Friday, 31 March 2023

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Mar 23 Vol. II

AROOJ AFTAB, VIJAY IYER & SHAHZAD ISMAILY – Love In Exile
Aftab’s 2021 album was gorgeous, seamlessly blending her Pakistani heritage with jazz and earning her a Grammy. This year’s collab with jazzman Iver and top-shelf sessionman Ismaily takes things one step further with lots of improvisation, the three musicians constantly feeding off each other. (8)

BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD – Live At Bush Hall

In a bold move after losing lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Isaac Wood, they decided to go ahead (three other band members now sharing vocal duties) without playing any Wood-era songs, and they release a live album consisting of entirely new material written specifically so they have something to tour with. So, no worries about their future, they’ll keep making the List (#19 in 2022). (8)

BOYGENIUS – The Record

Destined to be Album Of The Year for Pitchfork and most other music magazines/sites years before it was even recorded, the debut album by this female singer/songwriter supergroup of sorts (Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers) is actually really good – catchy songs covering a lot of ground between Liz Phair and Simon & Garfunkel, and clever lyrics that are in places funny, sometimes sad, often touching, and mostly celebrating their own friendship. (8)

JAMES HOLDEN – Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities

I’m a rock guy so I have no idea if this one classifies as techno or trance or ambient or whatever, but it is a magnificent throwback to early 90’s electronica and open air raves. (8)

THE HOLD STEADY – The Price Of Progress

I admit I can’t be objective with The Hold Steady, they simply mean too much to me because they almost single-handedly kept rock music alive over the past couple of decades. (11)

IHSAHN – Fascination Street Sessions

Pretty good (as expected from Ihsahn) 3-song EP, the first song sounding like a slightly blackened Opeth, the second one like a NWOBHM Emperor, and the third one, a cover of a 20-year-old Swedish synthpop hit and featuring Jonas Renske, (unsurprisingly) like Katatonia. (8)

LANA DEL REY – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd

Containing several references to her undisputed masterpiece, “Normal Fucking Rockwell”, this is probably her second-best album and could’ve given “NFR” a run for its money if not for a couple of tracks too many. (8)

LANKUM – False Lankum

Irish folk band experiments like Radiohead and plays with an intensity more reminiscent of Godspeed You Black Emperor. A small masterpiece. (8)

LITURGY – 93696

As a band, Liturgy certainly could always be more accurately described as “important” than as “enjoyable”. This album, however, feels VERY important, and quite intriguing once you get past the unintelligible screaming, the only thing that remains from the band’s black metal roots. (8)

NICKEL CREEK – Celebrants

One of the bands responsible for making bluegrass a relevant genre again, Nickel Creek make a decent comeback album that doesn’t really add anything new to their hefty legacy. (7)

SAXON – More Inspirations

A follow-up to 2021’s covers album, this one features songs originally done by Animals, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Alice Cooper, ZZ Top, Who, Uriah Heep, Rainbow, Kiss, Nazareth, and Cream. Totally unnecessary but fun. (7)

SCREE – Jasmine On A Night In July

Like Ennio Morricone doing Space-Age Bachelor Pad music, this guitar-led experimental jazz trio has lots of fun here, and you will too. (8)

Saturday, 11 March 2023

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Mar 23


THE LOUDER STUFF

THE ABBEY – Word Of Sin

Great riffs and some solid songwriting on debut album from this psychedelic doom/occult rock band from Finland. (8)

ENSLAVED – Heimdal

Black metal, prog, space rock, anything goes and it’s once again great. (8)

PERIPHERY – Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre

Of course it’s not, I’ve been saying so for years. (7)

SIENA ROOT – Revelation

These Swedes were doing the vintage hard/blues/folk rock thing before it was fashionable and they just keep doing it now that it’s once again unfashionable, so respect to them. But that fucking hippy-ass sitar is really, really annoying. (7)

WITCH RIPPER – The Flight After The Fall

An absolutely fantastic slab of loud, epic, proggy, sludgy but melodic metal that adds a touch of Queen to its Baroness/Mastodon influences. (9)

ZULU – A New Tomorrow

Bundling these guys alongside Turnstile and Soul Glo as hardcore revisionists is a no-brainer, but the way they reach into the depths of Black music tradition to enhance their sound also brings to mind heroes of generations past like Fishbone and 24-7 Spyz. Zulu are far more extreme, of course. (8)


THE OTHER STUFF

SHANA CLEVELAND – Manzanita

Solo album by frontwoman of surf-rockers La Luz is an exquisite tapestry of rustic folk with orchestral pop elements that’s sometimes reminiscent of Jessica Pratt with a psychedelic edge. (8)

HACK-POETS GUILD – Blackletter Garland

English folk supergroup of sorts does 12 superb songs about life, death, and everything in between. (8)

LONNIE HOLLEY – Oh Me Oh My

Respected septuagenarian visual artist with a music side-gig releases fantastic album of dark and bluesy electronica, slightly Massive Attack-y, featuring high-profile guests like Michael Stipe, Sharon Van Etten, and Bon Iver. A revelation. (8)

THE LONG RYDERS – September November

In a perfect world Paisley Underground would still matter as a genre. (8)

REVEREND HORTON HEAT – Roots Of The Rev (Volume One)

The guy who wrote the best song of all time is back with a non-essential lo-fi album of rockabilly covers. (7)

SLEAFORD MODS – UK Grim

The compositions are a bit more aggressive than previous recent Sleaford Mods releases, even though Williamson no longer constantly sounds like he’s about to start a pub fight (he only sounds like that 80% of the time now). One of their better efforts. (8)

SLOWTHAI – Ugly

British rapper releases album influenced by 90’s alternative rock and opinions are split: Pitchfork hates it, everyone else loves it. (8)