Will Westerman thinks he spent too much time on An Inbuilt Fault. He’s still proud of it, but the British musician, who records under his surname, wanted to do something differently this time around. “Nothing is ever really finished if it’s a new idea,” he says. “It’s just an arbitrary line in the sand because there’s no template to judge it being finished, other than your own exhaustion.” He spent a long time tinkering with his sophomore album, which was released in 2023, so he decided on another course of action for its follow-up: capture something made in a short timeframe.
Maybe that’s why A Jackal’s Wedding, by contrast, sounds so much looser, not in the sense that it feels unfinished; rather, it’s far more spacious than its two predecessors.
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Nina Simone burst into the world with 1959’s Little Girl Blue, and music would never be the same. For over five decades, Nina entertained, enthralled, and educated listeners across her extraordinary recording and performance career.
After a triumphant concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1992, Nina was approached by Elektra A&R executive Michael Alago (whose previous work at the label included Tracy Chapman and Metallica). When asked if Nina was ready to record again, she replied, “Get me the money… then we can talk!” Modeled around two of Simone’s favorites, Frank Sinatra’s A Man Alone (The Words and Music of Rod McKuen) and Billie Holidays’ Lady in Satin — with the common element that both were recorded with full orchestral accompaniment,…
Following the July release of their first 3 albums, Cherry Red have released the last 3 albums from rock band Be Bop Deluxe. The Albums 1976-1978 featuring the two latter-day studio records, Modern Music and Drastic Plastic, as well as their 1977 live work, LIVE! In the Air Age.
Recorded in June and July 1976 at Abbey Road Studios, Modern Music was the fourth album by Be Bop Deluxe and the second to feature the line-up of Bill Nelson (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Charles Tumahai (bass, vocals), Andy Clark (keyboards) and Simon Fox (drums). A top twenty hit in the UK, the album followed on from the success and critical praise for the band’s previous album Sunburst Finish and was once more co-produced by Bill Nelson and John Leckie.
What they lack in quantity, they make up for in a sonic prolificness, an unwillingness to be tied down to any one genre, or really any multi-hyphenate collection thereof. On their first two records for Domino, they race through grungey rock, glitchy trip-hop, twee pop, theatrical skeleton music, and plenty more besides.
With Cosplay, they show no signs of settling down, though this project has somewhat of a throughline. Its stylistic restlessness means it’s, by design, a chaotic experience, but the themes of longing and uncertainty, plus a few musical motifs, give the album a new level of cohesion.
As the title suggests, there’s a performative element to much of Sorry’s music, particularly in the vocal style of Asha Lorenz.
Paul Kelly is 70 and has never been bigger. He has just headlined his first arena tour – which sold out. In an industry as ageist as Australian music, it’s a remarkable career trajectory; there’s been no sudden revival of interest, nor a belated rediscovery of his vast catalogue. Slowly, over a career spanning 50 years, Kelly has become ubiquitous.
Overfamiliarity comes at a price. There are people who have never listened to Kelly who appear to loudly resent his success. Much of the pushback seems to stem from the annual celebration of How to Make Gravy, Kelly’s Christmas perennial-from-prison. They never want to hear another word from Joe, the fuck-up who was already the subject of what is now probably Kelly’s second-most famous song, To Her Door.
Circles Around The Sun returns with Interludes For The Dead: Volume 2, ten years since “Interludes For The Dead,” the music that resulted when Neal Casal was asked to create the set-break music for the now-legendary “Fare Thee Well” shows celebrating the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary, and assembled a team of musicians now known as Circles Around The Sun.
Recorded over four days with nothing written or rehearsed beforehand, all of the music was written on the spot and tracked immediately with little to no overdubs and every bit of the energy and verve that’s become CATS’ calling card, and the spirit of the first release.
Volume II was recorded at Dan Horne’s UHF Studios in Los Angeles and was notably conceived…
Frank Turner’s The Next Ten Years is a limited edition set which comes as a follow up to the highly coveted The First Ten Years (2015) box set.
Spanning 29 non-album tracks, including live and radio sessions, covers, acoustic versions, and collaborations, this collection fills the gaps between studio albums over the past 10 years with treasured rarities – some of which are previously unreleased, and many pressed on vinyl for the first time.
I write this from a car park in Glasgow, working my way through the warm-up shows before Lost Evenings hits Edinburgh for its 8th (eighth!!!) instalment this weekend. Band and crew are humming like a well-oiled machine, I’m tired and my head is full of words for obscure songs, but life is good.
…includes five previously unreleased recordings. These include Lucinda Williams’ ‘Sweet Old World’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Every Grain of Sand’, both of which featured on “Wrecking Ball”. The additional tracks include Tom Petty’s ‘Thing About You’ and Bill Monroe’s ‘Get Up John’ along with ‘All I Left Behind’ which was co-written by Harris with Kate and Anna McGarrigle.
This live project, which includes the talents of the always great Buddy Miller, is an interesting reflection of an American icon. Eclectic, it is reflective of Emmylou Harris‘ excursions into areas of music beyond the country and rock spheres she has already conquered. But it is the country arena that best showcases her ever-flowering ability with a song. “I Ain’t Living Long Like This”…
Since first bursting onto the scene with her classic Number One hit singles ‘Can The Can’ and ‘Devil Gate Drive’, Suzi Quatro has sold over 50 million records worldwide and is recognized as a true rock ‘n’ roll legend and feminist icon. Over her 50-year career, Suzi has inspired countless artists from Joan Jett to Debbie Harry and KT Tunstall. She is also known for her role as the Leather Tuscadero in ‘Happy Days’.
A’s, B’s & Rarities is a collection putting the spotlight on her classic ‘70s singles. Packed with hits including ‘The Wild One’, ‘Devil Gate Drive’, ’48 Crash’ and ‘Can The Can’, alongside the Quatro-penned B-sides which accompanied those iconic rock singles.
Out-of-print on CD for almost two decades…
…Steve Gunn recorded his new LP Daylight Daylight with one primary collaborator. James Elkington, much like Gunn, is a languid singer-songwriter and a master of acoustic folk guitar.
Gunn and Elkington are old friends, and Elkington previously produced Gunn’s 2019 album The Unseen in Between. The two of them recorded Daylight Daylight at Elkington’s Nada Studios in Chicago, and Elkington contributed string and woodwind arrangements, which makes for a cool new dimension on a Steve Gunn record. A press release mentions Mark Hollis, Ennio Morricone, the Fall, and Basil Kirchin as inspirations, and the album includes violins and viola from from Macie Stewart, cellos from Ben Whiteley, upright bass from Nick Macri, and woodwinds from…
Montreal’s The Dears were at an impasse after 2020’s Lover’s Rock. Frontman Murray Lightburn and his wife, Natalia Yanchak (keys, vocals), fulfilled rescheduled dates for the record and embarked upon shows celebrating the 20th anniversary of their renowned No Cities Left (2004). That is not to mention other media projects that grabbed their interest and took hold. As a result, over five years have passed since we last heard from the band.
Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! arose from a spontaneous moment at one of the No Cities Left shows. Lightburn said, “I was on stage surrounded by wonderful musicians, playing songs I wrote in my 20s. My kids and my mom were sitting up on the balcony of the theatre. Natalia was just to my right. I told…
It’s probably about time we retired that nonsense about the pram in the hall. Sure, having a baby will upend your priorities, monopolise your me-time and severely restrict your capacity for hedonistic adventure. But Sessa’s magical third album is further proof that becoming a parent can enhance rather than obstruct your art.
When we first clapped eyes on Sergio Sayeg AKA Sessa, via the back cover of his striking 2019 debut album, he was stripped to the waist and locked in a disconcertingly passionate embrace with an equally half-naked woman. As for the subject matter, one song urged the object of his affections to “me fode de vez” (“fuck me once and for all”), while another was simply entitled “Orgia” (no translation required).
…Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings partner once again to issue a new deluxe edition of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s seminal second album from 1968. Retitled simply Bold As Love and available on four CDs or five LPs and a Blu-ray, the box set include the original album in its original stereo and mono mixes, along with a wealth of rare outtakes and live tracks from the period (28 of which are previously unreleased).
With Axis: Bold As Love, Hendrix started to come into his own as a studio visionary. Working again with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the team of producer Chas Chandler and engineer Eddie Kramer behind the boards, the album featured more expansive original…
…Unlike the Wingspan compilation from 2001, this new collection sticks strictly to songs from Wings albums (and Wings non-album singles) and so doesn’t include any solo hits adjacent to this era (such as ‘Another Day’ or ‘Coming Up’) or anything from 1971’s Ram (credited to Paul and Linda McCartney), despite ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ being a US No 1 hit single in September 1971.
The 32 tracks on 3LP, 2CD and blu-ray audio formats all feature songs from the seven Wings studio albums (Wild Life, Red Rose Speedway, Band on the Run, Venus and Mars, At the Speed of Sound, London Town and Back to the Egg) along with non-album hits such as ‘Hi Hi Hi’, ‘Junior’s Farm’, ‘Live and Let Die’, ‘Mull of Kintyre’ and ‘Goodnight Tonight’.
Willie Nelson spent much of the summer out on the road with the Outlaw Festival, so it’s only appropriate that his new studio album is paying tribute to a fellow Outlaw.
Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle finds Young celebrating his late friend Merle Haggard, with whom he recorded three albums between 1983 and 2015. Willie’s 78th original album, Workin’ Man features a host of Hag favorites including “Okie from Muskogee,” “Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down,” “Today I Started Loving You Again,” “Mama Tried,” and “If We Make It Through December.”
…The album was recorded at Nelson’s Pedernales Studios in Austin and marked the final recordings that Nelson made with a pair of members in his longtime Family band: drummer…
“Climb upon a bridge to far, go anywhere your heart desires.” The key phrase from the title track of Midlake’s sixth studio album conveys the perception that anything is within reach should an appropriate mind-set be attained. However, later on the album there are references to a “lion’s den” and “war within the valley of roselesss thorns,” a setting where “power and glory were in store.”
It seems, then, that this is a realm where escaping to a place called “far” is necessary for self-protection. Midlake singer and frontman Eric Pulido has said of the album’s “The Calling” that the song “has to do with my own struggle with applying myself towards a given effort; denying or embracing that which we were made to do.” Another track, “The Ghouls,” concerns…
Portugal. The Man, the genre-agnostic outfit led by the multi-faceted John Gourley, is changing before our very eyes.
Not in the way this band has been since they emerged in the mid-2000s, consistently shifting sonic terrains throughout their wonderfully colorful discography, but on a more personal level. Gourley is now a father, fully independent after leaving Atlantic following the band’s 2023 LP, and set up in a home studio, free to welcome in any number of collaborators and to curate a spacious environment for his lofty indie rock visions to flourish. With a new studio, outlook on life, and a catalog that has garnered critical acclaim, the latest Portugal. The Man LP finds Gourley at an interesting, scary, and exhilarating moment in his career.
For quite a while now, The Mountain Goats have established themselves as a sort of thinking person’s indie darlings, combining some stylish music with equally stylish and, at the same time, substantive lyrics. At the same time, they developed their music from a strictly folky, singer-songwriter style to something more detailed and elaborate.
Sticking to such a development line, Through The This Fire Across From Peter Balkan, their latest offering takes another step further. It turns out to be a concept album where John Darnielle, Matt Douglas (the album’s producer here), and Jon Wurster decided to go come in with more detailed musical structures, often with full orchestra backing, without slacking in their constantly excellent lyrics department.