New music round-up (for w/e 27 January 2023)
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 27 January 2023.
Phoenix is the highly-anticipated, expansive new album in the musical evolution of alto saxophonist and composer Lakecia Benjamin. The album was produced by the multi-Grammy-award winning Terri Lyne Carrington and features a star-studded line up of specially curated guests Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Patrice Rushen, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Davis and Wayne Shorter. The band is composed of trumpeter Josh Evans, Victor Gould on keys, Orange Rodriguez on synths, drummer Enoch (EJ) Strickland, percussionist Nêgah Santos and bassist Ivan Taylor. Trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr, Rhodes organist Anastassiya Petrova and bassist Jahmal Nichols all join for one track each.
London group The Tubs return to Trouble In Mind with their hotly anticipated full-length album entitled “Dead Meat”. The band were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen ‘O’ Williams and George ‘GN’ Nicholls. By incorporating elements of post-punk, traditional British folk, and guitar jangle seasoned by nonchalant Cleaners From Venus-influenced pop hooks and contemporary antipodean indie bands (Twerps/Goon Sax, et al)
Kelley Deal met Mike Montgomery at his studio, Candyland, where she was recording a contribution for a Guided by Voices tribute album. It was the beginning of the friendship that would become R. Ring. Shortly after their work together at Candyland, Montgomery was asked to open a show for a band he was recording, and not wanting to play solo, recruited Deal to join him on stage. That show ended up sparking an LP, splits with Protomartyr, Vacation and Quailbones, and many more live shows. Now Reunited at Candyland for their second LP, titled War Poems, We Rested, R. Ring is expanding on their creative process. For this release many of the songs were written with the support of drummer Laura King (Bat Fangs, Mac McCaughan, Speed Stick), allowing the group to explore fuller arrangements from the start. On their previous release, 2017’s Ignite the Rest, Deal and Montgomery had written with the consideration that they would eventually play the songs as a duo. Now, at a time when playing live is no longer a given, the band is freeing themselves up to create without those constraints. The result is a record that’s equal parts driving and haunting, with noisy soundscapes bubbling over across tight and aggressive drumming.
Christina Galisatus’ stunning debut album, Without Night, emerged from a whole-hearted embrace of making music for no one but herself. After working for years proving what she could do to earn the respect of male gatekeepers in the often misogynistic modern music scene, Without Night is a reflection of Galisatus refusing to give into what others expected of her. The album is a stunning, bold, and defiant creation that honors her honesty and creativity. Perhaps that’s why these songs feel so organically lived-in, warm and familiar yet filled with daring chord changes and a remarkable cohesion between Galisatus and the band she assembled. Finally having a set of compositions that felt completely true to her after writing and performing music that didn’t always feel this way, Galisatus made the decision to record the music as a stamp in time.
When pianist Martha Argerich and violinist Renaud Capuçon gave a recital at the 2022 Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, their extraordinary rapport was evident to all present. Captured live, their programme included three major works for violin and piano, all in the key of A: Schumann’s Sonata No. 1 Op. 105, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 9 Op. 47, “Kreutzer”, and Franck’s Sonata. The Extended Digital Edition of the album, also featuring Kreisler’s Liebesleid, is available now on Deutsche Grammophon.
Cementing herself in the upper echelons of Australian singer-songwriters, Gena Rose Bruce navigates emotional turmoil, fragility, death and honesty on her sophomore album Deep Is The Way out today via Dot Dash / Remote Control Records. Bruce will put these themes on show as she traverses the country in April with the announcement of her Australian tour – as well as tonight at her Rocksteady Records in-store – showcasing the live sensibilities picked up on supports for Orville Peck and Kevin Morby. Deep Is the Way chronicles Bruce’s fraught path back into the light after a recurring dream wraith brought on by the passing of her partner’s mother and pandemic instability. On the album she processes death and inner turmoil to emerge with a newfound state of strength and resilience, working with long time collaborators and forging a new wildcard relationship.
Sam Himself have shared their second album, Never Let Me Go. The ten-track LP marks the latest collaboration of Swiss-born, Gotham-bred indie rocker Sam Koechlin with his longtime producer / “Second Beatle” Daniel Schlett (Iggy Pop; The War on Drugs) and mastering engineer Greg Calbi (David Bowie; Bruce Springsteen), and features Chris Egan (Solange; Blood Orange) on drums and Josh “JD” Werner (Ghostface Killah; CocoRosie) on bass. Never Let Me Go beams with the promise of a reopening world whose studios, stages and dance floors we will finally get to share again — or lose once more at any moment.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- New music round-up (for w/e 30 April 2021)
- New music round-up (for w/e 24 February 2023)
- New music round-up (for w/e 4 November 2022)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television