As the Renaissance Man of the recently reinvigorated Paisely Underground scene family, Steve Wynn has enjoyed another purple patch over the last decade or so -- with a redemptive five-album reunion run for The Dream Syndicate and the first volume of his autobiography being top of the creative output list. So much so that we haven’t quite noticed the absence of a proper solo studio long-player since 2010’s Miracle 3-backed Northern Aggression.
Daily archives: 23/08/2024
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Rafael Anton Irisarri and Benoît Pioulard don't convene too often to produce Orcas albums (this is their third in ten years), but on those occasions that they do, the time just drops away. That heat-haze waver that threads throughout the album, the soft warmth of Benoît's voice; an enunciated dreaminess that he shares with the long-lost Eric Matthews is all here as we would hope. Everything seems to shimmer as if heard through the clearest water and there is sedate sense of control that is struck with Ride-like explosions of shattered guitar splendour, showering over the lugubrious bass.
Ireland's Córas Trio tread a fine line between folk, improv and jazz; and on this, their first album, they have utilised the disparate elements of violin, guitar and percussion to create a suite of songs that with one eye on the past have their feet set firmly in the future. Their recognition of the tradition of Irish music is countered with how best to move it forward, and with such titles as "Jackie Fitzpatrick's" and "George White's", you feel that a get- together with friends down the local bar is as important an element as the songs themselves.
More than a decade since the last MxBx record and what have they learnt? Mercifully, not much. If you were blindfolded you'd probably pick this out as a Melt-Banana album even if your ears were clogged up and you were a bit hungover.