For some years now, Friday has been the day of the week dedicated to record releases. What better way then to mentally prepare for the upcoming long-awaited weekend than to review the best albums released in the last few hours?
The records awaited for months are finally among us… enjoy listening
CAMERA OBSCURA – “Look to the East, Look to the West”
[Merge]
indie pop
This new full-length by the historic Scottish indie-pop band, the first in eleven years (the previous one, “Desire Lines“, was released in June 2013), was produced by Jari Haapalainenwith which i Camera Obscura they had collaborated several times in the past. A press release assures that the album sees the Glasgow group returning “to their origins”, without string or horn arrangements.
KAMASI WASHINGTON – “Fearless Movement”
[Young]
jazz
The new work of Kamasi Washington unlike the previous ones which dealt with cosmic ideas and existential concepts, it focuses on the everyday, on the exploration of life on Earth. This change in perspective is due in large part to the birth of Washington’s first child a few years ago. In the album we also find the daughter of Washingtonwho wrote the melody for “Asha The First” during some of his earliest piano experimentation, as well as a host of new and longtime collaborators. André 3000 appears on the flute, George Clinton lends his voice, as well as BJ The Chicago Kidthe rapper of Inglewood D-Smoke And Taj And Ras Austin Of Coast Contrathe twin sons of the West Coast legend Ras Kass. Washington also recruited friends and historical collaborators such as Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Patrice Quinn, Brandon Coleman, DJ Battlecat and others.
JESSICA PRATT – “Here in the Pitch”
[Mexican Summer]
songwriting
“Here In The Pitch”, the new album by the mysterious American singer-songwriter, had already bewitched us with her self-titled debut in 2012, the first after 5 years, it is inspired by the end of the hippie era in Los Angeles, born from the obsession of Pratt for the emblematic figures of the dark side of the Californian dream and follows the previous “Quiet Signs” (2019) by five years.
THE LEMON TWIGS – “A Dream Is All We Know”
[Captured Tracks]
alternative-rock, indie
With “A Dream Is All We Know” the brothers Michael And Brian D’addario (ages 24 and 26), on their fifth LP, explore upbeat, shimmering arrangements that live in an imaginary space they call Mersey Beach: the sonic bridge between Liverpool and Laurel Canyon. Leaving behind the nylon-string arrangements of “Everything Harmony,” “A Dream Is All We Know” revisits some of the styles the brothers first introduced on “Do Hollywood,” matching the theatricality of Lennon–McCartney to contemporary narratives, explosive electric guitar riffs, as well as the family’s sunny harmonies and ingenious recording techniques Wilson.
BROADCAST – “Spell Blanket – Collected Demos 2006 – 2009”
[Warp]
dream, alternatives
“Spell Blanket” collects songs and drafts recovered from the late artist’s vast archive Trish Keenan. The recordings laid the foundation for what was to be ‘s fifth album Broadcastoffering a window into the creative process of Trish And James during the post-“Tender Buttons” period from 2006 to 2009.
DUA LIPA – “Radical Optimism”
[Warner]
pop
Kevin Parker (Tame Impala), Danny L Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr., Caroline Ailin among the collaborators of a record that according to its author’s declarations is influenced by Massive Attack, Oasis, Primal Scream And Blur.
MDOU MOCTAR – “Funeral for Justice”
[Matador]
alternative-rock
Recorded after two years spent touring the world following the release of 2019’s “Afrique Victime,” the album presents the Nigerien quartet in a state of grace. The music is louder, faster and wilder, the guitar solos are set ablaze with feedback and the lyrics are passionately political. Nothing is held back or toned down. The songs on “Funeral For Justice” speak bluntly about the situation in Niger and the Tuareg people.
FRANK TURNER – “Undefeated”
[Xtra Mile Recordings]
folk-rock, songwriting
Finding the sweet spot between youthful frankness and surviving the challenges of midlife, “Undefeated” is a record that explores both emotionally compelling subject matter and lighter reflections on those issues that eventually present themselves to most of us: who you are compared to who you wanted to be in your youth, the life-changing love, the fading friendships, the melancholy nostalgia, the mental fallout and political consequences that still linger from the pandemic era and the more prosaic question of persistent back pain.
CESARE BASILE – “Saracena”
[Viceversa Records]
songwriting
Cesare Basile, one of the most important active Italian singer-songwriters, finally returns with a new studio album, exactly thirty years after his solo debut and five years after the previous “Cummeddia”. He does it with his darkest and most experimental album ever, a work that emerged as a single flow, to be enjoyed and possibly inhabited as if it were a single song, although divided into several parts, eight, corresponding to six sung pieces and two entirely instrumental. Guided precisely by the red thread of exodus, loss and nostalgia, Basile he knew he was writing only one text, so he did nothing but distribute it in various rooms.
THE SAILOR’S DREAM – “Third”
[Improved Sequence]
alternative-rock
The band formed by the ex-Minutemen Mike Watt, Stefano Pilia (former-Maximum Volume) And Paolo Mongardi (Zeus!, Fuzz Orchestra). The trio’s new work features the collaboration of Ramon Moro on the trumpet and Petra Haden on vocals and was mixed by thighpaulsandra (Coil, UUUU, Spiritualized).
KACY HILL – “Bug”
[Nettwerk]
songwriting, folk-pop
Singer-songwriter folk, ethereal dream-pop, flashes of Americana from Phoenix Kacy Hill on his fourth studio album.
CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON – “Cyan Blue”
[Stone Woman Music]
songwriting, r&b
Three years after the excellent debut “Alpha”, new album for the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Toronto.
CAMENS – “Work/Life/Balance”
[Regent Street Records]
indie pop
After many years of apprenticeship, an infinite number of concerts and many singles released, i Camens debut with their first full-length. The indie-pop band from Stoke-On-Trent writes on its social channels:
This album is the culmination of everything we’ve been through so far: years of hard work, years of concerts, years of learning, years of loving making music together. It goes without saying that we are very proud to have reached this point… We can’t wait to share our album with you! For bands that don’t have a lot of financial backing, it’s a feat to make an album in today’s music industry, let alone the charts… That’s the dream. So… if we want to do this, we need ALL OF YOU!
KELLY JONES – “Inevitable Incredible”
[Stylus Records / Ignition Records]
songwriting
Seventeen years after his solo debut, “Only The Names Have Been Changed”, Kelly Jones returns with a new LP. “Inevitable Incredible” marks a bold stylistic shift for Kelly Jones, long established as one of the UK’s most prolific, successful and loved singers and songwriters. His voice is instantly recognisable, but on this LP Kelly shows a tenderness and vulnerability that highlights a vocal breadth and depth that is sometimes overshadowed by the familiar rock anthems of Stereophonics. Cinematic, widescreen piano-driven soundscapes are something new and bold for Jones. It’s a song that shows a songwriter pushing himself outside of his comfort zone and with a vulnerability that isn’t often associated with a major artist a quarter of a century into a hugely successful and storied career.
LIGHTNING BUG – “No Paradise”
[autoprodotto]
indie rock
It’s been almost three years since the release of their excellent third LP, “A Color Of The Sky“, and now i Lightning Bug release the new “No Paradise”. The singer and songwriter Audrey Kang he wrote the twelve songs that make up the album after a 4,000-mile motorcycle trip from Mexico to New York.
HANA VU – “Romanticism”
[Ghostly]
indie pop rock
Second studio album tinged with strong references to Soccer Mommy, Torres And Japanese Breakfast for the Los Angeles singer-songwriter born in 2000.
BLUSHING – “Sugarcoat”
[Kanine]
alternative-rock
The third album by Blushing sees the participation of Jeff Schroeder (former-Smashing Pumpkins). Influenced by different groups like Elastic, Curves, Veruca Salt, Lush, The Breeders And Smashing Pumpkinsthe press notes tell us that the band evokes the best elements of alternative rock from the past, while also incorporating more modern elements.
IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE – “Pull the Rope”
[Merge]
afrobeat, funk
“Pull the Rope”, the new album by Ibibio Sound Machinecasts training led by Eno Williams And Max Grunhard. Hope, joy and sensuality remain central elements of their music, but the sounds now seem to shift from the sunny, joy-filled places of a sunlit festival to the sweaty, dark dance floor of a late-night disco. The atmosphere has changed, but you’re still having a blast.
KEE AVIL – “Thorns”
[Constellation]
art rock, alternative, experimental, post-punk, electronic
“Spine” is the second work born from the mind of the singer, guitarist and producer from Montreal Vicky Mettler known musically as Kee Avil. The album comes out on Constellation, an authentic institution when it comes to the Canadian experimental rock scene.
CHANTAL ACDA & THE ATLANTIC DRIFTERS – “Silently Held”
[Challenge Records]
songwriting, jazz
“Silently Held” is a dance between Bill Frisell (USA), Thomas Morgan (USA), Shahzad Ismaily (USA), Colin Stetson (USA-CA) e Chantal Acda (BE). In the quiet embrace of music, Chantal reveals a raw and authentic portrait of vulnerability, where every flaw and feeling is kept hidden.
MAMMOTH PENGUINS – “Here”
[Fika]
indie pop
Fourth album for the power pop trio led by Emma Kupa Excellent voice and bassist Standard Fare of Sheffield. Pop reminiscences of the Bethsindie dissonances to Land of Talk and guitar-driven weird rock Weezeri Mammoth Penguins they establish themselves as our new indie-pop myths… after all they are released on Fika Recordings with absolute certainty of these sounds.
JAWNINO – “40”
[True Panther]
hip hop
The London rapper’s debut album is between jungle rhythms and grime grooves.
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