Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 6 October 2023.
As Tele Novella, Chronis (who performs in the beloved and rekindled indie pop band Voxtrot) and Ribbons (who previously performed in the long-running “Victorian punk” project Agent Ribbons) have spent their past two albums creating “Medieval outsider country” on 2016’s House Of Souls and 2021’s Merlynn Belle. Poet’s Tooth – the band’s second album for the Kill Rock Stars label – steers the duo’s whimsical western-tinted quality into fascinating new directions: cinematic-pop balladry on the autoharp-tinged opener “Young & Free”, gently clip-clopping Americana-folk on “Hard-Hearted Way”, and bass-driven funk on the wry “Eggs In One Basket”. With help from producer Danny Reisch, Tele Novella have crafted their most genre-rich, poetic, and sincere album yet.
Vanishing Twin furthers their exploration of decidedly experimental territories with Afternoon X. Crafted with a playful balance of humour and rigour, with each member embracing the role of the multi-instrumentalist and process, over outcome. Following a series of line-up changes, Vanishing Twin is now the tightly honed collective of singer and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas, drummer Valentina Magaletti (Holy Tongue, Tomaga, Moin) and bassist Susumu Mukai (Zongamin). Harnessing the diverse touchstones of its members; Lucas’ left-field song-craft, Magaletti’s singular approaches to experimental percussion, and Mukai’s long history in the production of electronic music, the band has refined a hypnotic sound at the juncture of minimalism, kosmische, post-punk, and dream-laden, psychedelic pop.
A lauded drummer who’s mastered a vast array of musical settings – from guesting on late night TV, keeping time for some of today’s most beloved singer-songwriters, and being a renowned bandleader/composer in her own right – Allison Miller is always at the heart of the music. Her latest album, Rivers In Our Veins, is a 12-song cycle embracing the concept of flow and renewal, and dedicated to our nation’s crucial rivers, watersheds, and the organizations devoted to reviving and protecting them. Commissioned by Mid Atlantic Arts Organization and Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Rivers In Our Veins is the studio manifestation of an ambitious live multimedia production with original music composed by Miller featuring a deeply telepathic cast of improvisers, as well as, tap and contemporary dancers.
Following a highly successful series of concerts in the summer of 2022, Francesca Dego, Timothy Ridout, Laura van der Heijden, and Federico Colli headed into the studio to record Mozart’s Piano Quartets. Whilst he may not have been the first composer to add a viola to the popular piano trio, Mozart was certainly the first to do so with such outstanding success. In his piano quartets, the strings become an equal partner to the piano, rather than mere accompaniment – much as in his piano concertos. This link is reinforced by his choice of form – unlike his string quartets, the piano quartets have three movements rather than four: a full-bodied movement in sonata form, a lighter central slow movement in a related key, and a rondo finale. Both works were composed during the three-year period, from February 1784 to December 1786, in which Mozart wrote twelve piano concertos. The first quartet is written in the key of G minor – rarely used by Mozart – and the overall mood is quite dark, almost disturbing. The second quartet, in E flat major, is by contrast much sunnier in atmosphere. Consequently, the two works together make for a very satisfying programme.
Twenty years since the release of his best-selling album Blues Deluxe (which celebrated what the US government had declared “the year of the blues” with a mix of originals and reinterpretations of classic songs), Joe Bonamassa is taking stock of how far he and the genre have come with Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, out now on J&R Adventures. Featuring two new originals and eight new covers spanning some of the most important names in the blues – from Bobby “Blue” Bland and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac to Albert King – Blues Deluxe 2 finds Bonamassa returning to his roots and giving new life to the classic tracks that have informed his own artistry.
Nite Swim, Lily & Madeleine’s fifth studio album (out now), is an expansive journey introducing the listener to various vignettes of the duo’s lives over the past five years. Its central thesis explores vulnerability, acceptance, embracing shame and acknowledging one’s feelings rather than running from them. Lily says the project dives into the feeling of “wanting to be intimate with someone but feeling like they’ll reject you when they see how complicated you are inside”. Over ten tracks, the listener is led through intimate scenes of Lily & Madeleine’s lives, collectively as sisters and individually as artists.
The wait is over for Nat Vazer’s kaleidoscope of stories on her second full length album Strange Adrenaline, out today on the newly formed Bendigo Records. Strange Adrenaline is layered with unassuming arrangements and lyrical introspection, building the different worlds anchored to each song. Through her vehicle of folk storytelling, she drives through carefully fashioned sonic landscapes, new realms written on piano, and her viscerally brilliant combination of dream pop and indie rock.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- New music round-up (for w/e 21 April 2023)
- New music round-up (for w/e 23 February 2024)
- New music round-up (for w/e 25 October 2024)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
