Chelsea Wolfe "She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She" (2024)

She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

release date: Feb. 9, 2024

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,95]

producer: Dave Sitek

label: Loma Vista - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Whispers in the Echo Chamber" - 3. "Everything Turns Blue" - 5. "The Liminal" - 6. "Eyes Like Nightshade" - 8. "Unseen World"

7th studio album by Chelsea Wolfe following Birth of Violence (Sep. 2019) is her first album on Loma Vista and it also introduces a certain change in producer-collaboration as most of her former releases were mostle made with co-composer Ben Chisholm, who remains as one her stable collaborators (since 2012) together with drummer Jess Gowrie and mastering engineer Heba Kadry (both since 2017).

A new producer and a new label doesn't mean much new, though. And despite the fact that Wolfe has been influenced by various styles, this new collection of songs still stand with feets buried in a darkwave arena. That said, Wolfe has often sought to colour her songs from new perspectives - with twists of electronica, stronger influnced by / or with the absense of industrial rock, and in that sense her new album doesn't appear as something entirely different. Wolfe belongs to the dark - no doubt about that, and she usually makes her songs with Chisholm - here credited as co-composer, keyboardist and for drum programming. And especially the drum aspect is what basically makes this a different breed than her (brighter) 2019-album. Drums are up-front, energetic pulsating, and attract attention on an album that takes Wolfe back on an industrial, electronic path of dark colours.

The album has mostly been met by acclaim as an original output from an innovative artist, who never seem to walk on already known paths. To me, it doesn't quite invite me in, and I think my reluctant stance has to do with the incoherency I find on the album. It's both strongly electronic with synths and programming providing a new side-step to her darkwave tones, and at the same time it bonds with industrial rock - it wants to be 'hard', and then Wolfe has makes attempts pop-imagery, nicely placed hooks of sweetness, which makes it difficult to digest. It's like, she tries too hard to make her music grandiose and by that she unfortunately also loses contact with authenticity. Is it a spicy treat, or, just a light dessert? I dunno!! And the different flavours do not meet one another that well, I think. And ultimately, Wolfe has been better.

[ 😮allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Exclaim! 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7,6 / 10, Uncut 3,5 / 5, 👉PopMatters 3 / 5 stars ]

Goat "World Music" (2012)

World Music [debut]

release date: Aug. 20, 2012

format: cd

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

producer: ?

label: Rocket Recordings - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Diarabi" - 2. "Goatman" - 3. "Goathead" - 5. "Golden Dawn" (live) - 7. "Run to Your Mama" (live) - 9. "Det som aldrig förändras / Diarabi"

Studio album debut by Swedish music collective Goat [stylised: GOAT] founded in Gothenburg, and according to the band's bandcamp profile originating from the (Swedish!) village of Korpolombolo, thus implying connections to ancient voodoo cult religion. All members have masked their identity and also perform masked - not unlike The Residents. One of the three 'core' members has been identified as Christian Johansson. Track #1 is a cover credited Malian musician Boubacar Traoré (included on his 1990 debut album Mariama), whereas the remaining compositions are all credited the band.

Musically, World Music represents a huge melting pot of stylistic influences, just as the title indicates with inspiration from various parts of the planet, and then you could add that everything is made with psychedelia at the centre of attention. Some tracks are afro-pop-founded, some are more krautrock-inspired, others reek a certain jazz fusion-feel, but you'll also find hard rock bits and everything is nearly naturally experimental and mostly progressive instrumental, although, some tracks are made with clear vocal harmonies. A fitting description is found on the album site explaining: "The band takes in many influences, from the Afro groove that is central to the album, through to head nodding psych, post-punk, turkish rock, kraut repetition and astral folk."

The album has generally been met by positive words from international critics - only Swedish music magazine Gaffa is more reluctant in its review. Imo, it takes a few spins to get accustomised, but if you happen to enjoy early Zappa / The Mothers of Invention and think a cocktail with 1980s The B-52's sounds like an interesting mix, then GOAT may be what you're looking for. Despite the wide stylistic variations, it actually feels like a musical whole, which is a great accomplishment.

Recommended.

[ The Guardian 5 / 5, Clash, musicOMH, PopMatters 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,1 / 10, Gaffa.se 3 / 6 stars ]

The Smile "Wall of Eyes" (2024)

Wall of Eyes

release date: Jan. 26, 2024

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Sam Petts-Davies

label: XL Recordings - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Wall of Eyes" (4 / 5) - 2. "Teleharmonic" - 3. "Read the Room" - 4. "Under Our Pillows" - 7. "Bending Hectic"

2nd studio album by The Smile following nearly two years after A Light for Attracting Attention (May 2022) with Petts-Davis as producer - he previously produced Thom Yorke's solo soundtrack Suspiria (2018) for Luca Guadagnino's remake of a Dario Argento horror classic.

Although, the album has been made with a new producer, it really doesn't fall far from the trio's first album and you could also argue that the project here doesn't expose a tone that essentially differs from that of Radiohead, perhaps because that band's musical centre is constituted by Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood who are 2/3 of The Smile. And although, many compositions were nearly finished by Greenwood and Yorke in the Summer of '23, all songs and music here is credited the band only.

The now two studio albums by The Smile are so much alike that it's tempting to regard them as two chapters of the same book, or two sides of the same coin, and that's the only snag to a otherwise fine follow-up. On the positive side, you could add that it's really nice to have renowned artists like Yorke, Greenwood, and Skinner, who choose to make an album with focus on musical experimentation instead of going mainstream pop, and in that regard, the trio still offers a refreshing and challenging side-step to the Grammy Awards' self-centrered spotlight of make-believe where everything is about performance.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, NME, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, 😮Pitchfork 8,5 / 10, 👎Exclaim! 3 / 5 stars ]

Jan & Kjeld "Banjo Boy" (1959) (single)

Banjo Boy, 7'' single

release date: 1959

format: vinyl (1960) (TD 45 49)

[single rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,66]

producer: ?

label: Triola - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Banjo Boy" - - B) "Mach doch nicht so viel Wind"

Single release by Danish duo Jan & Kjeld, who had an international hit with this song, especially in Germany, where they had started performing in the late 1950s with German schlagers, and also in The Netherlands where the single was released in '59. The Danish release came out in 1960 alongside a full-length album with the same title. The two siblings Jan and Kjeld Lennart Wennick first played on national TV in '57 after which they were promoted as musical 'wonderkids'. They had a few more hit singles in Germany, and they stayed to their style of playing popular covers of standards and schlagers. Their heydays were a ten-year period from their breakthrough and up around 1966 after which they kept touring for another decade before ending their engagements [ Danish wiki ].

This copy was part of my parents' record collection, and it was a single I used to play on a portable turntable at 6-8 years of age. It never was a single I found particular good - it was more of an obscurity, I think. 'Yes, they were kids and yeah, they knew how to play and sing, Okay. But it's not really that great'.

This is one of my very first music memories that wasn't purely children's songs, although, in this case: played by children.

👉 Another one from that earliest stage.

~ ~ ~

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.

Protomartyr "Formal Growth in the Desert" (2023)

Formal Growth in the Desert

release date: Jun. 2, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Greg Ahee, Jake Aron

label: Domino - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Make Way" - 2. "For Tomorrow" - 3. "Elimination Dances" (4 / 5) - 4. "Fun in Hi Skool" (live) - 5. "Let's Tip the Creator" - 6. "Graft vs. Host" - 7. "3800 Tigers" - 8. "Polacrilex Kid" (live) - 10. "We Know the Rats" (4 / 5) - 12. "Rain Garden"

6th studio album by post-punk revivalists Protomartyr following three years after the acclaimed Ultimate Success Today (Jul. 2020) is another high quality release from a band who understands to stay true to its origins while exploring new territory.

Musically, it's fierce alt. rock building on an American college rock-tradition where both Pixies and Modest Mouse play equal parts with more classic British punk rock and post-punk roots. And then still, Protomartyr sounds just like no one else. They play with a nuanced understanding of balancing quiet and loud and delicate with the brutal, and lead vocalist Joe Casey's political comments are mixed with surreal / cryptic messages that fronts Greg Ahee's white noisy guitar constructs in perfect balanced disorder.

Formal Growth in the Desert gives us Protomartyr as a highly vital American band with something to offer than just a fabrication of mainstream sound.

Highly recommended. [Get the album here].

[ 👍allmusic.com, Uncut, Slant 4 / 5, 👍SputnikMusic 4,1 / 5, TheLineOfBestFit 4,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,6 / 10 stars ]

Bo sundström "Mitt dumma jag - svensk jazz" (2018)

Mitt dumma jag - svensk jazz

release date: Jan. 26, 2018

format: vinyl / cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]

producer: Jonas Kullhammar

label: Columbia / Sony Music / Mr RADAR - nationality: Sweden

Second solo album by lead vocalist Bo (Sigvard) Sundström of Swedish band Bo Kaspers Orkester. His solo debut Skåne was released as early as 2005 and that showed an artist trying out pop ballads with various stylistic influences, but this is something entirely different as indicated in the subtitle "svensk jazz" ['Swedish jazz']. All ten songs are old staples from vocal jazz with new lyrics - mostly by Sundström. The end result is a new take on the world of classic jazz and with lyrics in Swedish combined with Sundström's gift for jazz pop as heard on several albums with his usual band and this turns out as a most welcome album. The subtitle delicately hints as the legendary Swedish jazz album of them all: Jazz på svenska by Jan Johansson, and it's in this light you should listen to Mitt dumma jag. All compositions have been handed Swedish titles - only on the back cover the original titles are added, and it's quality titles like "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Once Upon a Summertime",... "My Foolish Heart", the latter translated to "Mitt dumma jag" (track #5). There's also "Waltz for Debby" translated to "Monicas vals" of course in memory of Monica Zetterlund, who made that song an international hit with Bill Evans, and then there's the end-track "Danny's Dream", originally a 1954 Swedish jazz instrumental by Lars Gullin - here with the addition of lyrics written by contemporary Swedish pop diva Lisa Nilsson.

The album is no less than a truly positive surprise. It's not the jazz pop, as some would expect, neither is it pop / rock-styled but instead genuine contemporary vocal jazz in a Swedish tradition that goes hand in hand with jazz greats of former ages.

Recommended.

Blur "The Ballad of Darren" (2023)

The Ballad of Darren

release date: Jul. 21, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC) (Deluxe)

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

producer: James Ford

label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 3. "Barbaric" - 2. "St. Charles Square" - 4. "Russian Strings" - 6. "The Narcissist" - 7. "Goodbye Alert" - 10. "The Heights"

9th studio album by Blur marks a long-awaited reunion following more than eight years after The Magic Whip (Apr. 2015), which then was another reunion album following 12 years after Think Tank (May 2003). The Ballad... is produced by James Ford, who has made a name for his work with e.g. Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets, and in this context: for his work on albums by Gorillaz. The band remains intact and all tracks are credited the band of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree. Together with Gorillaz, Albarn released Cracker Island (Feb. 2023), and basically, Blur now appears as just another brain-child of Albarn's. Blur is still something else, and markedly different from albums by Gorillaz, but there are apparent similarities with the music by the Albarn-led project The Good, The Bad & The Queen (e.g. "Goodbye Alert" and "Far Away Island"), who most recently - as of Nov. 2018 released Merrie Land.

The album was met by positive reviews - I didn't immediately embrace it as an improvement, and frankly thought of it as on par with the band's 2015 album, but one year down the road, I consider it better than my initial verdict. It's not up there among the best by Blur but it surely has its moments, and Coxon is a most treasured guarantee in delivering classic Blur guitar-riffs, which securely puts it somewhere in the middle on the Blur shelf.

[ 👎allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Mojo, NME, 👍Pitchfork 7,2 / 10 stars ]

Caroline Polachek "Desire, I Want to Turn Into You" (2023)

Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

release date: Feb. 14, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]

producer: Caroline Polachek & Danny L Harle

label: Perpetual Novice - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Welcome to My Island" - 4. "Sunset" - 6. "I Believe"

4th studio album by Caroline (Elizabeth) Polachek and her second album under her given name. After releasing three albums with synthpop band Chairlift from 2008 to 2016, Polachek focussed on her solo career, which she had already initiated while being in the band, and she then released her solo debut Arcadia (Apr. 2014) under the name of Ramona Lisa. Her second solo Drawing the Target Around the Arrow (Jan. 2017) under the name CEP (abbreviation of her name), and preceeding her 2023 album she released Pang in Oct. 2019.

Both albums by Chairlift and her solo releases have generally been met by positive reviews and they also gained public acclaim.

Polachek's newest album is by some regarded as one of the best albums of 2023, but I'm not really a huge fan. Yes, the production is state of the art top-notch, and there's much positive energy in most of her songs - it's just... all heard before, isn't it!? I guess I'm not part of her target fan base and all but still, I simply cannot come to terms with much of the new synthpop and indie pop artists, who spit out new songs that showcase the same arrangements, the same instrumentation, the same song structures, and similar soundscapes! I know Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé, Drake, Taylor Swift, etc. all make different kinds of music, but to me, they nevertheless showcase a common strategy of making music that loans heavily on pre-made music - whether it's music by themselves or others making some of the same 'generic' pop. It leaves me indifferent - at best! But mostly, it only makes me change radio channel or give me an urge to hear something... substantial. Something worthwhile. I don't care how many copies they sell or how many awards they are awarded. I currently don't know anything about Chairlift, or Polachek's earlier albums, and frankly, this album doesn't make me one bit curious about her past. And that's regardless all the good reviews their albums have garnered.

Not recommended.

[ 👎allmusic.com, Clash 4,5 / 5, 🙉PopMatters 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, 👉NME 3 / 5 stars ]

OMD "Bauhaus Staircase" (2023)

Bauhaus Staircase

release date: Oct. 27, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]

producer: OMD

label: 100% Records / White Noise - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Bauhaus Staircase" - 2. "Anthropocene" - 4. "G.E.M." - 5. "Where We Started" - 6. "Veruschka" - 8. "Don't Go" - 10. "Aphrodite's Favourite Child"

14th studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - the fourth since the band's reformation in 2006, follows six full years after The Punishment of Luxury (Sep. 2017). As all the band's four studio albums of the new Millennium, the album production is credited the band and most tracks are written and composed by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys with the former taking the strongest role as songwriter - business as usual. The band hasn't exactly lived without exchanging members and the line-up with the two founding members McCluskey and Humpreys alongside keyboardist Martin Cooper are now on their fourth consecutive album together, whereas drummer Stuart Kershaw, who took part in the writing of five tracks on Liberator (1993), debuted on the 2017 album.

Bauhaus Staircase not only continues where the band left us in 2017 but basically adopts the sound they have stuck to since the reformation and the release of History of Modern (2010), and the title referencing the German art school pretty much sums up what kind of legacy they aim for - and they do know how it connotates an early electronic European tradition, which implies both Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk. The album cover reflects the same perspective, as we've seen it with their four most recent albums. From the Pacific Age (1986) to Universal (1996) OMD found themselves - if not on a downward spiral, then at least on a negative trend, where they seemed to be caught on the wrong foot, searching of a proper style, which ultimately had McCluskey dissolve the band in '96. After the reunion, however, the band acts very determined to stick to a simple synth-pop founded on synths, drums, and melodic uptempo tunes that somehow all incorporate some of the characteristics of the band's earliest years. Since 2008 they have released live-versions of their most popular albums and been on tours only performing the albums Dazzle Ships and Architecture & Morality, and they have released the live album Access All Areas (2015) dedicated to hits of their heydays.

I feel somewhat undecided on this as I sense much reproduction and not much new, and then on the other hand I acknowledge that they really understand their own strengths and keep to these in a predictable, yet also quite charming way. My first impression was basically a complete rejection, and I thought it was game over. And again, I have to hand it to McCluskey & Co. as they know how to keep the torch alive.

Recommended.

[ Mojo, PopMatters, Record Collector, Uncut 4 / 5, Clash 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Grrrl Gang "Spunky!" (2023)

Spunky!

release date: Sep. 22, 2023

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]

producer: Lafa Pratomo, Grrrl Gang

label: Green Island Music - nationality: Indonesia

Track highlights: 1. "Birthday Blues" - 2. "A Fight Breaks Out at a Karaoke Bar" - 3. "Rude Awakening" - 4. "Spunky!" - 5. "Cool Girl" - 9. "Blue Stained Lips" - 10. "The Star"

Full-length studio album debut by Indonesian trio Grrrl Gang. The album follows the compilation Here to Stay! (2020) and the ep debut Not Sad, Not Fulfilled (2018). Grrrl Gang consist of lead vocalist and guitarist Angeeta Sentana, bassist and vocalist Akbar Rumandung, guitarist and vocalist Edo Alventa, and together they formed the power pop trio in Yogyakarta, Java in 2016 - since then, they have relocated to the capital city of Jakarta.

Spunky!" is a ten track album; however, running for less than 25 mins. it's a rather short album. And frankly, that only makes you wish they had more songs on their repertoire 'cause it's really a fine addictive list of power pop tunes you probably wouldn't expect to originate from Asia - and say least of all: Indonesia. The three met and formed at Gadjah Mada University but might as well have formed in Seattle, or somewhere else in the US, which is like the living proof of how the world has become much smaller when speaking of music culture. Grrrl Gang play power pop and indie rock - in the 90s often referred to as college rock with bonds to The Breeders, Pixies, Echobelly, Throwing Muses and the like.

It's straight-forward and simple, and then it reminds us of how you could just go on and form a band back in 1977/80, or say 1990, just as long as you had some fundamental skills in place, and Grrrl Gang surely know one or two things about composing energetic indie pop.

Spunky! is already an acclaimed album - NME puts it at number #48 on its list of the 50 best albums of the year. I guess all three band members could very well have found, or hoped for another type of living than what they sat out for when deciding to relocate to the capital to find day jobs, and then instead ended up in a successful band.

Highly recommended.

[ NME 4 / 5, Under the Radar 7,5 / 10, 👍Loud and Quiet 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter "Saved!" (2023)

SAVED! [debut]

release date: Oct. 20, 2023

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 2 / 5] [1,88]

producer: 'Brother' Seth Manchester

label: Perpetual Flame Ministries - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "All of My Friends Are Going to Hell"

Studio album debut as Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter (aka Kristin Hayter), who released four full-length albums from 2017 to 2021 under the name of Lingua Ignota - the final album being Sinner Get Ready (Aug. 2021). SAVED! is like her recent releases on the Sargent House label engineered by (now: 'Brother') Seth Manchester. Hayter's Lingua Ignota project was centered around a neo-classical darkwave style with obvious bonds to the music by Diamanda Galás, whereas the change of project-name signals a change of style. Musically, Hayter still makes anything but ordinary pop music - SAVED! has been labelled 'Southern Gospel' and / or 'Appalachian Music', but in any case it's still highly experimental and bonded to darkwave. The album consists of 11 tracks, which are all arranged, recorded, and mixed as if stemming from early twentieth century recordings. Instrumentally, it's quite simple with banjo and piano as only other dominating instruments apart from Hayter's lamenting vocal, which is much less aggressive than her albums as Lingua Ignota, and the production and mixing aspects quite obviously seek to present the music as recorded on a cheap ancient device of some sort. Deliberately, the volume goes up and down, there are cut-ups and fall-outs in sound, and everything is kept as an amateur's first take.

Regardless making music as this or that project, Hayter seems determined to explore Christian holy scriptures, and on this she examines the theme of salvation. The album has been met by critical acclaim, despite speaking to an extremely cult-like audience. From the reviews I've read it appears that critics agree on describing the music here as extreme, with little variation, and as challenging. Critics also note Hayter's artistic determination to stand out and go her very own way, which in some cases stand in the way of actually dealing with musical qualities as such. I find that only few actually describe the music they hear on this as beautiful, delicate, majestic, whatever. Appealing would suffice but that is hardly the point because it's not. Hayter is put in a 'holy' and exclusive category, where form over matter is all there is. In any case, it is an extremely coherent album, and that's of course a positive trait, but there are no tracks on this that will satisfy a hope of finding music you would want as background music for dancing, resting, or for an intimate dinner for two - I guess, this is where the term challenging enters the description. And hey, it's really not intimate at all, and it doesn't scream sing-along potential! In fact, imho, and at best, I find it extreme... but mostly also extremely dreadful. 👉This is form over matter, it's the Emperor's new clothes and there's no way, I'll recommend this!👈

[ The Line of Best Fit, Uncut 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7,5 / 10, Exclaim 3,5 / 5 stars ]

André 3000 "New Blue Sun" (2023)

New Blue Sun [debut]

release date: Nov. 17, 2023

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,68]

producer: André 3000 & Carlos Niño

label: Epic Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time" - 7. "Ants to You, Gods to Who ?"

Actual solo album debut by André 3000 (aka André Lauren Benjamin), who hasn't released full-length album music of his own since the Idlewild (2006) album by Outkast - one of the most succesful hip hop projects. Speakerboxx / The Love Below (2003) by Outkast has gone down in music history as the best-selling hip hop album ever to be released. André 3000 did, however, release the EP Look Ma No Hands in 2018, but other than that he has made featuring appearances on various singles and albums, although, a solo album was anticipated but never released, that's is, until now. Instead, he was cast as actor in a number of TV-series, also in a leading role in 2012, when he played Jimi Hendrix in John Ridley's film "Jimi: All Is by My Side" (premiered in 2014). Outkast reunited in 2014 for live concerts only, and since then André has lived life somewhat away from the brightest limelight and has been focusing on the production aspect of both music and films. André has been mentioned amongst the best rappers of all-time, and his songwriting and compositional touch has made people yearn for something more substantial - and something that would make everyone remember the famous riffs from the Outkast heydays.

New Blue Sun is anything but rap or hip hop. In fact, it's quiete a loooong way from what could be labelled as pop music. The album runs for more than 87 mins - almost 1½ hours of music, and only enlists eight tracks. All songs - or: they are not really songs but instrumentals as André doesn't add his famous vocal to one single track [!]. The shortest composition is track #5 "Ninety Three 'Til Infinity and Beyoncé", which has one of the shortest titles - the longest being "That Night in Hawaii When I Turned Into a Panther and Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn't Control ... SH¥T Was Wild" (tracks #3), which runs for 10½ mins, but that aint even the longest track. The longest composition is track #8 with its running time exceeding 17 mins. All compositions are credited André mostly together with co-producer Carlos Niñho, Nate Mercereau, and often also Surya Botofasina. André himself is aside for producing and mixing credited wind instruments, including flute, baritone flute, and wind controller aka 'wind synthesizer'. Only vocals on the abum is credited Mia Doi Todd.

Musically, this falls in a category of new age and ambient. It's slow and delicate, and André has also described parts of the compositions as improvisations, where he experiments with sound. The album has actually and mostly been met by positive reviews. Some suggest the music transcends the very idea and the general perception of what (modern) music is and what it should sound like, but most critics simply admire André's musical project as something extremely unique, and an utter brave decision from someone, who could have chosen the easy way. Instead he turns to music, and to experimentation, and by that shows his genuine love for music itself.

I dunno. I'm in doubts here. The artistic journey aside, I don't think the album as such delivers on that many parameters. To me, it's the kind of music that seems suited for meditation or relaxation, and since I'm not a huge fan of new age in general, it's a bit of a difficult listen. Parts of compositions provide me with a positive energy, and parts are beautifully arranged. There's, however, long periods of almost nothingness, where you try to focus on a palette that's hardly recognisable. I do also think other artists of the genre are able to produce more interesting music. Imho, this is far from entirely bad. It's just not the kind of music I turn to except from when needing a subtle background to lean on when taking a nap.

Not really recommended but still worth knowing.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Clash 3 / 5, The Standard 2 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,3 / 10 stars ]

Evigby "John Tonic & metalhjertet" (2023)

John Tonic & metalhjertet

release date: May 19, 2023

format: digital (18 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,77]

producer: Freddy Konfeddy et al.

label: Kosmokrator Records- nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Sult" - 3. "Sober sæbeopera" - 5. "Skejs Kejser" - 6. "Pop Pop" - 8. "Flex" - 9. "Metalhjertet" - 10. "Narkosalg" - 12. "Mordersang" - 13. "Fra den sunkne bys slimede gader rejser den dekadente titan Mest Mefisto sig" - 14. "Phallos" - 16. "Enten eller" - 17. "Far"

Studio album debut by Danish hiphop and rap-collective Evigby led by songwriter and lead vocalist Laurits von Undall, who previously released released music under the name of John Tonic. The album is in essence a conceptual album blending what appears as sci-fi storytelling put in a contemporary setting with focus on social awareness. It's by no means a traditional Danish hiphop or rap outing and it seems more directly inspired by various US hiphop and rap artists without being mere copy. The lyrics are all held in Danish, and the music is hard to narrow in, but lyrics and music put together, really makes this an original cocktail. The music is first and foremost built on hiphop and it's electronically founded but there's nevertheless also a strong will to experiment with traditional instrumentation, which provides a refreshing mix of styles, although, the strong vocal performance never suggest anything but hiphop. Laurits showcases a natural ear for rap flow and rhyming, yet there's still focus on the aspect of storytelling. Some songs are executed via a mature sense for what works melodically and from a musical perspective, other songs are more one-dimensionally structured around the lyrical side. The narrative is centrered on John Tonic and his hood, their experiences with drugs and (easy) money, John's connection to the underworld, and then on another level the narrative reveals John's aspirations as well as parts of his upbringing and adolescence.

With John Tonic & metalhjertet, Evigby provides us with a refreshing new take on a Danish hiphop tradition, which expands boundaries with a new mix of styles. Ultimately, this collection of songs and the conceptual idea also points to what purpose it serves to put Evigby in any genre category - to cite Louis Armstrong freely: "there's no such thing as style - there's only good or bad!" And to tell you the truth: this ain't bad at all! What's a real shame though, is the local and national radio stations' near complete neglect to play what matters instead of playing what some powerful labels and a few distributors think people oughta listen to. Another thing restricting a more solid distribution of the music by Evigby is the fact that the album has not been released for download or in any physical format. The album exists only on Splotify, on bApple Music, and on Soundcloud, but it's really a recommended listen and one of this year's most exciting Danish releases.

[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

The Streets "The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light" (2023)

The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light

release date: Oct. 13, 2023

format: digital (15 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Mike Skinner

label: Rhino UK - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Too Much Yayo" - 2. "Money Isn't Everything" (4 / 5) - 5. "Shake Hands With Shadows" - 6. "Not a Good Idea" - 8. "The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light" - 10. "Gonna Hurt When This Is Over" - 11. "Kick the Can" (4 / 5) - 12. "Each Day Gives" - 15. "Good Old Daze"

6th studio album by The Streets following nearly 13 years after Computers and Blues (Feb. 2011) and most recently the mixtape album None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive (Jul. 2020) is a warm welcome back to one of Britain's most charismatic hip hop artists of the new millennium. All tracks except the title track, co-composed with Virginia Liston, are composed, written, arranged, produced and mixed by Skinner himself. Actually, the album appears to have been made on the basis of a full-length feature film (baring the same title) written by Skinner over nearly a full decade, and which has also premiered by now. Compared to his 2020 mixtape album this one doesn't include a long list of featuring artists, although Kevin Mark Trail contributes with vocals on seven tracks (he also performed on the 2002 debut as well as on the 2011 album by The Streets), Robert Harvey (of The Music, The D.O.T., Kasabian) features on two, and Laura Vane on one.

More than a decade has passed by, and Skinner has been involved in other projects, so I guess you would expect one of two scenarios: The Streets would take up the batton in a predicted pace and with the inclusion of Skinner's ear for hooks and samples - just like we've come to know him - or, you'd see him from a new perspective utilizing his time with other music projects to expand the musical universe of his most famous brain child. And Skinner only remains true to the spirit, the sound and the soundscape of The Streets, as he simply appears to move forward from whatever position he left his project in. That both makes it very comfortable without having to adjust to a new-found sound and at the same time a tee bit old-school. It does sound like music that should've been released a decade earlier, but then: so what? It wasn't! First and foremost it's nice to have him back in this role, and The Darker the Shadow... won't disturb anyones impression of this project, though I guess some would've wished more progression. Comparing with his fifth studio album I think the most aparent difference is a reluctance to over-arrange songs and stick to some kind of simplicity. The album runs for a total of 47 minutes, and all songs vary little in running time - going from 2:10 to 3:54 minutes they're all composed within a strict matrice of A, B, and C pieces held together with a bridge or two with extremely tight compository differences. That said, he still throws in samples and various stylistic inputs to colour and to make it a digestible treat. The skills remain intact. Some tracks stick out but as a whole it does feel a bit like going through the motions by replicating, duplicating, and by reminding us of his earlier beats. It's not that it doesn't work, 'cause it adds to the repertoire - there's. just. not. a lot. of. new. strengths. being revealed here. Aaaand that said, what really works here is Skinner's artistic approach with words, sentences - i.e. his rhyming to music. That's intact, or perfectly intact actually, and then it doesn't make things worse that you actually have some living experience. His gift in telling everyday life in the context of themes is point on - and we've missed that.

It's nice, it's good, and it's nearly great. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment is that the album actually feels like a real The Streets album to be referred to and compared with the five previvious studio albums. It may not be one of his three best but it comes close.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut, Mojo 4 / 5, Gaffa.dk 4 / 6, Pitchfork, Record Collector, NME 3 / 5 stars ]

Boygenius "The Record" (2023)

The Record [debut]

release date: Mar. 31, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Boygenius, Catherine Marks

label: Interscope - nationality: USA

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

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

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

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

And therefore, The Record is recommended.

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

M.I.A. "MATA" (2022)

MATA

release date: Oct. 14, 2022

format: digital (13 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]

producer: various

label: Island Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "F.I.A.S.O.M. Pt. 2" - 4. "Beep" - 5. "Energy Freq" - 6. "The One" - 8. "Time Traveller" - 9. "Popular" - 11. "K.T.P. (Keep the Peace)" - 13. "Marigold"

6th studio album by M.I.A. following six years after AIM (Sep. 2016) is M.I.A.'s first album to only be issued in digital format. AIM had initially been released as her final studio album but the desire to release new material made her change her decision. MATA is a typical M.I.A. title - instead of refering to an individual, the title is an ironic pun hinted at the change of the name of Facebook to Meta. Furthermore, the front cover depicts a Christian cross in the writing of MATA in vertical letters, and M.I.A. has been outspoken in finding a meaningful life after turning to Christianity, and then, when pronounced in 'working-class' British, 'MATA' becomes 'matter' - meaning this is the / what 'MATA[r]'s. The album consists of thirteen tracks of which none is longer than 3:36 minutes and three tracks are below two minutes making it a relative short full-length album with a total running time under 33 minutes.

MATA is in many ways a typical album from M.I.A. with lyrics touching on social and political awareness. It's music about her role, about being parents, and about living at a current age where global issues demand our full attention.

M.I.A. is confrontatory in her very approach, and that has made her both extremely unpopular but also the opposite, and she's been perfectly aware of this from the very beginning of her career. The song "Popular" says everything about being just that, and that's just very much the very essence of her narrative. "F.I.A.S.O.M. Pt. 1" and "F.I.A.S.O.M. Pt. 2" are other neat examples of her gift with words to elaborate on issues of concern. Here, it's an abbreviation for 'Freedom Is A State Of Mind' ('whatcha gonna do with mine?'), which she uses to deal with exactly what it implies, and at the same time it cleverly refers to being 'Fearsome'. She speaks her mind of the things that she encounters - there's no hiding behind a public image or a media persona, and at the same time, that also reveals her conflicts of trying to be herself in a world where the media image is out of your own control. She rides along, reacts to issues and accusations and no matter what always find herself in the middle of a conflict she never asked for. And the fact that she never writes a song just to make it sound like a good hook or rhyme, but starts off by having something on her mind, and then makes a song about it incorporating rhymes, hooks, and beats is something extremely rare these days.

Anyway, MATA is another fine album from M.I.A., although, its not really among her absolute best, but in this case, much less will do, 'cause she's always right there in the midst of war zones reporting about actual human issues and not really caring about being [TaylorSwift-Reehannah-and-the-like-radio-friendly]-pop-ulaaar!

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Slant Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Blanck Mass "The Rig (Prime Video Original Series Soundtrack)" (2023)

The Rig (Prime Video Original Series Soundtrack) (soundtrack)

release date: Jan. 6, 2023

format: digital (33 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Blanck Mass

label: Invada Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Rig (Main Titles)" - 5. "Flesh Meets Floor" - 8. "Helideck" - 10. "Body, Rejecting" - 14. "Spiderdeck" - 17. "No Fire Without Flare" - 19. "Survivors, Arriving"

Soundtrack album by Blanck Mass (aka Benjamin John Power) following the release of several interesting releases, including his new-found role as official member of Editors and his first album with the band being EBM (Sep. 2022), and his own most recent soundtrack to Sam Collins' documentary about British football legend Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne released as Gazza (Original Score) (Nov. 2022), which again followed the acclaimed soundtrack Ted K (Original Score) (Mar. 2022), Blanck Mass' musical score to a 2021 Tony Stone historical drama about the so-called 'Unabomber' (the music to the film being released a year later). The most recent studio album credited Blanck Mass is In Ferneaux (Feb. 2021).

"The Rig" is a science fiction thriller television series in 6 episodes created by David Macpherson for Amazon Prime Video directed by John Strickland, and it's the first Amazon Original to be filmed entirely in Scotland. The soundtrack to the series has been issued as a digital album rwith a total running time at more than 72 minutes by Invada Records on its bandcamp profile and as a double vinyl issue.

Normally, soundtracks are a difficult genre - sometimes the animated visuals are a highly missing part, at other times the result is just too varied, and rarely, I think, they work perfectly in their own right, and in this case, it luckily happens to be one of the rare examples. Blanck Mass has made a strong soundtrack that truly makes you want to watch the series - if not only just to experience an audio-visual dimension of this work. Nonetheless, The Rig... is a fine soundtrack.

John Frusciante ": I I ." (2023)

: I I .

release date: Feb. 3, 2023

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]

producer: John Frusciante

label: Avenue 66 - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Golpin" - 2. "MK 2.1" - 3. "Pyn" - 6. "Clank" - 9. "Sluice" - 10. "Firpln"

12th studio album by John Frusciante following Maya (Oct. 2020). The album is released on the German sublabel Avenue 66 to US parent label Acid Test on whose bandcamp site the album is available. The album has been released in two different versions: a 2 lp seven track vinyl issue titled . I : (pronounced 'one') and a 10 track digital version, sold as a double cd or as digital download [this] pronounced 'two' and called : I I . . The two albums are regarded by some as his 12th and 13th albums since they have rather distinct track listings, although, I think, you could argue they are only different versions. The shorter vinyl issue may also be found in a digital version [!] via bandcamp but it still comes without the vinyl only track ("OFD") making it a 6 track album. Frusciante has explained the different versions due to the limitations in the recording process from digital masters to the vinyl format - some sounds were simply not possible to record on vinyl, and then the running orders are also quite different.

: I I . is really something else from Frusciante, although, he has been experimenting with electronica over more than a decade, this new album is far from what you could describe as Frusciante's take on 90s idm, acid house, or break beat. Instead, this time he has succesfully composed his own mix of electronic music. Stylewise, it may not be groundbreaking material but Frusciante really explores some kind of sound frontier. At times, you may think it's only white noise or some kind of abstract, experimental electronica. And yes, but it's also more than just that. It's also music from someone who wants to challenge our perception of music - and that alone makes it an interesting album. The more I listen to it, the more I discover, and also: the more I enjoy it. It's definitely not background music for dinner at home or at a restaurant, but more like the kind of music you would listen to with your antennas tuned in.

A small recommendation.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

cover . I : ('One')

Mariza "Fado tradicional" (2010)

Fado tradicional

release date: Nov. 29, 2010

format: cd

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

producer: Diogo Clemente

label: EMI Music Portugal / Capitol / World Connection - nationality: Portugal

Track highlights: 1. "Fado Vianinha (Fado Vianinha)" - 3. "As meninas dos meus olhos (Fado alfacinha)" - 4. "Mais uma lua (Fado Varela)" - 6. "Ai, esta pena de mim (Fado Zé António)" - 8. "Rosa da Madragoa (Fado Seixal)"

5th studio album by Mariza following the album Terra (Jun. 2008). The album is Mariza's return to the roots of the fado after having released albums of more experimental content, where she have challenged the style, or perhaps better: she has widened her repertoire by incorporating stylistic elements from contemporary folk, pop, and latin jazz.

As the title suggests, Fado tradicional is her so far most traditionally shaped album of pure fado compositions. It consists of 12 songs but only reach a total running time of 35 minutes. All songs here are not surprisingly closely bonded songs with small variations, which is also stressed in the arrangements with only acoustic guitars supporting Mariza's vocal. That said, Mariza here reassures her status as one of the best and most wonderful exponents of the Portuguese fado.

Highly recommended.

[ 👍The Telegraph 4 / 5, The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Mariza "Fado em mim" (2002)

Fado em mim [debut]

release date: Apr. 2002

format: cd (2016 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]

producer: Jorge Fernando, Tiago Machado

label: Warner Music Portugal / Parlophone - nationality: Portugal

Track highlights: 1. "Loucura" - 2. "Poetas" - 3. "Chuva" - 4. "Maria Lisboa" - 5. "Ó gente da minha terra" - 6. "Que Deus me perdoe" - 8. "Terra d'água" - 9. "Oiça lá ó Senhor Vinho" - 11. "Oxalá" - 12. "Barco negro"

Studio album debut by Portuguese Mariza (aka Marisa dos Reis Nunes) originally released on Dutch label World Connection residing in Haarlem.

Mariza skyrocketed into Portuguese fame via this very album, although, no national label paid any interest in the music as she was an unproven artist; however, Mariza has soon become one of the most valued performers of the traditional fado.

Fado em mim is not only the essence of a national genre, it's also beautifully arranged and displaying elegance and sophistication on the highest level.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]