ANOHNI AND THE JOHNSONS – My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross
Antony or Anohni, I still find her voice an acquired taste that doesn’t really work for me. (7)
JULIE BYRNE – The Greater Wings
Like Phoebe Bridgers without all the high-profile guest slots on other people’s albums. (8)
DIVIDE AND DISSOLVE – Systemic
Australia-based (mainly) instrumental doom metal duo featuring one member who’s black/Cherokee and one who’s Maori, and the cultural background informs their work to some extent – but mostly you’ll get crushing sludge/doom in the SunnO))) vein. (7)
MILITARIE GUN – Life Under The Gun
Back in the 90’s bands like Quicksand and Jawbox split the distance between hardcore and alternative rock, and Militarie Gun seem determined to revisit that era and mindset. (8)
PJ HARVEY – I Inside The Old Year Dying
While Polly Harvey’s stubborn insistence on sounding as unlike PJ Harvey as possible is an admirable demonstration of her uncompromising creative spirit, the most PJ Harvey moments of the album (e.g. “Seem An I”) are actually the best. Not one of her masterpieces, still better than 99% of what gets released out there. (8)
SETH LAKEMAN – The Somerset Sessions
British folk-rock star on a great album recorded over 10 days in late 2020, including some unreleased compositions plus alternate versions of 4 songs from 2021’s “Make Your Mark”. (8)
LUKAS NELSON & PROMISE OF THE REAL – Sticks And Stones
Willie’s son & Co. on a decent set of mostly good-time country rock tunes about drinking, fornicating, and drinking before fornicating. (7)
MARC RIBOT’S CERAMIC DOG – Connection
Former Lounge Lizard and all-around genius guitarist (with Tom Waits, John Zorn, Robert Plant, Elvis Costello and about a thousand others) and his band create an explosive amalgam of no wave, free jazz, hard rock, Cuban music and everything in between. (8)
SLEEP TOKEN – Take Me Back To Eden
I should’ve known better than to finally give in to the hype and listen to this, because it’s as bad as I feared it was going to be – like a djent version of fucking Imagine Dragons or something. Death to false metal. (5)
LUCINDA WILLIAMS – Stories From A Rock’N’Roll Heart
With the best bar band in the universe behind her (including members of Tom Petty’s and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s bands) and guests like Tommy Stinson, Patti Scialfa, and The Boss himself, Williams and her pure rock ‘n’ roll heart make a very strong comeback. (8)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Young Limbs Rise Again: The Story Of The Batcave Nightclub, 1982-85
Finally got my hands on this fantastic box set – 5 CDs that act as a soundtrack history of the historic London goth club. Everyone’s on it, plus an 80-page book. (10)
