New music round-up (for w/e 19 January 2024)
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 19 January 2024.
Madeline Link, who makes music under the moniker PACKS, has always found inspiration in her surroundings. When it came to her newest effort Melt the Honey, she wanted to look beyond the mundane spaces that had informed much of her previous work. Over the course of 11 days, Link and the rest of her band (Dexter Nash [guitar], Noah O’Neil [bass] and Shane Hooper [drums]) gathered in Mexico City, a city that already held a special place in her heart as an artist-in-residence at Casa Lü in 2020). The making of Melt the Honey was a communal experience, with the same group of musicians who have joined her since her Take the Cake debut in 2021 taking part once again. Part of the vibrancy of the recording also comes from an underlying emotional shift in Link’s life: falling in love.
Alive in New York City is a brand new LP from the legendary American artist Daniel Johnston (1961 – 2019) – a full live concert captured in front of an audience of his most devoted fans in New York, the city of Daniel’s dreams. Daniel is at the very height of his performing powers here, with his poignant voice and exquisite heart beating in full bloom, and the audience is with him all the way. No other live performance recording we’ve ever heard captures the marriage of audience & performer in the way this one has. Hearing it, is like being there. Daniel gave it all on this very special night.
Neglected for 80 years, the works of composer Robert Müller-Hartmann have been recorded for the first time by the ARC Ensemble. The ensemble comprises senior faculty of The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Canada, with special guests from the organization’s exceptional students and alumni. Marking its 20th anniversary with its latest album, Chamber Works by Robert Müller-Hartmann, the ARC Ensemble has long completed recording projects of new and historically significant works to add to the catalogue. This recording features violinists Erika Raum and Marie Bérard, violist Steven Dann, cellist Tom Wiebe, and pianist Kevin Ahfat.
The post-garage-punk and psychedelic power pop anomaly Chemtrails return with their third album, The Joy of Sects. This is their boldest yet with a more danceable and rhythm-driven style, armed with their trademark fuzzy guitars and playfully sinister melodies. Working with producer Margo Broom (Fat White Family, Goat Girl) this time around, the group has traded in their DIY approach for a more hi-fi studio sound, remaining just as raw and wild as ever, but with a whole new level of focus and intensity.
Some elements on Technically Acceptable, the second Blue Note Records release from pianist/composer Ethan Iverson, would feel equally at home during any point in the label’s storied history. There’s an ample helping of the blues, a tune built on rhythm changes, spirited trio interactions, a reimagined song from the hit parade, even a rendition of Thelonious Monk’s iconic “‘Round Midnight”. This being an Ethan Iverson date, however, none of those classic idioms are revived without a twist of some kind. The album’s first half, a nearly LP-length trio outing with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Kush Abadey, is balanced on the back end by the first-ever piano sonata in the Blue Note catalog. The blues and rhythm changes are refracted through an irreverent contemporary lens, while the standard in question is the Robert Flack ballad “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” given a 60s pop vibe in partnership with bassist Simón Willson and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza.
The new Disney original drama series Cristóbal Balenciaga, recreates the life and legacy of the Spanish creator, one of the most iconic fashion designers of all time. To accompany the series, Hollywood Records has released its soundtrack. The new album features original music composed by Alberto Iglesias, who has previously worked on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Constant Gardener and Exodus: Gods and King.
After a decade-long hiatus, Bristol-based shoegaze ensemble The Fauns have reemerged from their secret bunker with eagerly anticipated third album, How Lost. The Fauns’ journey began in 2007, self-releasing their eponymous debut album in 2009, followed by the 2013 release of Lights. These two works garnered warm acclaim from both critics and fervent shoegaze-loving fanbase alike – arriving into an atmosphere rekindled by the return of My Bloody Valentine. This latest album bridges The Fauns’ transformation from their earlier incarnation to their current evolution. The tracks traverse a spectrum of styles, ranging from intricate, guitar-driven sci-fi fantasies to industrial-tinged new wave compositions. The hallmark shoegaze elements are now stretched over gritty pulsating electro beats.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- New music round-up (for w/e 15 March 2024)
- New music round-up (for w/e 12 January 2024)
- New music round-up (for w/e 11 August 2023)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television