Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Mar 24

THE LOUDER STUFF

BRUCE DICKINSON – The Mandrake Project
If I would describe this album with one word Ι’d call it “safe”, despite Dickinson usually being the risk-taker in the Iron Maiden universe. (7)

BEN FROST – Scope Neglect
Avant-garde electronica musician goes metal, sort of – this is an attempt to deconstruct/reconstruct metal by building cinematic soundscapes around djenty guitars. If you think you could get through 40 minutes of Autechre remixing Meshuggah riffs without getting a headache, then go ahead. (6)

MANNEQUIN PUSSY – I Got Heaven
First half of the record is slightly grungy 90’s-flavored indie rock, sometimes reminiscent of Hole. Second half of the record they go hardcore. The whole thing, despite it being a break-up record, is pure joy. (8)

MEGA COLOSSUS – Showdown
Heavy metal the way it’s meant to be, old-school like back in 1981 when everyone from Iron Maiden/Riot/Exciter to Y&T/Styx/Boston was labeled “metal”, no subgenre bullshit. These guys are obviously having a blast and so will you. (8)

MINISTRY – Hopiumforthemasses
If they had broken up in 1997 you wouldn’t have missed anything important and that’s the case with this album as well – the kind of competent but formulaic industrial metal record we’ve come to expect from Al Jourgensen, full of samples and raging against the machine. The main thrills are provided by guest vocalists like Jello Biafra and Eugene Hutz. (7)

NORTH SEA ECHOES – Really Good Terrible Things
Matheos & Alder go ambient. It’s supposed to be something entirely different from Fates Warning but really, if you speed the songs up just a bit and add a metal rhythm section and a distortion pedal, these are Fates Warning songs. That’s a good thing, of course. (8)

PISSED JEANS – Half Divorced
This sounds just like something released on Amphetamine Reptile Records ca. 1990 by Jesus Lizard, Surgery, Cows or some shit, excellent. (8)

SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM – Of The Last Human Being
Wow, never thought I’d hear from these guys again but this album sounds like they never went away, an uber-weird prog metal cabaret amalgam of King Crimson, Mr. Bungle, Primus, and Kurt Weill. (8)


THE OTHER STUFF

THE BEVIS FROND – Focus On Nature
Nick Saloman has described his band better than any music critic ever will: “A Hendrix/Wipers/Byrds sound but with a distinctly British feel”. This is probably the best album from a 70-year-old guitar hero you’ll get this year. (8)

AZIZA BRAHIM – Mawja
West Saharan singer and activist’s fifth album is a triumph that will make the WOMAD crowd delirious with joy. (8)

FIRE! – Testament
This is jazz for people who prefer rock to jazz, and they’ve got Steve Albini on the console to prove it. (8)

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF – The Past Is Still Alive
This is a HUGE step forward for Alynda Segarra, where they finally nail it with a killer collection of songs that will most likely sit on top of the heap of 2024’s best Americana albums. (9)

CORB LUND – El Viejo
Canadian country guy makes good use of his formal jazz training by incorporating the occasional Django-like gypsy jazz/swing element into his humorous tales of cowboys, outlaws, and gamblers. Good fun! (8)

NADINE SHAH – Filthy Underneath
Everyone knows the “tortured artist” cliché, but in Shah’s case losing her mother, getting a divorce, attempting suicide, and entering rehab since her previous album has actually led to the creation of a masterpiece, a brave album that will appeal to fans of PJ Harvey and Depeche Mode alike. (9)

SHEER MAG – Playing Favorites
Can something be indie rock and arena rock at the same time? Sheer Mag seem to pull it off by finding the right balance between Thin Lizzy riffs, Big Star jangle, and Minor Threat ethos. (8)  

SHEHERAZAAD – Qasr EP
Stunning debut for this young artist, with influences ranging from Indian-classical to flamenco and jazz. “Produced by Arooj Aftab” should’ve been a dead giveaway. (8)

YARD ACT – Where’s My Utopia
On the first album they were compared to The Fall, second time around they go beyond the “post-punk” label and sound like a hook-filled combination of Arctic Monkeys and Gang of Four. (8)