The B-52's "The B-52's" (1979)

The B-52's [debut]
release date: Jul. 6, 1979
format: cd (1988 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]
producer: Robert Ash [uncredited]; Chris Blackwell
label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Planet Claire" - 2. "52 Girls" - 3. "Dance This Mess Around" - 4. "Rock Lobster" (5 / 5) (official live recording) - 8. "60608-842" - 9. "Downtown"

Studio album debut by The B-52's, a quintet formed in Athens, Georgia, 1976 by vocalist Cindy Wilson, (Cindy's older brother) guitarist Ricky Wilson, vocalist and keyboardist Kate Pierson, drummer Keith Strickland, and lead vocalist and cowbell player Fred Schneider. The producer credits is handed to Island Records' founder Chris Blackwell, but according to Schneider, Robert Ash actually produced the album "and Chris oversaw the whole project".
Stylistically, the B-52's sticks to its own new wave style, which is influenced and incorporates funk and surf rock in a dance-pop-oriented way, and they also quite bluntly reflected a music and style that was observed as "pop kitsch". Lyrically, this was underlined in obscure or silly lyrics, which was seen as contrary to an American songwriter tradition, but which only resonated the late '70s - the punk rock era's stand against conformity. The majority of the tracks are composed by the band, or by Schneider and Wilson - except the end-track, "Downtown", a Petula Clark cover (1964 single) written by Tony Hatch but here in a new wave version arranged by Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson.
The album fared reasonably well making it to #59 on the US Billboard 200, but it wasn't regarded a great album until some decades later. It seems the music of B-52's was so much on its own that it took time to really digest - however, over the years the band and their debut album has only been subject of critical acclaim. The album is enlisted in many best of lists including Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 greatest Albums of All Time" and in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
I've have always regarded the album as one of the fine original new wave releases and, imho, The B-52's are simply a better and much more fun act to listen to than e.g. the more acclaimed Talking Heads. Also, listening to the album today - some four decades later, it's really music that still contains so many great tunes full of joy and instant positive energy that it's a thrill.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 5 / 5, Slant, Select 4 /5 stars ]

The Gun Club "Pastoral Hide & Seek" (1990)

Pastoral Hide & Seek
release date: Oct. 1990
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Jeffrey Lee Pierce
label: New Rose Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Humanesque" - 2. "The Straights of Love and Hate" - 3. "Emily's Changed" - 4. "I Hear Your Heart Singing" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "St. John's Divine" - 7. "Another Country's Young" - 8. "Flowing"
[ full album ]

5th studio album by The Gun Club follows three years after Mother Juno (Oct. 1987), and what's quite interesting is that the line-up is the exact same quartet as on the '87 album with songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, guitarist Kid Congo Powers, bassist Romi Mori (girlfriend of Pierce), and drummer & percussionist Nick Sanderson. That said, Kid Congo had left the band to play with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds after Mother Juno, but after his return in the Spring of '90, Pierce soon made arrangements for the recordings ofwhat was to be this album. It's the second in the new formation of the band after Pierce had put an end to the band and initiated a solo career. Also, by the end of the year, Sanderson left to concentrate on another music project - all of this showing how this band never was in a stable period without members leaving, returning, or with someone being sacked. The album is the second recorded and released exclusively in Europe alone. At this point, the band, or at least Pierce and Mori appear to have being relocated to Amsterdam. As usual, Pierce is only songwriter and composer of all tracks, and this time he has also put himself in the producer seat. The resulting soundscape may not be that impressive but the style is certified The Gun Club - a style connected so much to Jeffrey Lee Pierce, his poignant vocal, his characteristic guitar-sound that no matter who he invites to play with him sounds crystallised as The Gun Club, and that is more than just sufficient. I've all ways linked The Gun Club with the music of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and all days found The Gun Club that little bit more interesting - or perhaps: showcasing something with  greater potential. In a contemporary perspective I didn't put this band among my favourites - I liked it, though, but may have neglected its qualities because of the lo-fi production, and the ever-present component of country and blues. I think, I might have put the band alongside artists like Adrian Borland, Bob Mould, R.E.M. etc. [without comparison whatsoever!] had I acknowledged it as much as I did later on. Fact is, I just listened to much else back then and The Gun Club was somewhere in the periphery: interesting and fine but never really 'it'. After this, Powers returned to the US - reputedly to get clean but stayed a member until '92 when he left to focus on a solo project of his; however, Mori and Pierce remained in Amsterdam with Pierce increasingly affected from heavy substance-addiction, also when heading into a studio in Belgium to record the band's final album, Lucky Jim (Sep. 1993).
In retrospect, there's no doubt that Jeffrey Lee Pierce definitely had 'it', and that he proved it over and over again. Better late than never, but fact is, I have come to understand why he became an artists' favourite and also a music critics' icon. This album doesn't contain obvious fillers, and in my mind, and in a close race with The Las Vegas Story (Jun. 1984), I find this to be one of the band's finest.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item ]

Pearl Jam "Lightning Bolt" (2013)

Lightning Bolt
release date: Oct. 15, 2013
format: digital (12 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]

producer: Brendan O'Brien

label: Monkeywrench Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Getaway" - 2. "Mind Your Manners" - 3. "My Father's Son" - 4. "Sirens" - 8. "Swallowed Whole"

10th studio album release by Pearl Jam and the second on Peral Jam's own label, Monkeywrench is once again produced with O'Brien.
Well, the band continues in its usual style. There's nothing new, hardly even the tracks seem new. I think, they just repeat themselves indefinitely, and with this you get some new Pearl Jam songs that sound like a Pearl Jam remix. I'm not impressed and don't find it a recommended album.
[ 👎allmusic.com, PopMatters 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Slant, Spin, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Lisa Ekdahl "More of the Good" (2018)

More of the Good
release date: Nov. 9, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Mathias Blomdahl
label: Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

10th studio album by Lisa Ekdahl released a 1½ years following När alla vägar leder hem. All songs are written and composed entirely by Ekdahl herself and all songs are with English lyrics. Perhaps the has released this new album also to satisfy her relatively broad international fans coming from English-speaking countries and also more traditional latin jazz-associated countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy).
You may prefer her native Swedish songs, but you can't reject that she's a fine vocalist and interpreter of contemporary easy listening and latin jazz, which is what this album contains most of all. I'm not a huge fan of her English lyrics but it really is one of her better attempts with English songs. It does, however, sound much like a huge conglomerate of previously released material and there are no new surprises under the hood. But if you like what works, this is a solid release of well-established themes.

Mogwai "Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1" (2014) (ep)

Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1., ep

release date: Jan. 12, 2014

format: digital (6 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Paul Savage

label: Rock Action Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Teenage Exorcists" - 3. "HMP Shaun William Ryder" - 4. "Re-Remurdered (Blanck Mass Remix)" - 6. "The Lord Is Out of Control (Nils Frahm Remix)"

Ep by Mogwai following one year after the soundtrack album Les Revenants (for a French TV-series) and preceeding the album Rave Tapes (Jan. 2014). According to the band's bandcamp profile and to Discogs the album was issued in download formats one week before the release of the band's eighth full-length studio album, although, you may also find it to be filed as issued in Nov./Dec. 2014 in cd, vinyl and other digital formats. Now, ep releases by Mogwai always offer something else - it's never just some tracks from recent album releases with the addition of one or two other tracks or an extended version like many other artist usually do. Mogwai always want any release to be unique in its own right, which is rare these days. Anyway, the album is also something special because it's the band's final studio release featuring original member John Cummings, who decided it was now time to go on his own in pursuit of a solo career. With a running time just above 31 minutes, this ep contains six tracks of which three were recorded during the Rave Tapes sessions but without any of them were included on the album, and the remaining three are remixes of tracks taken from the album but featuring other artists, and both the excluded "normal" Mogwai compositions and the new remixes are quite interesting, especially "Teenage Exorcists" - possibly excluded from the album for being too indie rock-oriented touching much on darkwave (with hints of Bloc Party) but mainly for falling a bit far from the tracks that were selected for the softer album release, and also the brilliantly titled "HMP Shaun Ryder" - is it "His Majesty's Prison...", "Help Me Please...", "Hit My Phone...", "Home-Made Pizza..", "Hold My Potatoes", "Hug Me Please", or something else, they refer to?!, which again is the whole point of the pun! And the song itself is great but again focuses more on complexity and uptempo beats, whereas the album is more laid-back, but the Blanck Mass (originally just titled "Remurdered" on Rave Tapes) and the Nils Frahm remixes are simply worth the lot!

And as usual, it's bound nicely together despite pointing in various directions.

This is simply a great Mogwai ep!

[ bandcamp ]

Ane Brun "It All Starts with One" (2011)

It All Starts with One

release date: Sep. 6, 2011

format: 2 cd (Deluxe)

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

producer: Tobias Fröberg

label: Balloon Ranger Recordings - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: CD 1) 1. "These Days" (4 / 5) - 2. "Words" (4 / 5) - 4. "Do You Remember" (4,5 / 5) (live at KCRW) - 6. "Lifeline" - 7. "One" - 9. "Oh Love" - 10. "Undertow"

CD 2) 2. "Take It Slow" - 5. "Du gråter så store tåra (English Version)" - 7. "Another World"

5th studio album by Ane Brun following the release of Sketches (Sep. 2008), which presents her acoustic demo versions of her most recent studio album Changing of the Seasons (Mar. 2008). This new album is often mentioned as her sixth studio album - but that's only when adding the demo version album to the list, which I find misleading. She has thus been on a 3½ years hiatus, which also produced the live album Live at Stockholm Concert Hall (2009), and this period was also shadowed by some time off due to reoccurring physical illness. The album was released as a standard CD issue of ten songs and as a 2 CD Deluxe edition with a bonus cd of eight tracks, which includes three covers.

With It All Starts with One Ane Brun continues to impress, both as a songwriter, as musical composer, and as a sublime vocalist. This new album is her third to top the albums chart in Norway, which it replicated in Sweden - a first accomplishment for a Norwegian artist. All in all, It All Starts with One is another fine album from one of the most original voices in all of Scandinavia. She never just seems satisfied as an artist but always comes up with new stylistic variations, and here she both proves her skills with emotional ballads and uptempo art pop but really no matter what style she excels in there's always a width, an amplitude and an enormous depth, making it all the more likeable.

This is one of her best albums and naturally a highly recommended listen.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, 👍Mojo, The Independent 4 / 5, 👎PopMatters 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Teitur "I Want to Be Kind" (2018)

I Want to Be Kind
release date: Jun. 8, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Thomas Bartlett, Teitur Lassen
label: Arlo & Betty Recordings - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Looking for a Place" - 2. "To Be of Use" - 3. "If Your Heart's Not in It" - 6. "I Would Love You All the Same" - 8. "I Want to Be Kind" - 12. "I Have Found My Happiness"

7th studio album by Teitur follows almost five whole years after his most recent album Story Music (Oct. 2013). In the meantime, Teitur released the collaboration album Confessions (Oct. 2016, released on Nonesuch) with American composer and conductor Nico Muhly.
I Want to Be Kind is a bit of a return to his roots in chamber pop and quiet folk rock. Except for his brief take with Story Music and his collaboration work with Nico Muhly, it's not that Teitur is notorious for making big experimental detours on his musical path, where he stays pretty much to a formula with roots in folk and leaving enough room to embrace both ballads and more rock-oriented compositions, and that's also what he has returned to here. After all, I think he sounds more confident in his songwriting than he did on the more experimental Story Music.
It's a nice collection of sometimes deep and witty songs, and as always, Teitur has a fine ear for melody.

Etta James "Losers Weepers" (1971)

2011 cover
Kent Soul

Losers Weepers
release date: 1971
format: digital (2011 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: Ralph Bass

label: Kent Soul - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" - 5. "Losers Weepers" - 6. "Weepers" - 9. "For All We Know"

10th studio album by Etta James originally released on Cadet Records (formerly Argo Records). The original album is an 11-track release but it comes as a 2011 cd version with 11 bonus tracks released on the Kent Records sublabel Kent Soul. Despite Etta was a serious heroin addict by the early 1970s, she really performs very well here.

org. '71 cover
Cadet Records

Chet Baker "Chet Is Back!" (1962)

Chet Is Back!
release date: Jan. 1962
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Studio album by Chet Baker. It's one of his most well-renowned albums, and I think it's more than good, only, it's not the style that first comes to my mind when I'm thinking of Chet Baker. This is great jazz bop, which is a style much more in a field of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, and Charlie Mingus. Here, Chet shows how he's more than capable of that style as well. And well, I guess all great jazz artists just had to play music according to that style at some point from the mid 50s to mid 60s. It also contains one or two tracks in his real trademark: cool jazz but no vocal jazz or that fine combo of easy listening and standards that I love when played by Chet. The album's title refers to the fact that Chet had spent almost a year and a half in prison in Italy because of possession of drugs.

Wilmer X "13 Våningar upp" (2005)

13 Våningar upp
released: Jan. 26, 2005
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Chips K. (aka Chips Kiesbye)
label: Amigo - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Blind Mans Bluff" - 2. "Fem ett fem" - 3. "Han måste ut ur mitt liv" - 4. "Dämma upp alla floder" - 5. "Stackars Valentin" - 7. "God god lust" - 9. "Tror du udda är jämt" - 10. "Tuff puck att svälja" - 13. "Bara muskelminnet kvar"

A very strong and up-tempo studio album by Wilmer X in their classic and characteristic blues rock rock & roll combo. Unfortunately, this was only issued in digital format. This is one of their better albums.

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd "White Bird in a Blizzard" (OST) (2014)

White Bird in a Blizzard (soundtrack)

release date: Sep. 23, 2014

format: cd

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

producer: Robin Guthrie

label: Lakeshore Records - nationality: Scotland, UK / USA

Track highlights: 1. "Visions of Eve" - 2. "Brock's Theme" - 4. "Curious" - 5. "Forever Changed" - 11. "I'm Here, Kat, I'm Here" - 12. "White Bird"

[ full album ] [ film trailer ]

Soundtrack by Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd for the film of the same name directed by Gregg Araki, who also directed the 2005 film "Mysterious Skin" for which Guthrie and Budd also provided the musical score, which was their first actual exclusive collaboration, released as Mysterious Skin: Music From the Film. Almost two decades earlier, however, they had made their first album together: The Moon and the Melodies (1986) as a collaboration with Elizabeth Fraser and Simon Raymonde - Guthrie's other two partners from The Cocteau Twins.

White Bird in a Blizzard would turn out to be their last recordings together. December 2020 saw the release of the album Another Flower, but the tracks here, like the tracks for White Bird in a Blizzard, were already recorded in 2013. Perhaps the compositions for both albums stem from the same recording session? It consolidates unmistakably the same moods and soundscape, although the soundtrack overall contains more varied music, which is largely due to the fact that the individual tracks are not, like the 2020 album, attributed both artists - only tracks #4 and #8 are credited both, and exactly those two could easily have be included on Another Flower without changing the overall expression. The soundtrack consists of twelve compositions with a total playing time of 41 minutes. Guthrie is credited tracks #1, #2, #5, #7, #11, and #12, while Budd is exclusive composer of tracks #3, #6, #9, and #10. Quite naturally, you'll notice a distinct dream pop style to Guthrie's tracks, with Budd's compositions being far more minimalistic. However, there are no explicit signs indicating that they do not contribute to each other's compositions, but you may note how Budd's instrumentals are without string instrumentation, and in isolation these stand a bit on their own. Compared to their first film score collaboration, the album here stands stronger because it's more varied without being disjointed. Personally, I prefer Guthrie's compositions but the collaboration with Budd is certainly not without quality, even if Budd's own piano and keyboard variations are a little too new age-styled to my liking. Together, they certainly make relevant music, and I feel as this album surpasses their previous collaborations.

Recommended.

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

Nanna Bech "I Could Kill You in a Thousand Ways" (2018)

I Could Kill You in a Thousand Ways [debut]

release date: Nov. 16, 2018

format: vinyl

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]

producer: ? (rec. by Dennis Ahlgren)

label: self-released - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) 1. "Never Quiet" - 2. "Lips" (live session) - 3. "One Day" - 4. "The Fool" - - B) 1. "Traffic Light" (Radio Edit) - 2. "The Town" - 3. "I Could Kill You in a Thousand Ways" - 4. "Still Here" - 5. "Lost"

Studio album debut by Danish musician Nanna Bech is a self-released album with nine compositions written, and composed by Bech and co-arranged with Dennis Ahlgren, who also contributes on guitar, bass, synths, and percussion. Aside from singing, Bech also handles piano and ukulele parts.

Musically, it's in a quieter corner of indie pop with strong influences from folk, Nordic folklore, and it could also come with a sticker labelling it as neofolk.

Bech has a delicate singing voice, which adds a destinct quality to all songs, and the arrangements are made with an ear for rhythm and melody, which allows for Bech's funny and story-telling lyrics to stand out on their own terms. The songs have a common theme of the macabre but the stories are wrapped up in serene colours, in softness, and with a lightness that all function as deliberate oppposites showing you a wink as an invitation for a smile. Frankly, I don't think this album comes with any fillers, and to pick the highlights is more than ordinarily hard, and instead of handing the listener with an album of hit song potential, it's really the whole package and the uplifting state it may settle you in that ensures this as a succesful and most recommended debut.

Now, having heard Nanna Bech live, I only wish she would grant us with more of her talent, and perhaps issue an album of songs with lyrics in Danish.

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

Anadol "Hatıralar" (2017)

Hatıralar

release date: Mar. 24, 2017

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,58]

producer: Anadol, Işık Sarıhan

label: Inverted Spectrum / Pingipung - nationality: Germany

Second album by Anadol (aka Turkish-born Gözen Atila Kaya) originally recorded in 2011-12 in Turkey and Berlin and released on Inverted Spectrum Records, Turkey. The debut comes in various versions - apparently, the original was a memory-stick release, which was reissued by Pingipung as a 12-track vinyl lp and as downloadable album via Anadol's bandcamp profile. 'Hatıralar' is Turkish for 'memories.

Anadol is a musical project primarily playing instrumental psychedelic synth folk - a unique combo where the sound artist combines musical influence from Turkish folklore, Western music and various types of world music to produce simple melodic patterns using synthesizers with sporadic added instrumenation.

EDIT 2023:

The album has been reissued in a remastered and remixed version counting 12 compositions.

Arctic Monkeys "Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino" (2018)

Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
release date: May 11, 2018
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: Alex Turner, James Ford
label: Domino Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Star Treatment" - 4. "Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino" - 6. "Four Out of Five"

6th studio album by Arctic Monkeys released after a five-year hiatus is produced by composer, vocalist and guitarist Alex Turner with James Ford, who has been in the producer seat on all of the band's releases except the debut - just as Ford is found in that role on Turner's last project: The Last Shadow Puppets' second album from 2016 Everything You've Come to Expect. The ice-cold monkeys have come a long way since the debut from 2006 but also since the brilliant AM from 2013, and so has Mr. Turner. He has always been the undisputed leader of this band, but here he is not only part of the production-team, he has also written all songs and dare I say: turned Arctic Monkeys into a Turner-project. Stylistically and sound-wise, this has much in common with The Last Shadow Puppets most recent album. It sounds like over-polished lounge-like chamber pop and psychedelic pop with Turner crooning like a new-born American jet-setter in his modern aristocratically mumblings about right and wrong. I know that doesn't sound like an appetizer but despite Alex Turner being an incredibly talented musician I don't really enjoy his recent artistic detours.
The album received positive to luke-warm reviews. I only find it boring and even less interesting than Turner's Shadow project. To quote Alexis Petridis of The Guardian: "The problem is that a smart guy is sometimes all Turner seems to be. The songs can feel like less than the sum of their parts: a selection of one-liners, wry observations and knowing winks to camera that leave you struggling to work out what he’s driving at – and wondering if he knows, or cares – and to locate any real emotional connection or impact." That is spot on how I perceive this one, which leaves me as indifferent as when listening to Bowie's last album Black Star from 2016, and Alex Turner has never sounded this much like Bowie as he comes through on this one. Form over matter. Have we seen that before?! Too often, but it's part of the game, and when you're a certified talent, it's obviously difficult not to make some misses.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Uncut 3,5 / 5, 👎NME 4 / 5, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 2 / 5 stars ]

Interpol "Marauder" (2018)

Marauder
release date: Aug. 24, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]
producer: Dave Fridmann
label: Matador - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "If You Really Love Nothing" - 2. "The Rover" (4 / 5) - 3. "Complications" - 5. "Stay in Touch" - 7. "Mountain Child" - 8. "Nysmaw" (4 / 5) (live)

6th studio album by Interpol, who continues to release albums every four years and in the meantime stays very low. Here, they have put it in the hands of established producer Dave Fridmann. The band seems to regain its post-punk revival flair and do what they have proven to do best: play tight melody-based post-punk. Actually, the album sounds as made in the early 2000s and would easily have followed Antics (2004) or the debut from 2002, and with the album cover they don't even try to take big leaps from their own heritage - on the contrary, in fact, and maybe there's even a message in that.
I guess, critics would argue that the band has only moved few inches since their acclaimed debut and that there are no evident traces of the band's later album releases from 2007, 2010 and 2014. The differences may be small, but not microscopical, and what makes this a more mature album is what appears as perfection in details. The songs are simple, yet delightfully progressive in small dozes - it's subtle form and a significant depth that makes this the band's best album since the debut in 2002.
I like it - it's a grower.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com, NME, The Guardian, Slant 4 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello "Kojak Variety" (1995)

Kojak Variety
release date: May 9, 1995
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Elvis Costello and Kevin Killen
label: Warner Bros. Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Hidden Charms" ["Screamin' Jay" Hawkins] - 5. "Leave My Kitten Alone" [Little Willie John] - 6. "Everybody's Crying Mercy" [Mose Allison] - 9. "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face?" [Bill Anderson] - 11. "The Very Thought of You" [Ray Noble] - 15. "Days" [Ray Davies]

15th studio album by Elvis Costello following one year after Brutal Youth is an album consisting exclusively of cover versions of songs from traditional rhythm & blues, soul, beat and rock & roll - all songs from his youth. The album contains 15 tracks recorded in the period 1989-94 and they include songs (1-15) made famous by 'Screamin' Jay' Hawkins, Willie Dixon, The Supremes, Bob Dylan, Little Willie John, Mose Allison, Randy Newman, Little Richard, Louvin Brothers, James Carr, Nat 'King' Cole, Jesse Winchester, The Drifters, Aretha Franklin, and The Kinks. Costello's cover of "Days" by Ray Davies was recorded for the film "Until the end of the World" (1991) by Wim Wenders.

[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 2 / 5, Rolling Stone 2,5 / 5, Blender, Mojo, Uncut 3 / 5 stars ]

St. Vincent "MassEducation" (2018)

MassEducation

release date: Oct. 12, 2018

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,26]

producer: St. Vincent & Thomas Bartlett

label: Loma Vista - nationality: USA

6th studio album by St. Vincent follows one year after Masseduction (Oct. 2019) is an acoustic version of the predecessor recorded with pianist Thomas Bartlett. Together, they reworked and mixed the tracks from Masseduction, resulting in completely sparsely arranged songs centered around piano-driven versions of the songs from the 2017 album.

It may be a clever stunt - certainly af safe one and perhaps not exactly the most demanding process but still, these new takes reflect a completely different life, and some songs sound better in the more minimalist arrangements while others simply lack variety. And that's probably also the great weakness about it - that the songs at one and the same time carry elements of something easily recognisable, not particularly distant from the original and then also doesn't offer a new musical scope. Of course, the songs have more or less the same vocal sound - although Annie Clark sings differently here - and the accompanying piano just never add any big changes throughout the album. And in that way, this is far more of a curiosity than a must.

Lise Westzynthius "JA" (2018)

JA

release date: Sep. 14, 2018

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]

producer: Camillo Gino, Lise Westzynthius

label: Heavypop / DME - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Mommo" - 2. "Flyv mig ind" - 3. "Kaster dig op" - 4. "Laura Palmer" - 8. "På den anden side" - 10. "Fuck. Du forlader mig aldrig"

5th studio album by Lise Westzynthius following 6½ years after Tæt på en kold favn (Mar. 2012) issued on Westzynthius own label Heavypop via Danish Music & Entertainment and co-produced by Westzynthius and Camillo Gino (Askjær) (guitarist in the Danish band Rum 37). All songs are credited Westzynthius alone except two compositions: tracks #3 and #4, which are both co-written by Bjørn Rasmussen. Btw. "Laura Palmer" is translated dialogue (by David Lynch) taken from the Twin Peaks TV-series.

Apparently, and according to Westzynthius herself, she spent some years after her 2012 album finding back on her feet. From her own website it's described as she took "...a deeper dive into her inner self. This lead to a journey of 6-7 years within the fields of body work, shamanism, hypnosis, ayahuasca, tantra, meditation, etc. All along the way, new songs were born, and Lise slowly started working on them together with a good friend, Camillo Gino."  According to Westzynthius this journey was a healing process, where she focussed on being more minded on her physical conditions because she has had a natural way of dealing with emotional aspects, and she need more grounding. In this regard, JA ["YES"] is a way of meeting and focussing on positive aspects of life, and if that includes being stark-naked, Westzynthius has no reservations with that.

Musically, the album mostly follows the tone of her 2012 album. The biggest difference is her extreme positivism, which at times tend to be an expression touching on naivety. Lyrically, she has certainly evolved. Where early lyrics bore traits of obscurity and mysticism, which involved some kind of deciphering of her lyrics, she now expresses herself in a much more direct manner. Thematically, she hasn't completely left her divorce, she returns to the memory of her ex-husband in several lyrics, e.g. on "På den anden side", which also recounts the title of the debut album by her ex-husband, and at the same time she keeps repeating that she's looking forward to meeting his real self "On the Other Side" [of what? When they are dead? Or, when she's finally over the break-up and they can meet again?], but the overall impression is an artist, who appears more willing to experiment. I'm not fully convinced about the end result, though. There's a blue-eyed and near new-religious tone to most of her songs that keeps bothering me but apart from that, it's just nice to have Westzynthius back.

[ Gaffa.dk, Soundvenue 5 / 6, Undertoner 2,5 / 6 stars, Information review ]

De efterladte "Synger dagen ind" (2018)

Synger dagen ind

release date: Oct. 18, 2018

format: digital (10 x FILE, FLAC - melo016)

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

producer: Boi Holm, Michael Lund, Peter H. Olesen

label: Melodika - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Jeg bilder dig ind vi kan se helt til Sverige" - 3. "Nattens lys" - 4. "Aldrig ind i denne dag" - 5. "Jeg ser udsigten" - 9. "Bliv hos mig"

4th studio album by Danish americana trio De efterladte following two years after Adjø tristesse (Sep. 2016). As usual the new collection of songs are credited songwriter and vocalist Peter H. Olesen and composer and guitarist Michael Lund, and also to the usual procedure, Boi Holm holds a central part as sound engineer and producer. One track (track #6) is entirely arranged as a spoken-word composition, which also follows the usual pattern of theirs. The album has a relatively short total running time only reaching 32 minutes.

De efterladte makes their very own blend of alt. folk mixed with americana in a distinct singer / songwriter tradition where Olesen excells with his Danish linguistic acrobacy as if involuntarily cloning Stuart Staples and Leonard Cohen, but still in an original mix.

Synger dagen ind is mostly like a second chapter to their 2016 album and to such an extent that it touches a bit of a stand-still. Only on "Aldrig ind i denne dag" the three show a will to explore new-found territory with the use of an industrial touch - which they could have explored and used on several other songs. The end result is that the band hasn't progressed much. The narratives are still vivid, the music albeit minimalist it still feels like built on original ideas. They cleverly mix folkish music with electronic bits - I reckon, thanks to Boi Holm, but still, with this their fourth album they don't exactly showcase that many new ideas, and then on the other hand they stay true to their own strengths, which guarantees quality and makes it all a pleasant journey.

[ bandcamp ]