The line-up of players gathered together here must be the largest so far, with thirty listed, including three very different vocalists and three very different drummers. As ever, the one thing tying the disparate pieces together besides the questing sense of adventure is Guy's inimitable elastic bass.
Mr Olivetti
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Experimental Irish duo Ex-Isles fuse warmly delivered and enigmatic prose poetry with wandering pastoral piano arrangements that draw you into their subtle, politically and personally motivated universe.
It is wonderful to have this kind of diverse compilation available and would be great for current fans, as well as those people looking to dip their toe in. The only problem is, on the strength of the tracks here, you would just want to load up in the entirety of The Monochrome Set's twenty-first century catalogue...
For her latest missive from the stratosphere, Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns has gathered two illustrious sonic cosmonauts in the shape of drummer Ole Mofjell and keyboardist Ståle Storløkken. Together they have managed to squeeze six enormous tracks of varying complexity onto this Weejuns album that will leave the listener reeling.
Thoughtful minor key repetition is allied to rolling percussion, a background rush that evokes cars passing on wet streets. It is no surprise that the first four pieces are titled "Murmurations" and "Meditations", the minimalist scene setting of the two finds the insistence of the piano notes needled by the prodding of drums that bubble and turn with constant presence
Their reconvening finds them in robust mood with a touch of romantic disillusion, their tales of frustrated love and burning desire tempered by the reality of what it is like to really feel. The fourpiece set up is augmented here by strings, voices and sympathetic production that draws a series of lovelorn vignettes from a band that are confident enough to play it extra hard when necessary and then dial back to a tear-stained throb.
With one foot very firmly in the exotica camp, thanks to the dreamy vocals of Tatiana Nova and the lightness and deftness of the horn section's interplay. Ally that to a percolating rhythm section and you have what starts out as manna from supper club heaven, a late night '50s vibe, evocative of a breezy trip or a mild sashay across a smoky dancefloor.
The collaborative CARM project of trumpeter CJ Camerieri inhabits a unique sound world that, thanks to the number of personnel involved, moves surreptitiously through different perspectives, the sense of drama and remove lending a soundtrack quality.
Sunshine pours out of these fourteen tracks, and although they were all penned by Yosef with assistance from producer Gilad Ronen, the input from the rest of the quartet is beyond essential. Soul Song's gentle, summery vibe is highlighted by Lionel's spidery guitar and the deft percussion that sits supporting all the other activity.
Here, with the first outing for his self-titled quartet, the atmosphere is sunnier, more vibrant and world-reaching, drawing the listener's attention to the current plight of the world and more specifically its oceans. However, rather than pound the message home with darkness and doom, the album has a far more sunny disposition, the whole album smiling through its six long tracks and forty minutes.
Pieces were chosen from various live environments and time periods, but all are recognisable; while the use of such disparate material gives Julie an opportunity to visit various styles and tempos, forming the lyrical structures around the rolling, tumbling constant momentumof the piano.
Could we call The Toads an Australian supergroup? The list of other bands for the assembled quartet is a long one and this blast through the shrubbery contains equal parts early Fall- style punkabilly energy, and the kind of dry and dusty laconic vision that could only come from the other side of the world.
Kranky The barely visible greyscale cover of Tim Hecker‘s latest is the perfect embodiment of the dully guarded repetition that seeps from the album, its insidious electronic creep dusty and belaboured. With titles like “Monotony”, “Anxiety” and “Total Garbage”, you kind of know what you are in for, added to the press release’s comment that it is “a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive capitalist […]
Echoing, cyclical drums pound out a remorseless beat, an emergence of sounds like a draught blowing something cold and portentous in your general direction, but just out of reach. Simmering guitar streaks, like intimations of an avalanche bring veiled threats, blocking out any sight of the sky.
Pianist Stephen Grew has been testing the limits of the piano for the best part of four decades, alone and in collaboration and the extraordinary thing about this album is that he still finds so much ground to cover, revelling in the freedom of what he describes as the blank canvas of the piano. It must be quite thrilling to constantly be refreshed by the act of sitting in front of the keyboard awaiting a spark of intuition from which his personality then unfolds.
Although recently released, this album compiles work that dates back to 2020 and perhaps because of that runs an absolute gamut of styles and sounds, constantly switching positions, leading the listener astray and dropping hints that don't always come to fruition and instead end up far from home.
...Timo Kaukolampi has been concentrating on his solo efforts, with three albums released since 2020. Here, for his second Optimo release, a few select friends join him in the studio to layer reeds and voices over his sinister, minimalist soundscapes.
Although trading under Richard Jones' name, the six pieces chosen for this new trio's album are divided between the three players; Jones on piano, Joshua Cavanagh-Brierly on bass and Johnny Hunter on drums and it is this democratic approach that gives the album its appeal, no one player overwhelming the direction.