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dustedmagazine · 1 year ago

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Dust Volume 9, Number 6

Vulture Feather

Perhaps because we left it until the very end of the month, we ended up with a truly massive collection of short reviews this time. Bill Meyer got especially busy with nine entries this time, but lots of writers did more than two, and a few who rarely participate made an exception for June. It’s a diverse collection of musical artists, jazz, metal, folk, pop and indie, something for everyone. Have at it, and enjoy. Contributors include Bill Meyer, Patrick Masterson, Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw, Ray Garraty, Ian Mathers, Bryon Hayes, Jim Marks, Christian Carey and Tim Clarke.

Tim Berne / Hank Roberts / Aurora Nealand — Oceans And (Intakt)

Oceans And by TIM BERNE - HANK ROBERTS - AURORA NEALAND

Forty-four years separate the release of Tim Berne’s first LP, The Five Year Plan, and this uncategorizable trio recording. The alto saxophonist has never been shy about mixing classical sounds and shapes into elbows-out jazz pieces of often-epic link, but he’s never done anything quite like Oceans And. One distinguishing factor is the ensemble’s line-up, which includes Hank Roberts on cello and Aurora Nealand on clarinet, accordion and generally wordless voice. These are players who can both inhabit genres and shuttle between them; they also do honor to the specifically scripted progress and illusorily orchestral arrangements of Berne’s elongated, reflective compositions. In particular, Nealand’s squeezebox delivers both the immensity and complexity of a full string section.

Bill Meyer

Blondshell — “Charm You” (Grand Jury)

Charm You (Blondshell Version) by Blondshell

Samia’s big year on the back of January’s bedroom indie staple Honey is about to get a second wind as she’s coaxed artists to cover her songs again, this time for a follow-up singles series called, imaginatively, Honey Reimagined. Maya Hawke, Hovvdy and Ruston Kelly are among the first names due up, but perhaps the biggest of them is another 2023 breakthrough artist: Sabrina Teitelbaum, aka, Blondshell. Teitelbaum’s touch here is pretty light as far as the source material goes, though she sounds a lot less vulnerable than Samia’s original — not just because of her delivery and the subtle addition of backing vocals in spots, but also because she’s plugged the six-string in and has heavier-hitting floor toms. Samia’s raw honesty and unadorned accompaniment is a big reason for her appeal, but even fans of the original will find something to love in a cover that does just enough to merit note.

Patrick Masterson

Devon Church — Strange Strangers (felte)

Strange Strangers by Devon Church

“Slouching Towards Bethlehem” nestles in your ear like a paranoiac whisper, soft but surreal, minimalist but also swelling with strings and gospel choirs. Devon Church murmurs baroque poetry about the end of world, matter of fact, mostly, but with a tinge of wonder. “Surely stranger things have happened,” he confides in the song’s understated chorus, as if he’s trying to make sense of it all on the fly. Strange Strangers is the second solo album from this Brooklyn based songwriter, a hollow-voiced devotee of Leonard Cohen who once made up half of ExitMusic. His songs are beautifully made, pillowy with artful arrangements, but even so very pure and simple. The wordplay is, similarly, plain spoken but twisted. “Jesus was a genius,” croons Church slyly, “but I prefer his early stuff,” and sure, don’t we all? And his voice is exceptional, with the haunted, gothy depths that would make even a laundry list sound apocalyptic. Fans of Mark Lanegan, Duke Garwood and (of course) Leonard Cohen, take note.

Jennifer Kelly

Cut Trio — Pelletron / Dynamitron (Edition Friforma / Inexhaustible Editions)

Pelletron / Dynamitron by CUT Trio: Tanja Feichtmair / Cene Resnik / Urban Kušar

I believe it’s Evan Parker who acknowledged that while free improvisation didn’t exactly change the world, a network has emerged and endured of people who practice it where none existed before. If this album is representative of what happens in Slovenia, the Balkans are doing quite all right in that regard. This trio, which comprises drummer Urban Kušar and saxophonists Tanja Fechtmair and Cene Resnik, doesn’t propose a new concept, but it does what it does exceedingly well. The horns prod and challenge, ceaselessly pressing forward but forever ready to feint and jab; they’re immaculately light on their feet, but heavy enough to make it all feel real. Kušar is an emphatic ornamenter, and a source of focused but never overwhelming energy. While the chances are slight that either they or I will be in each other’s towns anytime soon, if it happened, I’d be there.

Bill Meyer

Erik Friedlander, Ava Mendoza, Stomu Takeishi and Diego Espinosa—She Sees (Skipstone)

Jazz cellist Erik Friedlander meets up with his Sentinel ensemble—guitarist Ava Mendoza, percussionist Diego Espinosa and the bass player Stomu Takeishi—for a genre-blurring romp. Chin-strokers keep out. These 10 compositions are pure fun, whether you start with the swaggering roots-blues of “Baskets, Biscuits, Rain,” the rock-propulsive “Blink” or the simmering groove of “Heatwave.” The cello is, naturally, front and center, leading melodically with clear, vibrant tones, but all other instruments get their spot. Newly added bass player Takeishi sounds particularly fine interlacing plucked lines with Friedlander in the meditative spaces of “Summit,” while Mendoza lances rambling “Ache, Air,” with shocked jolts of guitar rock dissonance. The drums are also very fine, though not in-your-face; these songs swing with easy rhythm. I like gypsy reeling “Sliding,” maybe the best, though this album is a blast all the way through. I thought it might be an “eat your vegetables” kind of good, but it’s a sundae with a cherry on it.

Jennifer Kelly

Gaika — “Lady (Feat. Bbymutha)” (Big Dada)

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Coming off the War Island OST that soundtracked a room at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts in 2022, “perennial internationalist” Gaika returns with a new song on a personal note ahead of his Big Dada debut Drift in September. We covered him some years ago and said then that “a claustrophobic line runs through his production work,” and nothing’s changed his mood in the years since Security; it’s just that now it feels like the world has started to catch up with him. Part of this is because Yves Tumor’s similar David Bowie/Marilyn Manson/TV on the Radio approach to postmodern pop music has popped open an avenue of sound artists like Gaika and Le1f had already been exploring alongside them, and Drift will likely feel familiar to those already on board with such sonics. The trip-hop pace of “Lady” features strung out guitar flourishes and a few percussion fills as delivered by Kidä (from, yes, Yves Tumor), Azekel (Gorillaz) and Max Winter, and as a love letter to a partner, it sure sounds sinister. A promising shot across the bow to anyone that might’ve forgotten he was still out here putting in the good work.

Patrick Masterson

Geld — Currency // Castration (Relapse Records)

Currency // Castration by GELD

Geld doubles down on the groin-clenching characteristics of their band name with the title of this new LP, Currency // Castration. Yipes. Not sure if all the emasculating terminology is ironically intended, but there’s a strongly macho vibe running through Geld’s music. It’s hardcore from Oz, after all. A fair amount of critical chatter about the band stresses the ostensibly “psychedelic” properties of the music, and that was true, to some degree, of Beyond the Floor, the band’s 2020 LP (though for more effective recent demonstrations of what happens when the punks take some acid, see Glittering Insects or that amazing Oily Boys record). Geld’s move to Relapse Records has come with an intensification of big rawk sounds. See “Clock Keeps Crawling,” “Fog of War” and “Hanging from a Rope,” which evoke long-haired thrash as much as the metal-edged hardcore records of the late 1980s. This reviewer likes it when Geld plays fast and feral: “Cut You Down” and “Success” don’t seek to innovate, and the songs succeed by keeping things simple, snarling and frantic. The guitar solo in “Success” has some appealing shreddy intensity, like Dimebag Darrell in an especially hostile state of mind — not a dude who was ever interested in neutering his sound. If you’re going to strut, might as well do it like Darrell. If you can.

Jonathan Shaw

Grindhard E, Rio Da Yung OG, RMC Mike — Ed, Edd n Eddy (Grindhard 4 Money)

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These Flint rappers worked in twos before, but this is the first time they’ve recorded as a trio. It’s quite chaotic and kind of drifts along, perhaps because it didn’t have a clear structure in the first place. Just leftover studio sessions, late-night freestyles slapped together, clearly with no pretensions to be anything more. Only the final track “Heads,” with Louie Ray as a guest, has something resembling the usual verse-chorus structure. And it is the best among six songs, with RMC Mike and Grindhard E coming up with a memorable chorus and Rio and Louie Ray providing funny verses on a switched beat.

Ray Garraty

Jean Luc Guionnet — Dyslexic Harp (Deciphered In The Dark) (Amgen)

DYSLEXIC HARP (DECIPHERED IN THE DARK) by Jean-Luc Guionnet

Dyslexic Harp is a test of memory and mettle. The piece, which was composed by Jean Luc Guionnet for harpist Rhodri Davies, is not a set of notes on staff paper but a set of rules. In short, the musician must sit in darkness so absolute that they cannot see their instrument and, using both hands, play all the possible pitches on the harp. When they make an error, they must play a specific pitch that signals that an error has occurred and then resume. There’s more — a lot more — but that’s enough to give a listener the idea of the sort of memory and concentration that a performer must bring to the task at hand. So, what one hears is a struggle to remember and recover rendered as sound, in which the moments of silence feel more tension-fraught than the purposeful sequences of known notes. Davies’ performance is by turns confident and hesitant, and the spacious recording puts the listener right in the room with him.

Bill Meyer

Hatred Surge — Demo 2004 (Iron Lung)

Demo 2004 (LUNGS-246) by HATRED SURGE

It may take you longer to read this brief review than it will to listen through Demo 2004, a sorta-significant document of heavy music — five songs in three minutes from the salad days of Hatred Surge (which may be the purest name ever devised for the super aggro sort of noise the band has made). Since churning out these formative sounds nearly 20 years ago, the band has made some terrific grind and powerviolence records, also experimenting in death metal and harsh noise. On later recordings, it would be hard to overstate the strong creative productivity of Chris Ulsh, the guitarist and drummer who has cut a merciless path through the 21st Century with a number of great bands, including Mammoth Grinder, Power Trip and (of course) Hatred Surge. For this one, Alex Hughes played everything. This reissued demo is likely most appealing to the historically minded and to collectors. But even in their raw, unproduced forms, tunes like “Invisible Noose” and “Wolf in Idiot’s Clothing” are immediately engaging, forecasting the powerful sounds to come.

Jonathan Shaw

Hypnodrone Ensemble — The Signal in the Signal (Trepanation)

The Signal In The Signal by Hypnodrone Ensemble

It says something about Hypnodrone Ensemble’s last record, 2020’s Gets Polyamorous, that this one feels pretty stripped down in comparison. Boasting a mere six participants (including three drummers) vs. that album’s 15 (six drummers!), The Signal in the Signal still displays plenty of the ensemble’s trademark, well, hypnotic spacerock drone, just more monolithically. The two sides (which split the album title between them) started from a bass/drum pattern that repeats for the whole hour as other members layer guitar, bass, drums, sax, and viola over it. As the sides gradually build towards a swelling storm of noise it’s fascinating to hear how the character of that initial pulse appears to change as its surroundings do. It’s as apt a demonstration of “the more things change the more they stay the same” as you’re likely to find on record.

Ian Mathers

Induced Geometry — S/T (Trouble in Mind)

Induced Geometry by Induced Geometry

Philadelphia duo Writhing Squares produce a prog-inspired psychedelic squall that is pretty darn catchy, so this cassette from bassist Daniel Provenzano is quite a surprise. Stark in comparison to his band’s more visceral sound, Induced Geometry borrows liberally from the oeuvres of Reich and Riley. Short synth patterns build upon each other until they become hypnotic geometric structures, with ever-shifting vertices. The complex and evolving shapes are luminescent, producing a strange aura that seems to morph with a deepening textural quality. There’s a warmth here that belies his initial intent with these songs, which was to create a plain, characterless music. Instead, Provenzano has produced an elegant series of synth tapestries that aren’t necessarily lush but are pleasing to behold.

Bryon Hayes

Aaron Leaney featuring Guy Thouin — Lockdown (Astral Spirits)

Lockdown by Aaron Leaney feat. Guy Thouin

The Astral Spirits release schedule is sufficiently full-on to tempt a body to skip over a title every now and then. If you’re considering such a move, Lockdown might not be the one to pass by. The title tells you when this Montreal duo made their record (at Hotel2tango, if you’re keeping score), but not much else. It turns out that Guy Thouin is a first-generation Canadian free jazzer, on board since the late 1960s. Aaron Leaney, who is much younger, contributes husky but nimble alto and tenor sax melodies, and also plays enough flutes and percussion that it’s tempting to pull the phrase “little instruments” out of your bag. Leave it there; this is more Interstellar Space meets Babi than AACM in sound, albeit not as heavy and full-on as such comparisons might imply. Instead, there’s a floating quality to this music that’s easy to hang with.

Bill Meyer

Fred Lonberg-Holm & Tim Daisy — Current 23 (Relay)

Fred Lonberg-Holm / Tim Daisy "Current 23" (relay 034) by Tim Daisy, Fred Lonberg-Holm

Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Tim Daisy have been recurring partners in improvisation for over two decades, dating back to a time when they both lived in Chicago and they were in a couple of the same combos led by Ken Vandermark. Residence and work locations change, but they still make it a point to play together at least once a year, world health catastrophes permitting. The title of this recording, which was made while Lonberg-Holm was back in town for the Catalytic Sound Festival, suggests that it is a report — “This is how it is at the start of 2023.” At the moment, Daisy seems especially interested in using dynamic aggregations of small and varied sounds to create open fields of possibility. Turn up the music, and you’ll hear tiny strikes and rustles amid his brisk, ever-changing drum kit-work. Lonberg-Holm alternates between acoustic and amplified, electronically set-ups, but either way, he presses the boundaries of convention and instrumental potential. Daisy proves the perfect accompanist for his forays, forever expanding the perimeter in ways that frame and support Lonberg-Holm, but never limit him. Two notes: James Falzone’s long but extremely edifying liner note on the record’s Bandcamp page are well worth reading. And fans of physical products should be aware that this album, unlike other recent Relay releases, is a commercial CDR, not a glass-mastered CD.

Bill Meyer

Andrea Neumann — elletseuef (Thanatosis)

elletsreuef by Andrea Neumann

People who make the transition from classical music to various forms of improvisation sometimes talk about having to divest themselves of various forms of acquired baggage. Few have done so quite as literally as Andrea Neumann, who long ago got rid of the keys and the big, boxy parts of the piano in order to concentrate on the sonic potentialities of the rack of strings inside. She sounds said strings with bows and kitchen implements, and magnifies and distorts them electronically. Elletseuef, a solo performance from 2021, is particularly worthy of attention because she tends to record in collaborative settings. While there are passages whose patient accretion of details brings to mind Keith Rowe’s similarly re-evaluative guitar playing, it’s the quasi-industrial bursts of electricity, and her expert shifts between loudness and silence, that command attention.

Bill Meyer

Night Gestalt — Staring Light (Bigo & Twigetti)

Staring Light by Night Gestalt

Swedish musician Olof Cornéer’s latest release as Night Gestalt takes all the finest qualities of his last album, Thousand Year Waves (covered in last March’s Dust) and distills them into a simpler, more resonant musical statement. The central elements are closely mic’d piano, where the creak of the wood and the swing of the hammers are as much of a sound source as the vibration of the strings, plus some glassy, nocturnal synth tones. There’s plenty of space in the mix, allowing all elements to individually shine, reverberate and fade away. Nothing gets cluttered or sounds out of place. Pop this one on headphones at night, venture outside into the chill air for some star watching and you’ve got your perfect soundtrack: pin pricks of light in an inky expanse, with sufficient breathing room for the mind to wander.

Tim Clarke

Maria Norseth Garli — Morning Light (Sonic Transmissions)

Morning Light by Maria Norseth Garli

Order and entropy do battle for Maria Norseth Garli’s allegiance on Morning Light, which is the Trondheim, Norway-based singer/guitarist’s third LP. You don’t get a Master’s degree from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in that town without sharing some practice rooms and student combos with free improvisers, and her work evidences an appreciation for dynamic and textural extremities that you don’t usually find in the work of self-confessed singer-songwriters. But it’s not really a fair fight; Garli is too committed to melody and the song form to let things fall apart. Instead, heavy guitar chords (including a few played by the undeniably industrious Nicolas Leirtrø of I Like To Sleep, Dafnie and TEIP Trio) fall like toppling timber into the moody meadows of Garli’s spare, image-oriented writing. It might sound dangerous, but nothing ever lands on her voice. Still, the combination intrigues.

Bill Meyer

Palace, AmaneOG — Drive 2 EP (Noir)

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It was one of those fortuitous occurrences that remind you the algorithms really are listening: There I was on the eve of the hundredth running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans — arguably the most famous motor race aside from maybe the Indianapolis 500 or the Monaco Grand Prix — casually searching for some distraction amid a final push on this work project I had going on when, lo, what should appear in my sidebar but Polish producer Palace’s “Drive” and what looked to be a scene from Lost Highway. What I clicked into and found was an eerie night cruiser akin to Kassem Mosse’s early Workshop releases set to actual onboard footage of a Porsche at Le Mans from 2015. The synchronicity was unsettling. AmaneOG goes uncredited in the above video because it’s not from the unhelpfully named Noir Records, which put out the Drive 2 EP upon which this song appears, but I assure you that won’t matter when you hear it. That the Porsche in question was a 919 and not a 909 feels like the only missed opportunity here.

Patrick Masterson

Nathan Alexander Pape — coat after coat (The Jewel Garden)

coat after coat by Nathan Alexander Pape

This CDR (all respect to Jewel Garden for correctly identifying it on the label’s Bandcamp page; not everyone is so honest these days) documents the solo work of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based guitarist Nathan Alexander Pape. Sometimes titles provide clues, and coat after coat provides a few. If your thoughts drift to paint, it invites you to think of layers, which makes sense of music that is the product of a multi-staged signal chain comprising ideas, fingers, steel-stringed acoustic guitar, amplifier, an overwhelmed recording microphone and an out-of-town space that allows Pape to turn it up and get just the right in-the-red sound. If your associations are more attire-oriented, the direction is towards a series of outer garments. On successive tracks, Pape applies his imagination to Derek Bailey-descended harmonics play, seething timbres and minimalist strategies. And the choice to opt for completely lowercase titling suggests that this stuff is not meant to be momentous. One supposes that, instead of heading for a studio or navigating to some distant city for a gig, Pape has made music-making a part of everyday life.

Bill Meyer

Pylar — Límyte (Cavsas/Cyclic Law)

Límyte by PYLAR

Andalusian doom-drone occultists Pylar are back with another slab of cosmically scaled, weirdo bum-outs that are psychedelic and soul-consuming in equal measure. Límyte isn’t quite as flat-out bananas as Abysmos, the band’s previous LP, but what it lacks in unhinged intensity it gains in relative momentum. This time around, the collective — allegedly formed by musicians in the orbits of metal bands Teitanblood and Orthodox — foregrounds a conventional trap set in its rhythmic structures and even experiments with traditional metal riffage, here and there; see especially “Ruptura-afuera.” Chanted clean vocals and moaning modular synths come and go in extended waves. The songs are still very long, and the rotational suck into a maelstrom of unhappily dense, strangely sticky textures is very strong. This reviewer likes it when the atmosphere gets spacy and the vibe is slightly more playful. The title song could be a soundtrack for a trip into a haunted house decorated by Dali, or it could just be the consequence of those suspect-looking mushrooms you ate an hour ago. Aficionados of music like this might say: Why choose?

Jonathan Shaw

Queens of the Stone Age — In Times New Roman (Matador)

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Longtime listener, first time caller. I’ve been digging QOTSA, on the sly, since Rated R. The last two albums got by me, but this one has the rupturing power, the slithery chill that has always defined this band. The sheer churn and roar of “Paper Machete” is what you come for, all roiling bass, thunderous drums, guitars yelping in electro-shocked outrage, and Josh Homme’s weirdly mannered, baroque falsetto. It’s a gas and a pose, but it also rocks you right to the ground. This is said to be QOTSA’s “angry” album, but man, I don’t know. Did you listen to Songs for the Deaf? They’ve always been pretty pissed. “Emotional Sickness” rides jabbing hook, as precise and violent as a boxer’s punch, then spirals out in swirling, psychedelic melody; QOTSA picks up your machine-gun riddled body and cradles it in gentle currents of song, and then hits you again. It’s obliterating, and smooth, like the best kind of whiskey, and it may remind you of all the records you don’t listen to anymore. At least it did for me. The girl who loved Van Halen 2, the women who went to school pickup with “Monsters of the Parasol” drifting through her head, the old lady who wants to listen to In Times New Roman one more time: all the same person. Hail the rock.

Jennifer Kelly

The Soft Moon — Exister (Sacred Bones)

Exister by The Soft Moon

On June 23rd, Soft Moon dropped remixes for the 2022 LP Exister. It seemed like an opportune time to revisit the 2022 recording. Mostly a one-man show, Luis Vasquez handles the instruments and vocals. Even by the standards of The Soft Moon’s previous polyglot assemblages, Exister is a versatile affair. The singing is post-punk with a tinge of goth. The music itself encompasses these styles, with the addition of industrial electronica to the mix. “Sad Song” and “Answers” lean in to Vasquez’s haunting snarl. “Become the Lies” is altogether different, with a high-lying vocal and an alt-rock hook. There are guest artists, the rapper Fish Narc on “Him” and Alli Logout, who adds scary screams to “Unforgiven.” The title track arrives last, and its edgy yet atmospheric arrangement is well worth the wait.

Christian Carey

Star City Survivor — Orbital Decay (Soul City)

orbital decay by star city survivor

Star City Survivor is an electric guitar and drums duo from Chapel Hill, NC. The name of this album of spontaneously co-created, open-ended encounters suggests an eventual crash to earth, but the sounds they make are sufficiently gravity-defying to avoid any shattering impacts. Instead, Phil Venerable plays inward-turning, fuzz-encrusted lines that alternately surf atop or surge straight through Tommy Jackson’s kickdrum-heavy attack. A historical challenge of jazz-rock summits is the tendency of the musicians to neglect to rock, but that is not the case here.

Bill Meyer

Rowland Taylor — A Righteous Man Falling Down Before the Wicked Is a Troubled Fountain (self-released)

a righteous man falling down before the wicked is a troubled fountain by Rowland Taylor

Virginia-based Rowland Taylor has released a number of singles and EPs of Takoma school guitar music over the past few years. The latest release is the longest yet, nearly half an hour, and it hits all of the sweet spots, from Rose-worthy slide (“boss card,” “hold fast”) to lengthy excursions (“krakow lament,” “the seagull”) and a banjo piece reminiscent of Glenn Jones (“i lost my way home last night”). Taylor can play very fast and forcefully when he wants to, but A Righteous Man is a bit less frenetic than some of his earlier work and even ends with a neat Eastern European-sounding fiddle piece swathed in studio effects. This recording also whets the appetite for a full-length album in which Taylor can develop such ideas more fully and indulge in the kind of experimentation on display in that final track.

Jim Marks

Vasco Trilla — A Constellation of Anomaly (Thanatosis)

A Constellation of Anomaly by Vasco Trilla

Percussionists commonly find themselves either keeping time or unleashing frenetic salvos of beats. Vasco Trilla obliterates both notions, choosing instead to explore and manipulate resonance. Every surface is a potential instrument for him to push to the extremes of its sound-making potential. On A Constellation of Anomaly, he produces a vast array of textures with an eclectic set of resonant bodies. Drones and groans sustain such that they hover like contrails in the air. Metallic shrieks slice through the atmosphere, leaving a vacuum that Trilla fills with microscopic sound particles. Not every track is wildly experimental: the two pieces called “The Shaking Hand That Leaves a Mark” find Trilla straying into territory that borders on melodic. These pleasing sonorities are a rare glimpse into the lighter side of his personality. He’s happier exploring the uncanny sound world of a timpani filled with wind-up music boxes or crafting a cloud of resonance with bowed bells. In his mind, the permutations and combinations of sound-making surfaces are limitless. Merely producing beats is out of the question.

Bryon Hayes

Vulture Feather — Liminal Fields (felte)

Liminal Fields by Vulture Feather

Back in the 2000s, Baltimore post-punk band Wilderness released a handful of decent records then disappeared off the radar. Now, nearly 20 years later, Wilderness guitarist Colin McCann and bassist Brian Gossman are based in California and have regrouped with a new drummer, Eric Fiscus, to form Vulture Feather. The two bands have similar yet distinct DNA, clearly derived from the same lineage but evolving with their own character. Wilderness frontman James Johnson was a more declarative, center-stage singer, repeating his oblique, mantra-like phrases over and over. McCann takes vocal duties here, weaving his higher, wavering voice in the midst of the guitars and bass more discreetly, singing along with the music rather than standing atop it. McCann’s guitar lines are as chiming and anthemic as they were back in the Wilderness days, but more repetitive and driving, sounding as if they’ve sparked aflame in the jam room and the songs took shape from there. The result is an economical, tightly written and energetically performed record that proves there’s a worthwhile next phase underway.

Tim Clarke

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newmusickarl · 1 year ago

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Top 50 Albums of 2023: #30-21

30. Everything Is Alive by Slowdive

I’ll be the first to admit that despite the heavy praise from the amazing Music Twitter community (I’m not calling it X, sorry Elon), before this year I had never completely bought into the Slowdive hype. Although I enjoy their 2017 self-titled comeback record, I had never taken to the shoegaze legends in the same way that I know a lot of my fellow music fans do. But I’m pleased to say with Everything Is Alive, I’ve been well and truly won over.

Their first album in six years, singles like kisses, skin in the game and the slab spiral into fascinating sonic territory and make you want to stay locked there forever. It was an album that completely blew me away on first listen, offering a completely immersive audio experience. One of those records where you just want to stick your headphones on and get lost in all these interesting textures being strung together.

Outside of the singles, shanty and chained to a cloud deliver mesmerising synths, big walls of guitars and the ghostly vocals of Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead. Alife (or Alfie as I’ve been frequently calling it!) is another standout, whilst Andalucia Plays is just hauntingly melancholic. So not just one of the year’s best records, but a record that proves why I continue to trust Music Twitter’s recommendations - they never seem to steer me wrong.

Best tracks: alife, kisses, the slab

Listen here

29. This Is Why by Paramore

When immensely popular American rockers Paramore announced Bloc Party were the primary influence for their sixth studio album, This Is Why, my interest was naturally piqued. Where Silent Alarm offered a vital soundtrack for the post-9/11 youth back in the mid-00s, Paramore have now done the same for an apathetic generation of kids dealing with COVID lockdowns and ever-growing social and political divide. And whilst it isn’t quite Silent Alarm, this is unquestionably a brilliant indie rock record.

Firstly, the opening title track remains one of my favourite tracks of the last twelve months. With all the catchy, stuttering chords of prime Foals, along with some ever-impressive vocal acrobatics from enigmatic frontwoman Hayley Williams, the mid-song breakdown that ends with Williams’ cries of “I’m floating like a cannonball” is so gloriously cathartic, you can’t help but get won over. Big Man, Little Dignity is another strong favourite, which sees the trio take shots at powerful men not held to account for their deplorable actions (“smooth operator in a shit-stained suit”). Liar, arguably the album’s most subdued moment, is similarly awe-inspiring too thanks to some twinkly guitars and Williams’ graceful falsetto vocals.

At a concise 36 minutes there’s not a second spared, as the band channel their message through the sounds from indie rock’s past, breathing fresh new life into the scene and helping it to resonate with a newer, younger mainstream audience. So, if you are sat there wondering why Paramore are one of the biggest rock bands in the world right now – This Is Why.

Best tracks: This Is Why, Liar, Big Man Little Dignity

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28. Blondshell by Blondshell

An incredible self-titled debut that has lit me up in the last year is this amazing record from LA-based rockstar-in-the-making, Sabrina Teitelbaum – AKA Blondshell. Hugely accomplished for her first outing, it’s a sharp 32-minute listen packed with big choruses and some truly epic guitar work. Here’s what 5-9 editor Andrew Belt had to say in his brilliant review earlier this year which sums it perfectly:

“The nine tracks on her debut album capture uncomplicated rock tracks which could have been recorded live. Uncomplicated does not mean not compelling, however. Fusing influences from the likes of Nirvana, The Cranberries and Anna Burch, Teitelbaum wears her heart on her sleeve as she chronicles a difficult couple of years which spawned Blondshell. The self-titled record bursts to life with ‘Veronica Mars’ – a two-minute, verse/chorus/guitar solo blast with the TV show referred to in the title causing Teitelbaum to reflect on its impact on her when watching at an early age. Singing ‘Logan’s a dick, I’m learning that’s hot’, Teitelbaum laments the mixed messaging the show could provide to young minds, with the rock track melting away at the end via a red-hot unhinged, high-pitched guitar solo. The sound throughout is cohesive with Yves Tumor-producer, Yves Rothman, teasing out something quite impressive from Teitelbaum as Blondshell. Confessional, edgy, compelling, Blondshell is an accomplished offering belying its debut album status.”

Best tracks: Salad, Sepsis, Dangerous

Read Andrew Belt’s full review on 5-9 here

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27. Dream Big by Soda Blonde

Back in 2021, Irish indie-pop outfit Soda Blonde emerged out of the ashes of the excellent Little Green Cars, with the four remaining members of that band releasing their debut album under the new Soda Blonde guise. That Soda Blonde debut, titled Small Talk, would finish in my Top 30 Albums of 2021 and even receive a nomination for the Irish Choice Prize (the Irish equivalent of the Mercury Prize). Now with this sophomore outing, they have made the Top 30 again.

Full of confidence, Soda Blonde are sounding more assured in their new skin, with Dream Big presenting a stunning collection of songs full of breathtaking musical variety and killer hooks. The opening run of Midnight Show, Bad Machine, Boys and the title track is particularly mesmerising, as the band guide you through glorious arrangements full of strings, rhythmic guitars and clusters of memorable moments. In the back half, My First Name sees frontwoman Faye O’Rourke’s majestic vocals stand out amongst a magnificent collage of strings, bluesy guitars and stomping drums for one of the record’s biggest highlights.

This is a phenomenal record from start to finish and if you haven’t heard of Soda Blonde before, now is the time to get yourself acquainted.

Best tracks: My First Name, Boys, Going Out

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26. When Will We Land? By Barry Can’t Swim

If you’ve listened to the October episode of the 5-9 Album of the Month podcast, you know this debut from rising electronic superstar Barry Can’t Swim was one of my standout records in what was a month full of incredible new music. Taking elements from all my favourite electronic releases of recent years, Barry crafts a vibrant collage that binds together cohesively for an essential and astonishing listening experience. Describing this album better than I ever could, here is what friend of the blog Kiley Larsen had to say in his review for Check This Out:

“When Will We Land? is everything you want from an electronic album and more. It may pull from all of Barry Can’t Swim’s influences and serve them in eleven distinct ways, but Mannie’s vision is clear and never wanders from the bigger picture. While the record should be taken in as a whole when possible, each song is so distinct and fully executed that each is tailor-made for playlists (or mixtapes, if you’re keeping them alive). ….When Will We Land? finds Barry Can’t Swim doing what he’s done best over the past few years by harnessing the energy of that big night out while colouring it with organic instrumentation and a much-needed reminder of the universality of the human experience. For music writers, the year is full of anticipated albums. Sometimes, they match the internal hype, while often, they fall short. When Will We Land? was unquestionably at the top of my list, defying expectations and more. Barry Can’t Swim proved a true talent with his EPs, but this debut album is a colossal next step. Even if you’re not typically into electronic music, this is still worth diving into, as there are few albums this year that successfully convey a complete vision with what should be universal appeal.”

Best tracks: Sunsleeper, Woman, I Won’t Let You Down

Read Kiley’s full review on Check This Out here

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25. Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey

A woman who needs no introduction at this point, one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year was Lana Del Rey’s eighth studio album released back in March – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (which we can all agree is a peak Lana type of album title).

Having delivered her undisputed magnum opus Norman Fucking Rockwell (NFR) back in 2019, Miss Lizzy Grant has not rested on her laurels since, quickly following up with two more albums in 2021 – Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Banisters. Whilst both records had their moments, the former more so, neither quite came close enough to the theatre, majesty and sheer perfection of NFR. However now back with her fourth album in as many years, Lana once again hit some career best highs.

Opener The Grants welcomes the listener with some gorgeous gospel vocal harmonies, before Lana herself takes over with her inimitable vocals, exquisitely sharing memories of her family. The title track is then even better and already one of my favourite Lana tracks, with its stirring strings, anguished vocals and heartbreaking lyrics of self-loathing (“Open me up, tell me you like me, Fuck me to death, love me until I love myself”). As Lana is joined by a choir for the swelling “Don’t Forget Me” refrain in the song’s outro, you’d have to be cold hearted to not be greatly moved.

An album that is definitely in the top half of her discography, and the first half of this record in particular is as good as anything she has ever done. I also admire the work ethic and frequency at which Lana is delivering new music and I’m not going to complain too much about having a mountain of music from her over the last few years. The fact she’s been so productive and still served up some of the very best work of her career, really it can only be admired.

Best tracks: Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, A&W, The Grants

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24. Javelin by Sufjan Stevens

Another of the year’s biggest releases came in early October - the tenth studio album from highly acclaimed singer-songwriter, Sufjan Stevens. In the days following its release, Sufjan dedicated Javelin to his “beloved partner and best friend Evans Richardson” who sadly died in April of this year. With that added context, it made an album that already felt emotionally shattering hit that much harder.

From the moment the cymbals crash and the synths reverberate around Sufjan’s cries of “You know I love you” on opener Goodbye Evergreen, you know you are in for something quite special yet also heartbreaking. Over the next run of tracks Sufjan continues to astound with his unceremonious yet majestic songcraft, as the uplifting instrumentation twinkles around Sufjan’s devastating penmanship on tracks like A Running Start, Genuflecting Ghost and Will Anybody Ever Love Me?

However as great as the first half is, it is the back stretch that left my jaw firmly on the floor. My Red Little Fox is a heartfelt, flute-laden hymnal whilst lead single So You Are Tired is a brutally beautiful, piano-led, string-drenched lament. Shit Talk is then without a doubt one of the songs of the year, a near 9-minute masterpiece centred around a strikingly simple assembly of raw acoustic instrumentation, resonant human emotions, gorgeous choral harmonies and refrains of “I will always love you…I don’t wanna fight at all.” Utterly breathtaking in every single way.

Best tracks: Shit Talk, So You Are Tired, Will Anybody Ever Love Me?

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23. Struggler by Genesis Owusu

When it comes to an album, two things I tend to look for more than any other - an eclectic mix of sounds and a strong thematic concept to hold it all together. Very few artists achieve both elements these days, but when you do find an album like that, it’s like finding the musical equivalent of the holy grail. Enter Struggler from Ghanian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu, which made history back in August by becoming the first album to gain the coveted maximum 15 points on the 5-9 Album of the Month podcast.

Struggler is an album that takes you on a journey, both through the lyrics and sonically too. At the heart of it, you’ve got a narrative arc that tells the story of “The Roach vs The Old Man”, a conflict which acts as a metaphor for humanity vs uncontrollable higher powers, both natural and political. Then musically, this record has a little bit of everything - punk rock, hip-hop, funk, soul, all wonderfully blended together to forge a vibrant mesh of sounds.

In terms of favourite tracks, Leaving The Light and The Roach are both propelled by these great synth lines that bounce off thrashes of guitars. Tied Up is then possibly one of the catchiest songs of the year, a track which sucks you into its groove and refuses to let you leave. Stuck To The Fan closes the record perfectly too, offering a really sombre, bluesy send off.

More carefully curated and refined than his debut outing, Genesis Owusu proved himself to be a very special talent to me in 2023, delivering a record that works as a collective whole but doesn’t stay in a single lane either.

Best tracks: The Roach, Tied Up, Stuck To The Fan

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22. ROACH by Miya Folick

It seems there was something with Roaches in 2023 as we had another incredible album artistically indebted to those pesky insects. This year, American singer-songwriter Miya Folick made the difficult second album look easy with this hugely impressive record, titled ROACH.

Essentially an extension of her previously released 2007 EP, ROACH further builds out the narrative with a deeper dive into her relationship with God, her mother and her own self-esteem. Featuring some of the best songs of her young career, highlights include the hedonistic indie-pop of Bad Thing, brutal break-up anthem Get Out of My House and the tussle with adulthood on the falsetto-kissed 2007.

That said, make sure you stick around for the second half of the album as that’s where Miya Folick’s exceptional songwriting really starts to shine for me. Tetherball is a real stop-you-in-your-tracks moment, with some wonderful ambient electronics backing Folick’s soft vocals to create a gorgeous sound reminiscent of Natasha Khan of Bats For Lashes. These synths then shift into the uplifting pop of So Clear, before Shortstop offers an utterly stunning piano-led finale that you’ll just want to hear again and again.

A fantastic second album that has been on repeat ever since it dropped in the first half of the year.

Best tracks: Tetherball, Shortstop, Get Out Of My House

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21. PRAYERS & PARANOIA by SIPHO

Just missing out on the Top 20 then, we arrive at an outstanding debut album that I may have missed altogether if it wasn’t for friend of the blog, Andrew Belt. The 5-9 Album of the Month podcast has been my musical highlight of 2023, introducing me to a ton of great new music this year. So I just want to take a moment to give kudos to both Andrew and Kiley for steering me in the right direction over the last 12 months with their fantastic taste in music – cheers lads!

Now Birmingham-based R&B star SIPHO was Andrew’s pick for the podcast back in October and it turned out to be a mightily ambitious first outing that stormed to victory in our most tightly contested Album of the Month battle yet.

With each track anchored by his incredibly powerful vocals, SIPHO remains the star of the show amdist a gorgeous sonic world built on funk, soul, R&B and even a bit of rock on tracks like GLUE. Much like the Genesis record, it is an album that takes an eclectic listening experience and majestically morphs it into a cohesive single piece of work. Listening front-to-back, every song segues seamlessly into the next one, with the track list so intricately stitched together its quite astounding. For SIPHO to craft a record as accomplished as this at the first time of asking is even more remarkable.

The songs have a timelessness quality too, Elevation pulls you in straight away whilst Chemicals boasts spacey synths, bluesy guitars and SIPHO’s incredible falsetto. However it’s all about the final stretch of songs starting with Run For Your Life, which sees just SIPHO and Shae Universe’s voices take centre stage over a minimal piano backing for a track that is just hauntingly beautiful and goosebump-inducing.

An album that I went in to with no real expectations, there was few records that managed to blow me away in 2023 quite like Prayers & Paranoia.

Best tracks: Run For Your Life, Glue, Prayers

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This weekend, we enter the final Top 20 of the countdown!

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