This week's new listens for me:
Gojira - not my usual thing but, as out and out rock/metal albums go, this is pretty good.
Crumb - synthy indiepop. Perfectly pleasant but hardly essential listening.
Joseph Shabason - ambient, jazz instrumentals themed around the holocaust. It's a worthwhile listen. He's played sax with Destroyer and The War On Drugs, amongst others.
The Coral - their usual thing of 60s psych pop. Some really good songs on the album. There's some sort of narrative going on (related to Coral Island), hence some tracks are spoken word, with the aim being to give the album an Ogden's Nut Gone Flake vibe.
Luke Haines - a pretty standard Haines album so witty, caustic, at times very poppy. Unlike some of his previous releases, I'm not sure there's an underlying theme. Still, good.
Girl In Red - she's some sort of Norwegian internet sensation, it would seem. Anyway, an album of pretty good punky/grungey indie rock which is lyrically themed around gender indentity, sexuality and mental health. An enjoyable listen.
Matt Sweeney & Bonnie Prince Billy - their first full length collaboration 15 years. It's BPB, only a bit more rock, due to Sweeney's guitar. There's a track with Mdou Moctar guesting, which is quite superb.
Julia Stone - away from her brother, she's ditched, to some degree, the indie rock stuff. It sounds, not dissimilar to the last couple of Taylor Swift albums in some ways, although Julia Stone has a more affected voice (her voice is a bit Paloma Faith). First track sounds a little like Tune-Yards. It's okay.
Dean McPhee - guitar soundscapes. One of the tracks was on Uncut's excellent Ambient Americana cover CD a month or two back. Really good!
Teenage Fanclub - It's a pretty good Teenage Fanclub album. The opening track, Home, develops into one of their best songs. Euros Childs' keyboards add a new dimension to some songs. All in all, I like it.
GHLOW - energetic rock froma Swedish/Russian duo. Reminds me a bit of Curve (one for the older readers) but more rock. Pretty good.
Marianne Faithfull with Warren Ellis - it's a spoken word thing with Faithfull reciting classic poetry (Ode to a Nightingale, Ozymandias, The Lady of Shallot) over Ellis' music. She has an excellent soeaking voice and the music is lovely.
Innov Gnawa - I like this. It's based heavily around Morocco's traditional gnawa music, although the band are based in New York. Essentially, it's Sufi devotional chanting over almost jazz like backing. Maybe gets a little repetitive over the full hour but an interesting listen.
Adrian Crowley - very good. He's generally classified as folk but there's a distinct echo of Bill Callahan here. There are a few nautically themed songs (lyrically rather than musically).
Leon Vynehall - a really good mix of electronica, both dancefloor and non-dancefloor based, which remains compelling over its length. A little Four Tet at times but then there are vocals and it's a bit more soulful.
Ya Tseen - quite guest heavy (Shabazz Palaces and Portugal, The Man are on it). This is an intriguing mix of psychedelia, electronica and pop. Sounds a bit latter day Bon Iver at times.
Guided By Voices - the usual thing from GBV. Excellent songs that are too short, long tracks that seem to be two or three songs stitched together, albeit the lyrics indicate one song etc. As latter day GBV albums go, this seems like a good one TBH.
Manchester Orchestra - their sixth album so they've got their sound properly worked out. Grandiose indie rock that's a bit Mercury Rev-ish. I like it.
Album of the week: for me, it's a week that's high on volume but also high on things that are pretty good without being outstanding. The two albums that have stood out above the crowd for me are from Matt Sweeney & Bonnie Prince Billy and Adrian Crowley, both of which are highly recommended. Beyond that, Dean McPhee, Leon Vynehall and Gojira have released good albums (the latter two probably not obviously things I'd listen to).
Gojira - not my usual thing but, as out and out rock/metal albums go, this is pretty good.
Crumb - synthy indiepop. Perfectly pleasant but hardly essential listening.
Joseph Shabason - ambient, jazz instrumentals themed around the holocaust. It's a worthwhile listen. He's played sax with Destroyer and The War On Drugs, amongst others.
The Coral - their usual thing of 60s psych pop. Some really good songs on the album. There's some sort of narrative going on (related to Coral Island), hence some tracks are spoken word, with the aim being to give the album an Ogden's Nut Gone Flake vibe.
Luke Haines - a pretty standard Haines album so witty, caustic, at times very poppy. Unlike some of his previous releases, I'm not sure there's an underlying theme. Still, good.
Girl In Red - she's some sort of Norwegian internet sensation, it would seem. Anyway, an album of pretty good punky/grungey indie rock which is lyrically themed around gender indentity, sexuality and mental health. An enjoyable listen.
Matt Sweeney & Bonnie Prince Billy - their first full length collaboration 15 years. It's BPB, only a bit more rock, due to Sweeney's guitar. There's a track with Mdou Moctar guesting, which is quite superb.
Julia Stone - away from her brother, she's ditched, to some degree, the indie rock stuff. It sounds, not dissimilar to the last couple of Taylor Swift albums in some ways, although Julia Stone has a more affected voice (her voice is a bit Paloma Faith). First track sounds a little like Tune-Yards. It's okay.
Dean McPhee - guitar soundscapes. One of the tracks was on Uncut's excellent Ambient Americana cover CD a month or two back. Really good!
Teenage Fanclub - It's a pretty good Teenage Fanclub album. The opening track, Home, develops into one of their best songs. Euros Childs' keyboards add a new dimension to some songs. All in all, I like it.
GHLOW - energetic rock froma Swedish/Russian duo. Reminds me a bit of Curve (one for the older readers) but more rock. Pretty good.
Marianne Faithfull with Warren Ellis - it's a spoken word thing with Faithfull reciting classic poetry (Ode to a Nightingale, Ozymandias, The Lady of Shallot) over Ellis' music. She has an excellent soeaking voice and the music is lovely.
Innov Gnawa - I like this. It's based heavily around Morocco's traditional gnawa music, although the band are based in New York. Essentially, it's Sufi devotional chanting over almost jazz like backing. Maybe gets a little repetitive over the full hour but an interesting listen.
Adrian Crowley - very good. He's generally classified as folk but there's a distinct echo of Bill Callahan here. There are a few nautically themed songs (lyrically rather than musically).
Leon Vynehall - a really good mix of electronica, both dancefloor and non-dancefloor based, which remains compelling over its length. A little Four Tet at times but then there are vocals and it's a bit more soulful.
Ya Tseen - quite guest heavy (Shabazz Palaces and Portugal, The Man are on it). This is an intriguing mix of psychedelia, electronica and pop. Sounds a bit latter day Bon Iver at times.
Guided By Voices - the usual thing from GBV. Excellent songs that are too short, long tracks that seem to be two or three songs stitched together, albeit the lyrics indicate one song etc. As latter day GBV albums go, this seems like a good one TBH.
Manchester Orchestra - their sixth album so they've got their sound properly worked out. Grandiose indie rock that's a bit Mercury Rev-ish. I like it.
Album of the week: for me, it's a week that's high on volume but also high on things that are pretty good without being outstanding. The two albums that have stood out above the crowd for me are from Matt Sweeney & Bonnie Prince Billy and Adrian Crowley, both of which are highly recommended. Beyond that, Dean McPhee, Leon Vynehall and Gojira have released good albums (the latter two probably not obviously things I'd listen to).