album review
EP REVIEW: Shida Shahabi – ‘Lake On Fire’: eerie post-classical beauty for short film
Lake On Fire is eerie post-classical beauty for the short film of that name: evocative and chilling work from a real talent
ALBUM REVIEW: Kevin Morby – ‘Sundowner’: simple acoustic truths deliver great profundity
Sundowner is a much more bucolic work than last year’s Oh My God. in Kansas he’s explored the simple complexity of the 60s’ folk-troubadour aesthetic and pulls it off, admirably. It’s a damn lovely record.
ALBUM REVIEW: A Lily – ‘Sleep Through The Storm’: bewitching tronica to guard us from where we’re at
Sleep Through The Storm is eight tracks of beautiful, bewitching, cyclical and warm electronic minimalism, intended to guard us from 2020
ALBUM REVIEW: Lama Lobsang Palden and Jim Becker – ‘Compassion’: Chicago meets Tibet in exploratory fusion
Compassion is a complex, often beautiful and sometimes challenging work, exploring the interstices where Tibetan healing meets Chicago instrumentalism
ALBUM REVIEW: Surprise Chef – ‘Daylight Savings’: a step up and out in cinematic funk
Daylight Savings loses absolutely zero of their off-kilter cinematic charm in stepping up from their debut, All News Is Good News; it’s really very ace
ALBUM REVIEW: Bastien Keb – ‘The Killing Of Eugene Peeps’: an essential novel of an album
The Killing Of Eugene Peeps is an album that hits the previously uncharted sweet spot between Americana, 60s’ European soundtracks and hiphop. It’s clever, reflexive, intriguing, questioning. One of the records of the year. Buy.
ALBUM REVIEW: Mary Lattimore – ‘Silver Ladders’: contemplative and elemental harp exploration
Silver Ladders speaks of an open correspondence with place, with dialogue, with the elements. It’s happy to embrace the darker side of being. As such, maybe it’s a departure from the pristine shimmer of Hundreds Of Days; but it will provide incredibly rewarding autumnal exploration.
ALBUM REVIEW: Paradise Cinema – ‘Paradise Cinema’: shimmering, vivacious, percussive, Afro ambience
Paradise Cinema, the self-titled project of Portico Quartet’s Jack Wyllie, sings of new Afro-ambient futures to immerse in. It’s vivacious, swathing and haunting
ALBUM REVIEW: The Twilite Tone – ‘The Clearing’: crisp future electro breaks
If you were ever seduced by Mo’Wax when it was truly great, this is totally the album for you. Casting references towards multifarious Black musics, all laced up with deep thought and intelligence, it has breaks that get deep under your skin. Irresistible.
ALBUM REVIEW: Andy Bell – ‘The View From Halfway Down’: superb psych-pop solo set
The View From Halfway Down is an eclectic and heady mix of psych, folk, tronica, baggy looseness and more – and nary puts a foot wrong. An absolutely excellent solo set