New music round-up (for w/e 8 September 2023)

Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 8 September 2023.

Hailed as “gospel titans” by Rolling Stone, the Blind Boys of Alabama defied the considerable odds stacked against them in the segregated South, working their way up from singing for pocket change to performing for three different presidents over the course of an 80-year career that saw them break down racial barriers, soundtrack the Civil Rights movement, and help redefine modern gospel music forever. The five-time Grammy-winners’ latest album, Echoes Of The South, draws its name from the Birmingham radio program that hosted the group’s very first professional performance back in 1944. Pairing traditional spirituals and long-lost gospel classics with vintage soul and R&B tunes, the collection is as moving as it is timeless, transcending genre and era to touch something deep and fundamental about the human condition.

 

Struggler is multi-ARIA award-winning artist Genesis Owusu’s highly anticipated sophomore album. After launching on the global map with his critically acclaimed debut album, Smiling with No Teeth, the Ghanaian-Australian artist Owusu steps forth with Struggler – an imminent exploration of the chaos and absurdity of life, and our ability to endure.

 

Soft Science’s sonic evolution has led to an exploration of the noisier side of dream pop with glimmers of dark wave on their fourth LP, Lines (out now). Soft Science began working on their recently completed album Lines in 2019, forging the record in their home studios together and at times in isolation from each other during the height of the pandemic, swapping tracks and making adjustments from a distance for what felt like an eternity. Reuniting in person to finalize the mix created a palpable excitement, an energy that can be felt throughout the record. Lines addresses living and loving within the complexities and challenges of everyday life in our fast-paced digital world.

 

Hilario Durán brings the full scope of his artistry, the depth of knowledge of musical genres in the perfect storm of big artistry on Cry Me A River. The celebrated Cuban-Canadian composer and piano-master Hilario Durán leads his 19-piece ensemble with special guests Paquito D’Rivera & Horacio “El Negro” Hernández in a stellar big band recording – the first in 17 years. The nine works on this recording are born of Durán’s Afro-Cuban cultural topography but are also informed by his gifts for bending tradition and infusing his arrangements with unfettered improvisation.

 

The Hails have released their debut album What’s Your Motive. In ten tracks, the Florida five-piece perfectly display their penchant for well-polished experimentation and all-consuming storytelling. The LP is an orbit of grief and reconciliation over growing pains, both individual and with each other.

 

Earthdrawn Skies, the new album from the Aizuri Quartet, explores deep connections between humankind and the natural world through the distinct lenses of four composers forging personal relationships with the soil and the stars. These works by Hildegard von Bingen, Eleanor Alberga, Komitas Vardapet and Jean Sibelius are rooted in a sense of tradition and connection to the land, even as the composers seek something beyond their reach: an understanding of God, the physics of the cosmos, homeland, happiness.

 

The String Cheese Incident have released their first full length studio album in six years, and they’re doing it with a bang. Lend Me A Hand arrives on the cusp of the band’s 30th anniversary, which will officially take place on 31 December 2023, 30 years to the day since the band played their first show together. Lend Me A Hand is a poignant yet high-spirited reflection on love, loss and resilience, and emerged as SCI coped with such life-changing events as the sudden death of their close friend Jesse Aratow (a member of their management team for most of the band’s history). As they dreamed up a batch of songs firmly centered on their storytelling, the band joined forces with Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Waxahatchee), a producer whose distinct vision helped SCI to fully embrace the album’s rootsy simplicity.

Other reviews you might enjoy:

• New music round-up (for w/e 14 July 2023)
• New music round-up (for w/e 25 November 2022)
• New music round-up (for w/e 23 August 2024)