New music round-up (for w/e 7 October 2022)
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 7 October 2022.
TSHA has dropped her long-awaited debut album Capricorn Sun. Recorded over the past two years, the record delivers on the promise of her previous EPs and singles with 12 tracks that perfectly encapsulate the emotive blend of underground electronic and hook-laden pop sensibilities that have led to her being one of the most talked about new artists of the past few years. From gracing the front cover of high-profile magazines, appearing on numerous billboards, being included in flagship playlists and programmes by multiple streaming services and being placed on countless ‘best of’ & ‘one to watch’ lists, alongside high-praise from across the music press and radio – TSHA shows no sign of slowing down in 2022.
The Orielles return with Tableau, their third album (out now). The band have created their first genuinely contemporary record – an experimental double album self-produced in collaboration with producer Joel Anthony Patchett (King Krule, Tim Burgess). In doing so, the Orielles have utilised holistic jazz practices, oblique 21st century electronica, experimental 1960s tape loop methods, otherworldly AutoTuned vocal sounds, the downer dub of Burial, Sonic Youth’s focus on improvisation and feedback, and Brian Eno’s legendary Oblique Strategy cards.
The concept of Alison Balsom’s new project, Quiet City, began decades ago, when she decided that Aaron Copland’s Quiet City was a work that everyone needed to hear – especially so as Copland reveals the scene so brilliantly via the solo trumpet and cor. There is a true melancholy in this work that only a certain type of trumpet playing can achieve, and across the collection on the album Balsom tries to show that through the unique lens of the trumpet, the wonderful bridge and mutual respect between the classical composers and arrangers, and the jazz greats can be seen.
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros – consisting of Bobby Weir, Don Was, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti — have released their highly anticipated second collection of recorded material, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado Vol. 2. The first installment, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado, was released earlier this year to critical acclaim. Vol. 2 also features songs recorded live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Colorado in June, 2021 — a documentation of their first live audience concerts in over a year due to the pandemic — featuring Greg Leisz on pedal steel, along with The Wolfpack: Alex Kelly, Brian Switzer, Adam Theis, Mads Tolling and Sheldon Brown.
With Sky Continuous, Noah Preminger brings an exceptionally compelling trio recital with bass virtuoso Kim Cass (who has performed on 10 of Preminger’s 11 prior albums), and drumset icon Bill Stewart, who had never before shared a bandstand with Preminger. The music, which includes eight Preminger originals, is logically structured but adventurous and open-ended, containing numerous portals for free expression – it never feels confined. Surprisingly, it’s only Preminger’s second documented exploration of the tenor saxophone trio function.
A snapshot of a period of change, peace and contentment for Nick Sowersby, Possum reflects a refreshed outlook for his alter ego, Sunbeam Sound Machine. Music that leans into the artist continuing to discover more about himself and his place (and ours) in the world, Possum is a striking effort that can offer an avenue for escape, or a moment for the listener to find comfort in. Possum engages a new phase of creativity: marked by vibrancy and a desire to embrace new attitudes regarding his approach to music.12 tracks of pure confidence and energy channelled through shimmering synths, rich rhythms and guitar work that buoy Sowersby’s captivating vocals beautifully.
Indigo Sparke’s majestic second full-length album Hysteria is a sweeping work, one that possesses a rare, reflective power. On it, she examines love, loss, her history, and the emotional upheaval surrounding those sensations: her words tell the stories, and the sounds act them out. It’s a diary built for big stages. Hysteria arrives just a year after her striking, minimalist debut, Echo. Here, though, Sparke offers an expansive body of work—it’s a complex collection that expands her sound and outlook.
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- New music round-up
- New music round-up (for w/e 16 July 2021)
- New music round-up (for w/e 10 December 2021)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television