Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 23 June 2023.
Portugal. The Man are back after a brief hiatus with a new record titled Chris Black Changed My Life, the follow up to their global hit record Woodstock. PTM have set a personal standard to “change things up” each time they go into the studio to record a new record. This time they went with famed producer Jeff Bhasker (Harry Styles, Kanye West, Beyonce, Mark Ronson, etc.) to challenge their process. The result of the collaboration brought a new depth to the music and a record that is in John Gourley’s, lead singer/songwriters, words “our most complete record that follows a story line from beginning to end”. The record delivers on PTM’s eclectic nature, pulling influence from music across the globe. Chris Black Changed My Life is a personal story about the loss of a friend and the struggle that comes with it and ultimately ends with power and endless influence those people will have on your life.
Lloyd Cole has released a new album, On Pain, via earMUSIC. On Pain is Lloyd’s twelfth album as a solo artist and features eight new Lloyd Cole songs, four of which are co-written by Commotions founding members Blair Cowan and Neil Clark, who also perform on the record. The album is produced by Chris Merrick Hughes and was recorded in Lloyd’s attic studio The Establishment.
Jazz saxophonist and composer Javon Jackson’s new album is also the original music score for the documentary With Peter Bradley. Jackson’s personal relationship with Peter began during his time with the great Art Blakey, as Peter and Mr. Blakey were close friends. Over the years, Peter’s support, encouragement, and availability toward him never wavered. This music is soulful, passionate, full of energy and cutting edge, just like Peter Bradley!
In 2019 Nathan Seeckts released his debut album The Heart of the City, an album that was nominated for Country Album of The Year at the 2019 Music Victoria Awards and which delivered on the promise of numerous live shows and a string of EPs across the preceding decade. Now, three years later, Seeckts has released his new album, Something Rare And Beautiful. For the recording of his second album, Nathan returned to Union Street Studio in Melbourne to collaborate with producer Roger Bergodaz, assembling many of the key players from The Heart Of The City sessions to help build upon the sound and energy he captured the first time around. On Something Rare and Beautiful, Nathan found himself focusing more on nostalgic stories from his past and digging down into who he is at this point in his life.
Thomas Adès’ Dante — a ballet score in three parts based on Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia — was recorded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel at a concert performance last spring at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Nonesuch Records has now released the album, the work’s premiere audio recording. Dante was first performed at the Royal Opera House as part of Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project for the Royal Ballet, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and with designs by visual artist Tacita Dean. The piece’s three parts are “Inferno”, “Purgatorio”, and “Paradiso”.
When public support systems fall short, who ends up carrying the burden? The question courses through All Her Plans, the third album from Naarm/Melbourne rock ‘n’ roll trio Cable Ties. The band’s most sonically confident work yet, All Her Plans builds on Cable Ties trademarks: taut garage rhythms, perfectly wiry guitar lines, incandescent vocals. Bassist Nick Brown’s and drummer Shauna Boyle’s kraut-inflected grooves pulse reliably behind the post-punk jag of Jenny McKechnie’s guitar. Thrumming with the same intensity as the band’s previous releases, the record offers more concentrated, personal lyrics from lead vocalist and guitarist McKechnie as she traces themes of addiction, mental health, and Australia’s flagging healthcare system, with much drawn from the experiences of her own family.
Alternative-pop band Valley – comprised of Rob Laska, Mickey Brandolino, Alex Dimauro, and Karah James – have release their sophomore album Lost In Translation through Capitol Records/Universal Music. The 15-track record follows their debut album MAYBE (2019) and collects the band member’s individual reflections over the past three years of creating the project. Lost In Translation comes together like glimpses of a journal, drawing from pop-culture references, inspired by iconic bands through the decades, rooted in personal experience and laced with hints of distinctive Valley soundscapes.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- New music round-up (for w/e 30 August 2024)
- New music round-up (for w/e 28 June 2024)
- New music round-up (for w/e 26 July 2024)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
