New Music for August - Part 1
We check out some new music added to our catalogue.
Mark says: Debut album from this Brighton 5 piece, essentially the core duo of Georgie Fuller and William Turner backed by their touring band. Pure retro-rock, it delivers up a slice of raw 60's/70's psych-pop & rock n roll. Their sound is like you crossed US California pop like the Mamas & Papas or the Byrds, with the British invasion sound of the Kinks, psychedelic era Beatles, ending up with something along the lines of a rougher Buckingham Nicks. Like the Lemon Twigs it can perhaps sound like a little too much of a throwback at times, but there is a genuine warmth and a rollicking energy to the album as a whole.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Death Hilarious
Sam says: With five albums under their belt all released since 2017, British stoner/sludge-metal titans Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs have proven themselves to be one of the more prolific heavy bands in recent years. Their latest album Death Hilarious sees them embrace a more ferocious and energetic approach than ever before, with guitarist Sam Grant playfully noting ‘We wanted it to be a slap in the face’. Death Hilarious also sees the band pushing their sound in new ways, including experimental forays into synth and even a guest vocal performance from rapper El-P of Run the Jewels fame. At its heart, there is a sense of playfulness and humorous absurdity to the music on Death Hilarious, making for a uniquely fun and invigorating listen.
Jon Savage's Space: light years from home
Neil says: Jon Savage’s 'Space: light years from home' is a compelling compilation of music exploring the theme of space. The tracks included range widely in genres and styles, from Jazz, ambient and techno to west coast rock and space rock. And whilst, unsurprisingly, there is a predominance of tracks from the late sixties and seventies, other decades do feature. Jon Savage is best known as a music historian, so he brings his vast knowledge to bare on the selection of tracks for this release. Some tracks will be familiar to many listeners whilst others are much rarer cuts, however, all of them are artists who have been inspired by the wonder and vastness of space in some way or another.
Les Amazones d'Afrique - Musow danse
Mark says: Les Amazones d'Afrique are an all-female collective formed in Bamako, Mali, in 2014 by three well known Malian music stars and social change activists. This is their 3rd album, produced by Jacknife Lee, who previously worked with Mali singer Rokia Koné on the album Bamanan. This also fuses electronic beats with traditional pan-African rhythms and harmonising, but Les Amazones d'Afrique also utilise multiple African languages across individual tracks, adding to the encompassing nature of their artistic statement. Heavy, synthy grooves mix with lyrical content, focusing on womanhood, oppression and freedom.
Sam says: Best known as the producer and keyboardist of the seminal electronic pop group Goldfrapp, Will Gregory has also enjoyed an eclectic musical career, his emergence in recent years as a composer of operas and chamber ensembles notwithstanding. Heat Ray: The Archimedes Project stands as the first release of The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble, and is inspired by the work of Archimedes, the Greek mathematician who lived and worked in the third century BC. The ensemble is made up of over a dozen members performing on analogue synthesisers alongside The BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The music is excellently composed and arranged, with the marriage of orchestral and electronic elements feeling completely natural. Overall, a captivating listen that traverses musical boundaries in compelling ways.
Lookaftering (Deluxe) - Vashti Bunyan
Neil says: The very welcome re-release of Vashti Bunyan’s 2005 album with extras including alternate takes, demos and a live performance version. Vashti Bunyan’s 1970 debut album Just Another Diamond Day languished in obscurity as an undiscovered masterpiece of singer song- writing for decades until it was eventually rediscovered and re-evaluated as an out and out classic. After its rediscovery and thirty-five years later, she released 'Lookaftering', its follow up. 'Lookaftering' retains her pristine crystal-clear delicate vocals, as well as her intimate and reflective approach to lyrics. Again, she surrounds herself with some notable collaborators, the most prominent of which is the classical composer Max Richter who supplies some gorgeous orchestration that perfectly suits the songs. The album has a timeless quality both to the music and the song-writing, creating a magical musical meditation on love, loss and life.
Glutton for punishment - Heartworms
Mark says: The solo project of UK musician Josephine "Jojo" Orme, this acclaimed debut album is a slab of catchy post-punk & gothy new-wave synth pop produced by Dan Carey. Raw, idiosyncratic lyrics meet spoken word archness and trip-hop beats. At only 9 tracks, it clocks in at a tight 37 minutes, the lack of filler another example of a tight sense of purpose and statement rare for a debut artist. Sure to make some end of the year lists.
Sam says: Hailing from London, Caroline have been making waves with their fearlessly eclectic approach to post-rock since their inception in 2017. As the title suggests, Caroline 2 stands as their sophomore full-length effort and shows the eight-piece band expand their already broad sonic palette in bold new directions. There is a striking sense of dynamic contrast at play across the album’s eight tracks, with rough-edged acoustic instrumentation and refined electronic elements coalescing to create a unique and compelling set of soundscapes. The compositions are loose and experimental, making for a listening experience that is equally unpredictable and engaging. With strong nods to Midwest emo and folk music, Caroline 2 is both sentimental and forward-thinking in its approach. Overall, a great leap forward for a promising young band.
Neil says: So usually in these reviews we do a brief summary biography of the artist. With Brian Eno this is close to impossible due to his musical accomplishments, just a few of which include being a founding member of Roxy music, a modern pioneer of ambient music, producer collaborator extraordinaire with the likes of David Bowie, U2, the Talking Heads and many more. However, in essence Brian Eno is a renaissance artist whose interests expand well beyond music into many fields of the arts, sciences as well as philosophical and political thought. 'Lateral' and Luminal, its companion album both jointly released on June 6th, are collaboration albums with fellow sonic explorer Beatie Wolfe and both albums have several big conceptual ideas behind their creation. 'Lateral' sounds very like some of Eno’s classic ambient works, with slowly evolving minimalist atmospheres and a tranquil stillness to it. The album feels like two creatives in search for a shared beautiful space, perhaps one tantalisingly out of reach, and in the search they have created a dreamy, beautiful, place of sonic refuge. If you are a fan of Eno albums like Music for Airports or On land these two releases, come very highly recommended.
Mark says: Katie Gavin is the lead singer of LA based synthy power-pop band MUNA. Her solo debut dials down the big choruses of her pop band for a more intimate style of song-writing, with explorations of desire, expectations, and relationship dynamics from a queer perspective. Stylistically a lot of this mines the bluegrassy 90s country-pop sound of bands like The Dixie Chicks, or that 'Lilith Fair' sound, crossed with some more 'modern' production touches. Intimate & warm songs showcase a more personal side to her writing, and bodes for a distinct music career outside of band projects. Mitski guests on standout track 'As Good As It Gets'.
Sam says: Chicago rockers Lifeguard burst onto the scene with a series of rapidly released EPs over the past half-decade. Having recently signed with the legendary Matador records, Ripped and Torn stands as their first major release. With an eclectic and energetic lo-fi sound that embraces post-hardcore, art-rock, noise-rock and numerous other indie sensibilities, Lifeguard present an approach that is raw, experimental and bursting with visceral energy. Jagged, noisy guitar lines combine with distant yet melodically potent vocals and a thunderous rhythm section, with subtle dub flourishes creating a strong and satisfying sense of contrast. With twelve tracks spanning just thirty minutes, Ripped and Torn is an immediate and compelling listen that hits with full force.
Nation shall speak unto nation - Edwyn Collins
Neil says: This is the tenth solo album from the Scottish singer songwriter Edwyn Collins, and in it he drops several hints that it may well be his last album. The singer’s life changing strokes suffered in 2005 forced him to approach music in a very different way, and since that time he has released five albums. 'Nation shall speak unto nation' is about homecoming in the many senses of the word. It is also about love, belonging and the cycle of life, and is a compelling, compassionate, mellow, engaging and reflective listening experience. This is a tender, charming and overall heartfelt release, where strong melodies and carefully crafted songs prevail. Let’s hope those hints at this being his last release are wrong.