New music round-up (for w/e 2 June 2023)
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 2 June 2023.
Pianists Rebeca Omordia and Martin Jones present Maconchy, Lutyens & Wallen: Works for Piano & Orchestra, a world premiere recording of works for piano and orchestra by three major composers. Joining with the BBC Concert Orchestra and award-winning conductor John Andrews, Martin Jones continues his survey of the piano works of Elisabeth Lutyens with this recording of Eos (in which he performs the piano part) and Music for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 59. Jones also performs Elizabeth Maconchy’s concise and striking Dialogue for Piano and Orchestra. Rebeca Omordia performs Errollyn Wallen’s arresting new Piano Concerto, that was commissioned for her by Julian Lloyd Webber and first performed in November of 2022.
Rufus Wainwright has released Folkocracy, a star-studded album of folk music reinventions that sees the two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter joined by a spectacular collection of friends, family members, and other special guest artists that includes Brandi Carlile, John Legend, David Byrne, Sheryl Crow, Nicole Scherzinger, Chaka Khan, Andrew Bird, ANOHNI, Susanna Hoffs, Van Dyke Parks, Madison Cunningham, and many more.
Since 1992, Comet Gain – the collective around David Christian – has been stoically producing unique noise pop. Comet Gain are a band in which the Swell Maps and the Undertones shake hands in the Wigan Casino. Admittedly, a skewed picture. But as with every outstanding band, one fails to describe the sound of Comet Gain. You just have to hear it. When Corona hit in 2020, Christian, who now lives in the beautiful south of France, had the leisure to dig through the considerable Comet Gain archive and presented the astonished Comet Gain community with new compilations of outtakes, demos, live recordings and simply forgotten and never released hits every Bandcamp Friday. The Misfit Jukebox is now a compilation of these compilations, the toppermost of the poppermost from a hitherto unseen or unheard part of the CG universe.
Septology – The Black Forest Session is the debut album by newly assembled all-star ensemble, the Canadian Jazz Collective. The CJC is fronted by three of Canada’s most acclaimed and accomplished jazz treasures: saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, guitarist Lorne Lofsky and trumpeter Derrick Gardner. Augmented by clarinetist Virginia MacDonald and supported by a noted rhythm section comprised of pianist Brian Dickinson, bassist Neil Swainson and drummer Bernd Reiter, this innovative septet takes a collaborative approach to the presentation of original Canadian jazz, and blends the unique artistic visions of the leaders into one creative and cohesive voice. Since the 1950’s, Canada has played an indispensable role in the jazz vista. Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson and Gil Evans are just some of the iconic figures that called Canada home. Today, Canada continues to be a reliable source for some of the world’s best jazz artists, with a robust and vibrant musical scene. The Canadian Jazz Collective strives to uphold that tradition, and to display their virtuosic, world-class artistry through the performance of original work.
Femme-punk royalty The Aquadolls have released their hotly anticipated third studio album Charmed via Enci Records. The band’s first album in five years, Charmed was produced by Chris Szczech who is renowned for his work with The Goo Goo Dolls. Named after the hit 90s/00s TV show, the album fuses elements of melodic 60s harmonies and 90s-driven crunchiness with a modern twist that ushers in a new era for the band, and serves as a strong representation of where they are going next. Don’t let the relatable tales focused on love and relationships, heartbreak and longing, fool you, The Aquadolls are still about having fun and showcasing humor in their lyrics
Veruca Salt co-vocalist/guitarist Louise Post has dropped her first solo album, Sleepwalker, via El Camino Media. It was produced by Matt Drenik, and Louise says that many of the melodies on this album came to her during the state between sleep and consciousness known as hypnagogia. “I have always identified as a sleepwalker,” she says of the album title. “I slept-walked around my house routinely when I was a child, and even down the street. I believe in hindsight it was me trying to process what was going on in my home with my parents’ troubled marriage. As far as I know, I stopped sleepwalking after the divorce when I was eight, but it has always been a part of me that I feel protective of, a little girl who I feel sad for.”
Since their 2012 debut, Protomartyr have mastered the art of evoking place: the grinding Midwest humility of their hometown, as well as the x-rayed elucidation of America that comes with their vantage. The group’s sixth album was recorded at Sonic Ranch in Texas with producer Jake Aron. “The desert is more of a metaphor or symbol,” singer Joe Casey says, “of emotional deserts, or a place or time that seems to lack life.” The “growth” came from a period of colossal transition for Casey, including the death of his mother. But life does go on, and Casey describes the great theme of Formal Growth In The Desert as an embrace and acknowledgment of that fact: a 12-song testament to “getting on with life,” even when it feels impossibly hard.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- New music round-up (for w/e 22 March 2024)
- New music round-up (for w/e 13 October 2023)
- New music round-up (for w/e 4 August 2023)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television