Dead Can Dance "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun" (1987)

Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
release date: Jul. 27, 1987
format: cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Dead Can Dance, John A. Rivers
label: 4AD Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Anywhere Out of the World" - 3. "In the Wake of Adversity" - 5. "Dawn of the Iconoclast" - 6. "Cantara" - 7. "Summoning of the Muse"

3rd studio album by the duo-project Dead Can Dance following 1½ years after the fine Spleen and Ideal and much like that, this is also produced by the duo in collaboration with John A. Rivers.

The album marks the continued journey within the duo's own stylistic soundscape of neo-classical darkwave and with a subtle addition of electronica. It's pompous and it's ethereal without the dreampop-sound that shaped the debut from '84. This is lighter and more simple without audible electric guitars - instead, it employs keyboards, synths, dulcimer, and classical orchestra representation by organ, strings, oboe, and brass.

Compared to the predecessor, there's a stronger emphasis on classical instrumentation on this as well as more simple compositions with a progressive ambient touch.

Another recommended release from the duo.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

The Go-Betweens "Bright Yellow Bright Orange" (2003)

Bright Yellow Bright Orange
release date: Feb. 24, 2003
format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: The Go-Betweens
label: Trifekta - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Caroline and I" - 2. "Poison in the Walls" - 3. "Mrs. Morgan" - 6. "Crooked Lines" - 8. "Make Her Day"

8th studio album by The Go-Betweens released 2½ years after The Friends of Rachel Worth (Sep. 2000) is once again with a changed line-up in the 'supporting roles' of a band that is essentially no more than a duo-project. Now officially, the band is back as a quartet with the two founders at the front, the songwriters and composers Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who are both credited on vocals and various guitars (Forster is also credited on organ and piano). As on the predecessor, they are here backed by bassist Adele Pickvance, who is also credited on keyboards and backing vocals, and then new member Glenn Thompson is seen on drums, electric guitar, organ, keyboards, and backing vocals. Beyond these, only a small duo of string instrumentalists are credited musical contributions.

Stylistically, there are no major changes since the 2000 revival release, but as a positive contrast, this is a much more cohesive collection of songs, with the two songwriters actually sounding like they've been working together on the new tracks and not 'only' have met in the studio with a handful of their own individual tracks, as they had become accustomed to in the years after their break-up in '88. The album contains an expected even number of 10 new tracks, which typically indicate five songs by Forster and five by McLennan, only this time they don't make a big fuzz about telling us who wrote what song. Instead, all tracks are credited Forster / McLennan, although they are believed to have contributed roughly equally with lyrical and musical contributions. They match each other in unison - and not that they didn't do that before, but it's as if they rise together on more optimistic notes, and perhaps the title suggests exactly what is seen on the cover - the only album by the band without actual photos of the band members - a reflection of a lighter lyrical content. Fact is, many of their earlier songs were woven and soothed in bittersweet melancholy. In contrast, they here sort of narrate in lighter spheres adding tailored vocal harmonies and chamber pop arrangements. The only thing I miss are a number of distinctive strong songs, and seen as a whole the album is perhaps a bit too cohesive with the two songwriters tiptoeing along more or less down the same path on golden rays of sunshine.

Expectedly, Bright Yellow Bright Orange was met by positive reviews and was even nominated, without winning, Best Album at the Australian Music Awards but The Go-Betweens now sound like they have found their footing and are back on course again. And nevertheless, it's always a pleasure to hear new songs with this classic songwriting duo.

[ allmusic.com, Blender, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, 👉The Guardian 5 / 5 stars ]

Sun Kil Moon "Benji" (2014)

Benji
release date: Feb. 11, 2014
format: 2 cd (LTD. 2-disc Edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Caldo Verde Records - nationality: USA

6th studio album by Sun Kil Moon following nearly two years after Among the Leaves (May 2012) but only six months after the fine collaboration album Mark Kozelek & Desertshore (Aug. 2013). Despite being credited Sun Kil Moon, Benji is basically just another solo project by Kozelek, who changes from releasing new material either in his own name or via the moniker Sun Kil Moon adopted from what was initially the continuing of Red House Painters. The album is also released in a Limited Edition with a bonus disc containing five live recordings taken from five different concerts in 2013: in Aveiro, Portugal at Teatro Aveirense, in Göteborg, Sweden at Stenhammarsalen, in Copenhagen, Denmark at Jazzhouse, in London, England at SBE, and in Leamington Spa, England at The Assembly.

The music here is predominantly acoustic alt. folk, alt-country, and singer / songwriter compositions featuring Kozelek on vocal and on acoustic guitar. It's gentle music and fine stories about everyday life and often about meetings with friends, lovers or family - stories of his past and present - all delivered as if the told story is of highest importance.

The album was lauded by many critics as one of his major works, and it ended up on many lists presenting the best releases of the year.

It's definitely good - almost as usual - it may not offer much new, but it presents Kozelek at his best, when he he's left with his acoustic guitar and is given room to present any given story. Presenting the expected is not the same as being of lesser value, which this serves to document.

Recommended.

The front cover is a photograph by Mark Kozelek.

[ 👎allmusic.com 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍NME, Spin, PopMatters 4 / 5, Uncut 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Montasje "Presence!" (1982)

Presence! [debut]
release date: 1982
format: vinyl (MAI 8201) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Helge Gaarder; Erik Aasheim (assistant)
label: Plateselskapet Mai - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: A) 1. "Nykter" (TV performance) - 2. "Reisning" - 3. "Presence!" - - B) 1. "Glass" (4 / 5) - 2. "Tundra" - 4. "Europa" - 5. "... Etter regnet"

Studio debut and only album by Norwegian new wave, post-punk and art pop quintet Montasje, who also featured with one song on a sampler album (Zink Zamler, '82) as an act called Modul 5. The whole project only existed from late 1981 to '82, and the album was recorded from Dec. '81 to Jan. '82, and the band here consists of vocalist and keyboardist Helge Gaarder, Erik Aasheim on guitar, bass and percussion, Jøran Rudi on guitar, Per (Kristian) Tro on bass, and Danish drummer Michael Rasmussen [who should later join the Danish band The Sandmen]. The album comes with an alias, as it says in the few notes on the cover: "Presence! et Montasje produkt - Modul 1".
Musically, it's quite a unique sound they have put together. There are some influences from early New Order - Movement-period ever-present but it's more than just a Scandinavian replica of that. What makes it much more its own blend is the presence of something ethereal - it's not ambient, nor jazz fusion but there's a layer of open landscape meandering throughout the album, which makes me think of Norwegian free jazz artist Jan Garbarek. The unique sound also helps building a sensation of timelessness to the project.
Recommended.

[ collectors' item ]

Blaue Blume "Bell of Wool" (2019)

Bell of Wool

release date: Nov. 8, 2019

format: digital (9 x File, FLAC - HFN 99)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]

producer: Blaue Blume

label: HFN Music / Universal - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Swimmer" - 2. "Someday" (live) - 3. "Morgensol" - 4. "Vanilla" - 7. "Sobs" - 8. "Loveable" (live) - 9. "New Navel"

2nd full-length album by Blaue Blume follows two years after the release of the 4-track ep Sobs and four [!] full years after the sophomore Syzygy (Oct. 2015). The band followed the debut by playing concerts and at festivals but were forced to withdraw from further band activities in 2018 as front figure and lead vocalist Jonas Smith was overtaken by depression, which explains the long time in between albums.

Bell of Wool sort of continues from Sobs with more instrospective songs - some of which is said to have evolved from Smith's lyrics about personal experiences and sentiments during his time out. It's still music bonded with 1980s dreampop but also with links to Talk Talk and Antony and the Johnsons, and then there's athe addition of a stronger electronic sound, which bonds with contemporaries like Beach House, ultimately making this the band's so far most varied album. And on top of the various styles, the songs are both with English as well as Danish lyrics, although, only "Morgensol" is in Danish. The track was released June 14, 2019 as the album's first single, and then followed by the singles "Loveable" (Sep. 13, 2019) and finally "Vanilla" (Oct. 11, 2019) before the album release.

Smith still executes the lyrics with his strong vibrant and technically skilled vocal, which perhaps forever will bring to mind Elisabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins but Jonas Smith is much more than just a mere copyist and the production sound always delivers on highest level.

The album is without doubt one of the best Danish albums of the year.

Highly recommended.

[ bandcamp ]

[ Soundvenue 5 / 6 stars ]

Kele "2042" (2019)

2042

release date: Nov. 8, 2019

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Gethin Pearson

label: Kola / !K7 - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Jungle Bunny" - 3. "Let England Burn" - 4. "St. Kaepernick Wept" - 6. "My Business" - 7. "Ceiling Games" - 9. "Between Me and My Maker" - 13. "Catching Feelings" - 16. "Backburner"

4th studio release by Kele, who once again have returned to stand by his first name only, in contrast to Fatherland (Oct. 2017), which was released under the name Kele Okereke. There has now been room for a total of sixteen tracks and a total playing length of 61 minutes. The album follows four months after he and the band Bloc Party released the live album Silent Alarm Live (Jul. 2019) recorded during the band's European tour in 2018.

Stylistically, he's back in dance mode with an uptempo release using various electronic styles as alt. dance, neo-soul, funk, and disco mixed with indie pop, and a sound which isn't far from that of Bloc Party. Furthermore, he's more political than heard before, and the title apparently alludes to a collection of tracks revolving around an image of England in the year 2042. The album received fine reviews in the UK but didn't chart on the albums chart.

2042 is another fine example of Kele's musical skills, where he picks from all sorts of genres and styles to produce his own personal mix. In that way, stylistically and in terms of form, the album reminds me somewhat of his solo debut The Boxer (2010), without speaking of mere recycling. At times in the past, he hasn't always been able to hit the target with his releases but with 2042, I think he's back on track and the album simply appears to be his best and clearly most exciting album since his exiting debut and is therefore worthy of a recommendation.

[ NME, DIY 4 / 5 stars ]

Alice Boman "Dream On" (2020)

Dream On [debut]
release date: Jan. 17, 2020
format: digital (10 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Patrick Berger
label: PIAS - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 2. "Heart on Fire" (live) - 3. "The More I Cry" - 5. "Don't Forget About Me" - 6. "Everybody Hurts"

Studio album debut by Swedish singer / songwriter Alice (Maria) Boman primarily produced by Patrick Berger. Other producer credits: Fabian Prynn (tracks #4, 6, 9); Tom Malmros (#4, 6); Alice Boman (non-produced, self-recorded track #10).
The album has attracted my attention for its original qualities. Boman draws on some of the same strengths of introspectiveness that you'll find on albums with Chelsea Wolfe, Anna von Hausswolff, Sharon Van Etten, and Lana Del Rey - without further comparison, and completely without plagiarising any of them. The music on Dream On is in a subtler gear and with a delightful absence of pompous sensations, yet, it's still like a ceremonial breeze. There's a simplicity and a lightness, which goes hand in hand with Boman's delicate vocal.
Dream On is more than fine.
[ allmusic.com, Uncut 3,5 / 5, Gaffa.dk 4 / 5 stars ]

other: live on KEXP 2014

Kraftwerk "Ralf und Florian" (1973)

Ralf und Florian

release date: Oct. 1973

format: digital (1994 unofficial reissue)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,15]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider

label: Germanofon - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Elektrisches Roulette" - 3. "Kristallo" - 5. "Tanzmusik" (live) - 6. "Ananas Symphonie"

3rd studio album by Kraftwerk originally released on Philips and here in an unofficial version from Czech Germanofon released approximately 1½ years after Kraftwerk 2 (1972), and as on that, the band / music project here, as the title indicates, only consists of the two founders: Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Both are jointly credited a long range of instruments - and as something new: now also on vocals, which is, however, quite minimalistic with vocals as backing choir and a kind of secondary instrument - also without recognisable lyrics. Konrad 'Conny' Plank is not co-producer on the album, as he was credited on the first two albums, instead he is here credited as sound engineer. And just like the two previous albums, Ralf und Florian was reissued on Philips and Vertigo through the 70s, but releases after 1979 are all unofficial issues, and Kraftwerk has basically written off the albums from before Autobahn (1974).

The album is the first to be listed as having been recorded at the band's Klingklang studio in Düsseldorf, and it clearly bears the stamp of being somewhat more well-produced and reworked. Stylistically, Kraftwerk has moved towards the mastery of greater spaciousness and a more condensed simplicity, again taking a move further away from the rhythmic krautrock, although you'll find reminiscences of more traditional instrumentation with guitar and rhythm instruments such as bass and drums on some compositions. With the exception of the final track, 'songs' have generally become shorter and the music has been shaped as electronic ambient and less chaotic. The album has been hailed as essential for the ambient genre, and when listening to "Tanzmusik" it's hard not to think of more contemporary acts such as The Orb, Boards of Canada, Sigur Rós and Danish band Efterklang - to name just a few.

After the release, the band made several live performances, including on German TV, where Wolfgang Flür often participated on drums (see live version of "Tanzmusik") - from Autobahn and afterwards he was credited as permanent member of the band's new line-up.

[ 👍allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Icehouse "Icehouse" (1981)

Icehouse [debut]
release date: Jun. 1981
format: digital (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: Cameron Allan
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Icehouse" [same song by Flowers] - 2. "Can't Help Myself" [same song by Flowers] - 4. "Walls" [same song by Flowers] - 6. "We Can Get Together" [same song by Flowers] - 10. "Not My Kind" [same song by Flowers]

Studio album debut by Australian band Icehouse; or actually: the international debut 'cause fact is, in Oct. 1980 this band was called Flowers, and they released the debut album Icehouse exclusively for the Australian and New Zealand markets on Regular Records. Flowers was founded in '77, and the debut album provided some entries on the Australian charts and the band soon signed with Chrysalis, who wanted the album released worldwide. Songwriter, lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and oboist Iva Davies was the band leader and together with bassist and backing vocalist Keith Welsh they founded the band, who were joined by keyboardist Michael Hoste - who is replaced during the recordings of the first album by Anthony Smith, and together with drummer John Lloyd they were Flowers. Now with a record contract with Chrysalis the quartet was sat out to re-record both music and vocals, and the company wanted Flowers to pick another band name for the release, since a Scottish band were already called Flowers, so they came up with the title of their first track for new band name. The two albums (Flowers' Icehouse and Icehouse by Icehouse) appear almost identical. The '80 album was released with eleven tracks - one more than the Icehouse album, and then the track order is different.

Stylistically, it's in the category of uptempo synthpop and pop / rock with influences from especially Ultravox, Gary Numan, David Bowie, early Roxy Music, and T. Rex.

I didn't listen to this until some point in the 90s, and by then found it of little interest but simply had to hear it 'cause Icehouse's sophomore album, Primitive Man (1982) was such a distinctive and originally strong release. Despite also being 'synthpop', it's still quite far from their more famous album(s), and what really strikes me - of course listening to it from a later point - is how little original it sounds. It is very much with Ultravox, Gary Numan, Roxy Music and Bowie in mind that you listen through (nearly) all of these songs.

Only a must for collectors.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

"Icehouse"

by Flowers (1980)

Dead Can Dance "Spleen and Ideal" (1985)

Spleen and Ideal
release date: Nov. 1985
format: vinyl (CAD 512) / cd (1986 reissue) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Dead Can Dance & John A. Rivers
label: 4AD Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "De profundis (Out of the Depths of Sorrow)" - 2. "Ascension" - 4. "The Cardinal Sin" - 5. "Mesmerism" - 6. "Enigma of the Absolute" - 7. "Advent" - 8. "Avatar" - 9. "Indoctrination (A Design for Living)"

2nd studio album by Australian neo-classical darkwave band Dead Can Dance, who at this point have been reduced to a duo consisting of singer, drummer & percussionist Lisa Gerrard (who would later become an acclaimed film composer) and British multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry. The album consists of nine compositions with varied durations from approx. 3 minutes to the album's longest track "The Cardinal Sin" of approx. 5½ minutes, and with a total running length of just 38 minutes.

In terms of style, the music here can only poorly be compared to other contemporary releases. In its time it fell under the category of post-punk, which it really never was. I think the closest critics could rightly describe the style as was gothic rock and experimental rock - perhaps with a touch of art rock, but seen from a music historical perspective it's nothing less than a modern cornerstone, which has only gained greater recognition over time. It's difficult, and perhaps impossible, to imagine contemporary works by artists such as Jocelyn Pook and Anna von Hausswolff, but also Chelsea Wolfe and Lingua Ignota, and basically: the whole wave of contemporary artists in neo-classical darkwave without pointing to the legacy of Dead Can Dance and perhaps this album in particular.

I purchased Spleen and Ideal on vinyl back in the mid-80s without having any knowledge of the band or of the music they played. All I knew was that 4AD Records put out music with super-interesting names and pretty original artists, and the band oozed that particular post-punk edge that (to me) connected them to bands like Bauhaus, Modern English, This Mortail Coil, and Joy Division (which admittedly came out on Factory Records). However, I also remember the first time I listened to the album and was really disappointed. It wasn't at all like the other bands I knew of. And it wasn't even close to some of the ones mentioned here. I tried repeatedly to listen to the album but always ended up putting something else on. Luckily, I kept the album, although in the late 80s and early 90s I got into a really bad habit of selling off early 80s albums that I didn't listen much to in order to finance newer music with a stronger appeal.

When I finally re-listened to Spleen and Ideal again in the 2010s it was like a sheer revelation. How could I have failed to understand the obvious qualities of this very album?! No, it doesn't sound like anything else from the early or late 80s - except subsequent albums by Dead Can Dance. It's enchanting and beautiful music sounding like timeless tones that call for a kind of ceremonial gathering. The beauty of it is that you can simultaneously let it fill you without thinking about cultural or religious boundaries. But above all, it's remarkable how little it shares with other music originating in the mid-80s.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item ]

Kraftwerk "Kraftwerk 2" (1972)

Kraftwerk 2

release date: Jan. 1972

format: digital (1994 uofficial reissue)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,02]

producer: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider-Esleben, Konrad 'Conny' Plank

label: Germanofon - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Klingklang" - 3. "Strom" - 5. "Wellenlänge"

2nd studio album by German band Kraftwerk, here only credited the two co-founders of the band, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, after the recently included drummer Klaus Dinger left the band and instead co-founded the band Neu! According to Hütter, it was hard to find drummers for Kraftwerk because no one would work with them when they chose to use non-typical (electric) instruments, so Hütter and Schneider themselves are credited percussion on the album here, just as they are on sucessorRalf und Florian (1973). The opening track "Klingklang" is almost 18 minutes long and in addition to being the album's longest composition, it has also given name to Kraftwerk's studio and record company Kling Klang, founded around '73.

Musically, a lot has actually happened since the debut Kraftwerk from 1970. The absence of actual drummers distances the album from other contemporary 'krautrock' releases and points to a purer electronic-founded style, where Hütter and Schneider - aided by the later legendary Konrad 'Conny' Plank sound - only stage their instrumental compositions using rhythms from percussion instruments such as xylophone, marimba and primitive programmable instruments, and on top of this basic substance they have added sounds from organ, electric piano, flute, violin, accordion, but also from more traditional instruments such as bass and guitar.

Still, it's a long way to the band's more iconic compositions with more traditional musical structures, but there is much pointing in the direction of ambient and progressive pop, and then the music has also taken a direction away from the initial improvisational and more abrupt compositions from the debut, which still had contained elements from psychedelic rock.

The album (just as its predecessor and the follow-up) has never officially been reissued, but only exists as a result of pirated copies - as here from the supposed Czech company Germanofon.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Michael Kiwanuka "Kiwanuka" (2019)

Kiwanuka
release date: Nov. 1, 2019
format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Danger Mouse, Inflo
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

3rd studio album by Michael Kiwanuka is a double gatefold vinyl album produced by Danger Mouse [aka Brian Joseph Burton] and Inflo [aka Dean Josiah].
His two previous albums more more traditionally crafted with a folk rock style, but here he has added a psychedelic touch, which is widely known as psychedelic soul and shows influences from Prince and Sly and the Family Stone. It's an even bolder introspective collection of songs than you'll find in his back catalogue.
The album was generally met by positive reviews and Kiwanuka has gained reputation as a modern singer / songwriter of contemporary soul.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, The Guardian, NME, Q Magazine 5 / 5, 👍Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Kraftwerk "Kraftwerk" (1970)

Kraftwerk [debut]

release date: Dec. 1, 1970

format: digital (1994 unofficial reissue)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,84]

producer: Ralf Hüttel, Florian Schneider-Esleben, Konrad 'Conny' Plank

label: Germanofon - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Ruckzuck" - 2. "Stratovarius"

Studio debut album by Kraftwerk consisting of the two founders Ralf Hüttel and Florian Schneider-Esleben after they had left the experimental German band Organisation, who had released the album Tone Float (Jun. '70). On this first outing, the drummers Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger are also credited as members. Hohmann plays drums on the first two compositions, while Dinger is credited drums on the final cut.

The album consists of four tracks with varying playing time running from 7:50 to 12:10 minutes and with a total running time of just under 40 minutes. It's experimental instrumental music pointing to inspiration from another German band: Tangerine Dream, which had just released its debut Jun. '70, and then it's also music with influence from experimental releases by Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, John Cage, and especially Karlheinz Stockhausen and musique concrete in general. Several tracks and parts of compositions sounds very much like the result of spontaneous sessions with Hüttel playing organ and a special instrument: electric 'tubon', while Schneider is credited playing violin, flute, and percussion. Besides a krautrock style, the individual compositions are made with some interesting twists pointing to ambient and progressive elements and rhythms you may find on early electronic music of the mid-70s by Brian Eno, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Jean-Michel Jarre, and in the early eighties by an artist like e.g. Laurie Anderson and among many synthpop bands, and then again in the early techno scene. You'll find sound bits hinting at this in the actual electronic explosion from the late 80s and early 90s with bands like The Orb, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Dust Brothers etc. and in much wider sub-styles. The album was originally released on Philips - reissued several times through the 70s and also on cassette from '77, but it has never been officially released on CD format, nor has it been reissued after 1980, and Germanofon releases (many from '94) of the band's three earliest albums are all unofficial or 'bootleg' releases, and the band themselves haven't found it fruitful to reissue the earliest albums. This may also be seen e.g. with the band's own 8-CD box set Der Katalog (2009), which doesn't include releases from before Autobahn (1974).

The album is a pure curiosity. There are many other and better experimental albums from the period, and it's only interesting that Hütter and Schneider already here named their music-project Kraftwerk, although, the electronic characteristics were only established with the band's fourth album. Still, it's a bit of shame how Hütter and Schneider somehow won't acknowledge their musical starting point. There are some fine parts pointing to both their own later progression, but also to much other music that flourished during the 70s.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Tindersticks "No Treasure but Hope" (2019)

die-cut vinyl cover

No Treasure but Hope
release date: Nov. 15, 2019
format: vinyl (LTD. die-cut clear vinyl) / digital (10 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,85]
producer: Stuart A. Staples
label: Lucky Dog / City Slang - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "For the Beauty" - 2. "The Amputees" (4 / 5) - 3. "Trees Fall" - 4. "Pinky in the Daylight" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Take Care in Your Dreams" - 8. "The Old Mans Gait" - 9. "Tough Love"

12th studio album by Tindersticks released nearly four years following the fine The Waiting Room (Jan. 2016), and like that, this one is produced by lead vocalist and main composer Stuart A. Staples. Since 2016 the band has released the live-album Philharmonie de Paris (Feb. 2016) and the soundtrack Minute Bodies - The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith (2017) [a documentary by Staples] in collaboration with the two French musicians, percusionist Thomas Belhom, and pianist and composer Christine Ott. Apart from that, Staples also released his second solo album Arrhythmia (2018) and he also recorded another soundtrack for a Claire Denis' film, High Life (Apr. 2019) - which shows that neither band nor Staples has been on a long break.

The current Tindersticks-quintet, consisting of Stuart Staples, guitarist Neil Fraser, bassist Dan McKinna, multi-instrumentalist David Boulter, and percussionist Earl Harvin all continue where they left us in 2016 with a hardly noticeable change of style with compositions reflecting a bolder use of strings as well as being slightly less jazz-oriented. By doing so, the album places itself at the centre of the most recent four studio albums by Tindersticks - meaning albums released from 2010 to 2016. The single tracks on this could virtually have been handpicked and replaced on any of the arbitrary four albums without disturbing a sense of coherency. Instead of a recording applying state-of-the-art multi-layered production method, the band instead recorded these songs live in the studio. And keeping that information in mind, this collection only appear even stronger, perhaps more vivid. There's still a maintained variation from song to song, but the end result is that of a tight and quite narrrow expression. It may not be the band's most daring nor their most original album, but in a way you could argue it sort of sums up all the qualities they have come up with in recent years: by creating their very own aesthetic of beauty within a strong chamber pop soundscape with a noticeable influence and inspiration from the world of jazz - utilising old-fashioned recording methods - ultimately ensures they don't sound like any other band around.

Cover and artwork are here credited Staples and his wife Suzanne Osborne.

No Treasure but Hope is yet another quality release by Tindersticks.

Highly recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com, The Guardian 4 / 5, Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

digital cover

Veronica Maggio "Fiender är tråkigt" (2019)

Fiender är tråkigt
release date: Oct. 25, 2019
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,77]
producer: Simon Hassle; Agrin Rahmani
label: Universal Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Kurt Cobain" - 3. "Tillfälligheter" (live - akustisk live) - 4. "Jag kastar bort mitt liv" (4 / 5) - 6. "Fiender är tråkigt" - 9. "5 minuter"

6th studio album release by Swedish Veronica Maggio following nearly 3½ years after the fine Den första är alltid gratis (May 2016). The first five tracks from the album saw an early pre-release in the form of an ep in Jun. 2019 and four months later the full album was released adding the five final tracks to a release with same title and cover as the ep. This time, Maggio has written nine of the album's ten tracks in colaboration with former Kent lead vocalist Joakim Berg and producer Simon Hassle, and it has definitely rubbed off on the songs. Agrin Rahmani contributes as co-composer on four songs.

Stylistically, the album doesn't offer the huge changes to Maggio's musical universe. As usual, the songs revolve around relationships and the entanglements in what appears as her own social life. Perhaps you'll notice a touch more lightness in the songs compared to earlier ones, but otherwise the album sounds much like the continuation of Den första är alltid gratis. Musically, there is now room for tracks with a simpler synthpop sound that suits the lyrical aspect.

The album is her fourth consecutive since Satan i gatan from 2011 going all the way to the top of the chart in Sweden. As on her 2016 album, some tracks have a slightly uptempo dance pop feel, but otherwise, the impression is that it's now more clean pop-founded than outright electropop à la Robyn.

Three singles have been released from the album - the first single "Kurt Kobain" and later "Tillfälligheter", both of which peaked as number #4 on the national singles chart. The third and final single is "5 minuter" peaking at No. #7 on the same list. In this way, all of Maggio's singles from the same album have found their way into the top-10 singles list, but she has not had a top-1 single hit since "Jag kommer" from 2011. Despite three excellent tracks as singles, it's nevertheless my impression that the clearly best song is track #4, "Jag kastar bort mitt liv", which has a clear uptempo and simple synthpop quality, which with clear persuasion tells us that Joakim Berg, from the (unfortunately) defunct band Kent, is present as songwriter and perhaps also co-composer, as he is credited on several other of the album's songs - the most apparent link to the music and sound by Kent is probably heard on "Jag kaster bort mitt liv".

Overall, this new collection is once again among Maggio's better albums. It sits somewhere in between absolutely banging with something keeping it from full blossom; but this IS also the story of Maggio, who just seems to be almost there in making that truly exceptional album that really hits the mark - that great coherent release without fillers. That said, the album is well above average and compared to her previous releases, it's more than on par with the predecessor, and it's still only her 2011 album that performed better. Maggio has her very own melancholic and fragile vocal that both signals energetic rebellion in small dozes and gentle dewy-eyed sweetness, and when you realise she hasn't made the album of the decade, once again, it's still a pleasant experience listening once more to Swedish-Italian pop of high standard. Imho, this is Maggio's second best album to date.

Recommended.

[ Aftonbladet 3 / 5, Expressen.se (ep review) 4 / 5 stars ] - both in Swedish

Hans Philip "Forevigt" (2019)

Forevigt [debut]
release date: Mar. 17, 2019
format: vinyl / digital (9 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: Hans Philip
label: Copenhagen Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Siger ingenting" - 2. "Saa blaa" - 3. "Drenge & piger" - 4. "Dagdrøm [1]" - 7. "Stjerneklarenætterrr" - 9. "Tilbage"

Solo studio album debut by Hans Philip, former vocalist and songwriter of Ukendt Kunstner. Hans Philip has composed all lyrics - and composed the songs with various musical collaborators, including Tais Stausholm (also credited for guitar, bass and piano on several songs), Andreas Murga (also credited as bassist and guitarist on two tracks), and a bunch of others. Musically, it's both far and close to what Ukendt Kunstner stood for. The production sound follows closely the sound of McCoy, but this is much slower and way more introvert and emotional, and instead of rap this is inner-felt singing.

Hans Philip wasn't quite ready to end the duo-project, but as everyone knows, it takes two to tango, and Jens Ole McCoy wanted out, which then put an end to their common project. McCoy is not part of this, although, his musical legacy lives on in the compositions. It's the wide spacious ranges of the compositions that may leave you with the idea that they have McCoy's fingerprints all over.

The album has been anticipated for quite some time after what seemed like the most surprising and untimely end to one of the most successful Danish acts. Ukendt Kunstner ended their short-lived career in 2016 after two acclaimed albums and what appeared to be an endless series of nominations, awards and sold-out concerts on a national scale. Apparently, the overwhelming success had been more than the two had set out for, and the other side of the coin was too scary to hold on to - for McCoy, and here Philip cleverly has put some of his frustrations into words - whether it's "simple" confusion regarding what was wrong about a highly successful career, or whether it's his general frustrations about other things in life. Overall there are attempts in making that dreamy soundscape of McCoy - it doesn't quite match but you can almost taste how it's drafted to match the former composer's qualities as initial sketchings to what he should finish. That said, it's with a stronger focus on lyrics, and here, Philip is more poetic than he was in Ukendt Kunstner. It's all extremely smooth and quality-minded, and despite being an almost minimalist type of expression, it's really one of the better Danish albums of 2019.

Highly recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk 6 / 6, Soundvenue, Politiken 5 / 6 stars ]

Mark Kozelek & Desertshore "Mark Kozelek & Desertshore" (2013)

Mark Kozelek & Desertshore
release date: Aug. 20, 2013
format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Desertshore, Mark Kozelek
label: Caldo Verde Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Mariette" - 2. "Livingstone Bramble" - 4. "Katowice or Cologne" - 5. "Seal Rock Hotel" - 6. "Tavoris Cloud" - 7. "You Are Not of My Blood" - 8. "Sometimes I Can't Stop" - 9. "Don't Ask About My Husband"

Collaboration album by Mark Kozelek and instrumental duo Desertshore consisting of guitarist Phil Carney (also of Sun Kil Moon and former guitarist of Red House Painters) and pianist Chris Connolly. Here the three are assisted by drummer Mike Stevens, who also played drums on Among the Leaves (2012) by Sun Kil Moon. Kozelek previously produced Desertshore's debut album Drifting Your Majesty (2010) and the follower Drawing of Threes (2011) on which he also contributes with lyrics and vocals on six songs, but this is their first official collaboration release. The album release follows another collaboration release Perils From the Sea, (Apr. 2013) by Kozelek and Jimmy LaValle, which again follows Kozelek's solo covers album Like Rats (Feb. 2013).

Musically, it doesn't fall far from Kozelek's regular repertoire. It's primarily alt. folk, indie folk with hints of americana, but the music here is composed by Desertshore and Kozelek "only" contributes with lyrics, vocals, bass and additional guitar... It is however, a more uplifting musical journey by these three friends. On solo albums, Kozelek sometimes indulges himself in extremely scarce arrangements but here there's a fine ever-present accompanying melody running along and even electric guitar, which to my regret seems almost abandoned by Kozelek. In my mind this is one of Kozelek's finest albums in years and it bonds nicely with albums by Red House Painters and the first albums by Sun Kil Moon.

It's a fine and most welcome addition to the expansive Kozelek collection.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

James Blake "Assume Form" (2019)

Assume Form
release date: Jan. 18, 2019
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]
producer: James Blake, Dominic Maker
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Assume Form" (4 / 5) - 2. "Mile High" (feat. Metro Boomin & Travis Scott) - 5. "Barefoot in the Park" (feat. Rosalía) - 6. "Can't Believe the Way We Flow" - 8. "Where's the Catch?" (feat. André 3000) - 9. "I'll Come Too" (4 / 5)

4th studio album by British electronic artist James Blake takes on a new style by incorporating rap on top of his explorations into alt. r&b, art pop and ambient pop. The album consists of 12 tracks with an average playing time from 3-5 minutes and a total running time at just over 48 mins.
The album has [already] been met by critical acclaim, and I do think of it as his easily far best album. Normally, rap is not a genre I turn to, and frankly, most often simply avoid, however, this offers a different approach [than 'the Drake, the West, the Wayne and the-what-have-we-that-sounds-the-same-kind-of-boring-contemporary-rap-thing'] with an obvious more trap rap style but also in a liquid combination with Blake's usual electronic approach makes it something other than "just" [contemporary] rap. It's also alt. r&b and neo-soul taken into a mild ambient synthpop kind of sound that just works altogether as something quite extraordinary. It's such a warm and pleasant soundscape.
Assume Form is not only Blake's best effort, it's also one of the best albums of 2019 and as such highly recommendable.
EDIT Dec. 2019:
The album started out as my absolute favourite of the year back in Jan. '19, and passing through Spring and Summer it remained at the top. Then a couple of things happened: the album began to wear, and a couple of other releases kept pushing on. Assume Form is a mighty fine and mostly coherent album - what I discovered though, is a sensation of it being too polished - 'over-produced' is a word that keeps popping up. It still remains one of the albums I have played the most throughout the year, but others keep it from the absolute top, and over time, it just doesn't feel that impressive.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, 👍The Guardian 4 / 5, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, NME 5 / 5 stars ]

Trentemøller "Obverse" (2019)

Obverse

release date: Sep. 27, 2019

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Anders Trentemøller

label: In My Room - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Church of Trees" - 3. "In the Garden" (feat. Lina Tullgren) - 4. "Foggy Figures" - 5. "Blue September" (feat. Lisbet Fritze) - 7. "One Last Kiss to Remember" (feat. Lisbet Fritze) - 9. "Try a Little" (feat. JennyLee)

5th studio album by Trentemøller as follow-up to Fixion (Sep. 2016) follows the near usual three years interval in between releases, and Obverse both stays somewhat on the same track and yet is its very own displaying a newfound inspiration in shoegaze and indietronica with pure instrumental compositions pointing back to ambient and minimal house and with vocal-based songs with lyrics by the featuring guest artists, and which embrace a more danceable touch in a courtship with alt. rock and darkwave without the lighter pop tones and the darker rock-influences become opposites.

The album appears as a more coherent whole than its predecessor, which seemed more divided into pure instrumental parts and, on the other hand, compositions with supporting vocals, as two opposing expressions with progressively minimal house and parts of pumping indietronica. In a way, Obverse stands as a fine extension to his second album from 2010: Into the Great Wide Yonder. Unlike Lost (Sep. 2013) and Fixion, this new outing as a whole, is a more of a muted kind with all songs in better harmony without sounding as counterpoints to other motions on the same album. The vocal-based tracks are not pure indietronica where song and melody dominate, but these are more of an unfolding-in-graceful union of instrumental ideas mixed with something reminiscent of Mazzy Star (Hope Sandoval) inspiration, e.g. on the two Lisbet Fritze tracks: "Blue September" and "One Last Kiss to Remember" - which is the album's darkwave uptempo track (I'm instantly thinking Pornography by The Cure ) - and perhaps the most obvious dream pop / shoegaze feature is "In the Garden" with Lina Tullgren. The album doesn't contain obvious hits like "River in Me" or "Complicated" - here it's the mood of the album itself that steers the direction, and in that way Obverse ultimately stands as one of Trentemøller's better ones.

[ bandcamp ]

[ 👍allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

Mark Kozelek & Jimmy LaValle "Perils From the Sea" (2013)

Perils From the Sea
release date: Apr. 20, 2013
format: digital (11 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Jimmy LaValle & Mark Kozelek
label: Caldo Verde Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "What Happened to My Brother" - 3. "Gustavo" - 4. "Baby in Death Can I Rest Next to Your Grave" - 5. "Ceiling Gazing" - 6. "You Missed My Heart" - 9. "By the Time That I Awoke"

Collaboration project by Mark Kozelek and electronic multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle (aka The Album Leaf) with music exclusively by LaValle and lyrics and vocals by Kozelek. It's quite lengthy with its eleven compositions running for nearly 78 mins. The album follows only two months after Kozelek's solo covers album Like Rats.

Stylistically, it's probably the album with Mark Kozelek that has come the farthest away from any of his other releases - be it with Red House Painters, as Sun Kil Moon or as soloist always in the neighbourhood of alt. folk and indie rock. This is electronic but with a clear alt. indie feel or a dimension of singer / songwriter to it. Kozelek's vocal is certainly not the most varied nor the sonic representation with the widest register. In fact, that's perhaps exactly what LaVille likes about Kozelek's expressive vocal: a narrow outcome - like the register of a specific instrument - controllable tones, on which you can add layers of instruments. It's not strongly electronic but LaValle builds soft synthpop layers of spacious melody to a narrating Kozelek, and the result is by no means a generic album. It's a nice and subtle collection of uplifting gentleness.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]