via GIPHY

Statler: Well, it was good.
Waldorf: Ah, it was very bad.
Statler: Well, it was average.
Waldorf: Ah, it was in the middle there.
Statler: Ah, it wasn’t that great.
Waldorf: I kind of liked it.”
-‘The Muppet Show’.

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. I buy music for the CD & Vinyl collections, and also run the Libraries’ Wellington Music Facebook page). My Music Specialist colleague Sam, and Fiction Specialist (and avid music fan) Neil, join me every month to cast an eye over the new material we have been buying for the music collection at our CBD Te Awe library. We pick out some interesting titles across a range of music genres, and try to limit our reviews to a few lines only. Can we encapsulate an entire album in just a couple of lines? [Ed. This is probably unlikely at this point]. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? [Ed. This is more than likely]. Read on to find out…

Messy / Dean, Olivia
Mark Says: ‘Messy’ is the debut album from East London’s Olivia Dean, another graduate of the famed Brit School. The hazy bedroom pop of vocoder opener ‘UFO’, perhaps gives the album a bit of a lo-fi expectation, but the rest of the album is very polished production wise, perhaps a little too much in places. Shades of Motown, the retro soul of Joss Stone, and the production & vocal techniques that reference a lot of 2010’s Neo-Soul, with some smokey Jazz touches. She has a great voice, and it’s mature-confessional-pop of the highest order. Some dead spots may mean it works better as a long EP than a full album.
Sam Says: ‘Messy’ may be Olivia Dean’s first full-length offering, however it displays a sense of musical versatility and vision that could easily be attributed to a more experienced artist. Released earlier this year, the album has already made waves in the UK scene and has even been shortlisted for the 2023 Mercury Prize. Musically, it is firmly rooted in the stylings of neo-soul, with a highly tangible sense of mainstream appeal. In saying that, Dean’s boldly creative approach comfortably sets her apart from many of her contemporaries. Containing twelve tracks over a mere thirty-five minutes, despite its title, ‘Messy’ is a neat and concise affair, with little room for filler. It will be interesting to see where Dean leads as her career develops.

Continue reading “October’s New Music for Te Awe” →

Here is part two of our new music picks for August. You can catch up with Part 1 here. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? Read on to find out…

The returner / Russell, Allison
Mark says: Allison Russell is a member of Our Native Daughters (along with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Amythyst Kiah), but it was her critically acclaimed debut solo album 2021’s Outside child that raised her profile, receiving 3 Grammy nominations and winning several other awards. New album ‘The Returner’ expands her style of Folk into a a much broader scope, not Americana so much as ‘American’ music, as the album seems to touch on everything from Folk to R&B, rock, gospel, blues & funky pop/dance rhythms. A larger stylistic canvas gives a wider scope for her themes of blackness and triumph over adversity. Full of dense and rich lyrical stories that reveal new details with each listen.

Sam says: 4x Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and activist Allison Russell’s sophomore album ‘The Returner’ is an album of many facets. Stylistically fluid with a wide array of instruments, there is a lot to take in here, but the concise and catchy compositions brim with immediacy and are easy to get absorbed in. The recording features additions from the “Rainbow Coalition” band, a collective of all women musicians to great effect, their contributions adding much colour to the songs. Also well-regarded as a poet, Russell’s lyrics here are cathartic and captivating, perfectly complimenting the compelling and dynamic tone of the music. Overall, ‘The Returner’ is a powerful and grandiose effort.

The ones ahead / Glenn-Copeland, Beverly
Mark says: Rediscovered after decades of obscurity due to a Japanese collector’s request for copies of his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies, the transgender Black Canadian artist became the subject of a a documentary in 2019, [Ed. IMDB] and has gone on to a late career resurgence. New album ‘The ones ahead’ is his first album of original material in 20 years. His voice is beautiful, resonant and lush, but it’s his message that shines through; a future-facing vision of unity, connection & love.

Neil says: In 1986 Beverly Glenn-Copeland released ‘Keyboard Fantasies’, an album that on its re release was hailed as one of the best ambient electronica albums of its time. On first listen to ‘The ones ahead’ there isn’t much that link the two, but closer inspection shows the same aims of healing and restoration running throughout music. The album starts of with ‘Africa calling’ where the African musical influences are obvious, but all the subsequent tracks take on a much more personal and unique character. The album could very loosely be called ambient Avant Garde jazz, with folk touches. And, as that description amply demonstrates, it is rather unique. His voice can sound like Billie Holiday or even Frank Sinatra, or any point in-between, and throughout the album he uses his voice and the supporting musical settings to spread his message of, love, inclusion, acceptance and peace.

Continue reading “September’s New Music for Te Awe: Part 2” →