Album Review: Gitkin –‘Golden Age’: Punchy world-funk and twang guitar in a rootsy, global beats bundle.
US Guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Gitkin (aka Brian J) is a player who’s long been connecting Duane Eddy’s original twang and a world of other styles from Peruvian Cumbia to Saharan rock, Delta blues to New Orleans funk. Whether as co-ordinator of the indie meets soul collective Pimps of Joytime or collaborator with both Cyril …
Album Review: Dora Morelenbaum – ‘Pique’: a dynamic new MPB voice which really delivers.
Anyone who caught Bala Desejo’s set-of-the-day at WOMAD UK in the summer would’ve already noted the dynamic Dora Morelenbaum flying in the front line of this exuberant nu-tropicalia band. A vocalist, instrumentalist and composer she’s been at the epicentre of the surge of MPB powering out from Rio in the last few years, not only …
Album Review: boycalledcrow –‘eyetrees’: More heartfelt hauntological pop from a singular sound artist.
There’s something reassuring about the music of sound artist boycalledcrow regularly sneaking through all the noise and getting some attention. It restores faith that singular, outsider work will always find its way to listeners who want something less defined, tinged with eccentricity and creative determination. It also suggests the lineage which extends from Syd Barrett …
Album Review : Plantfood –‘Carnivores’ : An energetic and explosive jazz fusion calling card.
Given that their name links back to their student beginnings during lockdown in a bedroom-come-practice space full of houseplants, Plantfood’s music is not what you’d describe as pastoral. This tight collective that formed in Leeds around 2020 seem intent to bust into the UK nu-jazz arena and beyond with their energetic fusion of punk jazz, …
Album Review: Eric Pan – ‘Travel Poems. Chapter 3. There is no path back.’: An inventive and intimate jazz journey.
It’s hard to pin down pianist and composer Eric Pan’s music, he is a troubadour and traveller both literally and creatively. Pulled towards jazz during his studies at the University of California, Santa Cuz, he’s been at the heart of New York’s vibrant grass roots scene for some time as well as building a strong …
Album Review: Godspeed You! Black Emperor – “No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead” : intense, probing and cathartic contemporary rock.
Let’s start with some facts. Godspeed You! Black Emperor are a seminal alt rock, orchestral collective formed 1994 in Montreal. People who write about contemporary music see their early noughties trilogy (F♯ A♯ ∞, Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven and Yanqui U.X.O.) as definitive long form, instrumental statements. If you are reading …
Album Review: Mörk – Still Dreamin’: shape-shifting soul-jazz energy from the Budapest band.
Okay so we know that as far as new scenes go Rio gets touted as the upcoming centre of 21st century tropicalia pop and Geneva continues to excel in pushing its very individual avant / post punk refresh. Well, it now seems that Budapest may be building up to having its own moment with its …
Album Review: Iván Muela –‘Ether’: a subtle and sublime merging of neo-classical and experimental music.
Writing a review of pianist/composer Iván Muela’s latest album ‘Ether’ feels almost like a redundant endeavour. Here is a recording likely to affect the listener differently each time they tune in, so any attempt to describe the music will only capture that one single encounter, the next time your emotions may shift. So perhaps the …
Album Review: Anna Erhard –‘Botanical Garden’: jibing, jiving joy to be found in this slacker pop gem.
There’s something actually refreshing about a singer/songwriter who describes their ‘creative process’ as “…something makes me frustrated, and then I turn it into a little passive-aggressive song…just obsessing about stuff that’s not that important, actually!” So said Berlin based, indie pop realist Anna Erhard when asked about how her latest album ‘Botanical Garden’ which is …
Track: Restless ambient artist Earthen Sea announces new album ‘Recollection’ with a luscious and loose double preview.
You may recall the name Jacob Long as a member of the seminal Dischord band Black Eyes, a group who defined post-hardcore’s in-built non-conformity. Such a starting point inevitably embedded unorthodoxy in his music making and his next excursion with the deep dub rhythmics of Mi Ami only underlined his disinclination to stand in line. …