Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 6 December 2024.
A few years ago, Angel Olsen quietly formed somethingscosmic, a new imprint and a home for Olsen to have “the flexibility to release when and how I want to with the help from my longtime partners at Jagjaguwar.” Somethingscosmic’s second release, ‘Cosmic Waves Volume 1’ is a compilation reimagined as a dialogue; side A features artists chosen by Olsen, with each artist choosing their own song for the collection. Side B is a collection of songs from the same artists, but chosen by Olsen and recorded by her. Each song, unsurprisingly, illuminates a new artist Olsen finds spectacular. Hearing Olsen refract the artists’ songs back to them reveals the depth of Olsen’s imagination, while spotlighting multiple exciting artists at work.
In the fall of 2022, celebrated UK chill-out institution Seahawks landed in Los Angeles for the first time in their 15-year history, with plans to record a sweeping new age downtempo “exploration of visionary California.” Instead, they immediately fell ill with flu (Fowler collapsed next to a taco truck; 911 was called), and were bedridden for the better part of a week. Upon recovering, they resituated at the synthesizer sanctuary of Brian Foote (Peak Oil, Kranky, Leech), channeling their post-sickness psychedelia into one of the band’s lushest and most elevated creations to date: Time Enough For Love.
Motion I is the debut album from Out Of/Into, the collective formerly known as The Blue Note Quintet, featuring pianist Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick Scott, and bassist Matt Brewer. The band was formed in celebration of Blue Note Records’ 85th Anniversary and embarked on an extensive U.S. tour earlier this year during which they honed a distinctive, progressive sound that is the perfect embodiment of the Blue Note ethos
Lucinda Williams Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road features 12 Beatles songs that include classic hits such as “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “With a Little Help from My Friends” and “Something.” Williams and her band also take on beloved deeper tracks such as “I’m So Tired,” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” and “Yer Blues.” Being raised on the blues in the South, the latter is a song Williams was clearly meant to sing. Recorded at the Beatles’ legendary studio in London, the new collection serves as Vol. 7 of her celebrated ‘Lu’s Jukebox’ series and is the first new volume in almost four years.
Mosaic is Fennesz’s most reflective album to date. Composed and recorded at the end of 2023 and completed in the summer of 2024. Fennesz set up a new studio space, the third one in four years. He had no immediate concept, this time starting from scratch, with a strict working routine. He got up early in the morning, worked until midday then had a break and worked again until evening. At first, just collecting ideas, experimenting, improvising. Then composing, mixing and correcting. Yet the title came early, which mirrored this process of putting an element into place one at a time to build the full picture, an ancient technique of making an image, before pixels did it in a flash.
Merci from Kathryn Stott and Yo-Yo Ma is a deeply personal expression of gratitude, a celebration of the powerful relationships that keep music alive. This effervescent recording is rooted in the compositions of Gabriel Fauré, whom Stott calls her “musical soulmate”, and follows the arcs of his inspiration and influence, from the creations of his teacher Camille Saint-Saëns and his friend and supporter Pauline Viardot to works by his student Nadia Boulanger and her sister, Lili. Merci is testament to the gift of friendship, to the connections among performers, between students and teachers, and across generations that make music magic.
Acclaimed electronic musician, producer and activist Moby shares all-new remixes with two disc, 58-track album, ‘always centered at night remixes’ out now via Mute alongside “wild flame (dark1 remix)” featuring Danaé. The whopping LP comes following Quiet Home DJ Mix and a sold-out September 2024 EU/UK tour celebrating 25 years of Play. Moby opens up the sheer scope of the acan album project with a meaty 58-track remix album. The latest single, out today, is the cosmic “dark1” remix of “wild flame” which finds Danaé delightful vocals shimmering over loose congas, spacey synths and intricate rhythms. The new, re-worked tracks see Moby breathe new life into the 2023 original body of work.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Phases by Angel Olsen – music review
- All Visible Objects (Moby) – music review
- New music round-up (for w/e 3 June 2022)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
