Eddie Vedder "Earthling" (2022)

Earthling

release date: Feb. 11, 2022

format: digital (13 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Andrew Watt

label: Seattle Surf Co. / Republic Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Invincible" (live) - 2. "Power of Right" - 3. "Long Way" - 4. "Brother the Cloud" - 6. "The Dark" - 9. "Rose of Jericho" - 10. "Try" - 11. "Picture" - 13. "On My Way"

3rd solo album from Eddie Vedder released nearly 11 full years following Ukulele Songs (May 2011) and two years after Pearl Jam's latest Gigaton (Mar. 2020). Bearing the span of years in between solo-releases it may seem a little sought after to make comparisons, and you may better look at the latest works by Pearl Jam, or: just not compare at all! It's nevertheless interesting to focus on who, he has chosen to co-operate with, and here you find former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghofer as co-composer on all 13 tracks - as many recall, he substituted John Frusciante in Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009, only to be sacrifised (sat free) in 2020 when the very same Frusciante returned, thus participating on Unlimited Love (Apr. 2020). Apart from Klinghofer all tracks are credited Vedder and producer Andrew Watt (aka Andrew Wotman), who is also creditered as multi-instrumentalist - mostly on bass and guitar. Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith is credited as co-composer on seven songs and he plays on nine. A small army of acclaimed artists partecipate on the individual tracks, e.g. Stevie Wonder on jews harp on "Try", Elton John as co-composer and vocalist on "Picture", where you allso find drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. (from Paul McCartney's touring band) and keyboardist Benmont Tench (from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) on Hammond organ, and on the Beatles-inspired "Mrs. Mills" we find... Ringo Starr on drums.

Once again, Vedder sings the way he does, and it's with a vocal with a clear structure and sound, which has its very own spot in the great American rock-history. On Earthling he delivers as vocalist on melodic tunes in the popular end of pop / rock - at least compared to his contributions with Pearl Jam, who embraces a harder and bolder alt. rock than found here. In that way, it's Vedder in a safe melodic rock-context for warranting an equilibrium of ballads and sheer amounts of juvenile smartness, as if to demonstrate there's still a spark in his musical foundation. The album conatins a few uptempo energetic tracks with a clear taste of Pearl Jam, you'll find melodic heartland rock and soft ballads, and in between it songs and pieces which is there to balance it all. Elton John immitates Elvis Costello on a decent track, although it's all heard before, and that's basically a notion you'll remind yourself of when Vedder builds as much as he does on his own back catalog with apparent inspiration from Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Beatles, U2 and from the great immitators: The Killers.

Overall, the album is quite nicely produced and sewn together, and it doesn't stir up any stylistic conventions. Vedder sings in a way that no panties are left dry, securing that all (real) men rock along. It may touch on predictable and not highly original, but on the other hand, when Pearl Jam are perfectly content in copying themselves over and over again, Vedder might as well just deliver as the lightning image of who he should be. I only miss, he had something to say but then again, I also find the pleasure in simply listening to his unique voice just the way it shines so bright. It's dad-rock and it's stadium-rock, and it's well-produced through and through as clever genuine craftsmanship.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, 👍Classic Rock 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 6.7 / 10, NME 3 / 5 stars ]

Love Shop "Levende mænd i døde forhold" (2021)

Levende mænd i døde forhold

release date: Oct. 1, 2021

format: vinyl (first edition incl. 7'' single) / cd

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

producer: Mikkel Damgaard

label: A:larm / Universal - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "The Troubles" - 3. "Kun længes skygger mod aftenens fald" - 6. "Ægte Nordic noir" - 10. "Exitstrategi" - - 7'' single, A 1) "Andy Warhol's piger"

13th studio album by Love Shop following 2½ years after the album Brænder boksen med smukke ting (Mar. 2019), and the album (as well as band) is primarily the product by songwriter and vocalist Jens Unmack and keyboardist and musical composer, arranger, and producer Mikkel Damgaard, who has been an official member since 2011, although, he's taken part in the project since 1999.

The title of this new album translates to "Men Alive in Dead Relations", and death does play an everpresent part in this band. Firstly, it was a figurative presence when the band's main composer, guitarist, arranger, and producer Hilmer Hassig decided to leave the trio back in late 2003. It was a devastating decision that resulted in a practical disbandment - they couldn't possibly continue, and the disbandment was a reality. Together, they planned a farewell tour, still executed in late 2003. Hassig then settled as studio technician, arranger, instrumentalist, and producer, while Both Unmack and keyboardist / backing vocalist Henrik Hall initiated independent solo careers; however, after Hassig became the victim of a drive-by incident resulting in his sudden death in late 2008, Hall and Unmack initially reunited as Love Shop to honour their friend for several memorial concerts in 2009. The positive experience of playing together again led them to revive the band, and to write and compose new material, which saw the light of day with Frelsens hær ['Salvation Army'] (Nov. 2010). Death's ugly face appeared again when Hall died Jan. 2011 - following years battling with cancer, and then as opposed to ending their common revitalised life-project, Unmack instead decided to continue Love Shop, although, he is the only remaining member of the original line-up. The following album Skandinavisk lyst ['Scandinavian Lust'] (Oct. 2012) both honours Hassig and Hall and simultaneosly lights a torch of life in what appears as the strong will to carry on. In spite, and not to succumb.

Levende mænd i døde forhold is then of course with reference to those who are here. In the band Love Shop, it's Unmack and Damgaard, and perhaps it's not to be taken too literal, but the title suggests that despite seeming alive, you can may still live your life with a presence / an implication of something that appears dead. This could be an ever-present sensation of people playing a major part in your life - it could also be taken more literal, suggesting your personal relations appearing dead.

Nevertheless, Unmack and Damgaard have proven to have much to offer. Their songs are not surprisingly often dealing with existentialism, and Unmack is forever bound to a Scandic melancholy. He would probably refer to it as "Nordic noir" - something in the DNA of people of the North, which may be found in the works by Hammershøi, Krøyer, Grieg, Sibelius, Munch, Bergman, Von Trier, Björk, Brun, Kent...

The album seems like the second chapter to the 2019 album, not as a copy, but more as the very essence of a sound that has become grounded in the name of Love Shop on its now most recent three albums, starting with Risiko from 2017. I find that the new album is very much in the spirit of the former two - not that it's a lesser work of art, it just feels more like a condensation, an album that doesn't show us something new, but more as new angles on the same view, which can both contain surprises as well as recognition of what we already know.

Not their best, but still far from their lesser works, and definitely worth the price. And then, I absolutely just love the inclusion of a 7'' inch bonus single stressing that vinyl format is very much alive.

[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6, Politiken, Berlingske 4 / 6 stars ]

Best of 2022:Hurray for the Riff Raff "Life on Earth" (2022)

Life on Earth

release date: Feb. 18, 2022

format: vinyl (gatefold) / digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,14]

producer: Brad Cook

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: A) 1. "Wolves" - 2. "Pierced Arrows" - 3. "Pointed at the Sun" (4 / 5) - 4. "Rhododendron" - 5. "Jupiter's Dance" - - B) 1. "Nightqueen" - 2. "Precious Cargo" - 3. "Rosemary Tears" - 4. "Saga"

8th studio album from New Orleans project band Hurra for the Riff Raff is the band's first on Nonesuch. From its origins as a multi-piece orchestra, the band has become synonymous with songwriter, composer, lead singer and guitarist Alynda Mariposa Segarra (aka Alynda 'Lee' Segarra) with roots in Puerto Rico and raised in the Bronx, New York. The band's name loosely translates to "Hurrah for the Pack" meaning 'the underprivileged' (the homeless, the unemployed, immigrants) which relates to Segarra's own life lived on the American highways and as a blind passenger on freight trains, which was the preferred mode of transportation, after they [Alynda identifies as non-binary] ran away from their foster parents (their uncle and aunt) in the Bronx and headed for New Orleans. From here, Segarra ended up as a street musician and for a time they played banjo and washboard in the street band Dead Man Street Orchestra from 2007 to 2010, and with the band Hurray for the Riff Raff they made two self-released albums in 2008 and 2010, and they feature on Six Feet Down (2010) with the band Tuba Skinny, which was an offshoot of the Dead Man Orchestra. In 2011, Segarra released the album Hurray for the Riff Raff on the Loose label in 2011, whereas the 2012 follow-up Look Out Mama (also on Loose) is released as a band release. With 2013's My Dearest Darkest Neighbor, the band appears once again seemingly reduced to a solo project, (self-released and credited to Segarra's own label 'Mod Mobilian Records' and This Is American Music), which feature recordings from a 2013 UK tour. The most recent two albums Small Town Heroes (2014) and The Navigator from 2017 again seem like pure solo releases. The former is, however, recorded with several old acquaintances such as drummer and violinist Yosi Pearlstein, guitarist Sam Doores, and bassist Dan Cutler, who have all appeared on previous albums and they also played with the band on live tours but are not regular instrumentalists on all tracks and the cast credits reflect more that it's Segarra together with a wide variety of others. The album The Navigator is, like all previous studio albums, solely written and composed by Segarra, and here all other participating musicians are completely new names.

Life on Earth is undoubtedly Segarra's most beautifully produced album, although the predecessor also offered more tracks and reflected a more committed technical preparation than the more lo-fi arranged predecessors, which on the one hand are more closely connected to life as a street musician and on the other hand are not made to satisfy radio stations and the music industry as such. With Life on Earth, Segarra takes the full step as a significant contemporary artist with well-formed arrangements and a strong commitment to express their mind. It is a hybrid form of modern singer / songwriter which both echoes 70's folk rock as well as contain hints of punk rock's directness and social / political engagement (The Clash), and at the same time they make use of elements from classic rock and modern indie pop in a balanced form of their own. Some might point to similar traits from PJ Harvey, early St. Vincent, or other strong personalities in music, but it is most of all a highly original blend - and perhaps this type of comparison automatically happens when a single artist narrates with both sophisticated sting and sincerity, because Alynda Segarra's expression comes from a strong personality, and from someone who with their own distinctive melancholy and at the same time a devilish energy, which saturates a number of beautiful, relevant and original compositions.

The album has already garnered good reviews, and Hurray for the Riff Raff has entered the charts with the album and has appeared in major national TV shows.

In my opinion, Life on Earth is no less than album of the year, and naturally a highly recommended album.

[ bandcamp ]

[ Pitchfork 8,3 / 10, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars]

2022 Favourite releases: 1. Hurray for the Riff Raff Life on Earth - 2. Big Thief Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - 3. Band of Horses Things Are Great

Johnny Marr "Fever Dreams Pts 1 - 4" (2022)

Fever Dreams Pts 1 - 4

release date: Feb. 25, 2022

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]

producer: Johnny Marr & James Doviak

label: BMG - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Spirit Power and Soul" - 2. "Receiver" - 7. "Sensory Street" - 10. "Night and Day" - 14. "Ghoster"

4th solo studio album from former guitarist in The Smiths, Johnny Marr, follows a little more than 3½ years after the album Call the Comet (June 2018). It's made in a collaboration with producer James Doviak, who has featured on Marr's last three albums and is co-producer on all Marr's four solos. Marr and Doviak both featured on the album All for a Reason by the band Haven in 2004 and the two have since worked closely together.

Marr is clearly inspired by the harmony-driven Pop productions of the 1960s - with a preference for Phil Spector's sound universe - and he has released music in a mix combining traits from pop / rock and jangle pop. These signature styles are also some of the most obvious ingredients you meet on this one. The album has already been met by positive reviews, especially from the British Isles, though I'm not entirely convinced. By all means, it's nicely sounding, and it's altogether a well-made production, but it's not exactly highly original, and it's a little hard to point to Marr's distinctiveness on an album that most of all sounds like something his former songwriter colleague Morrissey could have made. It may be a little more uptempo and rock-shaped than what Morrissey usually fabricates, but the vocals, arrangements and even the rhymes sound a lot like from the aforementioned neighbourhood. Admittedly, Marr has not always represented the best vocal performances, but here he succeeds stronger than usual. What you don't get is a personal expression, which could provide us with more than a mix of something that has been made - many times before.

Not really recommended.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Mojo, NME, Clash Music 4 / 5, UnderTheRadar 6.5 / 10 stars ]

Jon Hopkins "Music for Psychedelic Therapy" (2021)

Music for Psychedelic Therapy

release date: Nov. 12, 2021

format: digital (9 x File, FLAC) (WIG458D)

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

producer: Jon Hopkins

label: Domino - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Welcome" (feat. 7RAYS) - 2. "Tayos Caves, Ecuador i" - 3. "Tayos Caves, Ecuador ii" - 4. "Tayos Caves, Ecuador iii" - 5. "Love Flows Over Us in Prismatic Waves" - 6. "Deep in the Glowing Heart" - 7. "Ascending, Dawn Sky" (feat. 7RAYS) - 8. "Arriving" (feat. 7RAYS) - 9. "Sit Around the Fire" (feat. Ram Dass & East Forest)

[ full album playlist ]

6th studio album by Jon Hopkins following 3½ years after Singularity (May 2018). The album contains nine tracks with a total running time exceeding 63 minutes, and it contains collaborations with 7RAYS, East Forest, and it builds on teachings (and the voice of) the late Ram Dass. Bearing in mind that East Forest is the alias for American electronic ambient artist Trevor Oswalt, who experiments with music for 'inner voyages', and that the late Ram Dass (aka Richard Alpert) was an American spiritual teacher and yoga guru, you may get the picture of this album, which also happens to come out after a pandemic and extensive lockdowns.

Where his 2013 breakthrough album showed everyone he was a master of progressive dance-oriented break grooves, his 2018 album proved to be a trip into deep space, this new one is again something entirely different. It's still an electronic release, but other than being instrumentally founded it's another kind of journey we're invited on. Singularity had some ambient feel to it, and that trend goes more full blown with this- and when comparing to his 2013 album, it mostly leaves you with the impression of being made by a different artist. The title Music for Psychedelic Therapy literally says everything you need to know. The music here is meant for what it proclaims. Hopkins has taken his fascination for transcendal meditation and mindfulness into his work in a new way, and the album comes out as an instrument, or a manifestation for inner journeys.

I normally don't fancy ambient or trance that much, and that's to put it nicely, but this deserves anyone's attention. It's hard to pin out highlights as the whole album is like one organism. I can only imagine how powerful it would be submerged into this while meditating. I think, I need to give it a try. The album may be his closest to some of the ideas behind Eno's music, but this is just so much better.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,4 / 10, Mojo, 👍PopMatters 4 / 5, Clash, Exclaim! 4,5 / 5, 👎The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Brimheim "Can’t Hate Myself Into a Different Shape" (2022)

Can’t Hate Myself Into a Different Shape [debut]

release date: Jan. 28, 2022

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Søren Buhl Lassen [?]

label: self-released - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Heaven Help Me I've Gone Crazy" - 2. "Can't Hate Myself Into a Different Shape" - 3. "Baleen Feeder" (live) - 6. "Favorite Day of the Week" - 7. "Hey Amanda" - 9. "This Weeks Laundry"

Studio album debut from Danish-Faroese Brimheim, aka Helena Heinesen Rebensdorff released with aid from WAS Entertainment and via her bandcamp.com profile. The total of 11 tracks have a running time around 37 mins and they're all credited Helena Rebensdorff and Søren Buhl Lassen (drummer of Blaue Blume) - previously he collaborated with danish artist Benjamin Hav - but there's little information about the production of the album regarding featuring instrumentalists as well as technical staff.

Musically, it's indie pop with traces of singer / songwriter or folk pop with hints from introspective threads to Phoebe Bridgers, who has herself listened to Kate Bush and uptempo-songs filled with an audacious mindset and presumed inspiration in Alanis Morissette and PJ Harvey without ever sounding like a copy. It's quite impressively arranged and produced, and it reeks the kind of coherency as something you would expect from an artist later on in his / her career. There's a certain maturity to the music and lyrics indicating that Brimheim herself has turned 30, is a mother who has already enough life experience to as foothold, and in that way is far from a mere whiz-kid. Mind you, Brimheim has already released the 5-track ep Myself Misspelled in 2020 and the single Call It What You Want in '21, which had some airplay in on the national DR P3, however, it's not a major back catalogue, calling for the title as 'Best promising Danish Act of the Decade', or the like - something Danmarks Radio in the local echo chamber with some success have applied to their very own radio host Drew Sycamore, although, she's nowhere near the talent and originality of Brimheim. The narratives on Can’t Hate Myself Into a Different Shape mainly touch on the subjects of identity and prejudice, and from what I've managed to read about some of her experiences in that regard, it appears that Rebensdorff has something to draw on, and she does that with great skills while abstaining from sentimentallity and by avoiding to take position as a victim.

Previously, both Oh Land, Rebekkamaria, and Medina have all sought for an international pop-sound in the neighborhood of a mix á la Alanis Morissette and the more introspective á la someone like Sharon Van Etten without copying Lykke Li, Anna Ternheim, or Ane Brun. Helena Rebensdorff succeeds on her own terms, and it remains a mystery, touching on ridiculous, that a major label haven't been able to notice the obvious potential and thrown in the right amounts of money, a promotion campaign, and a solid marketing strategy to secure Brimheim and this very album. Hopefully, it's just no longer necessary if the talent is sufficient support, people's eyes and ears will probably create an interest in Brimheim, who then will take care of the rest herself.

Can't Hate Myself Into a Different Shape is up for grabs as Danish release of the year and can only be recommended

[ Gaffa.dk, Soundvenue 5 / 6 stars ]

#YearBestDanishAlbum

Lisa Gerrard & Jules Maxwell "Burn" (2021)

Burn

release date: May 7, 2021

format: digital (7 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,04]

producer: James Chapman

label: Atlantic Curve - nationality: Australia / Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Heleali (The Sea Will Rise)" - 2. "Noyalain (Burn)" - 3. "Deshta (Forever)" - 5. "Orion (The Weary Huntsman)" - 6. "Keson (Until My Strength Returns)"

Collaborative project between Australian Lisa Gerrard and Northern Irishman Jules Maxwell, with the latter acting as live keyboardist on several occasions in Gerrard and Brendan Perry's duo project Dead Can Dance after their reformation in 2012. The album has a duration of only 35 minutes and consists of seven compositions with running lengths from four to six minutes. Gerrard alone is credited five tracks, while two tracks (#2 and #3) are composed by Gerrard and Maxwell in collaboration.

Musically, it's neo-classical with influence from darkwave, world music, and with hints from electronica, just as it has been the case with other works by Gerrard, e.g. The Silver Tree (2006) and which has charachterised releases by Dead Can Dance. Burn is, however, something else. The rhythm sections are shaped solely by programming or by bass and synth-bass with Gerrard singing on all tracks in an unknown or indistinct language - her very own metaphysical language, where her voice only functions on an instrumental level. That said, it's quite a sonorous, distinctive, and powerful instrument Gerrard possesses. She blends her alto voice beautifully in and out of progressive rhythmic loops and occasionally swings her vocal up into higher spheres clothed in mysticism of the East and sometimes with a well-developed technique taken from the scene of opera. Multi-instrumentalist Jules Maxwell adds rhythm, electronics, synth-bass, and grandiosity in appropriate measure and otherwise lets the music unfold in beautiful harmony with Gerrard as guiding instrumentalist.

It's original, beautiful, unpretentious, and yet wide-ranging. Since the early eighties, Gerrard has been responsible for strong original releases with Dead Can Dance - together with Hans Zimmer, she created the musical counterpart to the cinematic side of "Gladiator" (2000), and she has generally become an acclaimed soundtrack composer for a long series of films starting with soundtracks under the name Dead Can Dance back in '89 for the film "El niño de la luna" (aka "Moon Child" - not released as a soundtrack until 2019). They gained more recognition with their music for Ron Fricke's remarkable "Baraka" (1992), after which they released several soundtracks. As soloist, Gerrard first collaborated with Pieter Bourke on the music for "The Insider" by Michael Mann in 1999, and most recently in 2017 she and Peter Orr stood behind the soundtrack to "2:22" by Paul Currie. Gerrard has been nominated for dozens of international awards and she has received around 10 major awards for her work as a composer.

Burn is a certified gem of an album that should find wider recognition. Highly recommended!

[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

2021 Favourite releases: 1. Mogwai As the Love Continues - 2. Thåström Dom som skiner - 3. Lisa Gerrard &
Jules Maxwell Burn

Wolf Alice "Blue Weekend" (2021)

Blue Weekend

release date: Jun. 4, 2021

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]

producer: Markus Dravs

label: Dirty Hit - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Beach" - 2. "Delicious Things" - 3. "Lipstick on the Glass" - 4. "Smile" - 6. "How Can I Make It OK?" - 11. "The Beach II"

3rd studio album by London-based indie rock quartet Wolf Alice follows almost four full years after the duo's Visions of a Life (Sep. 2017) and is made with super hot producer Markus Dravs, who has made his name as producer from his work with Björk, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, and Kings of Leon, to mention a few.

Musically, the band moves naturally with Dravs at the mixing desk towards a more commercial expression with a sense for dynamics and the grandiose. Dravs has a fine touch in maintaining a quirky distinctiveness and mixing it perfectly with equal parts harmony and a rocking energetic expression.

In this way, Blue Weekend appears as a well-welded piece of galvanised titanium in a pile of aluminum blocks. It's almost too perfect - and that's probably what I generally find least appealing about Dravs' productions: it's bound to be oh-so-bee.a-utiful! Beautiful arrangements, swirling guitars and a dose of quirky indie rock, but all the while held tightly to a strong chain so that everyone a able to admire the ascending airship illuminated by a setting sun. It's always dramatic and pumped-up pompous.

The album has garnered great and highly enthusiastic reviews, and it's perhaps also the band's finest release. To my ears, it reminds me of a new The Killers album that would much rather be Kings of Leon. That said, it's not particularly original, and one may wonder where the motivation lies. Then of course, it's not all music that has to push new boundaries, and Blue Weekend is by all means beautiful and almost perfect - I'm just not impressed and just feel that I've heard it all before. Lead vocalist Ellie Rowsell sings mighty fine as a British version of Lana del Rey, and if you think that's cool, so be it.

The album is by no means a poor one. I just don't find it great. It kind of lands in the big mainstream pile with so many others who want to make it big. Sometimes Wolf Alice sounds like Lana del Rey, sometimes they sound like Arcade Fire, other times they remind me of The Killers, who (again) so badly want to be Kings of Leon. Perhaps you just have to be grateful that they don't aspire to be Drake or Phoebe Bridgers, or well, Bridgers is actually also there alongside St. Vincent. But, Alice Wolf, you can only be yourselves! And this is precisely the album's greatest weakness: that it falls between so many chairs with obvious ingredients from all sorts of others that it lacks the essence of originality.

It's an album you can put on repeat without tiring of it, because it sounds like a playlist where you have no idea when it actually starts all over, but also without ever feeling overly excited. Maybe you just want to put something else on. And although the British press almost unanimously thinks this is a masterpiece - it's definitely solid craftsmanship and definitely beautifully produced - but it is! But a masterpiece it is not!

Without comparison, moreover, I rate the album Pastel by young Australian band Fritz, also from 2021, better because, despite other limitations, it lands a much stronger independent expression.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo 4 / 5, The Guardian, NME 5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 7.2 / 10 stars ]

Marianne Faithfull "Broken English" (1979)

Broken English

release date: Nov. 2, 1979

format: cd (1994 cd reissue)

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

producer: Mark Miller Mundy

label: Isand Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Broken English" (4 / 5) - 2. "Witches' Song" - 3. "Brain Drain" - 4. "Guilt" - 5. "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (4 / 5) - 7. "Working Class Hero" (4 / 5) - 8. "Why D'ya Do It" (4 / 5)

7th studio album by Marianne Faithfull following the release of Faithless (1978) was the first album by Faithfull that I have a recollection of listening to. Speaking of the actual number of studio albums, is a bit of a detective work, and even then it comes down to a discussion of what qualifies as 'real' studio albums. The thing is, early on, Faithfull released different albums for the European and for the North American markets, respectivily, and if only looking at her European albums, you could argue one or two are not traditional studio albums but rather alternative releases, or say 'near' compilations..., and there's another story of Rich Kids Blues from '85, which was actually recorded in '71 and rightfully precedes this one but it was shelved for 14 years, and... there you have it! It's up for someone else, to determine, I guess. Broken English is, however, most commonly identified as her seventh, and the predecessor Faithless is both regarded as her sixth studio album, although, it's basically and also what could be described as an alternate version of her fifth album Dreamin' My Dreams (1976).

Broken English came out when punk rock roared and Faithfull was one of punks' idols stemming from another era where most artists didn't find peers amongst the young and angry generation. In that regard, she stood alongside Nico, Lou Reed, Neil Young, and Iggy Pop - survivors of the needle. There's a distinct new wave- or art punk-ish seasoning to this very album, and then it's also a huge melting pot of styles. Perhaps, it's all about a naked anger and an honest attempt of unglorification. The album is like many of Faithfull's a mix of writers and composers and a ceratin amount of covers, and regardless the origin, Faithfull knows how to make songs her own. This also goes for Shel Silverstein's "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" and Lennon's "Working Class Hero".

The album is Faithfull's only to be included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". To me, it's not her absolute best but it's close enough and a certified highly recommended listen.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Pitchfork 8,7 / 10, The Guardian 5 / 5, Q Magazine, 👉Record Collector, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Robin Guthrie "Springtime" (2022)

Springtime, ep

release date: Jan. 4, 2022

format: digital (4x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Robin Guthrie

label: Soleil Après Minuit - nationality: Skotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Kino's Chance" - 2. "The Faraway" - 3. "Another Part of Nowhere" - 4. "All for Nothing"

4-track ep by Scottish guitarist Robin Guthrie follows only one month after his ep Riviera, which in turn followed one month after Mockingbird Love (both limited to four tracks) is as usual released on his own label, and the music is also written, composed, arranged, performed, as well as produced by Guthrie himself. Since his days with dream pop trio Cocteau Twins back in the late nineties, Guthrie has looked down on popular music and turned to evocative instrumental and thoroughly atmospheric expressions with the guitar at the center of his compositions. Occasionally, he lets the guitar parody keyboards and synths, which he also uses, but it's mainly electric guitar connected to a series of effects and via computer programming that he paints his sound collages. If you have followed his solo releases for the past two decades - entire albums and many EPs, or you have come across some of his many collaborative projects, either as hired composer for film music - and often together with the now late American minimalist Harold Budd - you may have noted that Guthrie has settled into a rather simple ambient style that he hasn't shied away from. And that's why new releases may sound like recycling or new paraphrasings of already known sound loops. While part of Cocteau Twins, Guthrie was also responsible for drum programming, but the will to include drums could seem not wanted. On some compositions, e.g. "Kino's Chance" you'll notice sonically weak rhythm actions - perhaps best heard on "All for Nothing", but the soundscape is grandiose harmonic guitar structures that the whole ep exhibits. Admittedly, not a lot happens on Springtime, and yet it stands out as one of his better solo releases. The simplicity draws a clear line back to his first real collaborative work with Budd: Mysterious Skin: Music From the Film back in 2005 and up to his later collaborations with the classically trained American composer.

Although the music is ethereal and ambient moving on the verge to new age, it's the small simple melody lines that create the clear picture - something I haven't always been able to find in Guthrie's music. Together with Budd, Guthrie cultivated the minimalist expression building on Budd's open piano pedals and Guthrie's powerful guitar notes - and it was almost their only applied instrumentation, but on this, Guthrie works with rhythm-based music, even if the rhythm is toned down, because I feel his guitar comes more into its own right when he simultaneously lets rich bass lines accompany drum patterns. This way, it also becomes more varied. Occasionally, you could suspect Guthrie in making extensive use of old sound sequences recorded back in the '80s as he was left in solitude to compose pieces for Elizabeth Fraser's vocal and Simon Raymonde's bass notes, but this is ultimately irrelevant when the music here appears new, clean and complete. These are delicious, atmospheric sound collages that, like a quiet summer evening, appear as the ideal campfire that warms you deep inside, and which only utters that the album is only missing more and longer compositions; but it's only an ep, and unfortunately it's all over in just 15 minutes. Then if Springtime won't satisfy you, I can only recommend his latest full album Pearldiving (Nov. 2021), and his final album with Harold Budd: Another Flower from 2020.

Nice to know.

[ bandcamp ]

Best of 2005:Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté "In the Heart of the Moon" (2005)

2021 vinyl reissue

In the Heart of the Moon [debut]
release date: Sep. 13, 2005
format: cd / 2lp vinyl (2021 reissue)
[album rate: 5 / 5] [4,88]
producer: Nick Gold
label: World Circuit - nationality: Mali

Tracklist: 1. "Debe" (5 / 5) (live in Brussels) - 2. "Kala" (4 / 5) - 3. "Mamadou Boutiquier" (5 / 5) - 4. "Monsieur le Maire de Niafunké" (4 / 5) - 5. "Kaira" (4 / 5) - 6. "Simbo" - 7. "Ai Ga Bani" - 8. "Soumbou Ya Ya" - 9. "Naweye Toro" - 10. "Kadi Kadi" - 11. "Gomni" (4 / 5) - 12. "Hawa Dolo"

G R E A T! That's what this is. It's the collaboration debut by Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté, two Malian musicians. The music is delicate, surreal and haunting. What rhythm, and what wonderful dreamy tunes these guys produce! Splendid music - and highly addictive. Play it when you drive to or from work, or just anywhere, when you read, or when you make love - just play it, and listen. It's extremely soothing for body and mind. I give it my warmest recommendations, and… I only need more of that kind! On this, Touré plays guitar and Diabeté plays the 21-stringed African kora, which is responsible for the spiderweb-like strings on this amazing release. The album received world-wide recognition and led to a World Live Tour with the two playing in Europe and USA.
Touré had been politically engaged and became mayor of the local town of Nianfunké in 2004, and although there are 25 years between these two musicians and they do sound as if having played together for years, when in fact the album was recorded without initial rehearsals and without Touré and Diabeté had played together for more than 3 hours in total over a span of 15 years.
Diabaté was 40 and Touré 65 years of age when this album was released, and most sadly, Touré died Mar. 2006 as a 66-year-old, only just experiencing the international acclaim this album was attributed. The album is the first in a series of three albums commonly known as the "Hotel Mandé Sessions" - the second would be Tourés last solo album Savane (released posthumously, Jul. 17, 2006) and Diabeté's Boulevard de l'Independence (credited Toumani Diabaté's Symmetric Orchestra was released Jul. 25, 2006).

EDIT Jan. 2022:
I only just received a vinyl copy of the album. Alas, the album wasn't released on vinyl until 2012. The vendor sold it filed as a 2012 issue, but it turns out, it's a 2021 re-issue. Anyway, the album is for me a cornerstone in 'world music' and simply is one of those must-have releases I wish more people knew of.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

2005 Favourite releases: 1. Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabeté In the Heart of the Moon - 2. Sigur Rós Takk... - 3. Kent Du & jag döden

original CD front

Faye Webster "Atlanta Millionaires Club" (2019)

Atlanta Millionaires Club

release date: May 24, 2019

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,70]

producer: Faye Webster, Matt Martin, Drew Vandenberg

label: Secretly Canadian - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Room Temperature" - 2. "Right Side of My Neck" - 3. "Hurts Me Too" - 5. "Jonny" - 7. "Come to Atlanta" - 9. "Flowers"

3rd studio album by Faye Webster, her first with Secretly Canadian. After a self-released debut of Run & Tell (Oct. 2013) she released Faye Webster (May 2017) on Awful Records.

Atlanta Millionaires Club is a unique mix of indie folk, country and hip hop, which in the hands of Webster sounds just like the normal blend of styles. The country element secures a laid-back tone in the arrangements, and Webster narrates maturely about everyday life and relationships much contrary to being merely 21 years of age. Her vocal is distinct, light and fragile, making me think of a wind sweeping soothening through an open window on a lazy afternoon when temperature is too high for outdoor activities.

The album is my first listen to Webster's sound, but definitely not the last.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,8 / 10, Rolling Stone, NME, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]

Toumani Diabaté

~ ~ ~

Toumani Diabaté: (born Aug. 10, 1965, Bamako, Mali); aka: Toumani Diabate, Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra. Diabeté is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional folk music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles. In a collaboration work with Ali Farka Touré the two made a world-wide appraised album In the Heart of the Moon (2005) with Malian mandé folk music.

~ ~ ~

Ali Farka Touré

~ ~ ~

Ali Farka Touré: Touré is a multi-instrumentalist but is mainly known for playing the guitar. Ali Farka Touré died in 2006 (from bone cancer) but has released a number of acclaimed albums (including Talking Timbuktu, 1994, as a collaboration with Ry Cooder), and he became known as Africa's blues man or John Lee Hooker of Africa, anyway, a man of the blues. In a collaboration work with Toumani Diabaté, the two made a world-wide appraised album In the Heart of the Moon (2005) with Malian mandé folk music. Interesting music from Mali seems like an endless pot. I'm not saying it's the only interesting country in Africa but it's really amazing how much music has come from Mali, and these two are the exquisite artists of Malian mandé music.

~ ~ ~

The The "The Comeback Special (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)" (2021)

The Comeback Special (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)

release date: Oct. 29, 2021

format: 2 cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]

producer: Matt Johnson

label: Cinéola / Ear Music - nationality: England, UK

Live album by The The celebrating the return to live performances after a 17 years hiatus. The album is recorded live at The Royal Albert Hall, London, Jun. 5, 2018. The The consists here of Matt Johnson on vocals and guitars, Barrie Cadogan on lead guitar and backing vocals, James Eller on bass and backing vocals, DC Collard on keyboards and backing vocals, and with Earl Harvin on drums.

Long story short: Johnson basically left the limelight of the music business as a result of losing his brother Eugene in 1999, and the loss of brother Andrew (aka illustrator Andy Dog) in 2016 made him decide to return as a performer.

The album is packed with great renditions of his back catalogue - it's amazing how strong these songs are performed. Now, everyone holds their breath and hope Johnson will take up his career releasing brand new material as The The.

Great comeback - highly recommended!

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

Mellemblond "En jordisk chance" (2021)

En jordisk chance

release date: Nov. 19, 2021

format: digital (11 x Files, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]

producer: Mads Brinch, Adrian Aurelius, Jakob Høyer

label: Møs Møs - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "For at noget kan blomstre" - 2. "Atomernes spil" (4 / 5) - 3. "Blæsten i træerne" - 7. "Det der gik i hjertet" - 8. "Hjertets tro" - 9. "Ved at vi skal leve" - 10. "Nattetåge"

6th studio album from Mellemblond released a single year following Solregn. The tracks have alledgedly been composed at the same time as Solregn, but then issued the following year. After all, it's quite a different collection of songs we encounter here. Kristoffer Munck Mortensen - aka Mellemblond - has many faces to showcase, and as he released Solregn it was undoubtedly also his idea to present various songs with a common expression. That album was predominantly acustic with an almost minimalist expression, which was a new side to his talent, and as a contrast, this new collection draws more on some of the qualities you will find on his two albums: Fra et sted (2015) and Guldlokzonen (2018) although, they weren't exactly similar but in terms of arrangements and instrumentation are close. He now mix styles, he previously has exelled with. It's soft melancholic compositions, more raw uptempo rockers, and you'll also find a rather new adventurousness with polished chamber pop. At the same time, it's a style testifying to early 70s, a stream of consciousness wound up on swamp rock-inspiration mixed with folk and modern indie pop in a perfect original tone.

The front cover fits nicely to the content: Munck Mortensen is stationary positioned in bare feet holding his electric guitar in something ressembling a firewood shed. It's directly relatable, signalling a connection to a simple life. Mortensen narrates sincerely and straight-forwardly, and on En jordisk chance the fine lyrics are accompanied by an appropriate amount of electricity and noise without making it wild or pompous.

Kristoffer Munck Mortensen is a rare modern original. He sings and plays distinctively without sounding like foreign examples, and when doing so, he only seems to follow a fundamental desire to communicate. Had he been born in the US or in Britain, he would have outshined John Mayer and Ed Sheeran, but luckily, he wasn't - then we do have someone, they cannot touch.

At this advanced stage of the year, En jordisk chance enlists as Danish Album of the Year and simultaneously, it also arrives as one of the best albums of 2021.

Highly recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6, Jyllands-Posten 5 / 6 stars ]

Thåström "Dom som skiner" (2021)

Dom som skiner

release date: Nov. 12, 2021

format: vinyl (gatefold clear vinyl - LTD.) / digital (9 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]

producer: Niklas Hellberg, Sanken Sandqvist, Thåström

label: Razzia Records - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Södra Korset" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Papperstunna väggar" - 3. "Isbergen" - 4. "Stora långa gatan" (4 / 5) - 5. "Toledo" - 6. "Dom du behöver" - 7. "Dom som skiner" - 8. "Gyttjebrottaren" - 9. "Mamma"

10th studio album as soloist from Swedish Thåström following more than four years after the fine Centralmassivet (Sep. 2017) also on Razzia, and also with Niklas Hellberg and Thåström as primary instrumentalists. On this, they are supported by Thåström's stable collaborator Sanken Sandqvist, who already featured on releases by Imperiet back in the late 80s, he took part in Thåström's first two solo albums, and he was co-composer on a some tracks with the experimental Thåström-Hellberg-led project Peace, Love & Pitbulls in the 90s. Sandqvist is here co-composer on a single song but he is like Hellberg and Thåström credited as co-arranger on all nine compositions. Apart from that, the album feature Swedish (sibling-)duo First Aid Kit, who lends vocals on three tracks (#1, #3, and #8) and Titiyo (track #2). Four years is a long time in between releases but that doesn't mean that Thåström has been inactive since 2017. In May 2020 he released the live-album Klockan två på natten, öppet fönster....

Dom som skiner follows nicely on the path laid out with Centralmassivet without sounding like a second chapter. It seems as if Thåström has found his own niche in the alternative rock genre. It's a place where he understands to blend input from various stiles he has previously been touching in cleaner output. He has released albums of hard industrial rock and he has explored electronic music - both in Peace, Love & Pitbulls, as solo artist as well as in the project Sällskapet, and then he has released troubadour-albums focusing more on lyrics, but with his most recent two albums it seems as if he has found an expression that balances lyrics and an original musical output with elements, or just glimpses of industrial rock and electronica. And it functions on a higher level. The album is with its 'only' nine tracks quite traditionally adapted the vinyl format with a total running length of approx. 43 minutes, but what's truly remarkable about the album is, once again, Thåström's gift to write songs with more than just a message, with something to ponder about and still maintain the ability to make highly original and harmony-driven music.

The album is btw. only Thåström's second solo album together with Kärlek är för dom (2009), which doesn't show Thåström himself on the front cover. Here, it's fronted by the modern classic photo "Den vite clownen" [The White Clown] (1978) by Swedish photographer Hans Gedda. Apart from that, the album artwork (back, inside and vinyl labels) are replications of details from works by Danish-Israelian artist Tal R (aka Tal Shlomo Rosenzweig).

Highly recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk 6 / 6, Aftonbladet 4 / 5 stars ]

2021 Favourite releases: 1. Mogwai As the Love Continues - 2. Thåström Dom som skiner - 3. Lisa Gerrard & Jules Maxwell Burn

Best of 2021:Mogwai "As the Love Continues" (2021)

As the Love Continues

release date: Feb. 19, 2021

format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold gold vinyl) / digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,14]

producer: Dave Fridmann

label: Rock Action - nationality: Skotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "To the Bin My Friend, Tonight We Vacate Earth" - 2. "Here We, Here We, Here We Go Forever" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Dry Fantasy" - 4. "Ritchie Sacramento" - 5. "Drive the Nail" - 6. "Fuck Off Money" (4 / 5) - 7. "Ceiling Granny" (4 / 5) - 8. "Midnight Flit" - 10. "Supposedly, We Were Nightmares"

10th. studio album from Scottish Mogwai released 3½ years following Every Country's Sun (Sep. 2017), however that doesn't mean that the band has been on a hiatus. Primarily an instrumental ensemble, Mogwai has long been known for their soundtracks for both documentaries and feature films and we have also seen them issuing eps in between full length studio albums. Most recently, they made the music for the Italian tv-series "ZeroZeroZero", which was released via bandcamp in May '20, and before that they released two albums in 2018: in August the soundtrack Kin made for the American Sci-Fi-flic of the same name, and the following month they released the live-album 2018.

Mogwai sounds like no other band and it's an orchestra primarily engaged with instrumental music based on traditional rock-instrumentation centrered around guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, and with that in mind it's really impressive what kind of new music they manage to create without making it a mere repetition of the last, or any former album. Over the years, and much in the same manner they build up their compositions, they have slowly incorporated synths as a colour to their basic sound, which undoubtedly makes you point to the notion of post-rock, although, the band allegedly never has given much for that term. It's also a narrow etiquette, when your aim is to describe the band's style.

The album has garnered positive feedback and several critics has now come to see the band's tenth studio album as one of its absolute most coherent and best. At the same time, it's Mogwai's first to reach the very top of the album chart list in Great Britain. Mogwai has nearly always made use of the method known from noise rock, which may be described as taking a stance in between the quiet and the explossive and that aspect also comes in use on several compositions here, although, their method is always kept original and fully shaped to the progressive expression of the individual song. Mogwai is renowned for their coherent albums and As the Love Continues could in some ways be compared to the structures of classical works without actually being neo-classical.

As the Love Continues invites its listeners on a musical time travel back to the noise rock of the 90s, to Mogwai's starting point but also mix newer influences from the alternative scene in the last three decades with bites from electronica. At times you're tempted to think bits and pieces are inspired by Smashing Pumpkins, other frgaments by James Blake but then you eventually only realise that it's all pure Mogwai. It's demanding music - and in that way it follows a pattern of theirs where the music requires an implicit listener. You're bound to let the music speak, to let it unfold, and first then, you're may find yourself in a position where you're ready to take it in, to float in its stream and to experience its multifaceted structure.

The best by Mogwai is also the album of the year, and it's highly recommended.

[ bandcamp ]

[ allmusic.com, musicOMH, Uncut 4,5, 👍PopMatters, Mojo 4 / 5, 👎Pitchfork 6,9 / 10 stars ]

2021 Favourite releases: 1. Mogwai As the Love Continues - 2. Thåström Dom som skiner - 3. Lisa Gerrard & Jules Maxwell Burn

Olivia Newton-John / Electric Light Orchestra "Xanadu" (1980) (single)

Xanadu, 7'' single

release date: Jun. 1980

format: vinyl

[single rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,54]

producer: Jeff Lynne / John Farrar

label: Jet Records - nationality: Australia / UK

Tracklist: A) "Xanadu" - - B) "Fool Country"

Single release by Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra with the title track taken from the 1980 musical film "Xanadu" directed by Robert Greenwald and featuring Newton-John. The A-side is credited Jeff Lynne of ELO, and the B-side is a track performed by Newton-John and credited John Farrar.

I think, that I may actually have purchased this item without really knowing the song yet. I didn't watch the film, and possibly just got it on sale 'cause I never was a fan of Newton-John, and especially never fell for the music by ELO. I do know, however, that I didn't play this on many occasions.

Anna Ternheim "A Space for Lost Time" (2019)

A Space for Lost Time

release date: Sep. 20, 2019

format: cd

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

producer: Thom Monahan

label: BMG - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "This Is the One" - 2. "You Belong to Me" - 3. "Everytime We Fall" - 5. "Remember This" - 6. "Lost Times" - 8. "All Because of You"

7th studio album by Swedish singer / songwriter Anna Ternheim following two years after All the Way to Rio (Nov. 2017).

The album comes with ten compositions of which one half are co-composed by Björn Yttling - the rest are exclusively by Ternheim. The album is releatively short in total running time hitting just above 34 minutes. All songs represent a strict folk outing and these songs are generally a more naked collection than some of her previous albums, which have had a slight tendency towards art pop, although, Ternheim strikes me as a songwriter who apparently feels much at home in more simple arrangements and often accompanied with a distinct acoustic guitar, although, she does shine in more complex songs.

A Space of Lost Time comes out as one of Ternheim's absolute best. She hasn't always been able to find her own personal style but here, she succeeds quite well, I think.

Recommended.