Laurie Anderson "Amelia" (2024)

Amelia

udgivet: 20. aug. 2024

format: vinyl (gatefold) / digital (22 x File, FLAC)

[vurdering: 3,5 / 5] [3,74]

producer: Laurie Anderson

selskab: Nonesuch - nationalitet: USA

Udvalgte numre: 1. "To Circle the World" - 3. "Take-Off" - 4. "Aloft (feat. ANOHNI)" - 5. "San Juan" - 7. "Crossing the Equator (feat. ANOHNI)" - 10. "The Letter" - 11. "India and on Down to Australia (feat. ANOHNI)" - 13. "Flying at Night" - 15. "Road to Mandalay" - 21. "Radio (feat. ANOHNI)"

[ playliste ]

8. studiealbum af Laurie Anderson udkommer mere end 14 år [!] efter Homeland (juni 2010) er et konceptuelt album baseret på den sidste ekspedition i 1937 foretaget af den amerikanske luftfartspioner Amelia Earhart. Ikke overraskende har Anderson i løbet af mere end et årti været optaget af andre projekter - fx sin egen film og soundtrack Heart of a Dog (okt. 2015) og en række samarbejdsprojekter, herunder Landfall (feb. 2018) lavet sammen med Kronos Quartet, Songs From the Bardo (2019) skabt sammen med Tenzin Choegyal og Jesse Paris Smith, samt albummet Dokument #2 (2020) lavet med Brian Eno og Ebe Oke. Så nej, Laurie Anderson er langt fra gået på pension!

På mange måder er Amelia et værk, som vi genkender som typisk Andersonsk – ikke fordi det er, hvad man ville have forventet, for det er ikke sådan, at Anderson i en moden alder har fundet sig en tryg base, hvor hun holder sig til en velkendt formel, som mange andre kunstnere med de bedste år bag sig. Det er mere i den forstand, at det ganske enkelt ikke kunne være lavet af nogen anden. Albummet består af 22 navngivne numre - og ja, det er en hel del, men med en samlet spilletid på knap 35 minutter er det jo ikke som sådan en lang udgivelse, da de fleste numre kun varer omkring ét minut - fra 29 sekunder til næsten 4 minutter - men igen, de fleste numre er på under to minutter, og det forklarer den relativt korte spilletid. Lidt paradoksalt fungerer det virkelig godt på grund af sangenes struktur, som gør, at de hænger uløseligt sammen og føjer sig naturligt ind i rækkefølgen.

Overordnet fortæller Anderson med Amelia historien om Earharts sidste ekspedition, hvor Anderson både skildrer, hvad der er historisk kendt - hvor og hvornår påbegyndte Earhart sin sidste rejse? Hvad var hendes mission? - Og samtidig inddrager Anderson faktuelle notater fra dagbøger og radiologs med de autentiske beskeder, der blev sendt fra kontroltårnet, mens man forsøgte at holde fast i radiokontakten efter, at Earhart var forsvundet. Albummets enkelte numre fungerer som små dagbogsnotater over, hvad hun kunne have oplevet på rejsen en given dag. På den måde bliver det en form for fiktionaliseret historiefortælling iblandet noget dokumentaristisk.

Selvfølgelig fortæller Anderson ikke historien kronologisk - hun skifter klogt perspektiv fra at beskrive det overordnede projekt til at zoome ind på detaljerede episoder - frem og tilbage. Hun starter med idéen bag Earharts projekt: at flyve jorden rundt fra øst til vest, fra Oakland, Californien og tilbage igen. Et lydklip med Earhart optræder pludseligt midt i et nummer (nummer #12 "This Modern World") - næsten placeret i albummets midte - og Anderson fortsætter fortællingen, mens lytteren ledes dybere ind i mysteriet. Det føles som at overvære en film, man tvinges til kun at opleve via ørerne, og Anderson demonstrerer sin evne til at strukturere sine værker på et ekstraordinært niveau. Der er altid den ekstra dimension ved værker af Anderson. Det får mig til at tænke på hendes fascinerende film Heart of a Dog, som også findes som et stærkt selvstændigt soundtrack. Amelia er på den måde den musikalske fortælling uden en tilhørende film.

Instrumenteringen består af klassisk orkestermusik med vokale indslag, hvor Anderson præger fortællingen med sin særlige frasering og klang. Der er også noget specielt dragende ved tilstedeværelsen af ANOHNI, der beriger udvalgte numre med sin himmelske stemme. Alt er arrangeret for fuldt orkester, inklusive Filharmonie Brno og Trimbach Trio, med stor vægt på strygere.

Det er ikke et album med traditionelle sange. Det er overvejende spoken-word, men der er masser af musik, som understøtter følelser og handlinger - præcis som var det understøttelsen af noget visuelt. Anderson har sin helt egen karakteristiske stemme og diktion, som for mig næsten altid fungerer som en magnet for øret - se blot førnævnte film, og lyt dernæst til dette album.

Dette er et af Andersons bedste værker, og jeg bliver lettere konfus i forhold til, hvordan man skal bedømme et så bemærkelsesværdigt værk. Jeg har haft albummet på repeat - og det fungerer fremragende ved at køre i loop. Og igen: der er stort set ikke nogen traditionelle sange her - måske kommer nummer #21 tættest på noget der ligner - men det, der bør fremhæves, er albummet i sin helhed. Albummet er én ‘lang’ fortælling, skabt til at blive hørt fra start til slut, og det rejser faktisk spørgsmålet: burde det i virkeligheden betragtes som én lang komposition opdelt i musikalske segmenter, lidt á la en opera / operette?

Uagtet hvilken kategori albummet kan placeres i, er det med en stærk anbefaling.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,1 / 10, Uncut 4 / 5, PopMatters, Clash 4,5 / 5 stjerner ]

=> The Story of 'Amelia' by Laurie Anderson

Sun Kil Moon "This Is My Dinner" (2018)

This Is My Dinner

release date: Nov. 1, 2018

format: digital (10 x FILE, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: Mark Kozelek

label: Caldo Verde Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "This Is Not Possible" - 2. "This Is My Dinner" - 3. "Linda Blair" - 4. "Copenhagen" - 5. "Candles"

9th studio album by Sun Kil Moon, aka Mark Kozelek, you may add. This is actually Kozelek's seventh studio album over the past two years (!). It follows six months after the album Mark Kozelek (May 2018) released under his own name, and, Okay, three of these seven albums are collaborations but still, it documents Kozelek's productive stint these days. Since Among the Leaves (May 2012), Mark Kozelek has released 13 albums including this one over a six-year-period - that's more than two albums per year (in 2017 alone he released 5 albums!). This release appears to have been recorded in the span of only a few days - one day at a studio in Copenhagen, Denmark, and three days spent in a studio in San Francisco, and Kozelek has put down 75 mins of music.

Mark Kozelek is main songwriter with most of the compositions being credited Ben Boye, Ramon Fermin, and Tony Scherr. The backing band consists of keyboardists Ben Boye and Chris Connelly, drummers Jim White and Scott McPherson, new-found guitarist Ramon Fermin, and jazz-sessions bassists Tony Scherr and Jeff Cleland. Two covers are included: track #7 "Come on Get Happy" written by Danny Janssen and Wes Farrell - a track stemming from the American musical sitcom, and this is the theme song to "The Partridge Family", and track #8 "Rock 'n' Roll Singer" by Australian hard rock band AC/DC credited Bon Scott, Angus Young, and Malcolm Young - a song Kozelek already included on his solo ep debut Rock 'n' Roll Singer (Jun. 2000) in a different version.

The album basically continues where Mark Kozelek ended, although, this one appears as a more incoherent product and perhaps an even bolder album founded on improvs. As a songwriter, Kozelek has evolved from writing more traditional conscious lyrics to a contemporary state where he seems to take inspiration in news subjects, and occurances from his private life, as well as things related to where he performs. It appears that many of his new songs have been made during live tours and then later put down in a studio - possibly with an attempt to recapture what had previously worked in live situations.  Also his choice to include two tribute songs: tracks #6 "David Cassidy" and the AC/DC composition releates to the fact that David Cassidy and Malcolm Young (of AC/DC) both passed away during his live tour. I feel that the second half of the album (tracks 6-10) stand as more irregular / unprepared improvs, as if to see what happens if-we-just-tape-whatever-noices-we-make-in-the-following. This shouldn't work but the first half of the album actually has more than decent moments that I enjoy, but still, when comparing with many of his previous releases, this is not one of his better attempts.

Not recommended.

[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, UnderTheRadar 3 / 5, Exclaim! 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Mark Kozelek "Mark Kozelek" (2018)

Mark Kozelek

release date: May 11, 2018

format: 2 cd

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

producer: Mark Kozelek

label: Caldo Verde - nationality: USA

Track highlights: Disc 1) 1. "This Is My Town" - 2. "Live in Chicago - 3. "The Mark Kozelek Museum" - 4. "My Love for You Is Undying" - 5. "Weed Wacker" - 6. "Sublime"

Disc 2) 1. "Good Nostalgia" - 2. "666 Post" - 5. "I Cried During Wall Street"

Solo album by Mark Kozelek following the ep Night Talks (Mar. 2017) but this is only when counting pure Kozelek releases 'cause in between these two, Kozelek has issued two collaboration albums: Yellow Kitchen (Jun. 2017) together with Sean Yeaton (bassist in noise folk band Parquet Courts) and Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White (Oct. 2017) - Boye has performed on several albums by Kozelek (often when performing as Sun Kil Moon) and Australian drummer Jim White (who has a long history as sessions musicians for e.g. Cat Power, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, and Martha Wainwright), White also plays drums on the Yellow Kitchen album. This album consists of 11 tracks. It comes as an 11 track digital album, a 2 CD issue, and as a 2 lp vinyl issue, all with a total running length of more than 88 minutes.

Kozelek continues his flow of releases, which has been an ongoing production in the fast lane for most of a decade. He has issued an abundance of releases either using his birthname, his moniker Sun Kil Moon, or he has been engaged in various collaboration projects with a long list of others with different musical background. The common denominator is, however, Kozelek's songwriting - it's primarily long compositions, varying in length from typically 4 to 15 mins and characterised by drone-like or progressive backing, which at times, and especially when referring to his latest works, are pure improvs. Also his lyrics. Kozelek has taken a move away from written material to compositions which are pure streams of consciousness. A negative response to this labels some of his albums as 'babbling', and then others appreciate his original style. The thing is, when listening attentively to his narrations, there are always funny aspects and if you accept the style and forget that lyrics should be sung - Kozelek often just rambles along like reading aloud from diary notes mixed with journals or news paper articles, and he always takes a starting point in experienced episodes - but this may take him far. He returns to certain preferred subjects, which include boxing, music, drinking, authors, films and actors, and then he also talks explicitly about sex. A constant are his everday life experiences of ordinary things like shopping, meeting people in the street, discusssions with someone about life or death or just about who's right and who's wrong, and then: descriptions of the road, the apartment, where he finds himself at, seing cats or dogs, about forgetting, about remembering something important / not really important, about what he thinks of this or that song, this or that album, this or that artist. It's like listening to someone talking about everything and nothing. But. That can be a fascinating journey, and that's what I have come to enjoy about Kozelek: he's basically a great narrator.

It has taken me quite some time to get accustomed to Kozelek's change of style going from what some labeled 'slowcore' onto a more distinct alt. folk scene with bonds to americana and indie folk and / or indie rock to this modern expression of his, which at first could sound like he's not really making any efforts anymore. But I mostly just enjoy his sometimes hilarious observations, and I have come to see it more in line with other types of artistic advancement. Think of the progression of style by Picasso - imagine the sublime painter, who was fully capable of producing natural / photo-like and detailed sceneries, and then he went through stages with surrealism, developing cubism and a freer form of new-cubism - fra from his starting point. Now, Kozelek is not a contemporary Picasso, and the comparison may seem ridiculous, but Kozelek too has gone his own ways in forming a new musical style based on improvs in a scenery of spoken-word arrangements. Like it or not, but this is his prefered expression at this point in a long career.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 6,8 / 10, TheNeedleDrop 7 / 10, SputnikMusic 3,6 / 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 ]

Laurie Anderson "Heart of a Dog" (OST) (2015)

Heart of a Dog (soundtrack)

udgivet: 23. okt. 2015

format: cd

[vurdering: 3,5 / 5] [3,78]

producer: Laurie Anderson

selskab: Nonesuch - nationalitet: USA

Udvalgte numre: 2. "Birth of Lola" - 4. "From the Air" - 6. "Lola Goes Blind" - 8. "How to Feel Sad Without Being Sad" - 11. "The Cloud" - 13. "What If the Sky Froze?" - 14. "Piano Lessons" - 15. "Animals Are Like People" - 18. "The Bardo" - 19. "The Real World" - 21. "A Story About a Story" - 24. "Bring Her Some Flowers" - 27. "Turning Time Around"

Soundtrack fra Laurie Anderson er skabt til hendes egen film af samme navn, som også havde premiere okt. 2015, og som har Anderson som forfatter, instruktør og producer. Filmen er en semi-dokumentar baseret på fortællerens (Andersons) fortælling centreret omkring livet og døden for Andersons hund Lolabelle. Albummet indeholder 27 numre og har en samlet spilletid på over 75 minutter. De korteste numre varer omkring et minut, mens de længste overstiger 7 minutter, men størstedelen af kompositionerne varer omkring 2-3 minutter. Alle sange, undtagen det sidste nummer, som er fremført og komponeret af Lou Reed, er krediteret Anderson alene.

Ikke overraskende fungerer soundtracket rigtig godt på sine egne præmisser, selvom det føjer noget til oplevelsen rent faktisk at have set filmen - og ikke overraskende, fordi Anderson måske er bedst kendt for sine musikalske bidrag, selvom hun er en multitalentfuld kunstner.

Historien om Lolabelle er en yderst fascinerende idé, der får Anderson til at berøre temaer relateret til forskellige opfattelser af eksistens og især: liv og død, og hvad tabet af liv betyder for levende væsener. Selvfølgelig spiller Lou Reed's bortgang i 2013 en rolle og kan være den væsentligste begivenhed, der ansporede Anderson til at omsætte sine tanker til dette værk. Men i Anderson's raffinerede fortælling bliver 'Lou-delen' ikke behandlet eksplicit, selvom vi forstår tilstedeværelsen og vigtigheden af dette gennem de emner, hun behandler. Afslutningsnummeret siger måske mere end det umiddelbare, når Lou synger om "Turning Time Around" og akkompagnerer sig selv på bas på den måde, som kun Lou kan - og sigende nok på et nummer, der kunne have været inkluderet på Reed's eget 1992-album Magic & Loss, som netop omhandler menneskelige tab, men som i virkeligheden er et nummer, der kommer fra hans album Ecstasy fra 2000. Og så er Lolabelle naturligvis langt fra nogen gennemsnitlig hund. Hun beskrives på den mest blide og subtile måde som værende én, der kender alle menneskelige følelser, og som endda lever livet som kunstner - hun spiller musik og maler. Via Anderson's livlige fortælling bliver Lolabelle løftet til en slags overmenneskelig skabning, en beslægtet ånd, et transcendentalt væsen, hvilket får ekstra betydning, når man medtænker, at Anderson selv er optaget af buddisme.

Heart of a Dog er meget mere end soundtracket til en genial film. Det er en film, som jeg så på tv'et derhjemme, men som stadig bragte de ekstra fornemmelser med sig, hvilket fortæller mig, at det virkelig er en film, der bør opleves i biografen - også for at yde det fantastiske soundtrack den ære, det fortjener, og som i sig selv blotlægger alle følelser med største delikathed.

Stor anbefaling.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5, Uncut 4,5 / 5 stjerner ]