The Killers "Imploding the Mirage" (2020)

Imploding the Mirage

release date: Aug. 21, 2020

format: cd

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]

producer: Jonathan Rado, Shawn Everett

label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "My Own Soul’s Warning" - 2. "Blowback" - 3. "Dying Breed" - 4. "Caution" - 5. "Lightning Fields" (feat. K.d. Lang)

6th studio album by from The Killers released three years after Wonderful Wonderful (2017) and now with a somewhat lesser-known duo in the producer role. Rado and Everett are also credited as co-composers on several tracks on an album, which is the first after being momentarily reduced to a trio as guitarist Dave Keuning went on an indefinite hiatus after the 2017 album. In his place, the band's bassist Mark Stoermer handles guitar on several tracks and otherwise multi-instrumentalist Rado is credited as guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, cellist, etc.

When The Killers deliberately have chosen quite different producers, it's of course because they want a direction for the music, and with the younger guitarist from Foxygen as co-composer and multi-instrumentalist, it adds a natural turn towards a more indie rock-oriented universe - and thus also a step away from a stadium rock image that The Killers have quite rightly been attributed. There's definitely less Springsteen heartland rock on Imploding the Mirage but it's an album that doesn't quite operate in the same direction. Sometimes it's electronically driven pure synthpop sounding more like Brandon Flowers solo, while at other times it's more unpolished indie pop - though 'unpolished' is a label that pretty much never fits The Killers - and at other times attempts to produce Springsteen-rockers, whicj supposedly should be an extremely popular choice sneak in... And no, 'coherent' is not exactly a term that pops to mind.

As usual, the album performed above its capacity. Reviewers are again divided, but the sales figures don't lie, and as the sixth consecutive album, The Killers' have launched a new studio album, which goes to number #1 on the UK albums chart. Nationally, it lands a nice eighth place on the Billboard 200, while like its predecessor it also tops the list in Australia. It seems as if The Killers have long ago been satisfied running in circles, making new tracks that sound extremely familiar and then simply add a little spice here and there, e.g. outsourcing their sound image to skilled sound designers, and then something 'new' has been wrapped up.

I'm really far from impressed. The album is a long way from the their first albums but it's still better than the rather thin Wonderful Wonderful, so perhaps there's still hope for a decent album from The Killers.

Not recommended.

[ 👎allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,4 / 10, 👉The Guardian 3 / 5, Gaffa.dk 3 / 6 stars ]

Best of 2020:Gorillaz "Song Machine, Season One - Strange Timez" (2020)

Song Machine, Season One - Strange Timez

release date: Oct. 23, 2020

format: vinyl / digital (17 x File, FLAC - Deluxe)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,22]

producer: Gorillaz, Remi Kabaka; James Ford et various

label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Strange Timez" (feat. Robert Smith) (4 / 5) - 3. "The Lost Chord" (feat. Leee John) - 4. "Pac-Man" (feat. ScHoolboy Q) (4 / 5) - 5. "Chalk Tablet Towers" (feat. St. Vincent) (4 / 5) - 7. "Aries" (feat. Peter Hook and Georgia) (4 / 5) - 8. "Friday 13th" (feat. Octavian) (4,5 / 5) - 9. "Dead Butterflies" (feat. Kano and Roxani Arias) - 10. "Désolé" (feat. Fatoumata Diawara) (4 / 5) - 11. "Momentary Bliss" (feat. Slowthai and Slaves) (4 / 5) - 12. "Opium" (feat. EarthGang) - 15. "With Love to an Ex" (feat. Moonchild Sanelly) - 16. "MLS" (feat. JPEGMafia and Chai) - 17. "How Far?" (feat. Tony Allen and Skepta)

7th studio album by Gorillaz following two years after the The Now Now album is the continued Damon Albarn-led music project. Albarn is the mastermind behind the songs and Remi Kabaka, Jr. is his wingman in terms of producing the sound of the individual tracks.

The Song Machine experiment is an episodical project launched Jan. 2020 with the song "Momentary Bliss" (featuring Slowthai and Slaves) (track #11) - and the idea has been to release one new song each month alongside a video directed by graphic director of Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett - something that has been accentuated after the Corona-lockdown. Albarn has written and composed partial or more definitive ideas and sent these to collaborating artists, who then have developed on or contributed with vocals or instrumentation, after which Albarn and Kabaka have laid down a final production. The cast of featuring artist is as diverse as the music itself. Here, Albarn mostly collaborates with new musical friends, although, the final track features the late (Nigerian-born) Tony Allen - who also were part of Albarn's side-project The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Robert Smith of The Cure has contributed with vocals and instrumentation making the first song sound like a mix of 1980s post-punk scene and electronica of the early noughts. And in a not so far stylistic universe, Peter Hook of New Order seamlessly blends with Albarn's most Bernard Sumner-like vocal and produces a song resembling New Order's Low-Life-period. Beck has never sounded fresher and Elton John comes to live again, but the featuring artists has been gathered from not only various decades and genres but from several continents - especially when including the Deluxe Edition. The majority of artists come from Britain or the US, but you will also find Malian singer / songwriter Fatoumata Diawara, South African vocalist Moonchild Sanelly (Sanelisiwe Twisha), Japanese all-female rock quartet, Chai, Venezuelean vocalist Roxani Arias [?], and Unknown Mortal Orchestra from New Zealand.

Stylistically, this is a genuine Gorillaz album - considering the wide-spread pond of musical influences you always hear in the music by Albarn - or at least in his post-Blur period. However, far he moves in various directions, he almost magically condenses everything to something fitting within the Gorillaz' universe. The 2017 album Humanz also featured various guest artists but somehow this works even better on this album. and if the 2018 album was a favourite of mine, this newest collection of songs simply beats that and not only is years' best album but also Albarn's best-ever album.

Albarn is simply one of the most underrated artists in the world of modern music, and I do know he's quite successful and that his music is cherished and played all over the globe, but from my perspective, it's nearly only possible to underrate the value of his contributions. On this album he makes sure that the guest artists comes out as individual artists - they shine because of his arrangements and at the same time he adds his own vocals and / or instrumentation to the songs making all compositions sound as stemming from one and the same source - which in a way they do 'cause Albarn made it all happen!

As far as concern the album's track highlights it's a bit of a job to pin out highs on an album that shines in its own light. The standard vinyl album is an eleven songs album, and the Deluxe Edition - made available in a download edition and as a 2 lp vinyl edition contains seventeen tracks (the Japanese edition contains 18 tracks).

Unfortunately, I find that it has become a rare thing to come across new music that stirs you in the same way music did when you were young but with this, I can frankly say that this is it! And did you notice? The album is called "Season One"... And yeah, the second chapter is already on its way and according to Albarn himself scheduled for release Mar. 2021. This man is a factory of music!

Highly recommended!

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, The Guardian, Clash, NME, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]

2020 Favourite releases: 1. Gorillaz Song Machine, Season One - Strange Timez - 2. Kesi BO4L - 3. I Break Horses Warnings

Blanck Mass "Animated Violence Mild" (2019)

Animated Violence Mild

release date: Aug. 16, 2019

format: digital (8 x Files, FLAC)

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

producer: Blanck Mass

label: Sacred Bones - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Death Drop" - 3. "House vs. House" - 4 . "Hush Money" - 8. "Wings of Hate"

4th studio album by Blanck Mass (aka Benjamin John Power) is the follow-up to World Eater (2017), although more recently the artist has been engaged in collaborating on the 2018 album Violence by Editors, which was released in an alternative version as The Blanck Mass Sessions (Apr. 2019).

Animated Violence Mild continues where the 2017 album ended, and in many regards it's like a new chapter to that. Here and there Power introduces something that sound like melody-lines, which could reflect inspiration from his work with the alternative rock band Editors - to me, this only adds a new dimension to his predominant industrial electronica.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, NME 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7,9 /10 stars ]

Mark Kozelek "Night Talks" (2017) (ep)

Night Talks, ep

release date: Mar. 22, 2017

format: digital (5 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]

producer: Mark Kozelek

label: Caldo Verde Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Night Talks" - 2. "I Love Portugal" (Acoustic Version) - 3. "Astronomy" - 5. "Famous Blue Raincoat"

Ep release from Mark Kozelek as follow-up to his only one month old double Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood (Feb. 2017) released under the stage name of Sun Kil Moon.

Night Talks consists of five tracks and Kozelek is back as how he sounds on Universal Themes (Jun. 2016). It's alt. country with acoustic guitar and Kozelek narrating about big and small things from everyday life to dramatic stories he has heard about on TV or read about in a newspaper. The track "I Love Portugal" is included here in an acoustic version but the track is found in its original version on Common as Light and Love... And precisely the acoustic part is perhaps the small common denominator you'll find on his most recent releases as this EP, because otherwise, the basic material is not immediately different to what he has released under his own name and to what ends up being attributed Sun Kil Moon. In any case, Night Talks is released on Caldo Verde with Kozelek in full control as producer, songwriter, composer, just as he often is only musician. Much to his usual procedure, there has been room for covers: "Pretty Little Flowers" by Kath Bloom and "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen, which is the actual highlight of the ep, here in a live recording on which Kozelek is accompanied by piano.

Night Talks is Kozelek as fans have come to love him: mostly alone with acoustic guitar, and himself narrating / singing about big and small subjects, and with the additions of a some covers. And in that way there is hardly anything new or surprising about this release - it's fine and welcome.

Electric Light Orchestra "Out of the Blue" (1977)

Out of the Blue

release date: Oct. 1977

format: digital

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

producer: Jeff Lynne

label: Jet Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Turn to Stone" - 3. "Sweet Talkin' Woman" - 13. "Mr. Blue Sky"

7th studio album by Electric Light Orchestra following one year after the breakthrough album A New World Record and like that produced by primary songwriter and leader of the band, lead vocalist Jeff Lynne. The band has gone through various line-ups but maintained a quite numerous members list, and here they count seven (three of which exclusively play violin and cello). The band has evolved from playing primarily experimental progressive rock with bonds to symphonic rock and hard rock and through a stage with baroque pop to eventually play progressive pop with bold use of elements from funk and disco - and needless say: with a much more evident mainstream appeal.

I recall this very album from when it wasn't all brand new and they still hadn't released the successor Discovery (May 1979). In Feb. 1979 (at age 13) I happened to be in London with our class, and several mates from class both purchased the predecessor together with this one that I only knew little about. I recall from some teen club evenings at the local church (!) they played this quite a bit. From our journey to London, I remember buying albums with The Police (Outlandos d'amour and Regatta de blanc), Pink Floyd (The Wall) and Dire Straits (the debut) and a few others that I have now forgotten about - alongside a handful of releases for my older brother (I brought a handwritten list of titles to purchase for him). Unfortunately, I didn't yet know anything to the existence of punk rock or new wave at this point - that only came to my attention upon my return later that year, so I was more into music that I already knew of, and especially heavily inspired by my brother's music taste (except The Police, which he didn't play). But what I soon learned was that I didn't like Electric Light Orchestra - not one bit! In fact, I loathed the disco and progressive pop harmonies that my class mates soon praised as the new big thing alongside music by Patrick Hernandez, Kelly Marie, and / or Bee Gees.

The album is included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" as the only by ELO, as they were commonly known. Out of the Blue is the band's second consecutive Platinum-selling studio release, which eventually was surpassed in sales numbers by Discovery and Time (1981). The only reason I have put it here is that I wanted to revisit an album I really never understood. And still don't, it turns out! From the aforementioned book: "Released at the height of disco, Out Of The Blue was seen by some as a futuristic fish out of water." As much as I relate to that picture, it's probably not in the most positive of ways. To me, this is awkwardly over-arranged. Waaaay too much funk and disco, and not just that but with so many synths and strings that it should belong in space. And it makes me think of a musical wedding cake: Mostly impressive and nice to look at, but who really wants to consume that?! In my ears it doesn't fall far from the ABBA and Olivia Newton John melody structures that I disliked then as I still do to some minor degree nowadays. I have definitely grown much milder when it comes to polished pop of the 80s and 70s, and I do understand the qualities of a lot of music that I didn't like at a younger age, but ELO from '76 and onwards still doesn't do much for me. "Mr. Blue Sky" was a hit but would never have seen the light of day without The Beatles and The Moody Blues. "Turn to Stone" was another major hit back then - at least in Europe - but to me that was, and still is, a pastiche - a conglomerate of songs by artists suchs as Giorgio Moroder, Hot Chocolate, Earth, Wind & Fire merged with some Stevie Wonder-arrangements and equal parts of 10cc smoothness - all artists I'd rather listen to than this fine musical mish-mash that remains far from distinctive original.

Out of the Blue is still a cornerstone in the discography of Electric Light Orchestra no matter what I think of it, but I'm not in a position where I feel that I should actually recommend it. If asked back then, I would most likely have handed it 1 or max 2 stars - basically, suggesting it was crap, so in that respect I have come (much) closer in accepting it as genuine acceptable music. It's still over-produced, over-arranged and it didn't do much good for music, imho. But hey, wasn't I into punk?! And punk rock was in many ways a response to exactly this kind of music, and I still do understand the reaction and need to change music as it was back in the mid-70s.

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

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

The Fall "Grotesque (After the Gramme)" (1980)

Grotesque (After the Gramme)
release date: Nov. 17, 1980
format: cd (1993 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: The Fall, Grant Showbiz, Mayo Thompson, Geoff Travis
label: Castle Classics - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Pay Your Rates" - 2. "English Scheme" - 3. "New Face in Hell" (Peel Sessions) - 4. "C'n'C-S Mithering" - 5. "The Container Drivers" - 10. "The N.W.R.A."

3rd studio album by The Fall produced by The Fall, Grant Showbiz, Mayo Thompson and Geoff Travis (tracks 1-5), tracks 6-10 are produced by The Fall and Geoff Travis originally released by Rough Trade. The Fall always was Mark's band - here the band credits are as follows: Mark on vocals, tape operation, kazoo (#3) and guitar, Marc Riley on guitar and keyboards, Craig Scanlon [credited as Craig Scanlan] on guitar, Steve Hanley on bass, his brother Paul Hanley on drums and with Kay Carroll on additional vocals, which more or less is the same line-up as on Dragnet (Oct. '79) as well as on the next following albums of the 80s, but the debut album Live at the Witch Trials (Mar. '79), saw the band in a completely different line-up. This is, however, merely an early incarnation of the band and the only stable member of the band remains Mark E. Smith.

Style-wise, this is an example of early post-punk labelled as art punk with influences from pub rock and garage rock and its minimum attention on production layering with focus on 'recording as is'.

The album wasn't met as a landslide album - much unlike what it's regarded as in retrospect. Critics were positive without praising the album and fans were, as they would constantly prove to be with The Fall divided in two groups: either belonging to a strong cult of followers, or to fierce haters; however, the album is generally regarded as one of the band's masterpieces. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate the album in the early '80s - I did actually purchase the original Rough Trade vinyl issue back in 1982 or '83 and kept it for a decade or so, and then I re-sold it in a small pile with other obscure albums just to afford to buy new music, and what a mistake that was! I have come across this '93 CD reissue but I'd rather have the original vinyl, which by now is a collector's item.

I perfectly know how I was unable to see music in a broader perspective in my teens but it still puzzles me, why I couldn't just regard it as a musical curiosity. Anyway, the music lives on and even from a modern perspective I think the music still stands out as both highly original but also with something to offer. The Fall blends perfectly in with standards of Velvet Underground, The Stooges, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa as a music collective, who simply ignores all conformities and just do what they think is the right thing to do. Mark E. Smith narrates about English society, working class life, taxes, capitalism, and he often focus on the English class system. Unlike Bob Dylan's social awareness, lyrics on contemporary human conditions, I find the lyrics by Smith to be much more entertaining but also without all the... fuzz [to say it as politely as possible].

Mark E. Smith continued to play with The Fall in various line-ups in the new millennium and also kept releasing new albums being quite keen on not repeating themselves. The last studio album by The Fall is New Facts Emerge (2017), the band's 31st studio album, released only six months before Smith's untimely death at the age of 60, Jan. 24, 2017. The international music press and the entire British press in general were overflown with appraisals dedicated to Smith's legacy as one of Britain's most influential songwriters in 2018, and he is today mentioned alongside the greatest of music.

For those unfamiliar with music by The Fall, it may not seem evident how they ever became such an acclaimed band. It may take some time to get accustomed to - some will never - but from my perspective, the true strengths of The Fall lies in Mark E. Smith's lyrics, his uncompromising attitude towards and against conformity whether concerning music or modern life in general - be it capitalism, class system or politics. The band has its unique sound and its very own conception of musical soundscape, which leaves no listener in doubt of who made it.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Spin 4,5 / 5, Sounds 5 / 5 stars ]

Phoebe Bridgers "Punisher" (2020)

Punisher

release date: Jun. 18, 2020

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,80]

producer: Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska, Phoebe Bridgers

label: Dead Oceans - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Garden Song" - 3. "Kyoto" - 4. "Punisher" - 5. "Halloween" - 6. "Chinese Satellite" - 9. "ICU" - 10. "Graceland Too" - 11. "I Know the End"

2nd studio album by Phoebe Bridgers following her acclaimed debut Stranger in the Alps (Sep. 2017).

Where the melancholy glue of acoustic folk on the debut probably reminded many about the long list of folk artists, Punisher adds layers to that artistry. Some songs are like extended threads to the 2017 album, but since then she has worked with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker on their side-project Boygenius, and she has collborated with Conor Oberst on Better Oblivion Community Center, and those projects now have coloured this new collection of songs in a most positive way - making it a coherent whole but also by widenening the musical universe of Phoebe Bridgers.

Bridgers still narrates with the colour blue as main ingredient but her music invites other colours in, which makes it more alive and powerful.

Highly recommended.

[ Rolling Stone, 👍The Guardian, Slant 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,7 / 10, allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, NME, 5 / 5 stars ]

Kesi "BO4L" (2020)

BO4L

release date: Jul. 31, 2020
format: digital (Deluxe) (15 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]
producer: Hennedub
label: Disco:wax - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Niveauer" - 3. "Tilbage" (feat. Hennedub) - 4. "Ik tænk" (feat. Benny Jamz) (4 / 5) - 5. "Blå himmel" (feat. Hans Philip) (5 / 5) - 6. "Snak lidt med mig" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Baku" (feat. ICEKIID) - 9. "Forretning" (feat. Sivas) - 10. "Hygger mig pt. 2" (feat. Gilli) - 12. "Om igen" (feat. Noah Carter) (4 / 5)

3rd full-length studio album [or fourth when including his mixtape Ung Hertug from 2013 to the list of albums] by Danish rapper Kesi (also stylised KESI, aka Oliver Kesi Chambuso) released on the Sony Music Scandinavian sublabel Disco:wax and produced by Hennedub (aka Henrik Bryld Wolsing) - a usual suspect to Kesi and his associates. The title refers to and is the homage to the Danish music collective B.O.C. (aka Bomber Over Centrum) - referring to "Bomber Over (Centrum) For Life". The album is by Kesi but many of his old friends from B.O.C. - Gilli, Benny Jamz, Kimbo, and Noah Carter participate on several tracks, and apart from these also Sivas and Hans Philip are featuring artists. The standard album runs just over 40 mins and the Deluxe Version contains two bonus tracks making it a 15-track album just below 46 mins.
The whole album appears as a look down memory lane, and more so than the usual rap lyrics about sex and drugs, although, you basically find all kind of existential subjects in this broad collection, which is mostly held together in a tight yet wide style of grime and trap. The album starts off with the intro BO4L, and with an older sound clip featuring a young Oliver (Kesi himself) telling a reporter how he has just quit secondary school to concentrate on his music career and about his hopes for the future and his dream about being the best Danish rapper. In several songs, Kesi takes us back to school days, to a harder time but also to days of his musical foundation, when everything was all new, unknown and yet falling into place.
Some compositions are echoing and sound like sequels of older Kesi hit songs, some are expressive up-tempo dancepop related like many of his recent (hit) single releases and others are near ballad-like and introspective - which shows us a new side to his talent. Sound-wise, it's a top-of-the-art production and an impressively coherent collection despite the many stylistic ingredients.
In a time when Danish rap may be looking for replacements for Ukendt Kunstner, Kesi sums up his strengths and simply jumps several steps up the ladder and positions himself as the current best Danish rapper.
Highly recommendable and a strong contender to album of the year.
[ Politiken, Soundvenue 5 / 6, Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

2020 Favorite releases: 1. Gorillaz Song Machine, Season One - Strange Timez - 2. Kesi BO4L - 3. I Break Horses Warnings

Ane Brun "Rarities" (2013)

Rarities

release date: Oct. 2013

format: digital (20 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Ane Brun et al

label: Balloon Ranger Recordings - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "All My Tears" - 2. "Halo" - 4. "From Me to You" - 5. "Tragedy" - 6. "Ain't No Cure for Love" - 7. "Orphan Girl" - 10. "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)" - 11. "Oh Love (piano version)" - 12. "The Opening" - 13. "Jóga (live at the Polar Music Prize 2010) - 15. "Virvelvind" - 16. "Fly on the Windscreen" - 17. "Humming One of Your Songs 2013" - 20. "She Belongs to Me"

2nd compilation album in 2013 - like with Songs 2003-2013 (Jun. 2013) in celebration of her first decade as an active musician, and this time with 20 'rare' recordings, i.e. songs that are not found on any of her previous studio releases, or have been scattered out on various singles and / or other compilations. On Brun's bandcamp site the album is described with the following: "According to BRUN, “RARITIES is a compilation of songs and recordings that have either not been released, or have been released on other compilations or as singles. This is a way to empty our cupboards of recordings that have been lying around, and another way to mark my ten year anniversary as an artist.” The collection includes covers of Björk and The Beatles, Elvis and Eurythmics, as well as new versions of fan favourites and, of course, previously unreleased songs, contributing further to an already impressive back catalogue. Many of the recordings are here described more fully with Brun's own words.

In a year with two major compilations from Ane Brun, it's more than hard to choose between the two, and then you don't have to, because with Songs 2003-2013 she has made a great collection of familiar key songs from that period and with this, she shows us more of the full palette - and 'palette', I think, nicely describes this artist's way with her music: she sort of utilises a painters approach with music, words, tones, arrangements, and choise of instrumentation are colours on the canvas, and Brun sure understands how to make use of the whole palette. Also, she has made a vast number of original compositions but she's also a remarkable interpretor, which makes her covers so powerful. She doesn't have to copy the original to make it swing. This is a wonderful collection of highly varied originals.

Highly recommendable.

Kraftwerk "Computerwelt" (1981)

Computerwelt

release date: May 10, 1981

format: cd (1986 reissue)

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

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Kling Klang / EMI - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Computerwelt" - 2. "Taschenrechner" - 3. "Nummern" - 4. "Computerwelt 2" - 5. "Computer Liebe" (4 / 5)

8th studio album by Kraftwerk released three years after Die Mensch-Maschine (1978) - also seen as number five in the list of classic Kraftwerk albums counting from Autobahn (1974), which by Hütter and Schneider is regarded their first, although, they actually released three albums before that. Like the band's recent albums this was recorded in the band's Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf, and as usual it's the band's founders Hütter and Schneider who are credited as producers. On the 79 album we saw percussionist Karl Bartos as co-composer and on this, he's been granted a more prominent role as composer, and he is thus exclusive composer together with Hütter on all of the album's tracks. Schneider is credited the music on four of a total of seven tracks, and once again Emil Schult is credited album cover and as contributor as songwriter of three songs. And - one might be tempted to add - percussionist Wolfgang Flür is only credited as... percussionist, although rumor has it that he only appears in the credit list and doesn't play on the album at all, but officially it's the band's final album with Flür as instrumentalist.

The album continues deom where the '78 ended, and may at first sound like a mere extension of that, but Kraftwerk basically defined their strength in the present by composing small hooks and catchy melodies, made sharper as pure 'pop' tunes. This is best expressed on "Computer Liebe", as song Coldplay has used on its 2006 hit "Talk", just as La Roux incorporated parts of the track in the song "I'm Not Your Toy" (2009), and LCD Soundsystem has used a sample of "Heimcomputer" (track #6) on the song "Disco Infiltrator" from its debut album LCD Soundsystem (2005).

Reviews were again quite positive and in Germany the album reached number #7 (as Autobahn had done back in '74), and number #15 in the UK. Four tracks in total were selected for singles release: in order tracks #2, #5 , #3, and #1, with no significant rankings. The second single "Computer Love" didn't initially perform significantly, but when it was re-released later that year as the B-side to "The Model" (from the 78 album Die Mensch-Maschine), then it topped the singles chart in the UK (although it was more likely "The Model" pulling that home). In retrospect, the album has achieved a fine position as an influential album, appearing on a number of lists counting the best albums of the 80s.

In my opinion, the album is a classic Kraftwerk album, although without reaching the same heights as the previous four. In the early eighties, the band was overshadowed by bands and artists who managed to write better hooks and music that wasn't so strictly electronic, although most of them drew great inspiration from Kraftwerk's back catalogue. I don't find a lot of recycling in many of the album's compositions, and it may be seen as the band's first step away from the strong influence they have otherwise had in shaping synthpop.

The title track makes it essential.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Mojo, Select 4 / 5, Uncut, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

Gregory Porter "All Rise" (2020)

All Rise

release date: Aug. 28, 2020
format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold, pink vinyl) / digital (16 x File, FLAC - Deluxe)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: Kamau Kenyatta, Troy Miller, Gregory Porter
label: Blue Note / Decca Records - nationality: USA

6th studio album by Gregory Porter is originally released on Blue Note and Verve in the US and on Blue Note / Decca in the EU. The album comes in many formats and in at least two versions as far as track numbers concern. The various cd versions contain 13 tracks as does the European - traditional and pink vinyl - 2 lp editions, but it also comes in a Dutch 3 lp version and a cassette edition both containing two bonus tracks, and it also comes as a 16 tracks digital Deluxe album (Qobuz). This rises a bit of a negative aspect about his releases, I think, 'cause with a running time at just over one hour, the thirteen tracks could be fitted on a normal 1-disc issue, and fifteen tracks would then be "the excuse" to release the Deluxe edition as a double album - though only on vinyl - but it has become a bit of a habit that Porter's album's are released as standard double albums despite not running that long. Three tracks on each side of the vinyl issue results in short playing times at approx. 15 mins. It's hardly compressed adding one or two tracks to each side.
Another thing is the cover art.... and let's just get straight to the point: Porter's front covers have never been about art, or attempts at making great art work, but let's be frank, it has never been this poor, and a triangle with the title alone would even be an improvement.
That bit aside, and speaking entirely of the musical qualities, All Rise is yet another strong evidence of Porter's composer and vocal qualities that simply makes him the king of contemporary vocal jazz. Gregory Porter has relaunched jazz as an everlasting and very modern genre by adding stylistic elements from contemporary popular music - be it funk, pop, or soul. It's remarkable how this man is able to write and compose songs of near classic status over and over again, and that's perhaps where this new collection may feel like an exercise in treading water.
Recommended.

Editors "The Blanck Mass Sessions" (2019)

The Blanck Mass Sessions

release date: Apr. 13, 2019

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Blanck Mass, Editors

label: Play It Again Sam - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Barricades" - 2. "Cold" - 3. "Hallelujah (So Low)" - 4. "Violence"

Editors album is bassically the first draft recordings by Blanck Mass, which led to the album Violence (Mar. 2018). The band had wanted a stronger electronic / industrial take on their music and invited Blanck Mass (aka Benjamin John Power) to add something to their new recordings. The result is heard here, but to the band, they were slightly rearranged with less electronic and industrial dominance, and those recordings were released as Violence. However, the initial recordings had their very own strengths, so one year following the actual album release the initial sessions by Blanck Mass were released. And frankly, they are just better and more originally sounding.

Paul Weller "On Sunset" (2020)

On Sunset
release date: Jul. 3, 2020
format: digital (15 x File, FLAC - Deluxe)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Paul Weller & Jan Kybert
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Mirror Ball" - 2. "Baptiste" - 3. "Old Father Tyme" - 6. "On Sunset" - 8. "Walkin' " - 10. "Rockets"

15th studio album by Paul Weller, once again teamed up with Dutch producer Jan 'Stan' Kybert.
With the album Weller doesn't introduce us to a lot of new styles or genres but he does combine some of his latest outputs into one unifying sound. On the predecessor, True Meanings (2018) his output was acoustic and simple, on A Kind Revolution (2017) he sought a more electrifying form of pop soul and chamber pop, and before that he embraced alt. rock and mod revival more explicitly on the strong Saturns Pattern (2015). All this is found here, and mostly not as various pieces pointing here or there but as a nicely woven conglomerate that is so Wellerian. His mod revival and pop soul, and even his sophisti-pop traces of the past are all represented here in a combo of folk rock and singer / songwriter. 

A first listen may not reveal strong single hits but on returning points it comes out as something original, which is an accomplishment. He works with many returning associates, guitarist Steve Cradock, bassist Andy Crofts, keyboardist Charles Rees, drummer Ben Gordelier as well as multi-instrumentalist Jan Kybert. The album also welcomes back former associate Mick Talbot from The Style Council on three tracks.
The Deluxe Edition adds another five compositions of which two are alternate instrumental versions.
It does seem as if Weller has found his niche on his older days by maintaining a high quality level as a mature musician.

Michael Olatuja "Lagos Pepper Soup" (2020)

Lagos Pepper Soup

release date: Jul. 31, 2020
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Michael Olatuja
label: Whirlwind Recordings - nationality: Nigeria

Track highlights: 2. "Lagos Pepper Soup" (feat. Angélique Kidjo) - 4. "Soki" (feat. Dianne Reeves & Lionel Loueke) - 5. "Ma Foya" (feat. Brandee Younger) - 6. "Brighter Day" (feat. Laura Mvula) - 7. "Shadows Fade" (feat. Onaje Jefferson) - 9. "Home True" (feat. Becca Stevens & Robert Mitchell)

2nd album by London-born, Lagos, Nigeria-raised, New York-based electric and acoustic bassist / composer / bandleader Michael Olatuja.
Musically, this is one big blend of genres and styles, although, the overall sensation is one of jazz. It contains instrumental parts that are primarily jazz-founded, it contains vocal jazz and soul pop compositions and it's full of afrobeats (popular African rhythms), but also reveals a strong bond to traditional jazz composers of a you could call a New York tradition.
Aside from well-known studio musicians the album feature a bunch of starring musicians, which include Angélique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, Laura Mvula, Onaje Jefferson, Becca Stevens, Lionel Loueke, Robert Mitchell, Grégoire Maret, Brandee Younger, Joe Lovano, and Regina Carter.
Production-wise it's a warm and solid collection of beautiful compositions that also showcase the instrumental virtuosity of Olatuja.
The cover illustration seem a bit out of sync with the content as you might expect more traditional African folk music. I guess, Olatuja only hints at his roots, because it might as well have been entirely displaying Autumn leaves in his hometown of New York.
Anyway, I really enjoy this, it's gooood.

Band of Horses "Cease to Begin" (2007)

Cease to Begin

release date: Oct. 9, 2007

format: cd (SPCD 745)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,22]

producer: Phil Ek

label: Sub Pop Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Is There a Ghost" (5 / 5) (live on Letterman) - 2. "Ode to LRC" - 3. "No One's Gonna Love You" (5 / 5) (live on Letterman - acoustic live) - 4. "Detlef Schrempf" (4,5 / 5) (live) - 5. "The General Specific" - 7. "Islands on the Coast" - 8. "Marry Song" - 9. "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands" (4,5 / 5) (live)

2nd studio album by Band of Horses following 1½ after the fine Everything All the Time (Mar. 2006) is like that produced by Phil Ek and released on Sub Pop. Since the recording of the debut album the band has changed its line-up more than once, and played as a quintet, a quartet and now reduced to a trio with only remaining member, founder Ben Bridwell. On this he constitutes the band with bassist & guitarist Rob Hampton and drummer Creighton Barrett - both replacing founding members Chris Early and Tim Meinig for the promotion tour of the debut in 2006. Guitarist and keyboardist Joe Arnone only stayed for the 2006 tour, after which the band recruited keyboardist Ryan Monroe as additional musician for an upcoming 2007 tour and for the recording sessions for this album. He was, however, together with guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bassist Bill Reynolds included as new official members after the album release, whci meant the band was soon back as a sextet.

Musically, the album follows close on path laid out with the debut, although, this seems more like a bolder folk rock and country rock release thanks to more focus on electric guitars. The album still leaves room for a varied collection of songs, some are laidback and country-like, others harsh electric folk rock and the first track is an indie pop-shaped grower, but the overall sensation of a strong coherent whole is further accentuated. The album consists of ten tracks - and here comes the least favourable thing about this new album: it only upholds a total running time at 34:50 minutes!

After an acclaimed and strong debut they actually do even better. It's more than an ordinary artistic achievement to make something that both bonds so nicely with the preceeding release and yet improve their sound, which again proves how Ben Bridwell as only remaning member is the band's leader and driving force.

Cease to Begin is their best and it's highly recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com, NME, Blender, Q Magazine, 👍Spin 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7.7 / 10 stars ]

Toyah "Sheep Farming in Barnet" (1980)

Sheep Farming in Barnet
release date: Feb. 22, 1980
format: digital (2002 reissue)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,48]
producer: Steve James, Keith Hale
label: Safari Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Neon Womb" - 2. "Indecision" - 5. "Victims of the Riddle" - 8. "Danced"

Studio album debut by British band Toyah - named after the band's lead vocalist Toyah Ann Wilcox. The album was originally released as a 6-track ep in '79, which six months later was expanded to an 11-track album. Already as of '80 it was released as a compilation with the band's second album The Blue Meaning (Jun. 1980). The band consists of vocalist Toyah Wilcox, guitarist and main composer Joel Bogen, bassist Mark Henry, keyboardist Peter Bush, and drummer Steve Bray.

Toyah began as a punk rock band and quickly combined all sorts of contemporary influences from post punk, art punk, art pop and new wave with Toyah Wilcox, to a large extent, impersonating German punk queen, Nina Hagen.

I didn't came across this album until the early '00s, and being familiar with Anthem (1981), Changeling (1982) and Love Is the Law (1983) it is a strange experience to go through the band's first two albums. Sheep Farming in Barnet, to me, sounds pretty much like a British version of Nina Hagen Band in a bizarre cocktail with synthesizer inputs from Brian Eno.

The band was probably given a great deal more attention than their music deserved, and it's likely that the band's initial success was linked with Wilcox participating in national TV-series. Imho, the first two albums by Toyah are not more than historical artefacts and only serve to show us from what they spawned.

Not recommended.

[ 👎NME 3 / 5 stars ]

Magazine "Play." (1980)

Play. (live)

release date: Dec. 1980

format: vinyl / digital

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

producer: Magazine, John Brand

label: Virgin - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Give Me Everything" - 2. "A Song from Under the Floorboards" (5 / 5) - 3. "Permafrost" - 4. "The Light Pours Out of Me" (4 / 5) - 5. "Model Worker" - - B) 2. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" - 3. "Because You're Frightened" (4 / 5) - 5. "Definitive Gaze"

Live album by Magazine are the recordings made at the one and same performance recorded Sep. 6, 1980 at Melbourne Festival Hall, Australia. The band was on tour with its most recent studio album The Correct Use of Soap (May 1980). The band appears in a new line-up after John McGeoch's departure following the album release, and he is here substituted by Robin Simon (ex-Ultravox). Other members here are vocalist Howard Devoto, bassist Barry Adamson, keyboardist Dave Formula, and drummer John Doyle.

The album is a 10 track album with four tracks stemming from the The Corect Use... album, three tracks from the debut Real Life (Jun. 1978), one track from the seconda album Secondhand Daylight (Mar. 1979), and one track (track #B4) is a B-side to the single A Song From Under the Floorboards.

Given that McGeoch was unreplaceable, Simon actually does a great job, although, this is the only Magazine album he plays on. The song selection is great, and the band plays an exquisite concert. Critics argue that since the album is without a great song from the performance and instead comes with "Twenty Years Ago" and the odd cover "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", it doesn't deserve good ratings. Bollocks, I say! The album is bulging from great songs and energetic versions. It's a great testimony of one of the most remarkable post-punk bands, who understood to blend styles and come up with something new, when most bands were lost when parting with punk rock.

Highly recommended.

Band of Horses "Everything All the Time" (2006)

Everything All the Time [debut]

release date: Mar. 21, 2006

format: cd ( SPCD 690)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]

producer: Phil Ek

label: Sub Pop Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "The First Song" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Wicked Gil" - 3. "Our Swords" - 4. "The Funeral" (4 / 5) - 6. "The Great Salt Lake" (4,5 / 5) (live on Letterman) - 7. "Weed Party" (acoustic live) - 10. "St. Augustine"

Studio album debut by Seattle-based indie folk quintet Band of Horses. The band was originally formed as a trio consisting of lead vocalist & guitarist Ben [Benjamin] Bridwell, bassist Chris Early and drummer Tim Meinig. Later it was expanded to a quartet with vocalist & guitarist Mat Brooke, who had been band leader in Carissa's Wierd, where Bridwell had stepped in at a later stage as substitution of a missing drummer and later as bassist, but in this project, Bridwell appears as the band's unofficial leader. Before joining Carissa's Wierd, Bridwell worked on his record label-project Brown Records and without much training he jumped in as the band's drummer on the band's second album You Should Be at Home Here from 2001. He then became stable drummer in the band and also appears on its acclaimed final studio album Songs About Leaving (2002), after which he changed to bass, guitar and backing vocals for the final live album I Before E from 2004.

All songs here are credited the band, but all lyrics (except two songs by Brooke) are written by Bridwell. The album is, however, the only by the band in this line-up, which also includes Carissa Wierd's final drummer Sera Cahoone, who appears on three tracks but basically just for the album recordings. Shortly after finishing these recordings, both Early and Meinig left the band and for the promotion tour the group reformed in a new line-up with the inclusion of three new members: guitarist & keyboardist Joe Arnone, guitarist & bassist Rob Hampton, and drummer Creighton Barrett but already as of Jul. 2006, also Mat Brooke left the band after which he became co-founder of the Seattle-project Grand Archives.

On this the band's first full-length album, the playlist is made up of several reworks of compositions that had previously been issued on the Band of Horses ep (also titled Tour EP) released, a self-released issue from 2005 sold at concerts, which consisted of three demo takes and three live recordings. Five of those songs appear here in (new) studio versions. The three demo tracks all apear here in re-arranged versions with new titles - "Savannah Part One" is here shortened to "Part One", "The Snow Fall" is here titled "The First Song", and "For Wicked Gil" is here titled "Wicked Gil". Two of the three live recordings appear here in studio versions - "The Great Salt Lake", which has kept its title intact, and "Billion Day Funeral", which here is simply titled "Funeral".

Stylewise, Band of Horses play an uptempo, simple yet modernised folk rock and indie rock with an obvious love for harmony-driven Neil Young classics, but without the sligtest sensation of plagiarism. They have, however, been associated with acts like R.E.M., Slowdive, The Shins and others, as well as been accused of not being original enough. Fact is, you don't have to be an original to make great music. All great stars have copied and "stolen" inspiration from others, and that's what Band of Horses do so well on Everything All the Time. The single songs all sound highly original in their own rights and the whole album showcases a long list of stylistic variations but the magic enters as it all combined becomes one whole that only soothes: Band of Horses. There's no copy, only the original.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Blender, Drowned in Sound, Uncut 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8.8 / 10 stars ]

Sun Kil Moon "Common as Light and Love..." (2017)

Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood

release date: Feb. 17, 2017

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Mark Kozelek

label: Rough Trade Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "God Bless Ohio" (4 / 5) - 2. "Chili Lemon Peanuts" - 3. "Philadelphia Cop" - 4. "The Highway Song" - 8. "Butch Lullaby" - 9. "Stranger Than Paradise" - 11. "Bergen to Trondheim" - 12. "I Love Portugal" - 16. "I Love You Forever and Beyond Eternity"

8th studio album by Sun Kil Moon is, in CD and vinyl formats, a double album issued on Caldo Verde with a total of 16 tracks and a running time of monstrous 2 hours and 10 minutes. As a digital release only, the album is released on Rough Trade. The album follows the same recipe as Sun Kil Moon's most recent solo, the 1½-year-old Universal Themes (Jun. 2015) - following closely in the wake of the critically acclaimed Benji from 2014 - with Kozelek as songwriter, composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist alongside ex-Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley as only other musician. The most recent release featuring Kozelek is the collaboration-project Jesu / Sun Kil Moon (Jan. 2016). This is just one of a handful of releases featuring Kozelek in 2017. A month later he released the solo ep Night Talks (Mar. 2017), and then he released 30 Seconds to the Decline of Planet Earth (May 2017), his second collaboration album with Jesu, and a month later Yellow Kitchen (Jun. 2017), a collaboration album with bassist Sean Yates (of Parquet Courts and Dweller on the Threshold), and he released Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White (Oct. 2017) - all issued on Kozelek's own label, Caldo Verde.

The shortest track here runs more than 5 minutes, three tracks exceed 10 minutes playing time, and the majority of songs are somewhere between 7 and 9 minutes long. By that alone, this is a different collection of songs, but the individual compositions are also of a special breed. Some tracks - the best to my ears - are reminiscent of older Kozelek releases, where you find clear verses, choruses and Kozelek both singing and handling acoustic guitar. More demanding tracks include Kozelek's spoken word passages on which he appears to be reciting from a diary. He rants about masturbation, he argues with a music journalist about which Bowie songs are the best and how he came to know about Bowie's death, or he goes on about mass shootings, etc., as for example on "Philadelphia Cop", which nevertheless has a certain strength once you get 3-4 minutes into the almost 11 minutes of the composition.

In terms of style and on the surface it comes much as usual in an alt. folk and singer / songwriter setting, but you also find various elements from other styles that Kozelek is influenced by. We hear traces of hip-hop, funk, indie rock, punk rock, and passages with spoken word, where Kozelek opens up about something sounding as an endless reading from his own diary. It's basically The Fall, Hüsker Dü, Pixies, Mark Eitzel, Arcade Fire, Johnny Cash, and many more - all in the same pot, and without being completely structureless, but let's just conclude by saying it presents natural challenges from a listener's perspective.

Common as Light and Love... is a strong album and one of Kozelek's better. There are flaws, peculiar passages and unconventional structures, but overall, it's mostly a joy where you may encounter funny detours, weird existences and slightly hidden beauty.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Drowned in Sound, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard "Gladiator" (OST) (2000)

Gladiator (soundtrack)

release date: Apr. 25, 2000

format: digital (35 x File, FLAC) (20th Anniversary Edition, 2020 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]

producer: Klaus Badelt, Hans Zimmer, Ridley Scott

label: Universal Music Classics - nationality: Germany / Australia

Track highlights: 3. "The Battle" - 5. "Sorrow" - 6. "To Zuccabar" - 9. "The Might of Rome" - 15. "Elysium" - 17. "Now We Are Free" - *19. "Now We Are Free (Juba's Mix)" - *25. "Rome Is the Light" - *35. "Now We Are Free (Maximus Mix)"

*2020 Anniversary Edition

Soundtrack to a Ridley Scott directed epic drama starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Richard Harris, and Oliver Reed (who passed away 1 year before the film premiered). The soundtrack is like the film an acclaimed work in its own rights, and all music here is credited Zimmer & Gerrard in collaboration and with Gavin Greenaway conducting [The London] Lyndhurst Orchestra.

The original soundtrack runs for just over one hour and counts the first 17 tracks - the remaining 18 tracks have been added to the 20th Anniversary Edition; however already in 2001 the soundtrack was released in this version as a 2-disc CD edition for the European market doubling its running time.

The music is held in a classic (heavily) orchestrated frame. The music is pompous but quite fitting to the likewise dramatic imagery side of the film. At times I notice a strong influence from Morricone and some inspiration from Richard Wagner but then aren't all great composers inspired by others? What really works on a higher level here, is that themes and styles go hand in hand with the images and the story, and yet as a standalone piece of work, this soundtrack still works quite nicely; although, I prefer the more progressive compositions and especially those featuring Gerrard's enigmatic vocal performances.

Gladiator (OST) is one of those rare soundtracks where everything is in sublime synergy. I may prefer more experimental and subtle soundtracks but this is one to cherish.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

[ Hans Zimmer on the making of the soundtrack ]