The best new albums of the month, May 2014

First of all let me say that I dropped the ball a bit when looking back at April, as I heard the Broken Twin and Ought albums too late to include them, but I've listened to both of them a lot since and can definitely recommend them.
May was relatively easy to compile as there were some clear stand-outs over the month. Enjoy the ten...

The Delines 'Colfax'
Essentially this is another side to Richmond Fontaine and fans of that outfit - or indeed fans of Willy Vlautin's fiction - will not be disappointed. The Delines places female vocalist Amy Boone at the heart of the action as the band create a lush country-soul crossover. As always, Vlautin's lyrics tell a beautifully sad story.

Bo Ningen 'III'
my review (the 405)

"seven years and three full length albums on from their early noise-based jams they have refined and re-energized their unique approach to noise-rock with III. It's not punk, acid-rock, shoegaze or metal, instead it's a stranger hybrid of all of these and more. Now that "psych" has come to define garage bands reinventing the music of the past, they don't sit well with that tag either. Bo Ningen are about as futuristic a rock band as you could imagine."

Swans 'To Be Kind'

Nearly two years ago this Swans line-up made a fantastic two hour long album called 'The Seer', which was probably one of the best records made under that name, and Michael Gira even claimed it was the summation of his life's work (I'm paraphrasing, but you know what I mean). Unbelievably, they've done it again - another two hours of revelatory, boundary stretching rock music. Created mostly whilst on tour, these tunes sound more like finely honed jams than anything else. Thirteen albums down the line, they are still a huge creative force.

Bastard Mountain 'Farewell, Bastard Mountain'

Is Bastard Mountain a supergroup or a collaboration? Combining the talents of some of Meursault including vocalist Neil Pennycook, Rob St John and Sparrow and the Workshop, amongst others, they have created a beautiful album that equals much of the recorded output of the separate strands of each act. Three songs from each artist were brought to the sessions and then reworked into a lovely, haunted kind of folk music.

Sharon Van Etten 'Are We There'

This crept up on me in much the same way 'Tramp' did, with the really special moments emerging over repeated listens. Thematically it is similar as well, with her lyrics still firmly focused on the minutiae of relationships. The arrangements, and overall feel, is somehow a bit smoother, as if her earlier folk-rock and indie-rock leanings had had a little polish to make them even more accessible. That's not intended as a negative comment, just an observation, and this has been on constant rotation all month.

La Sera 'Hour of the Dawn'
The return of Katy Goodman, once of the Vivian Girls, with her side project that has now become her main musical outlet. In fact this is the third release under the La Sera name. Summery indie-rock, with a carefully concealed edge.

Oliver Wilde 'Red Tide Opal In the Loose End Womb'

Some confusion over this guy's name - is it Oliver or Olivier? He appears on Spotify as both! Anyway this is an odd but hugely interesting album, and one which I think is in the tradition of English experimental rock music, by which I mean that it manages to sound like Bark Psychosis, Radiohead and Robert Wyatt, often in the course of a single song.

Amen Dunes 'Love'

Essentially a solo project from Damien McMahon, 'Love' is the third and most cohesive release as Amen Dunes. Hints of Syd Barrett, psych-folk and Kurt Vile abound, and the album reveals more layers with each play.

Wussy 'Attica'
It's great to see that Wussy saved up some gems for what is their fifth album but is also essentially their UK debut - all their other earlier albums had been released in the USA only. In particular 'Teenage Wasteland' and 'Halloween' are such great songs that 'Attica' would have got into this list even if the rest of it was poor. Which it isn't of course, and the contrast between the styles of Chuck Cleaver (once of Ass Ponys) and Lisa Walker make for a fascinating listen. Well crafted indie-rock songs - and tasteful pedal steel in places - make 'Attica' so consistently strong that I think it may be an even better intro to the band than the 'Buckeye' compliation from a couple of years ago.

Ben Frost 'Aurora'

Ranging from ice cold electronic noise to barely audible ambient pieces, Ben Frost can claim to have released one of the most arresting albums of the year so far. As well as the synths, 'Aurora' relies heavily (no pun intended!) on the percussive talents of Greg Fox (Guardian Alien, ex-Liturgy) and Thor Harris (swans and many others). Written on a laptop in the Democratic Rep of Congo, mixed in Reykjavik, and one Tim Hecker is credited with "sound design".

new Sharon Van Etten track, 'Esao Andrews'

Well, this came as a bit of a surprise. ESOPUS, the semiannual arts publication based in New York City, always comes with a themed CD. For their 14th edition they asked musicians to create a song inspired by an artist of their choice. Sharon Van Etten came up with piece named after her chosen artist (and friend) Esao Andrews. It's an intriguing song which builds from a quiet opening into something rather woozy and psychedelic, which I guess befits Andrews' art; the piece shown above (Polished Powdered) is indicative of his gothic, surrealist style.

You can find a lot more of Esao's work at his website, whilst Sharon is still at sharonvanetten.com. Have a listen to the track below.

Best albums of 2012: a top 25 list

I spent this year buried amongst music, I heard 220 albums and could not find a pure 10/10 amongst them, although I still think it was a strong year. The problem is that there were a lot of quality releases and I rated a lot of them 7/10, and any big list would end up being a multiple way tie for 26th place or something. If you want to know more about albums that I have rated throughout 2012, you should explore the posts tagged Albums of the Month. Anyway, although I am fairly clear about my top 5, it has been a very tough process to limit this to a top 25, a lot of good ones have slipped off the page, but here is my final list. I think most of these won't come as a surprise to regular readers.

1. Chromatics 'Kill For Love'

The album that defined 2012 for me. It emerged in March as a delicately sequenced 91-minute file on soundcloud and has stayed with me throughout. It manages to sound cinematic and epic whilst retaining the thrill of well crafted synth-pop songs. The more I explored this, the more I heard. Each piece is like a small-scale movie in itself, evocative and vivid.

2. Sharon Van Etten 'Tramp'

my review (slowthrills.com)
I think that this was perhaps the first album I heard this year and it has also stayed with me all year. Some of the lyrics are extraordinary in the way they focus on the minutae of relationships.
"There is an old adage about albums "growing on you" or "warranting repeated listens". In my experience this is very true of Tramp. Brutally honest and self-analytical, it sounds best when you are on your own late at night. I'm reminded of that old discussion about “who sings better in the dark?” The answer, at the moment, is Sharon van Etten."

3. Swans 'The Seer'

my review (the 405)
"The Seer is a superlative album which ranks with the very best work released under Swans name. With its excessive length it effectively gives two fingers to the commercial music industry. It is simply too much to take in a few sittings, but it is so rich and varied that every new listen reveals more. Thirty years on and Swans are growing, developing and building on their rich legacy."

4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!'

"The overdose of exclamation marks in the title is at odds with the
low key nature of the release, when you consider that their first new
recording for a decade was announced by slipping it onto
the merch table at the first show of their current tour. Maybe they
felt that because the core of the music had been previously heard by
anyone who saw them on their reunion tour and earlier,as the two main
tracks were widely circulated by audience tapers under the titles
'Albanian' and 'Gamelan'.That shouldn't matter,as this is one of the
best things they have ever released, and I cannot stop listening to
it."

5 Sun Kil Moon 'Amongst the Leaves'

my review (slowthrills.com)
"The collection is laced with regret, sadness and quite a bit of humour....
Even way back with Red House Painters, Kozelek has a skill for dropping in little scenes that made perfect sense to the song. Here, that would-be artist or poet is sleeping alone with her laptop beside her, and he admits using up all his minutes in pursuit of the woman in 'Greatest Night'. The little details are set against something which could be life-changing."



6. Lower Dens 'Nootropics' (my review)
7. Woodpecker Wooliams 'The Bird School of Being Human'
8. Dirty Projectors 'Swing Lo Magellan'
9. Meursault 'Something for the Weakened' my review
10. Lost in the Trees 'A Church That Fits Our Needs'
11. Mountain Goats 'Transcendental Youth'
12. Human Don't Be Angry 'Human Don't be Angry' my review
13. RM Hubbert 'Thirteen Lost and Found'
14. Gravenhurst 'The Ghost in Daylight'
15, Julia Holter 'Extasis'
16. Piano Magic 'Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet'
17. Woods 'Bend Beyond' my review
18. Japandroids 'Celebration Rock'
19. Andy Stott 'Luxury Problems'
20. Grizzly Bear 'Shields'
21. Angel Olsen 'Half Way Home'
22. Dead Mellotron 'Glitter'
23. Liars 'WIXIW'
24. Goat 'World Music'
25. James Yorkston 'I Was a Cat from a Book'

For the benefit of the extra-inquisitive people, here is a picture of all the albums I considered for the final chart.

live review: Sharon Van Etten, London Scala, 16th May 2012

Due to the remarkable reaction to her third album 'Tramp', Sharon Van Etten finds herself back in London again. A mere two months after she sold out Cargo,she has graduated to selling out the Scala, and it's no surprise that on her next visit she will probably fill Shepherd's Bush Empire.

I'm not alone in thinking that 'Tramp' is one of the records of the year so far, and I would've forgiven her for just running through it tonight. She begins with faithful versions of 'All I Can' and 'Warsaw', which suggest that might be the case, but she is quick to revisit her earlier albums as well.
She seems shy and a little bit over-awed by the size of the crowd tonight, and she copes with her nerves by rambling quite a lot between songs. This is actually way more endearing than you might think. After 'Peace Signs' she makes jokes about the title sounding like “pissing” or “pizza”, and this seems to ease the on-stage nerves, as they launch into 'Save Yourself' which is more smooth country-rock than the edgy drones that dominate 'Tramp'

'Kevin's' is the first really amazing moment – such a bleakly beautiful song and her voice is as clear as a bell. This leads into some clever looping of her voice with her backing vocalist and on-stage sparring partner Heather Woods Broderick before they go into 'Don't Do It'.
It seems even sceptics in the audience are won over by this stage and some banter with the crowd reveals that Sharon is a big fan of 'the Office' and “Dawn Tinsley, receptionist!”
This lightens the mood before an intense 'Give Out', which for me is one of the most songs about a relationship I've heard in a long time. (I went on about it here, if you are interested!)

The droning beginning of 'Ask' turns into another great vocal performance, and then the band leave her alone as she plays 'Tornado' from her debut album with just her and her guitar.
More audience interaction leads to an unrequited request for 'My Sharona' and a false start for 'Leonard' which makes us all laugh. Again, that is a marked contrast to the song, which is another one of her extraordinary moments, Sharon and Heather's voices entwine beautifully on that brave refrain, “ I am bad at loving you.” To find that sentiment in a song still floors me, even after several months of hearing it.

'Serpents' is the big rocky tune and very much a crowd pleaser, and she reveals that she wrote it “in a basement after listening to too much PJ Harvey".
'I'm Wrong' and 'Joke or a Lie' end the set in unconventional fashion, heavily based on ambient drone, and the latter in particular is perhaps the most impressive sound the band make all night.

Of course they do return for an encore. They play 'One Day', another country-rocker,and I find myself thinking how good this would sound with J Mascis noodling along with it – surely a possibility given J's admiration for Sharon's songs. On the subject of admirers, she finishes the night with the beautiful 'Love More', which I believe Bon Iver have been known to cover.
Sharon van Etten won a few people over tonight. She can come back and play in London town any time she likes.

Listen: 10 of the best releases of the month, February edition

Sharon van Etten 'Tramp'
Listen via Spotify
my review

There is an old adage about albums "growing on you" or "warranting repeated listens". In my experience this is very true of Tramp. Brutally honest and self-analytical, it sounds best when you are on your own late at night. I'm reminded of that old discussion about “who sings better in the dark?” The answer, at the moment, is Sharon van Etten.

Twilight Sad 'No One Can Ever Know'
Listen via Spotify
my review

I can't see many fans being disappointed with this as they have updated and added new dimensions to their sound, whilst still managing to sound like themselves. James Graham's lyrics are still intriguing and his vocal delivery totally works within these arrangements. The voice isn't lost within multiple noise guitars, instead it soars above a wall of synths. Impressive from start to finish, they can certainly consider this a success.

Mark Lanegan 'Blues Funeral'
Listen via Spotify
A change a direction, some would say even a re-invention for Mark Lanegan. That distinctive bassy voice of his sounds great as usual, though this time around the musical emphasis is on keyboards and synths, which is a surprise, but it works.

Geoff Farina 'The Wishes of the Dead'
Listen via Spotify

my review

Ultimately The Wishes of the Dead works as both a fine collection of contemporary songs and a homage to legendary folk guitarists. The fact that it may make post-rock fans check out the recordings of Blind Willie Johnson or the Rev Gary Davis is an added bonus.

Tindersticks 'The Something Rain'
Listen via Spotify
A huge return to form for the Tindersticks, this is their best album since the mid-90s. 'The Something Rain' manages to sound like classic Tindersticks whilst adding little extra things here and there. Almost worth it for the 9-minute story song 'Chocolate' on it's own.

Windy and Carl 'We Will Always Be'
Listen via Spotify

my review (the 405)

There are no radical departures from earlier Windy & Carl releases, but after eight albums and nearly 20 years into their musical adventure, this is as impressive as any of their releases. For fans of shoegaze, drone-rock and ambient guitar music, this is definitely worth investigating.

Jim White 'Where It Hits You'
Listen via Spotify

my review (the 405)

'Where It Hits You' is his fifth studio album and is a slice of luscious Americana, not unlike some of the work of Lambchop, in that it is rooted within country music yet it uses such a wide range of sounds and influences that it ends up being something distinct.

Sleigh Bells 'Reign of Terror'
Listen via Spotify
Rumours of a change in direction are a bit unfounded although the mock-metal opening track is a bit surprising, this album carries on where their debut left off, it's still essentially a mix of noise guitars and sugary vocals. The difference lies not in the metal influences, but in darker pop songs such 'End of the Line' which show a depth of emotion that their flashy image often masks.

Cloud Nothings 'Attack on Memory'
Listen via Spotify
Much more of a coherent band recording than the Cloud Nothings debut, in fact this is somewhere between pop-punk and post-hardcore, and the songs are longer and more developed this time around. This evokes classic Dischord releases and was recorded by Steve Albini, even if the band insist he "played Scrabble on Facebook the whole time" he was in the studio!

Perfume Genius 'Put Your Back N 2 It'
Listen via Spotify
A delicate collection of short songs, which deals with some pretty heavy subject matter. It is one thing to set out to write about depression and dysfunction, but Perfume Genius manages to tell his tales with an eye for detail which not only brings you further into the experience, it also rewards repeated listens. It's early days for me with this album, but I expect I will be exploring it more in the coming weeks.





Other honourable mentions this month go to the EPs from Fucked Up, which is on Spotify and Burial, which isn't.

Other non-Spotify albums worth a listen are
Young Magic (my review is here), Minimal Wave Tapes Vol 2 (my review is on the 405)
Lambchop's Mr.M and the long awaited new album from the Dirty Three.

review: Sharon van Etten 'Tramp'

Brooklyn-based Sharon van Etten has been steadily establishing herself as a folk-rock songwriter with two fine albums, Because I Was In Love and Epic. For her third album Tramp she finds herself with a wider musical palate to work with, courtesy of producer Aaron Dessner of the National and a stream of indie-rock collaborators including Zach Condon of Beirut, and members of Wye Oak and the Walkmen.
All the pre-publicity for Tramp has dealt with the album's difficult gestation period, as it was largely written and recorded when van Etten was not in a relationship and was living a transient existence, touring and sleeping on sofas.
It initially comes across as a very bleak album and it took a few listens to click with me. Doleful and dirge-like are two words to describe this, and that isn't meant as an insult. A quick glance at the track listing shows the titles are all short, and are often just mono-syllabic words. In contrast, the overall sound of Tramp is fuller than her previous releases although Dessner's production is very subtle and this clearly isn't a National record with a female vocal. Far from it in fact. Van Etten comes across as assured though slightly fragile in her delivery, and the overall sense of bleakness is only lifted by the odd lilt in her voice and some very striking lyrics.
'Give Out' is the finest example of her lyrical craft, and much like the rest of these songs it sees her lost and alone and over-analysing her past relationships. One verse in particular in worth quoting in full,

“I’m biting my lip as confidence is speaking to me. I loosen my grip on my palm, put it on your knee. In my way, I say, you’re the reason why I’ll move to the city or why I’ll need to leave."

Those two lines in themselves are enough of a reason to investigate this album; the way that they sum up her feelings about that relationship in such brief detail is a skill rarely found outside prime-period Go-Betweens, for example.
Next track 'Serpents' is the rockiest arrangement and it works really well, and the sad but pretty 'Kevin's' brings the tempo back down. 'Leonard' is another beautiful song and her vocals weave such a great folky melody over more relationship analysis. “I am bad at loving you,” she sings on the refrain.
Her vocals are often double-tracked or accompanied and I actually think that this larger sound works well for her, although I guess some may complain that the rawness is diluted. I wouldn't agree, I don't think Tramp is an easy listen at all.
“We Are Fine”, which is essentially a duet with Beirut's Zach Condon, is musically more upbeat but the refrain of “I'm alright” seems to be coming from the perspective of a best friend or a professional counsellor, it's more a case of “we will be fine”, really.
“Magic Chords” is musically a bit different, built from basic snare drum and keyboards into a sing along refrain of “you got to lose sometimes.” It's also one of Sharon's strongest vocal performances here.
“I'm Wrong” is a gentler song which just floats without any rhythm track to anchor it; the lyrics are adrift with daydreams about someone else, she is letting us hear her thinking aloud.
There is an old adage about albums "growing on you" or "warranting repeated listens". In my experience this is very true of Tramp. Brutally honest and self-analytical, it sounds best when you are on your own late at night. I'm reminded of that old discussion about “who sings better in the dark?” The answer, at the moment, is Sharon van Etten.

Tramp was released in the UK yesterday, 7th February 2012. Sharon van Etten will be playing ATP's next Nightmare Before Christmas curated by the National, in about 10 months from now.