eilish and "Inside of Love" by Nada Surf.

Kestner's trademarks are slow to very slow folkish material held in lo-fi productions, typically arranged with Kestner's gentle vocal accompanied by the strumming of a guitar and at times with occasional accompanying piano, backing harmonies and soft percussion. Several passages brings to mind folk traditonalists as Joni Mitchell and / or Emmylou Harris, although Kestner's songs are not exemplified entirely by stunning vocal range or the strengths of vocal performances - instead it dwells on a narrow palette of grey colours and emmotional melancholic sensation. That may not sound impressing as such, but Kestner does what she does without much fuzz and still the end result is quality music.

I enjoy this quite a bit, only, at times I find somewhat narrow with little variation but it's all done with artistic conviction.

[ bandcamp ]

[ HeavyPop (German) 7 / 10 stars ]

Faye Webster "Atlanta Millionaires Club" (2019)

Atlanta Millionaires Club

release date: May 24, 2019

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,70]

producer: Faye Webster, Matt Martin, Drew Vandenberg

label: Secretly Canadian - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Room Temperature" - 2. "Right Side of My Neck" - 3. "Hurts Me Too" - 5. "Jonny" - 7. "Come to Atlanta" - 9. "Flowers"

3rd studio album by Faye Webster, her first with Secretly Canadian. After a self-released debut of Run & Tell (Oct. 2013) she released Faye Webster (May 2017) on Awful Records.

Atlanta Millionaires Club is a unique mix of indie folk, country and hip hop, which in the hands of Webster sounds just like the normal blend of styles. The country element secures a laid-back tone in the arrangements, and Webster narrates maturely about everyday life and relationships much contrary to being merely 21 years of age. Her vocal is distinct, light and fragile, making me think of a wind sweeping soothening through an open window on a lazy afternoon when temperature is too high for outdoor activities.

The album is my first listen to Webster's sound, but definitely not the last.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,8 / 10, Rolling Stone, NME, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]

Lotte Kestner "Stolen" (2011)

Stolen

release date: Jun. 1, 2011

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]

producer: self-produced

label: self-released - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Flume" - 5. "Hur jag fick dig att älska mig" - 6. "Fake Empire" - 8. "Let's Go to Bed" - 11. "True Faith"

3rd studio album by Lotte Kestner (aka Anna-Lynne Williams) is often mentioned as her sophomore album to China Mountain (May 2008), but she released China Mountain B-sides in 2009, although, the album is no longer filed on her bandcamp-profile; however, it's been out, and it's now a part of her discography.

Stolen is Kestner's first official covers album, and there's a few. The album is lo-fi, indie folk - and propably recorded by Williams without the use of overdubs and practical editing of tracks. In that regard it's quite coherent, although the original songs stem from very different sources and represent a rather wide stylistic span. You only have to mention some of the artists: Damien Jurado, Bon Iver, Kent, The National, Eels, The Cure, New Order, Interpol. And she even sings in Swedish when covering Kent!

The album nicely 'covers' Kestner's musical universe. It's melancholic and quiet lo-fi folk, where you sense the inspiration from the gloomy side of the post-punk influence but there's something uplifting in Kestner's airy / ethereal vocal.

Band of Horses "Why Are You OK" (2016)

Why Are You OK

release date: Jun. 10, 2016

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Jason Lytle

label: Interscope - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Dull Times / The Moon" - 2. "Solemn Oath" - 3. "Hag" - 4. "Casual Party" - 5. "In a Drawer" - 11. "Barrel House"

5th studio album by Band of Horses succeeds Mirage Rock by nearly four full years and like that it introduces a new producer - this time with band leader of indie rock band Grandaddy, Jason Lytle. Once again, the band remains intact, but this is also the last featuring guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bassist Bill Reynolds, who both departed in early 2017.

The album didn't produce better charts than the predecessor but critics generally saw it as bettering the 2012 album, and I fully agree with that. In fact, I easily find it the band's third best but also as a clear improvement from the more incoherent Mirage Rock. It's not that Why Are You OK is another great album, but it's a return to actually attempting to produce something worthwhile instead of reproducing an old recipe. Bridwell sings again with sincerity and there's a balance of soft and hard - almost with bonds to Modest Mouse or Sonic Youth - completely without further comparison other than the play with energies 'cause this is still an indie folk release. With this, Band of Horses appear to be back on track. I like it, it's a certified grower.

[ The Guardian 4 / 5, 👉Rolling Stone, 👍Uncut 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 6,0 / 10, Mojo 3 / 5 stars ]

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 ]

Cassandra Jenkins "Play Till You Win" (2017)

Play Till You Win [debut]

release date: Apr. 7, 2017

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]

producer: Cassandra Jenkins & Sam Owens

label: self-released - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Candy Crane" (live) - 2. "Tennessee Waltz" - 5. "Red Lips" - 6. "Disappearing" - 9. "Disco Death Dance" - 10. "Some Time" - 11. "Halley" (live)

Full-length studio album debut by Cassandra Jenkins is a decent first-attempt where she already upholds a certain self-reliance as someone who's been around much longer. And that is something, which is stressed by how the album is both a coherent and nicely varied experience. She has her own laid-back singing style and maturely builds on classic folk rock and country of the 70s without sounding dated. What lacks, are stronger personal songs and some of the original quality you'll find on her later releases, but all in all, Play Till You Win is a fine debut.

[ The Line of Best Fit 7,5 / 10 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 ]

Adrianne Lenker "Songs & Instrumentals" (2020)

Songs & Instrumentals

release date: Oct. 23, 2020

format: 2cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: Phil Weinrobe

label: 4AD - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Two Reverse" - 2. "Ingydar" - 3. "Anything" - 4. "Forwards Beckon Rebound" - 5. "Heavy Focus" - 6. "Half Return" - 8. "Zombie Girl" - 9. "Not a Lot, Just Forever" - 10. "Dragon Eyes" - 13. "Music for Indigo"

Double solo album by Adrianne Lenker from the New York-based band Big Thief following the release of Big Thief's 2019 album Two Hands (Oct. 2019) for which Lenker single-handedly wrote and composed nearly all songs much to the usual tradition within the band. Songs & Instrumentals has been issued as double album in vinyl and cd formats and then it also exists as two single albums released in digital formats via bandcamp.com. Thing is, "Songs" is the title of the vocal side of the album (running 40:15 minutes) and "Instrumentals", well yes, it goes to show - and apart from that, this 'second part' only consists of two compositions - here, tracks #12 and #13. "Music for Indigo" and "Mostly Chimes" run for 21:12 and 16:12 minutes respectively. Apparently, the album came about as the band's live tour activities had been brought to an abrupt end due to the COVID-19 lock-down.

This solo outing by Lenker doesn't fall far from the albums by Big Thief but in general Lenker's solo songs tend to be more instrospective, more quiet singer / songwriter and more stripped down material without the distinct bond to an indie rock scene, and with this one she reveals an even more subtle and near lo-fi-arranged intimate collection that just feel like the most natural thing - which in the case of Adrianne Lenker, it probably just is. In fact, the whole album appears to only have Lenker as performer on guitar and vocal (as well as painter for the cover) with Phil Weinrobe as recording engineer.

Lyrically, it's deeply personal, yet on a general level of instrospectiveness. It's about how to deal with emotions linked to separation, loss and... human suffering, and then, it's nevertheless light-hearted music all because of light strumming acoustic guitars and a gentle vocal aided along with delicate percussion. Regarding 'track highlights', it's difficult, if not impossible, to point out specific songs when in fact it's the whole album as an experience that makes it really good.

Songs & Instrumentals is a most welcomed album.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, NME, Uncut 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,8 / 10 stars ]

Cat Power "The Greatest" (2006)

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

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

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

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

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

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