FEATURE: The January Playlist: Vol. 1: After the Festive Excess…

FEATURE:

The January Playlist 

IN THIS PHOTO: Michael Stipe

Vol. 1: After the Festive Excess…

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AS this is the first week of 2020…

IN THIS PHOTO: Oh Wonder

artists are still recovering from 2019 and we will not see too many new songs for a few weeks. Regardless, there are a few ace tunes out in the world that are worth investigation. Not only have Michael Stipe and Field Music released gems; Hannah Grace, Pet Shop Boys and Oh Wonder have also started 2020 in style. I have compiled the highs and lows of this week that gives us an indication as to what this year holds in terms of sound and direction. If you need a bit of energy and some music to get you on your way, I have a collection of songs that will do the job. I am interested to see what else comes in January and whether we will get any surprise releases. In this first edition of my Playlist, there are some diamonds to be found. Although Christmas has only just passed us by, the songs that have come out since then show that 2020 is off to…

IN THIS PHOTO: Pet Shop Boys

A pretty good start.   

ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Artists

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PHOTO CREDIT: Albert Urso/Getty Images

Michael Stipe – Drive to the Ocean

Field Music – Do You Read Me?

Pet Shop Boys – Monkey business

Justin Bieber – Yummy

J Hus – No Denying

Hannah Grace – When I Ruled the World

PHOTO CREDIT: Luke Farley

Blaenavon - whatever ü wanna B

RAT BOY – VICTIM OF A SYSTEM

Oh Wonder - Happy

PHOTO CREDIT: Laura Hayes

Cub Sport – Air

Bombay Bicycle Club – I Can Hardly Speak

Lauv – Changes

IN THIS PHOTO: Gabrielle Aplin

Gabrielle Aplin, Nina Nesbitt – Miss You 2

Camden Cox – Healing

IN THIS PHOTO: Travis Scott

JACKBOYS, Travis Scott – HIGHEST IN TH ROOM

Hailee Steinfeld - Wrong Direction

Carly Pearce – Call Me

Wild Nothing – Foyer

FEATURE: Dreams, Awakenings and Rapid Eye Movement: The Iconic, Inspiring Michael Stipe at Sixty

FEATURE:

Dreams, Awakenings and Rapid Eye Movement

IN THIS PHOTO: Michael Stipe of R.E.M. photographed by Kris Krug at South by Southwest in 2008

The Iconic, Inspiring Michael Stipe at Sixty

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THERE are quite a few big birthdays…

IN THIS PHOTO: Stipe captured in 2016 by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

coming up in the next few days. I want to mark a particularly important one today but, even though my subject turns sixty tomorrow, the legendary Stephen Still is seventy-five today (3rd January). Beth Gibbons (Portishead) is fifty-five tomorrow but, because he fronted one of the most influential and popular bands of the past thirty years or so, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe is in my thoughts. He is sixty tomorrow, and it is amazing to think! I am not going to write a big thing about Stipe himself, because I am keen to present an R.E.M./Michael Stipe playlist that shows just what a songwriting/singing talent he is. Although Stipe has recorded music outside of R.E.M., it is the band from Athens, Georgia that he is synonymous with. Whilst he attended the University of Georgia, Stipe could often be found at Wuxtry record shop, where he met the clerk there, Peter Buck, in 1980. The two quickly became friends and started writing music together.

IN THIS PHOTO: R.E.M./PHOTO CREDIT: Frank Ockenfels III

Buck and Stipe were joined by Bill Berry and Mike Mills and named themselves R.E.M. – the name was chosen at random by Stipe out of the dictionary. When it comes to debut albums, few are as original and interesting as Murmur. Released in 1983, Stipe’s unique vocal delivery – mixing mumbles and keening vocal figures – and lyrics caught the public attention. My first real experience of the band was when their 1991 album, Out of Time, was released. Their seventh album, it boasted massive hits like Shiny Happy People and Losing My Religion and, whilst the former was practically disowned by the band, it is one of their earliest songs I remember.

As an eight year old discovering the album upon its release, I was mesmerised by this incredible band. If Out of Time was promising and contained a few gems, 1992’s Automatic for the People was a huge step. Not only is it one of the best albums of the 1990s, it is one of the best albums ever. Flawless, beautifully programmed and with stunning singing and songwriting throughout, Automatic for the People is a masterpiece. Although R.E.M. called it a day in 2011 - they were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 -, their legacy is strong. They helped develop the Alternative Rock genre; the band’s early success spurred other Alternative bands. The way R.E.M. guided their career and found success on their own terms was compelling for bands that followed, such as Nirvana and Sonic Youth. R.E.M. were a prime example of a band who were hugely successful but were still cool. One can hear R.E.M. and Michael Stipe’s brilliance in bands like Radiohead, Pearl Jam and Pavement. When it comes to Stipe himself, he has inspired everyone from Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) to Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Stipe is Thom Yorke’s favourite lyricist; Stipe and Cobain were friends and, as a call for his friend to seek help, Stipe wrote Let Me In (from Monster, 1994) about him – Cobain took his life in 1994 and, sadly, that song/message came too late. There is so much to discover and discuss when we think of Michael Stipe and, though I have only skimmed the surface, I wanted to put together a career-spanning playlist to celebrate his sixtieth birthday – including work with R.E.M., solo stuff and bits he worked on with other artists. Michael Stipe, I hope, will continue to make music for many years to come. He is one of those astonishing artists that comes along only…  

ONCE in a generation.

FEATURE: Numbers and Solutions: Streaming in the 2020s

FEATURE:

Numbers and Solutions

PHOTO CREDIT: @austindistel/Unsplash

Streaming in the 2020s

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THERE are so many reasons to love streaming services…

PHOTO CREDIT: @neonbrand/Unsplash

and promote them. Spotify was created in Sweden in 2006 and, in the 2010s, it has changed the way we consume music. The instant accessibility and variety is a reason why so many people can get into music and broaden their horizons. Rather than be choosy regarding albums and songs we listen to, one can browse a host of different sounds for very little money. Back before streaming, one had to rely on record shops and traditional outlets. It meant we had to be specific about the albums we were buying because, unlike today, we could not buy everything we wanted and do that regularly. Now, we all have playlists and libraries full of the best established and new music. That is a great thing, and I love how I can go online and get the latest tracks without having to wait and pay a lot of money. There is that debate as to whether streaming services pay artists enough and whether we need to improve that side of things. Certainly, the amount artists generate from streaming figures is meagre, unless you are a huge artist who can attract millions of streams. I think streaming sites have changed music more than anything else over the past decades. As we are now in the 2020s, its influence and relevance will increase and continue to dominate. For consumers who love their music, I do think streaming sites have an important role and allow newer artists to have their stuff heard. Again, years ago, there was no way for new artists to be heard and discovered. Sites such as MySpace opened that door, and now streaming services provide a platform for pretty much anyone and everyone.

PHOTO CREDIT: @fixelgraphy/Unsplash

I am not going to attack streaming sites because, as I say, they are very useful and allow everyone to access music from around the world for very little expenditure. That is a good thing when one considers the sheer volume of music out there. I know we have YouTube as well so, if we need all the best new and older music, we have options. A reason why I wanted to write this is to see how streaming sites will affect music in the 2020s. Look back at the past decade and, despite some controversy – issues regarding compensating artists for example -, there have been a lot of benefits regarding streaming. The last few years especially have seen streaming sites blow up and dominate how we consume music. I do wonder, though, whether streaming will consume music and replace conventional purchasing. I can understand why sites like Spotify are popular and, whilst I and so many others use the site, are we spending as much on albums as we should? So many people use Spotify and other streaming sites for free, and many of us idly scroll through songs without listening to them the way through. In practical terms, I suppose it would be impossible to have a music industry where we were expected to buy rather than stream. It would mean so many new artists would never be heard and, in this day and age, are people going to buy singles?!

PHOTO CREDIT: @annietheby/Unsplash

In order for us as music fans to discover and investigate some great new artists, streaming sites need to be around. I am a big supporter of people buying music and getting out to shops, but I do feel, as the years roll on, so many people are relying on the Internet because it is convenient and inexpensive. Not that one can blame streaming entirely, but has the shift and evolution in the industry lead to things becoming more about streaming figures and less about the excitement of an album? By that, I mean so much stock is put in how many streams a song or albums gets. I think we are losing a lot of anticipation and that feeling of build-up. Because there is so much music around and there is a sea of artists in the world, there are very few artists that remain for years; few occasions when an album arrives and there is that enormous excitement and desire. Whilst streaming services need to be around, I wonder whether we rely too heavily on them and whether they are too prevalent. The same is true with T.V. and streaming: there is Netflix and Apple TV alongside Amazon prime Video and other services. In music, we have Spotify and Tidal and, really, it can be quite exhausting and too much. I have found myself backing away from streaming over the past few months, and I am endeavouring to buy more music (from retail outlets) this decade.

PHOTO CREDIT: @chichi1813/Unsplash

I wanted to introduce an article from The Guardian that talks about streaming and how services, on T.V. and music, have overwhelmed us and, at the same time, made us more isolated:

“It feels like there are fewer household names, more cult figures – and the gulf between the universally famous and the known-to-just-some grows wider and wider. A discussion about music with an old friend or a new acquaintance can go quite a long way before you find something that you have both heard. Not only there is a sprawling span of contemporary niche sounds and micro-genres, but there are several generations of ageing stars and tenacious fringe figures still out there gigging and recording, Meanwhile, the reissue industry constantly rescues obscure artists from oblivion and repositions them as deserving of attention and ear-time, while the amateur archivists of YouTube and album-sharing sites mop up anybody and everybody else remaining with a scintilla of significance.

The idea of Spotify introducing a similar function seems unlikely: while a TV narrative could be compressed without loss of information, in a profound sense music simply is a particular experience of time, so altering its rate of flow would be to change its essence. But who knows? The challenge of too much music and too little time could drive a music fan to desperate measures. Research suggests that average song lengths have decreased significantly in response to streaming, while canny writers and producers are placing the chorus at the start of singles (such as High Hopes by Panic! At the Disco) to hook browsing listeners instantly. The rise of TikTok as a teenage go-to discovery engine for new music plays into this syndrome, with its 15-second fan-created videos that turn songs into bite-size samples at the pop supermarket.

A sense of sanity-endangering overload was already apparent in the 2000s. The shift between the first decade of the 21st century and the 2010s can be partly conveyed by the contrast between “torrents” and “streaming”. Both terms evoke the new liquidity of cultural products freed from solid form and turned into pure information. Visiting torrent sites or filesharing platforms was a purposeful activity, though – like going to an MP3 retailer such as iTunes except without a financial transaction taking place. Legal and illegal downloading alike was still tethered to the notion of music ownership, even if the collection was now infinitesimally inconspicuous, crammed into a hard drive or that antique object, the iPod”.

I do love the fact streaming means we can widen our mindset and are not limited in terms of cost. Anyone can listen to what they want, which means we do not have to miss out. I wonder whether we are getting too much for free; if we are being overloaded and, as this decade progresses, what impact that will have on the music industry. Streaming has to exist, but I do worry we are not taking time to listen to music and, with so much in front of us, what that effect is. Although streaming is helping to generate more money, artists are still not getting their just rewards. I do hope we all use this decade as an excuse to get out to record shops and take a bit of a step back from streaming sites.

PHOTO CREDIT: @halannahalila/Unsplash

Whilst it might be rich for me to say something like that – as I use it a lot for my work -, I do sort of miss the days when I could get excited about an album coming out and there was that anticipation. I am not saying we all need to return to past decades and forge streaming sites, because there are many benefits to be found. This article discusses the plus-sides of sites like Spotify:

“Spotify speaks to this silent majority of music fans. Audiophiles, object fetishists, anti-capitalists, musicians – these groups noisily protest Spotify, but are marginal compared with the number of ordinary listeners, who never read the liner notes in the first place. For many people, music is just for mood, something to work, exercise or have sex to – situations that Spotify usefully caters to with playlists such as Productive Morning, Extreme Metal Workout and 90s Baby Makers.

It is a badge of pride for musos to say that Spotify’s machine-learning algorithms – when you listen to a track and it recommends things you might also like – don’t cover their cosmopolitan taste. But there are plenty more people who have relatively narrow taste, for whom – in a world where not everyone has the time or inclination to read up on new music – this kind of recommendation is really cherished. And if you do happen to have catholic taste, or fannish obsession, there are some very deep back catalogues to go down (even, should you so desire, Basshunter’s). There are debates to be had over revenue sharing and the acts it chooses to promote, but Spotify’s free, total access makes it essentially utopian”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @wesleyphotography/Unsplash

The main reason why I would suggest people spend less time on streaming sites is because of the types of songs favoured: something quite populist and monotonous that will get some big streaming numbers but will not necessarily stick in the head. There are downsides that will continue to exist and rule this decade:

“It limits music discovery and the sound of music itself. Singles are tailored to beat the skip-rate that hinders a song’s chances of making it on to a popular playlist: hooks and choruses hit more quickly. Homogenous mid-tempo pop drawing from rap and EDM has become dominant: New York Times pop critic Jon Caramanica regularly disparages this sound as “Spotifycore”.

The algorithm pushes musicians to create monotonous music in vast quantities for peak chart success: hence this year’s tedious 106-minute Migos album, Culture II, and Drake’s dominance. Add in Spotify’s hugely popular artists with no profile outside the platform, widely assumed to be fake artists commissioned by Spotify to bulk out playlists and save on royalties, and music appears in danger of becoming a kind of grey goo.

It continually perpetuates such inequality: a report by Pelly found that despite the “woke optics of playlists like Feminist Friday”, women are underrepresented on its most popular playlists. (Meanwhile, Drake benefited from Spotify’s first “global artist takeover”, his face and music appearing on every editorialised playlist when he released this year’s Scorpion.) These function as echo chambers, popularity begetting more support, the antithesis of musical democracy”.

I do think streaming sites are vital when it comes to new artists and giving them a platform. It would be unrealistic to charge everyone something to play every song they access or return us to a time when we could only buy albums/singles and there was no streaming. I put together playlists and love the fact I can get every song I need with the click of a mouse. What I am going to do this decade is rely on streaming less. I love the radio and still get a buzz going to record shops and actually purchasing music. Whilst we may have passed a time where an album release is an exciting and curious thing, getting out to gigs and taking a step back from streaming is a wise thing. I think, if we all used streaming services less frequently, it would have a benefit on the mainstream. Songs would become longer – as many artists create shorter songs because of people’s tendencies to skip through tracks -, and I feel we would appreciate the album form more. Maybe we have come too far to reverse the negative effects of streaming, but I do feel we all need to be a bit more aware of how reliant we are on streaming sites. As much as anything, there is still that debate as to whether artists are paid enough and, as more people turn to streaming, whether this means only the biggest mainstream stars will profit. Use the 2020s to be broad and explorative, but we also cannot ignore record shops and the joy of buying music; the community and sense of satisfaction of owning something. Also, in a sea of music and playlists, I do think we are all getting a bit buried and hooked on streaming. I hope this decade sees more people returning to buying music but, at the same time, using streaming sites to discover hidden gems and the best new artists around. I hope we do see some changes and steps forward that mean we have the best of both worlds. Hopefully, if more people buy music (either from shops or sites like Bandcamp), it means artists can…       

PHOTO CREDIT: @joshappel/Unsplash

GET their fair cut.

FEATURE: An Ageless Fragrance: Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and One Billion YouTube Views

FEATURE:

An Ageless Fragrance

IN THIS PHOTO: Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl circa 1991/PHOTO CREDIT: Houston Press

Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and One Billion YouTube Views

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AT the time of writing this feature (29th December)…

Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit has hit 1,005,079,985 on YouTube. That is quite staggering considering the video has only been on the site for a decade! I know other songs have hit higher figures, but a lot of these tracks are from Pop artists and, in my view, the success is less about song quality and more to do with…well, artist popularity. I think the mark of a truly brilliant track is if it can endure for years and prove popular decade after decade. In this NME article, the facts are laid out:

“Released in 1991, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ appeared on Nirvana’s second album ‘Nevermind’. The song and its accompanying video helped usher in a new wave of grunge and alternative rock dominance.

The official video was uploaded to YouTube in June 2009 and recently hit one billion views. it is the second-most-viewed 90s music video on the streaming platform, behind only Guns N’ Roses’ ‘November Rain’, which to date has racked up nearly 1.3 billion views.

Behind ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ is the next 90s music video set to achieve one billion views, which currently stands at around 980 million views.

Nirvana’s mega hit was also recently revealed as the sixth-most-watched rock video in the 2010s by Vevo”.

It is amazing that this iconic track from the 1990s is still being digested. New generations are picking up on the spirit and power of Nirvana’s masterpiece.

Maybe Kurt Cobain (the band’s lead) felt it was a bit commercial and the Nevermind album is not their finest moment, yet few can overlook the importance of Smells Like Teen Spirit. On a basic level, it is a phenomenal song that is such a powerhouse. From Dave Grohl’s insatiable and genius drumming to Krist Novoselic’s guiding and memorable bass work, it is a true anthem. I love Cobain’s riffs and lyrics; the clash of the song’s title – Teen Spirit was the name of a deodorant – and the physicality and rawness of the track itself. The track itself was Cobain trying to write like the Pixies – a group he admired enormously. Cobain loved the quiet-loud dynamic of the song and connected with Pixies instantly. Inspired by his then-girlfriend, Kathleen Hana (Bikini Kill) writing ‘Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit’ on his wall, a classic was penned. Written during one of the first recording sessions with producer Butch Vig in 1990, Cobain presented the song to his bandmates which, at that time, consisted the main guitar riff and chorus vocal. Krist Novoselic thought the song ridiculous so, as a reaction, Cobain made his bandmates play the riff over and over; Dave Grohl came in with a drumbeat and Novoselic slowed the riff down. It is the only song on Nevermind credited to all three band members. To different people, Smells Like Teen Spirit means different things. I heard it first not long after its release in the 1990s, and the song got into my head instantly.

It was a Generation X anthem but, in the 2010s, it still sounds potent and relevant. Whereas a lot of Grunge songs sound dated and of their time, Smells Like Teen Spirit is fresh and continues to infuse and release its scent. I wanted to bring in an article from earlier this year that puts the song under the spotlight:

"I just remember feeling as though it was this inescapable presence in my life," says Hua Hsu, a staff writer at The New Yorker. He was a 14-year-old in suburban Northern California when he first heard the song in September 1991.

The album Nevermind had just come out on a major label. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was all over the radio. The music video, featuring cheerleaders with the anarchy symbol scrawled on their black uniforms, was in heavy rotation on MTV. Nine months after playing the song live for the first time, Nirvana was performing it on Saturday Night Live.

"Like millions of kids my age, this is the first thing that felt like it was mine," Hsu says. "As a teenager, I think you're really trying to figure out your place in the world. This song in particular felt so ambivalent about its own success."

Lyrics like "I found it hard, it was hard to find / Oh well, whatever, never mind" cut to the heart of Gen X, a group that includes this reporter. We were too jaded for a feel-good, sing-along anthem.

That was the genius of the song: It combined a fierce commentary on shallowness while still having a mass-appeal musicality.

Danny Goldberg, former Nirvana manager

" 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is an unusual anthem because it refuses the role of the anthem," says NPR Music critic Ann Powers. "It's perfect for the generation it represented because this was a cohort that was so ambivalent about any traditional values [or] conventional success".

Following Cobain’s suicide in 1994, Smells Like Teen Spirit continued to garner praise and acclaim. From it being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the tracks that shaped Rock and Roll, to VH1 including it in their 100 Greatest Rock Songs list of 2000, so many sources have cited this incredible song as one of the very best ever. It is not just a case of Smells Like Teen Spirit capturing critical acclaim in the 1990s and early-2000s: in 2005, NME placed the song at number-six in their Global Best Songs Ever Poll. In 2015, the song was also named the most iconic song of all time according to a study by Goldsmith's College, which analysed various songs featured in numerous 'all-time best' lists, using analytical software to compare their key, BPM; the  chord variety and lyrical content – the result of which designated the title to this song. I think Smells Like Teen Spirit will live on for decades because the messages of the song and the sheer quality transcends a particular scene and the Grunge of the 1990s. It is one of my favourite songs ever and I am not surprised it has surpassed one billion views on YouTube. Those who experienced the song the first time around still relate but, in 2019 and 2020, the track resonates and takes on a whole new meaning. Smells Like Teen Spirit is truly…

A magnificent thing.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Calva Louise

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

Calva Louise

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THIS is my last post of 2019…

PHOTO CREDIT: Keira-Anee Photography

and tomorrow will be a new decade! As we head into the 2020s, I wanted to highlight a group that will be making steps and progressing towards the mainstream. I think we will see a lot of articles coming out that recommend the artists we need to look out for next year. I would urge people to keep an eye out for Calva Louise, as they have an incredible sound. The Manchester trio provide something incredibly vibrant and exciting. I have just been listening to their new E.P., Interlude for the Borderline Unsettled, and you are hit by the full force of their power. It is hard to label them in terms of genre as one gets Pop and Rock alongside other genres. In an interview with Fred Perry, they were asked which subcultures inspire them: “Punk, Britpop, Garage Rock and Alternative Latin music”. You get all of that in songs that definitely stay in the head and get the energy levels rising! I am not suggesting artists this year have been lacking, yet there does seem to be a definite lack of oomph and spirit. Maybe that will change next year and, with Calva Louise looking to conquer the world, I think we are in safe hands! I want to bring in an interview, where Calva Louise were asked about their debut album, Rhinoceros – which came out in February – in January:

“You need to get to know Calva Louise. The bubblegum rock trio are about to release their debut album, ‘Rhinoceros’, which, if their current five singles are anything to go by, is going to be huge. Following the album release, they’re taking off around the UK for a headline tour. They have even got a comic based around the tracks on ‘Rhinoceros’.

In case you’ve somehow missed out on the hype about these guys, then all you need to know is you simply have got to see them live- I promise you, you will not be disappointed. I had the pleasure of talking to front woman Jess, so you can get familiar with the band before they hit the big time.

So where’s the rhinoceros concept come from? Is it one of your spirit animals? A dream pet?

Rhinoceros comes from Eugene Ionesco’s play of the same name. We took influence from his play, where people suddenly start becoming Rhinoceros!

How did Calva Louise start?

We formed in London in August 2016. Alizon and I went to school together and decided to move to London where we played a bit together and met Ben at a gig! Then we asked him if he wanted to record some demos with us and then the band started!

If you could tour with any artist, living or dead, who would it be?

Queens of the stone age! It’s a band that has influenced us a lot and would love to be able to see them live everyday, or well, for as long as the tour lasts!

2018 has been a big year for you guys and 2019 is set to be even bigger, with an album release and a UK tour in the first few months. So as we move into the new year, what’s been a stand out memory for the band from 2018?

Touring with our friends, that’s been one of the best experiences we’ve ever had!”.

I am always interesting seeing how bands start out and how they appear on their debut. I often see bands with some promise from the start, but they tend to strengthen as time goes on. Maybe it is the close bonds within the band, but one feels the chemistry and connection on every song. Their music is so different and captivating. There will be a lot of artists coming through in 2020, but you all need to keep your eyes on Calva Louise. I want to bring in a review for their Rhinoceros album but, before then, a little snippet of an interview they provided Loud Women; the band were questioned regarding their progress. It is amazing that, so soon after Rhinoceros (this interview is from June), they were already looking at what was to come:

“What’s your best piece of advice for young musicians?

There’s no formula, everyone takes a different path and sometimes it’s difficult but necessary to not let yourself be controlled by your emotions, whether your feel bad or good about yourself.

What are your musical goals?

Keep doing what we love – making music and touring whenever and wherever we can!

What’s the most important thing we need to know about your band right now?

Expect new things soon..”.

The album itself is so fully-formed and varied. The band has been inspired by various genres and acts, yet one does not hear other artists in their D.N.A. It is rare for artists to sound original but, in a way, remind you of someone else. That may sound contradictory; the music of Calva Louise is so busy and thrilling, one gets a scent of past days and artists, but the magic they concoct is very much their own.

I have seen a lot of reviews of this year where the media collate the best albums of the year. A lot of the ‘best of’ lists seem to concern slightly bigger artists. I think acts like Calva Louise deserve the same oxygen as the bigger stars. They have had a very fruitful year and, when you look at their social media accounts (links are at the bottom), they are amassing a nice and loyal army of fans. This is what CLASH had to say about Rhinoceros:

“In this debut, they tip a hat to the absurd and the satirical state of life, the title a direct reference to the 1950’s avant-garde playwright Eugène Ionesco and his work by the same name. There is also a hint of Voltaire blurred between the fuzzy grunge-pop and scuzzy punk riffs that match to the humorous optimism of Candide with the overarching message of breaking from reality to find what you’re really made of. Drawing from strong themes of conformity, culture, morality, and parody, ‘Rhinoceros’ wastes no time in being direct and bold. Speaking of the personal project that the album has emerged from, Jess reveals that the idea behind the album’s narrative is “about the meandering thoughts you have as a young adult; questioning who you are and your purpose, whether you’re the person you want to be, what life is and realising it’s more fun than what it’s supposed to be.” 

PHOTO CREDIT: @Conner.dixon

The album is a call-to-arms, fully fledged with overdriven riffage, unpredictable cadence, and intersections where grunge-pop and garage-punk overlap creating infectious walls of sound. Previous singles ‘Outrageous’ and ‘Getting Closer’ in particular come to the forefront, both melodically driven, the former a raucous characterisation of our time and the latter a satirical search for one’s identity. Anthemic tracks ‘I Heard A Cry’ and ‘Out Of Use’ follow the same unbridled formulas. For the most part, all 10 tracks are jam-packed with energy, and captivatingly so. Even the few numbers that take a softer approach, such as ‘Down The Stream’ and Spanish tune ‘No Hay’ still morph into something dynamically vibrant.

Calva Louise have carved out a charming niche in the punk genre, unexpected and perhaps unparalleled in today’s music. ‘Rhinoceros’ boasts a fusion of the band’s skill set, serving as an explosion of effect- heavy, silky guitar work, refreshing rhythms that go slightly awry, and explosively strategic vocal work that well suits their anthemic style. In their campaign to be authentic, the trio has achieved something quintessentially DIY-punk. It’s outrageous, really”.

I was going to introduce a single review, but the reception to Calva Louise’s debut album has been incredible! It is an album that offers so many treats and intriguing moments. Whilst there are some spirited and vivacious compositions, the themes addressed on the album point to serious subjects. I do like artists that can tackle weightier matters and manage to that whilst adding lightness and sheer fun. There is a lot to recommend about Rhinoceros; a record that has impressed a lot of people this year. In their review, The Skinny were keen to add praise:

“But while the ‘Louise’ in Calva Louise was chosen by bassist and Frenchman Alizon Taho just because he liked it, ‘calva’ means ‘bald’ in Spanish (Allanic is Venezuelan) and is a knowing reference to The Bald Soprano by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. A pioneering avant-garde absurdist, Ionesco is known for his 1959 satire Rhinoceros, a warning klaxon against conformism and the insidious spread of fascism (people start turning into rhinos, basically). Not an accidental choice of album title, then, against today’s backdrop of worldwide far-right resurgence.

Though it’s not a political album by any means. And for all its nods to absurdist theatre, Rhinoceros is a sincere declaration of the trials of becoming an adult, and the scariness and unpredictability of the world. These are timeless themes, even if today’s youth are entering a particularly volatile and divisive era. I’m Gonna Do Well is a fun, potent wail of optimism; Tug of War has Allanic yelling 'Don’t hate yourself / Try to get away ‘cause you can'; Getting Closer’s choruses become full-on screams. It’s a record grimacing with hope.

When the world is falling to shit, we need the youthful verve of bands like Calva Louise to give a little light”.

Although the Manchester-based crew unveiled their debut album earlier in the year, they did not leave it too long until more material was out in the world. On 22nd November, Interlude for the Borderline Unsettled was released. I know Calva Louise were busy touring Rhinoceros and bringing to the people. Even though a few months passed between their debut album and E.P., there were some changes in terms of sound and direction. Although there are some darker tinges on Interlude for the Borderline Unsettled, one is blown away by the heat, rush and colour. Maybe the three original tracks that appear on the E.P. were left over from the album or, when touring, the band wanted to try something different. It is amazing Calva Louise released such an amazing E.P. so soon after their album. Again, reviews were positive. This is what Louder than War had to say about Interlude for the Borderline Unsettled:

 “Sleeper is a great tune with it’s futuristic space sound which marks a whole new direction for the band. The lyrics seek to plug the listener into a virtual world as the band examine our rapidly evolving relationship with technology and the endless possibilities of simulated reality. The catchy grunge punk riff melded with those stunning vocals sounds so huge they make Wolf Alice sound like a low fi garage band. A great return to form.

Adelante is a slow burner, very industrial sounding, a dark anthem with some amazing guitar sounds, menacing bass and double drumming going on. It goes into a futuristic Garbage like territory. Space junk at it’s best.

After touring with Strange Bones earlier this year it’s no surprise the Blackpool lads have remixed Belicoso, turning it into a Prodigy style techno stomp in their own inimitable style. They certainly know how to produce a banger and it gives you the idea of how Calva Louise are not scared of experimenting in new stuff. A total shift from Rhinoceros and refreshing that they’re willing to progress into new boundaries. Check out the cosmic video to Sleeper  in all it’s glory below”.

It is the final day of 2019 and, come tomorrow, many people will be looking about for the artists who will define the year. It has been a successful and huge year for Calva Louise and, whilst festival season is a fair few months off, I would expect them to be included. You can see where they are playing next, and do go and see them if you can! It will be another hot one for a band that are getting stronger and more popular by the month. That is no shock to realise when you get a single taste of…

A wonderful brew.

____________

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PHOTO CREDIT: Conner Edward Dixon Photography

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FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Lorde - Melodrama

FEATURE:

Vinyl Corner 

Lorde - Melodrama

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FROM next week…

I will return to usual business with Vinyl Corner; featuring general albums that I think people need to buy on vinyl. This time around, I am continuing my run of albums that are among the best of the decade. I would urge people to get Lorde’s Melodrama on vinyl, as it sounds terrific and would make a great post-Christmas gift! Many are waiting for her third album, but that has been delayed due to the death of her dog, Pearl. Lorde’s Melodrama has been named as one of the best albums of this decade by various sources and, aside from some weird stories speculating as to how old Lorde really is, it has been a fairly quiet year for the New Zealand-born songwriter. Lorde’s debut album, Pure Heroine, was well-received and was noted because of Lorde’s brilliant delivery and phrasing; her strong and memorable songwriting in addition to something genuinely fresh and exciting. Whilst a lot of people associate this decade’s best with artists like Lana Del Rey, I think Lorde is an artist who has made a big impact. I am not sure when her new album is due, but it will be among the most anticipated of next year – unless she needs to delay it further. I think there are some great and innovative Pop artists out there, but many of them are generic and have very little personality. One reason why Lorde’s music connected with people from the off is because the music is personal; she is a songwriter who does not copy everyone else and, when her age is not being called into question, there is a lot of interest as to her story and inspirations.

Pure Heroine was a promising debut, but I don’t think it was Lorde in full flight. Maybe she was still finding her feet; Melodrama is a huge step forward and, rightly, it is considered one of this decade’s most remarkable works. The album fuses Pop and Electro-Pop; there is the intimacy of piano with the rush of heavy beats and electronic swathes. Whilst there are a few producers in the mix – including Lana Del Rey’s collaborator, Jack Antonoff -, Lorde co-writes every song and ensured her voice was not lost. I like the fact she has a team that gave new skin to each song, but it is Lorde’s imagination, songwriting ability and incredible voice that it is the biggest asset. Melodrama was recorded following Lorde’s break-up with her long-time boyfriend James Lowe in 2015. Released in June 2017, Melodrama is a sort-of concept album that investigates loneliness and uses a house party as the scene; a single night where she goes through a variety of moods and situations. Melodrama sounds more accomplished and worldly than Pure Heroine. Lorde spent a lot of time in the U.S. and New Zealand whilst writing the album, and she spent a lot of time away from the spotlight – there were periods of writer’s block and inactivity; none of which shows in a very fluid and filler-free album. It is clear Lorde was struggling with the break-up and wrestling with myriad emotions and questions. Lorde stated in interviews how Melodrama is more than a single break-up: instead, it is about loneliness and the negatives and positives that come with that state.

Unlike a lot of Pop albums, Lorde digs into art and theatre; there is an aspect of Greek tragedy in many numbers. Lorde faced her first big break-up and moved out of her parents’ home; she was isolated in her own house and, with Antonoff’s assistance, wrote an album that beautifully reveals all her emotions and struggles at the time. Not only was Lorde inspired by her own experiences but, apparently, she was compelled by strangers’ conversations and certain phrases; this gave her work a sense of the conversational and provided some wonderful lines. In terms of musical inspiration, Lorde cites Prince, Don Henley; Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell and David Bowie as important. The vocals on Melodrama are especially impressive. In terms of other artists, Lorde has cited Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson and Sinéad O'Connor as inspirations. I do think a lot of artists suffer because their voices are one-dimensional and do not expand that easily. It is hard, because of that, to convey that many emotions or give albums different contours. Lorde’s vocals on Melodrama range hugely, which makes the album so compelling and gives the young artist different personas – from the composed and mature young woman to someone losing control. Looking back at the reviews Melodrama received, it was clear Lorde had truly broken through and created one of this decade’s best albums. Here is NME’s glowing take:

“With its pounding piano house sound, ‘Green Light’ brought back sounds not heard in pop music for years. It’s indicative of the album as a whole only in its determination to be bold and different. ‘The Louvre’ updates Phil Spector’s girl group formula as it imagines Lorde and her partner hanging in The Louvre (“in the back, but who cares, still The Louvre”), ‘Liability’ is a hymnal ballad reminiscent of Mercury Rev’s ‘Deserter’s Songs’ and the string-drenched ‘Sober II (Melodrama)’ is like something from a musical, albeit describing a desolate scene of champagne flute-strewn carnage. And there’s that voice of a generation thing in play again, always framing experience through a modern lens, like in ‘Supercut’, in which a relationship plays out in condensed highlights, like a YouTube clip.

It’s a rudely excellent album, introspective without ever being indulgent, OTT in all the right ways, honest and brave, full of brilliant songs with lyrics to chew over for months. The message might be that Lorde considers herself wild and flawed and bruised (“I’ll love you till you call the cops on me,” she sings, on the deliciously bitter ‘Writer In The Dark’), but we all do sometimes. That’s the neatest trick the album pulls off – universal connection, in spite of the squad and the praise and the superstardom and the pressure. Humanity intact. Artistry assured. Brilliance confirmed”.

One would be hard pressed to find an album that isn’t fully positive and adoring. AllMusic were keen to have their say on a truly remarkable album from an artist who had come quite a long way from her debut:

“Melodrama, arriving nearly four long years after her 2013 debut, picks up the thread left hanging on Pure Heroine, presenting Lorde as a young woman, not a sullen teenager. Tonally and thematically, it's a considerable shift from Pure Heroine, and Melodrama feels different musically too, thanks in part to Lorde's decision to collaborate with Jack Antonoff, the leader of Fun. and Bleachers who has been nearly omnipresent in 2010s pop/rock. Antonoff's steely signatures -- a reliance on retro synths, a sheen so glassy it glares -- are all over the place on Melodrama but Lorde is unquestionably the auteur of the album, not just because the songs tease at autobiography but because of how it builds upon Pure Heroine.

Lorde retains her bookish brooding, but Melodrama isn't monochromatic. "Green Light" opens the proceedings with a genuine sense of exuberance and it's an emotion she returns to often, sometimes reveling in its joy, sometimes adding an undercurrent of melancholy. Sadness bubbles to the surface on occasion, as it does on the stark "Liability," and so does Lorde's penchant for blunt literalism -- "Writer in the Dark," where our narrator sings "bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark," thereby suggesting all of her songs are some kind of autobiography -- but these traits don't occupy the heart of the album. Instead, Lorde is embracing all the possibilities the world has to offer but then retreating to the confines of home, so she can process everything she's experienced. This balance between discovery and reflection gives Melodrama a tension, but the addition of genuine, giddy pleasure -- evident on the neon pulse of "Homemade Dynamite" and "Supercut" -- isn't merely a progression for Lorde, it's what gives the album multiple dimensions”.

I think Melodrama is an enormously powerful record and would have inspired so many artists coming through. Rather than conform to expectation and do what other artists of her age are doing, Lorde created something different and evolved in Melodrama. It is a stunning album that pushed Pop forward and confirmed her as a star. NPR ran an interesting article that explored Lorde as this century’s author of adolescent evolution:

“It's that teenage rebel streak at play. But it proves that for Lorde, now past the age of adolescence, working outside the norm is part of her creative practice and not just a facet of her age. When Lorde broke in 2013, her sound was singular on the radio and her voice like nothing else in music. Since then, a flood of teens have taken over the airwaves carrying souvenirs of Lorde's spirit: Alessia Cara's moody R&B hit "Here" mimicked Lorde's above-it-all attitude; Khalid's debut American Teen similarly chronicles the trials of high school; Billie Eilish spits out confident dark pop that might not have been taken seriously before a different 16-year-old spurned candy-coated, puppy love pop.

It was no easy feat for Lorde to deliver on her sophomore album after shifting the paradigm of popular music so strongly on her first try. Not only did she deliver, she reminded us that adolescence doesn't set the high-water mark for all-consuming emotion. It may be period in our lives when it's easiest to cede control from our heads to our hearts, but there will be many moments after our teenage years end when our brains betray us, when our physiology follows orders from the wrong organ. Lorde's ability to tell these stories at her young age speaks less to her as an unprecedented figure and more to the fact that we have been ignoring young voices for far too long.

Wisdom and youth are not inherently opposite: Calling Lorde an old soul, as many writers have, denies her the potential to stand as an avatar for not only her generation, but for all young people with opinions and experiences that speak precisely to their age. Deciding that teenagers with a hard-earned understanding of the present reality must be "old souls" underestimates their intelligence and innate potential for complex thought. It ignores the consequences of rearing a generation on technology that allows them an unparalleled ability to be social, but also to be informed about and exposed to the tragedies and joys of the world, perhaps maturing them past a point seen in previous generations of teens.

So no, Lorde is not an old soul. She's a young woman of the 21st century”.

I really love Melodrama, and I think it is one of the strongest albums of the past ten years. I wonder when Lorde will give us a third album but, seeing as a four-year break from her debut to Melodrama resulted in a masterpiece, one can wait until 2020 at the least for a new record – that would only be a three-year break. It is clear things have changed in her life since her 2017 release – not only the death of her dog; Lorde has risen to new heights and is a global star -, so I wonder what themes will be addressed on a future album. It will be exciting to find out and, as we look forward to 2020, a new album from one of music’s finest talents will be…

A definite boost.

FEATURE: (Almost Nearly) The Greatest: Lana Del Rey and the Career-High Norman Fucking Rockwell!

FEATURE:

(Almost Nearly) The Greatest

Lana Del Rey and the Career-High Norman Fucking Rockwell!

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I have already covered my favourite albums…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times

of 2019 and selected the debut albums that have stuck in my mind. Today, I wanted to highlight a particular artist and album because, recently, I included her in my Modern Heroines feature and looked at how, since her debut in 2010, Lana Del Rey, she has come a long way! That album turns ten on 4th January, and we can see how Del Rey (real name Elizabeth Grant) has progressed. That is not to say her debut or first few albums were weak or lacked quality. Whilst some wondered whether Lana Del Rey was a marketing gimmick – who was putting advertising slogans in her music -, she has singled herself out as one of the finest artists of this generation. I will write a separate piece about women in 2019 but, when we consider the very best albums, most are by women. Lana Del Rey is a classic case of an artist who gets stronger with every release. Working with various producers on Norman Fucking Rockwell!, including Jack Antonoff, Del Rey has released an album that stands alongside the very best of this year! I will come to the album in a bit but, very shortly, she will be releasing another album:

 “Lana Del Rey has announced she will be releasing a new spoken word album in just over two weeks’ time.

The pop star broke the news in a “video note” posted to Instagram early on Friday (December 20), revealing that the album will be released January 4.

Del Rey began the message to her fans with the news that her book of poetry, Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass, “is taking a lot longer to handbind than I thought”. She had teased the volume with social media posts in April.

Though Del Rey didn’t specify the spoken word album’s title, she did say that she had for some time wanted the album to cost around a dollar, “because I just love the idea that thoughts are meant to be shared and you know, they were priceless in some way”.

I wonder what we will get from the new album and what it will sound like. Norman Fucking Rockwell! was released on 30th August and is the sixth album from Lana Del Rey. With primary production from Del Rey and Jack Antonoff – with additional production from people including Rick Nowels and Andrew Watt -, one is captivated and struck by a gorgeous combination of genres and moods. From piano ballads to Soft Rock moments, there is so much going on. I think of Lana Del Rey more as a cinematic icon rather than an artist. She seems to weave these dreamy scenes and can project so many personas through her music. Small wonder Norman Fucking Rockwell! has been nominated for Album of the Year at next year’s Grammy Awards. I may well focus on another album or two from this year that warrants special attention but, as we end 2019, I felt it only right to talk about Lana Del Rey’s finest album to date.

In many ways, it is like she has found her voice; those who criticised her early in her career for sounding fake or prefabricated could not have foreseen the artist we hear on Norman Fucking Rockwell! It has been a remarkable year for Del Rey; she is kicking off her 2020 campaign sooner than anyone could have expected! The reviews for Norman Fucking Rockwell! are hugely positive. Here is what AllMusic had to say:

“A strong classic rock influence comes through on many songs, with the softly building pianos and acoustic guitars on tracks like "Mariners Apartment Complex" or the apocalyptic "The Greatest" sounding like the best of '70s FM radio reworked around Grant's smoldering, exhausted vocals. Even though Stevie Nicks' witchy mystique has long been a reference point for LDR, this particular brand of classic rock -- silky guitar solos, compressed drum fills, and lingering, mournful outros -- is unlike anything she's attempted before. The most exciting aspects of Norman Fucking Rockwell! come in these unexpected moments. A faithful reading of Sublime's "Doin' Time" contorts to fit Grant's moody approach, becoming an extension of her own expression rather than a goofy, ironic cover. Where huge pop hooks met eerie melodrama on previous albums, here both extremities of that formula have grown more understated and direct. "Venice Bitch" is the best example of this. The nine-minute song begins with gentle strings and soft, hopeful melodies but winds into a long, meditative stretch where synth textures and hypnotic repeating vocals bleed into walls of noisy guitars. While much of her older material reveled in its own inconsolable sadness and detached numbness, the lush sonics and intimate narratives of Norman Fucking Rockwell! draw out hope from beneath desolate scenes. The patient flow, risky songwriting choices, and mature character of the album make it the most majestic chapter of Lana Del Rey's continuing saga of love and disillusionment under the California Sun”.

In their review, Pitchfork were eager to compliment an album that marked a big step from the American songwriter: 

“Norman Fucking Rockwell! is the apotheosis of Lana Del Rey, songs of curiosity and of consequence, darkness and light, a time capsule of 2019, proof that a person cannot escape herself but she can change. Lana has said hope is dangerous because of her own experience, because in Hollywood she “knows so much.” Hope is dangerous because women are rarely taken seriously, from matters of authenticity to cases of assault. Hope is dangerous because the world fails women, and the bigotry to which American power is currently pitched ensures it. Lana calls herself “a modern-day woman with a weak constitution,” witnessing “a new revolution,” with “monsters still under my bed that I never could fight off.” What makes this final song of survival so cutting is the palpable difficulty in her delivery. When she lands on “a gatekeeper carelessly dropping the keys on my nights off,” it sounds like an oblique image of corrupted power, as upsetting as it ought to be, one to finally drain her of hope. But she still has it. In a piercing falsetto we rarely if ever hear from Lana, perhaps saved for her most pressing truth, she touches the sky: “I have it, I have it, I have it.” And when she does, you believe her”.

I will finish with an extra from an interview Lana Del Rey conducted with The New York Times recently. Before coming to that, I have been considering why Norman Fucking Rockwell! is such a leap. I love a lot of her previous albums, yet I feel a lot of the songs sort of blend into one another. Maybe there isn’t the variety to pique the interest throughout. I think Del Rey’s voice has become more nuanced and broader since the start. It is one of her strongest suits and something that divided critics earlier on – its hushed seduction and dreaminess perhaps lost on some. In any case, I think every aspect of her music has strengthened. This all bodes well for 2020 and forthcoming material. Norman Fucking Rockwell! is packed with brilliant moment, but I would suggest getting it on vinyl and hearing it in all its wonder and purity. If Del Rey split critics a few years back, there are very few who have dissenting opinions and can refute her music. In fact, The Guardian just named Norman Fucking Rockwell! their favourite album of 2019:

“More significantly, Del Rey deepened her craft, producing six albums in nine years, each better than the last. In pop’s big league, only Drake matched her productivity, although he might wish he had her increasing creative returns. Her themes became more provocative, while her sweeping, lunar balladry pushed beyond cliched noir. Here was someone who knew exactly what she was doing – and when other people tried it (see: Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams), something was clearly missing. There were hundreds of crooners, but only one Frank Sinatra.

Del Rey’s image and artistry perfectly aligned for the first time on this year’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! (NFR), a supremely confident declaration of self. Unlike Lust for Life, with its unconvincing forays into trap, Del Rey’s stately sixth album is completely out of step with contemporary trends: as if a Brill Building stablehand went west on a Laurel Canyon recon mission. Those sounds are more than just another layer of Americana cosplay (though they are that, too). On NFR, Del Rey asserts a newfound sturdiness after a wayward past of teenage alcoholism and yielding to men who take her sadness “out of context”. “Maybe the way that I’m living is killing me,” she gasps on Fuck It I Love You. “But one day I woke up like, ‘Maybe I’ll do it differently.’”

The headlines only penetrate NFR once, at the end of The Greatest, a gorgeous, valedictory ballad that builds and builds, yet never yields to the inevitable collapse. “Hawaii just missed that fireball,” she mutters. “LA is in flames, it’s getting hot / Kanye West is blond and gone / Life on Mars ain’t just a song.” It’s a eulogy for the privilege of not having to care, of missing the days where she was “doing nothin’ the most of all”. It’s been interpreted as a song about helplessness, but I think it’s about what comes next: understanding your purpose and setting aside naivety. It’s another subtly defiant assertion that Del Rey is here for the long haul, no matter what. You don’t move to California oblivious of the big one”.

This year, Lana Del Rey has been all over the media. There was great anticipation ad tease in the run-up to the album coming out. I can remember cryptic messages coming on Twitter and everyone wondering when this album would come out. Songs like Venice Bitch were put out there and, with such a wave of anticipation, Norman Fucking Rockwell! was going to be the subject of great interest and scrutiny. As it turns out, so much of what was said and written about the album was adoring. I went in expecting an album similar in scale to Born to Die or Honeymoon, but I was pleasantly surprised by the new layers to her work. One can look at that Guardian review that talks of a new-found maturity and sturdiness; a young woman who is focused and a lot more than mere Americana. The depth and variety across Norman Fucking Rockwell! is staggering. I have looked through a lot of interviews Lana Del Rey conducted this year, but I was interested in The New York Times’ interview from back in August. Del Rey was asked about working with Jack Antonoff and whether she sees herself as influential:

 “What did you get out of working with Jack that you haven’t with others?

It’s kind of like a romance in a way, where things work out best when you really are not looking for it. I was at a party and I met him and I didn’t even really want to go down to the studio, because it was winter and I was chilling. But then we wrote a song in about 40 minutes — “Love Song” — and I was like, “You are so good, would you mind recording me live, to no track, singing this song that I’ve journaled called ‘Hope Is a Dangerous Thing’?” And I really liked how he captured my voice without instruments. I thought, [expletive] it, let’s make an album.

Do you have a theory as to why so many female artists are drawn to working with him?

I think it’s his musicianship. I know a lot of producers who can’t play. He plays the sitar on one of the last things we did! I feel like what I can do in terms of grabbing a melody out of the air, he can do with a very minor chord progression and just like, mmm, magical.

How do you feel about the state of mainstream pop right now? Is that something you keep up with — the radio, Spotify, Billboard?

Yeah, I love it. I don’t keep up with the charts, but do I have the radio on? Ehhh. It’s more like on Instagram, I’ll see someone have a clip of a song and then I’ll go on YouTube.

I love Billie Eilish, and I feel like I’ve been waiting for this time in pop-music culture. I personally am very discerning. I can tell if a female pop singer, for instance, has a generosity of spirit or a playful fire in her heart. With Billie, she’s prodigious. I needed to hear one line of one melody and I just know. And then Ariana’s choices of intonation, it might not be traditional, but it’s very good. I also really love hip-hop, so seeing such an influx of little mumble rappers coming out and being so sexy and authentic — one of the little dudes wants to wear a dress onstage and everyone’s clapping their hands like, “Bravo!”

Do you see a generation of younger women making music who feel influenced by you?

Yeah”.

Although Norman Fucking Rockwell! is not my favourite from the year – mine is Jamila Woods’ LEGACY! LEGACY! -, I think it is the most interesting and accomplished album, in the sense Lana Del Rey has hit heights she hasn’t done previously. Norman Fucking Rockwell! is one of many albums that has made…

2019 such a fabulous year.

FEATURE: The Crystal Ship: Lauren Laverne, Desert Island Discs and a Source of Inspiration for Me

FEATURE:

The Crystal Ship

IN THIS PHOTO: Desert Island Discs host Lauren Laverne with castaway Isabella Tree (conservationist and writer) in November 2019/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC Radio 4/PA Wire

Lauren Laverne, Desert Island Discs and a Source of Inspiration for Me

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LOOKING at what there is to write about at the moment…

PHOTO CREDIT: @nickmorrison/Unsplash

and I have a list of things that I want to tick off! There is nothing specific in regards new albums and news, but there is quite a bit to cover relating to next year. I want to address themes like homelessness and how music can help; streaming in the 2020s and whether the landscape of music has changed. I also want to have a think about the artists that we need to look out for next year. As the last few days of 2019 are upon us, we are rounding up this year and thinking about the cream of the crop. It is a quiet time and I think we are all sort of preparing for what is to come and how the industry will change. I am putting Desert Island Discs and Lauren Laverne under the spotlight for the final time this year – I will ration my features in 2020! There are two reasons why I am doing yet another article about Desert Island Discs. For one, I am still in the process of formulating a podcast relating to Kate Bush. It is a matter of having the money to do this. After an expensive Christmas, the money supply is a bit (read: very) short and I might have to put things off until later next year. I have a fond desire to produce a forensic and passionate podcast that dissects and heralds one of the most captivating and popular artists of all-time.

IN THIS PHOTO: Laverne alongside comedy actor/writer Ruth Jones, who was a Desert Island Discs castaway in January this year/PHOTO CREDIT: Amanda Benson/BBC Radio 4/PA Wire

Being a journalist that does not do many interviews (not any more), I have been a bit out of practice regarding the lost art of conversation. I would say most of my work has involved sitting in front of a laptop and not really getting out into the world! Not that a podcast would result in a riot of sociability and human connection – it is something I need to do and, alas, finance is an issue! I mention this as I have been dubious regarding my interviewing prowess and whether I could helm a podcast. It is a big responsibility steering a project by yourself and making it popular and accessible. I have written about Lauren Laverne and Desert Island Discs specifically more than once this year. In fact, back in August of last year, I commented on Laverne taking over from Kirsty Young – who had to step down due to illness; Laverne is the permanent host now. I wrote about my Desert Island Discs dream selections earlier this month and, in between these two bookmarks, I have lauded Lauren Laverne as an accomplished and intelligent interviewer. This will, as I say, be the last post I write about Lauren Laverne for a while – as I wonder whether she is getting tired of my features! -, but the second reason I wanted to pop in another feature was to come to her defense. That sounds a bit patronising but, really, there has this been this split between some members of the press and a wave of support from listeners and rational-minded folk!

IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne took over from Kirsty Young (right), who stepped down presenting Desert Island Discs in 2018 - due to the health problems associated with fibromyalgia -, having presented the series since 2006/PHOTO COMPOSITE: Press/Getty Images

I will bring in an interview Laverne conducted recently, where she was the subject of unfair scrutiny and rudeness. I listen to her BBC Radio 6 Music show every weekday, and one of my favourite aspects (of the show) is the interviews. Whether it is a figure from comedy, music or another area of life, she can adapt expertly and delivers a warm and interesting interview. Maybe there were some reservations – from the media or BBC Radio 4 diehards – that she would not be able to step into Kirsty Young’s shoes and would be a bad fit. There was snobbishness regarding Laverne’s northern roots and interview style; a hatchet-piece in The Spectator was especially condescending and belittling. I can understand why some would take a while to re-tune their ears considering Lauren Laverne and Kirsty Young are different presenters. Their style is different but, whereas The Spectator implied Laverne was taking Desert Island Discs in a bad direction, the obstreperous tide of love and support that came her way after that article was published (back in August) proved the public (the vast majority of them) were behind her! She is about to take one of radio’s institutions into a new decade and, following a busy 2019, she must be basking in the peace and relaxation at the moment; prepared and excited to see which castaways come her way!

IN THIS PHOTO: Louis Theroux talked to Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs back in May/PHOTO CREDIT: Press

I know she has come out and said that she will get better and more confident in her role. To be fair, there is a huge difference between traditional radio interviews and the special cuisine of Desert Island Discs. Whereas one might seek something different from a music interview on BBC Radio 6 Music, maybe a more inquisitive and pressing style is required in some Desert Island Discs interviews. Maybe a couple of answers from castaways begged for a little bit of follow up and nudging, as opposed the question sort of trailing…or leaving the subject unexplored. I think some media sources highlighted a case where Louis Theroux talked about his anxiety when he was on the show (back in May) and, perhaps, some firmer steering from the captain could have resulted in a fuller answer where Theroux opened up more. It is hard to please everyone because, whilst follow-up questions and guidance would have resulted in a different interview, I think a less intrusive and firm style of interview can actually allow a castaway a sense of comfort; they open up when they feel like it and are not being directed. One case where this is true is the recent interview with Stephen Graham, who talked about a suicide attempt when he was younger. Graham himself thanked Laverne for a great interview and, accordingly, so many other people echoed his compliments. So much of Desert Island Discs is about the music and the eight discs the castaways choose.

Was an absolute pleasure... 🙏 https://t.co/xCVNYtNKbK

— Stephen Graham (@StephenGraham73) November 17, 2019

I am a fan of the show and I feel Lauren Laverne has added her own stamp, whilst not changing the format needlessly. I wanted to highlight a great captain who is sailing a golden, crystal ship forward. Maybe a crystal ship suggests something fragile and flashy, but I mean – as it is also a song by The Doors – Laverne’s Desert Island Discs is this beautiful thing where guests can feel safe and secure. I can appreciate Laverne herself is improving and knows there are little touches and tweaks she can make, but there is a disrespect and attitude from some members of the press that is beyond the pale! Exactly two weeks ago, another big article was rude towards Lauren Laverne. One can say that middle-class, middle-aged women in the press have this attitude issue – The Spectator feature was written by Melanie McDonagh-; the interview published in The Times was conducted by Decca Aitkenhead. I will omit some of the ruder extracts from the interview because, to me, they are just plain bitchy and snobbish. Maybe it a class thing: upper-middle-class journalists feeling Desert Island Discs has been the victim of a P.C. move at the BBC; Laverne the embodiment of the all-inclusive style of broadcaster that many resent. I don’t know. I am grabbing at straws here, as I cannot really fathom journalism like this:

“…Then there’s the other version, spat all over Twitter and shared by almost every Desert Island Discs fan I know. While everyone agrees Kirsty Young was a tough act to follow, Laverne’s critics despair of her interview style. “There’s no getting away from it,” declared a damning Spectator columnist, “Lauren is lightweight and uncerebral. Her capacity to come up with the forgettable phrase is quite something.” Out of her depth, lacking gravitas or warmth, as one Twitter critic put it, “Laverne’s only contribution to Desert Island Discs is to occasionally say ‘Time for some more music (insert name). Tell us about your (nth) disc.’ She’s the broadcasting equivalent of a self-service checkout.”

IN THIS PHOTO: The legendary Bob Mortimer appeared on Desert Island Discs in February this year/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC Radio 4/PA Wire

I really want the first version to be true. Seeing someone monstered for trying to do their job is never edifying, and Laverne’s career success is hugely admirable. As well as Desert Island Discs she hosts BBC Radio 6 Music’s breakfast show; she has also written a novel, been a newspaper columnist, presented Late Night Woman’s Hour, co-hosted the satirical news programme 10 O’Clock Live, appeared on practically every TV panel show you can name and fronted TV coverage of everything from Glastonbury to the National Comedy Awards.

So my heart sinks when she appears at the restaurant and the energy in the room plummets like a stone before she has even sat down. For the next two hours I try everything to rev it up again, but am comprehensively thwarted. I strike up more of a rapport with the woman who checks in my coat than I ever manage with Laverne, and as our lunch goes on, I’m horrified to hear myself becoming equally flat. By the time we leave, the cloakroom attendant seems considerably more charismatic than either of us.

She is so self-effacing, the show risks becoming less a conversation than a monologue. “I see my job as allowing other people to shine,” she says, but admits she’s having to learn to “lean in to the end of a question. I’m quite stand-back. It’s been a question of stepping forward and taking up a bit more space”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sophia Spring for The Sunday Times Magazine

“I hope she does more of that, but I suspect her background of interviewing musicians, who are not always famously eloquent, doesn’t help. Presented with Desert Island guests who can talk for England, it’s easy to see why she sits back and lets them. The trouble is, distinguished high achievers tend to have a well-trodden story of their life, and, left to their own devices, will happily trot it out again, like hackneyed old raconteurs. Listeners want an insightful archaeological dig, not a brisk retread of a familiar biography, and this requires a host with the temerity to get guests to pause, think and say something fresh”.

I think, as many will reiterate, Lauren Laverne has taken over a very high-profile and much-loved radio show and made it her own, without copying anyone else. In doing so, I feel she has attracted a wider demographic of listener and brought a lot out of her castaways. I would implore people to listen back to all of her Desert Island Discs broadcasts – if you have the time free! -, because she has evolved and strengthened and, to contradict The Times’ Decca Aitkenhead, I feel the natural warmth and understanding Laverne applies to her interviews is a reason why so many, castaways included, have come out in support and praised her. Tune in tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. to hear Laverne and castaway Kimberley Motley (an American international attorney, author; a philanthropist, comic book writer, beauty queen and human rights activist of African-American and Korean descent) chat - the episode was originally broadcast in November. I know there are small steps to be taken and little improvements that can be made, but I hope Lauren Laverne takes heart from the love out there for her and views the bits of negative press as…

PHOTO CREDIT: Independent Talent

ANNOYING digital paper cuts.

FEATURE: Kings and Queens of The Dublin Castle: The Historic Camden Music Scene

FEATURE:

Kings and Queens of The Dublin Castle

IN THIS PHOTO: Camden’s favourite daughter, Amy Winehouse, captured in 2004/PHOTO CREDIT: Ram Shergill

The Historic Camden Music Scene

___________

WHILST this feature is not especially Christmassy…

or related to the new year, Camden (Camden Town) will be celebrated and in the limelight in 2020.  My favourite radio station, BBC Radio 6 Music, are heading to Camden to host a range of fantastic artists. It is an area of London that is synonymous with great music and, through the years, has housed some of our most-loved artists. Here are more details regarding the event:

“The BBC has announced that the 2020 edition of its 6 Music Festival will take place in Camden. Do they still have music in Camden? I guess they will between 6-8 Mar, when this whole shebang is due to take place. There’ll be spoken word, poetry, Q&A sessions and DJ sets too. Larks!

“I’m delighted that 6 Music is coming to Camden in March next year – it’s an area with so many musical stories to tell”, says Head Of 6 Music Paul Rodgers. “I hope you’ll join us there for our annual celebration of the best alternative music – or tune in to the live broadcasts across BBC 6 Music, BBC Sounds, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer”.

I am not surprised BBC Radio 6 Music are talking their festival to London, as they have, in previous years, been to Liverpool and Glasgow. London might seem like an obvious choice in which to home a festival; as the industry is pretty London-centric, some might question whether BBC Radio 6 Music should have taken their festival to other parts of the country.

Camden is a great choice, as many of us are familiar with some of the artists and movements from there. In terms of venues, there are so many unique and character-filled spots. This Culture Trip article gives you the skinny, but there are three particular venues that one must head to when visiting Camden. I will source from Culture Trip, who perfectly surmise and define these iconic venues. The Roundhouse, is perhaps, one of the most impressive venues in Camden:

“One of the most striking and impressive music venues in the city, the vast, round auditorium is both grand and intimate. Originally built in 1847 as a railway turntable, the Roundhouse opened as a performing arts centre in 1964. The natural round shape of the building makes it perfect for live music, with great acoustic and good views from any spot in the place”.

Whilst terrific venues like Koko have closed down, others are still going strong and pulling in some tremendous artists. Down on 94 Parkway, The Dublin Castle is, perhaps, the most-famous Camden haunt. It has hosted countless new and legendary artists through the years, and it will be a central fixture for BBC Radio 6 Music’s festival next year:

“If you’re an up-and-coming band wanting to make it in the Big Smoke, Dublin Castle has got to be one of the stops on your journey to the top. It’s been that way for years. Nothing fancy, in fact, cynics would say it’s downright dilapidated, but the posters covering the walls are a good indication of some of the musical royalty who have played here, including Oasis and Madness”.

If you want a venue that is smaller and has bags of personality, Dingwalls is somewhere you need to head. Like so many Camden venues, Dingwalls is so much more vibrant and original than a lot of venues – that tend to be quite cold, large and lacking in heart:

“A Camden Lock stalwart, Dingwalls brings artist-band intimacy to a whole new level. Simple stuff here. Big room, bar at the back. Stage at the front. You never quite know who you’re going to get, but why not take a gamble and get up close and personal with what could be the next big thing?”.

Let’s talk about last night... That was one to remember, London.

📸 India Fleming pic.twitter.com/TaltdI88vT

— The Pale White (@thepalewhite) November 8, 2019

There are articles that corroborate my findings, and provide plenty of other suggestions regarding great music hangs. It is a shame one or two loved spots have gone, but Camden’s music scene is thriving at a time when so many venues across the capital are closing down. This historic and busy music scene is a reason why so many new artists are breaking and able to play. Camden, as an area, is full of life and energy. It is hard to describe the magic and sense of wonder you get when walking through Camden. There is something in the air that draws you in and keeps you coming back. Right now, there are artists plying their trade in Camden’s successful and golden venues. The reason why Camden is so desirable and iconic is the history it has. When people think of Camden, they mention three things: Britpop, Madness and Amy Winehouse. The late Winehouse helped bring a whole new generation to Camden, whilst Madness helped put the area on the map. Camden and Primrose Hill were the epicentres of the Britpop scene and were the go-to places to be. Whether it was bands like Oasis and Blur performing or the coolest acts just hanging out, everything was happening in Camden. There are a few articles out there that highlight the connection between Camden and Britpop in the 1990s. This article is essential reading:

“Suede frontman Brett Anderson met bandmate Justine Frischmann while they were studying and the pair lived together for a time in Finsbury Park. The band enjoyed little success while Frischmann was a member.

She eventually split from Anderson and left Suede to fall into the arms of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and did not see Anderson again until she saw Suede play at the Underworld in Camden in 1992. 

IN THIS PHOTO:  Brett Anderson, lead singer of Suede, in 1993

The Good Mixer, Camden is the centre of Britpop

A small two-roomed Irish bar in Inverness Road, Camden Town, was the place to be for anyone who was anyone during the Britpop era.

The Good Mixer was where Firschmann and her band Elastica signed with Deceptive Records and also where Menswe@r are said to have formed.

Oasis and Blur’s famously bitter rivalry may have begun at the Good Mixer. When Oasis met guitarist Graham Coxon for the first time, one Gallagher apparently said: “Nice music, sh*t clothes.”

Iconic music hall The Forum in Highgate Road, Kentish Town, was awarded Best Venue having hosted renowned bands Pulp and Oasis”.

Articles such as this highlight the pubs and venues that were part of Britpop’s fabric and brought waves of new people to Camden. If you have a broader look at Camden and how it inspired Britrpop, Punk and gave birth to some iconic artists, there are tours one can take:

“Camden, London. Birthplace of Britpop. But not only Blur, Pulp, and Oasis all have roots in Camden. Also acts such as Madness, Blondie, Amy Winehouse, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, and The Ramones are rooted here. Camden is also where the Punk movement started and where superstar Prince once owned a boutique in the 1990s.

Still today, this vibrant district boasts with independent record stores and unique live music venues. And lots of legendary music history stories.

Discover the market with its stalls full of vintage clothing, lovely antiques, tiny cafés, and numerous more cool shops. Stroll along Regent's Canal, enjoy a drink on a rooftop terrace, or a snack from one of the colourful dining booths selling food from all over the world. Shop your new favourite vinyl and explore the story behind the life of legendary singer Amy Winehouse.

For a deeper look into the history of the Punk movement in London and Camden, watch London's burning, a German documentary with Die Toten Hosen lead singer Campino”.

When we think of artists associated with Camden, Madness must spring to mind. In their case, The Dublin Castle is especially crucial. Back in 2017, Madness unveiled a plaque marking their first gig at Camden's Dublin Castle:

“Madness have returned to their old haunt to unveil a plaque commemorating their first gig at the Dublin Castle in January 1979.

The PRS for Music Heritage Award was handed to the Parkway pub to recognise venues that have played a crucial role in music history by giving famous acts their first break.

After several sweatily successful gigs at the pub, landlord Alo Conlon gave the band a year-long residency during which they made their successful first album One Step Beyond.

Later other bands were helped by the famous music venue with Britpop icons Blur and Amy Winehouse playing early gigs there.

“I am very fond of this place, without it we wouldn’t be standing here today,” said lead singer Suggs.

“We found our mojo in here,” adds bandmate Mike Barson.

IN THIS PHOTO: Madness at The Dublin Castle in 2017/PHOTO CREDIT: Jennifer McCord

“It’s funny how things happen. If they had said ‘bugger off’ other bands wouldn’t have come and it wouldn’t have become a famous music venue.”

The seven-strong Ska band included Marylebone boy Chas Smash, former Quintin Kynaston pupil Suggs and Barson, who went to Hampstead School. Initially known as the North London Invaders they pretended to be a country band to get the Dublin Castle booking.

Barson says: “We were looking for gigs and Chris came in here and asked behind the bar can we play in the back room. They said ‘we only book people singing country music’ so we said fair enough country music it is.

“We came and played reggae and they didn’t know what was going on but we got a bit of a crowd going, they started sinking the beers and it was all alright.”

Suggs adds: “All the pubs around here were pretty Irish with function rooms for family gatherings. Folk and country music were big in the Irish community so we just kept knocking on pub doors asking if they had a night when there was nothing on. They gave us a residency because we have a thirsty demographic.”

Madness got their first ever review for a Dublin Castle gig which described the mayhem of joyful, dancing, beery fans.

“They said by the third encore half the crowd was standing on the tables and the other half was rolling on the floor, but it ended up with a queue round the block which meant record companies were interested. All bands start with a little acorn like this.”

Madness never forgot their Camden Town origins and filmed the video for one of their 15 top ten hits My Girl at the pub. They later made Take It Or Leave It there, a film recreating one of their early gigs.

“Pretty much the same people came along and created the same chaotic anarchy with pints of beer flying everywhere,” says Suggs. “You look back and it was just at the end of punk rock, which had a slightly aggressive energy just on the edge of collapse, ours was the same kind of energy but more euphoric.”

They named themselves after a song by their Reggae idol Prince Buster but Barson remarks that it was apt: “There certainly was madness taking place in here when we played, it got to the point where you couldn’t get another person in here it was pretty maniacal with sweat pouring off the ceiling and people collapsing and climbing on top of each other. It was a wild time.”

The plaque was unveiled during Independent Venue Week and Suggs points out that as well as being “an important part of our culture” venues like the Dublin Castle should be protected because the resulting live acts like Coldplay and Oasis bring in millions of pounds in revenue”.

Madness were recently back in Camden to unveil some artwork to celebrate forty years in the business -a site that thrilled local residents and Madness fans alike.

In terms of modern icons, Amy Winehouse and Camden spring to mind. I remember hearing the news she had died – on 23rd July, 2011 – and being heartbroken. With albums such as Back to Black (2006) showcasing one of the greatest voices we have ever heard, many of us were looking forward to seeing a lot more work from Winehouse. Sadly, she was taken away at the age of twenty-seven and, when news broke, Camden became the centre of media and fan attention:

“In the hours following the news of Amy Winehouse's death, fans gathered outside her home in Camden and at her favourite local pub, The Hawley Arms, to pay tribute.

It was a time for quiet reflection.

As daylight faded, around 100 people had arrived in the residential square where Amy Winehouse had made her home.

Under a tree opposite her large three-storey residence, fans laid down floral tributes and photographs of the singer.

Local resident Karen Heath had been at the police cordon for most of the evening.

Letters and flowers have also been left at Winehouse's local pub the Hawley Arms

"I feel quite upset. I didn't know I was going to feel like this. It's so sad," she said

"I used to see Amy around and about in Camden. I knew the people who lived in the house before her. It's been renovated quite recently.

A few minutes' walk away, in a more bustling part of Camden Town, people were thronging to Winehouse's favourite pub, The Hawley Arms.. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Ewan Munro/Flickr

Music pounded downstairs, as drinkers remembered the singer who would sometimes serve behind the bar.

"It's like a little pilgrimage, really," said Andy Potter, who had come from King's Cross. "I've met her and I've met her dad. Her dad was so proud of her."

Krystle Stack, 27, and her friends had written tributes to the singer on Hawley Arms beer mats.

"The atmosphere is really friendly, a lot of people are a bit sad but trying to hold the emotions back a bit," she said”.

Rather than remember Camden and spots like The Hawley Arms for sad, reasons, instead, we can remember a vibrant spirit who was down to earth and hugely lovable. Winehouse was one of the people and Camden was her stomping ground. If Britpop’s central spot was The Good Mixer, 2000s Indie was located in the beating heart of The Hawley Arms. This article details Winehouse’s love of the place and why she helped bring so many people to Camden:

“Late on 9 February 2008, a Saturday night, I left a gig at Koko and made my way up Camden High Street in north London toward my house. I didn’t get very far before I was stopped by a policeman who told me that Camden was “on fire”, which struck me as unusual. Places, of course, are not usually set ablaze. Going the long way round, I found myself stood on a bridge over Regent’s Canal watching the most famous pub in British indie music burn. Or at least that’s how it had been put in the pages of NME at the time.

To be honest though, that wasn’t too far from the truth – over the previous couple of years barely a day had gone by when The Hawley Arms wasn’t in the papers. The likes of Liam Gallagher, Kate Moss, and Pete Doherty all drank there, but above all the Hawley owed its fame and notoriety to Amy Winehouse. In the mid-2000s she was a prime tabloid quarry. I was living on Camden’s Bonny Street at the time, and she lived round the corner on Prowse Place. Paparazzi used to crouch on our road, scouting down the perpendicular street, waiting for her to leave her flat.

When she did go out, more often than not she was heading to the Hawley. Even after “Back to Black” made her a celebrity in 2006, she was never likely to be put off going to her local. “She used to come in and say: ‘Craig, babydoll, can I serve some drinks?’” remembers the Hawley’s manager, Craig Seymour. “I’ve seen grown men break down in tears after being served by Amy.”

Her presence, coupled with being conveniently located a couple of minutes from the MTV studio, led to the Hawley becoming the British music industry’s favourite boozer. Tim Burgess of The Charlatans had already seen a few of those haunts come and go by then, but he remembers his days at the Hawley fondly. “Britpop had The Good Mixer but The Hawley Arms was the followup to whatever the followup was – a scene so cool it didn't have a name,” he tells me. “The Hawley Arms was the who's who of what's what. Amy Winehouse was pulling pints when I first went in – pretty sure she didn't work there, but it was that kind of place”.

The Hawley Arms survived its devastating fire and, like a phoenix from the ashes, it carried on stronger than ever. Looking back, we can see how important it was for upcoming musicians, given the reputation and status it had:

“The Hawley remains a special place for musicians who came of age during that mid-00s indie wave. Seymour jokes that Wolf Alice have been hanging out at the bar “since they were probably underage”, and says he bet them at a staff Christmas party bowling match that if they lost they’d have to play a gig at the Hawley for free. Sure enough, in October they launched their new album with a packed show at the pub – although overcrowding the dancefloor is not the most dangerous thing they’ve done at the Hawley.

“On [bassist] Theo's birthday we all got fucked up and thought it would be a good idea to get on the roof of the building and set off some fireworks to mark the occasion,” says Seymour. “Obviously health and safety goes out the window when you are fucked up, and I almost killed Theo with a stray firework. Thank fuck they were budget supermarket fireworks otherwise I might be telling this story from Royal Holloway Prison, serving time for manslaughter.”

The mid-00s indie scene may have ended up fizzling out like one of those cheap firecrackers, but the Hawley Arms abides. It even gets a seal of approval from Daniel Jeanrenaurd, 'Camden's last rockstar', who at the time of the scene’s heyday had a six-night-a-week, midnight to 4AM residency up the road at the Marathon kebab shop. “I think that place was cool, allowing a lot of bands to play,” he says. “It doesn’t seem there’s much of a music scene left [in Camden today], but of course I don’t know everything that’s going on”.

You can check out the place and also visit some of Amy Winehouse’s favourite locations. I have sped through Britpop, Amy Winehouse and Madness and, to be fair, Camden’s incredible venues are part of music’s rich tapestry. Late last year, Camden made the news, as it was announced it would receive its own version of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame:

“Camden, in north London, where Amy Winehouse lived, psychedelia thrived and Britpop flourished, is to host a Hollywood-style Music Walk of Fame from next spring.

The walk, an official spin-off from the star-studden attraction on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, will run between Chalk Farm and Mornington Crescent and will be laid with granite slabs commemorating more than 400 artists over the next 20 years.

British music promoter Lee Bennett came up with the idea while he was living in California and noticed the UK had no equivalent to the Hollywood walk. “Camden has more music history than anywhere else in the world, so it was a no-brainer to create the walk here,” he says. “Most bands have played here early in their careers – from Pink Floyd, to Nirvana, and Madonna – and Prince even opened a shop here in 1994.”

Visitors to Camden’s walk will be able to download an app to produce a “virtual museum” as they cross the slabs. “We’re going to digitally replicate iconic venues like the Caernarvon Castle pub that aren’t here any more,” Bennett said.

As well as preserving heritage, he hopes the Music Walk will look to the future. “We want to create new moments in music history,” he said. “We want to get bands back together to play after their stone is unveiled. We’ve had conversations with Noel and Liam Gallagher and Liam said if he got a stone he would love Oasis to play again. That’s something people thought they’d never see.”

Areas such as Camden have historically developed thriving music scenes through their independent venues – for example the Roundhouse, Underworld and Electric Ballroom. Yet, between 2007 and 2015, London lost 35% of its grassroots venues. A recent UK live music census found that 40% of small independent venues, such as Camden’s Dublin Castle where Amy Winehouse worked, and Dingwalls where the Clash, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols played, were threatened by escalating business rates. A third of respondents said they experienced problems with property development in the vicinity of their premises.

You can visit the official website to find out more about The Music Wall of Fame – The Who have received their honour –, and I am not surprised Camden was chosen as the destination. I started off this feature with BBC Radio 6 Music’s festival in mind, but I have been inspired to dig deep. I have, perhaps, only scratched the surface, so the best advice would be, if you can, to visit Camden and take in its fantastic venues and stunning scenes. You can find out more about BBC Radio 6 Music’s Camden-bound festival, and discover why it is such an important part of London. Camden has, through the decades, given so much…

PHOTO CREDIT: @rxcroes/Unsplash

TO the music industry.

FEATURE: Spotlight: BODEGA

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: BODEGA

BODEGA

___________

QUITE a few bands have made some interesting moves…

through 2019. I think the market is still dominated by solo acts, yet there are groups out there who are showing enormous promise. BODEGA are not shiny-new, but they have really come to the fore this year. Not long after releasing their mini-album, E.P., Shiny New Model, in October through the What's Your Rupture? label, 2020 looks set to be a pretty busy one for the New York crew. Whereas one can predict bands and compare them to others, BODEGA are a little harder to pin and define. They mix talk-singing/spoken sections with confident and visual-rich lyrics that are witty as they are intelligent. I must admit that I only became aware of BODEGA this year. They have been playing for a little while now, but 2019 has seen them promulgated by a load of radio stations and websites. I want to bring in a feature from last year where NME spotlighted the band:

“There’s a duality to most things BODEGA do. Completed by guitarist Madison Velding-VanDam, bassist Heather Elle and drummer Montana Simona, its nevertheless Hozie and Belfiglio who spearhead the project, sharing primary songwriting duties, and engaging in on-stage vocal sparring, as they yelp their sardonic, sing-shouted missives on pop culture atop each other.

Even off-stage, that sparring continues, the pair occasionally vocally (but always politely) disagreeing with each other. Nikki claims the band’s formation, borne out of the dissolution of several other New York City acts, was “very organic” – Ben doesn’t totally agree with that wording. “It sounds organic, but you know, it was a long time coming,” he says, assuredly. “Many of us had been in lots of bands, and projects, and we knew exactly what we wanted when we came together this time.”

Montana agrees: “Actually, a lot of it wasn’t serendipity, but our mutual love of art.” They all come from a “visual world”, she says”.

With songs like Shiny New Model and Knife on the Platter out this year, the band have reached new audiences and heights. I look forward to seeing where they are headed next year. It has been a very busy last year or so. It has been a while since we have heard anyone quite like BODEGA – if at all -, so it is understandable they have aroused curiosity and loyalty. Before looking at the present, I want to source from another feature from 2018. It outlines how BODEGA started and what sets them apart (I also want to talk about their 2018 work):

 “Have you ever read the book Pretentiousness: Why It Matters?” questions Ben Hozie – one half of Brooklyn art-rock quintet Bodega’s central songwriting duo. “It’s about how the etymology of the word ‘pretence’ is to try on something that’s greater than what you are. So if you come on stage with a pretence then it just means you’re trying to be smarter and more interesting, which I think is a virtue. More bands should have pretence because then they might say what they actually think rather than just ‘rocking out’ or whatever the standard garage model is for bands. It’s outdated. It doesn’t work anymore.”

Beginning life in 2016 as the logical next step after former outfit Bodega Bay ran its natural course, leaving behind a mammoth 55-track album in the rock culture commentary of ‘Our Brand Could Be Your Life’, Bodega (completed by co-vocalist and songwriter Nikki Belfiglio, guitarist Madison Velding-VanDam, bassist Heather Elle and drummer Montana Simone) enter the scene as a band that audibly stand apart from the “standard garage model”. Debut single ‘How Did This Happen!?’ - a wired, propulsive missive on “the guilt of the cultural consumer” that sonically references Parquet Courts’ eloquent punk and James Murphy’s self-aware speak-sing monologues in one stupidly exciting swoop – crash-landed back in February in a whirl of pop culture kiss offs (“This machine you know it don’t kill fascists”) and invigorated demands to self-question. It’s just the tip of Bodega’s dense and intriguing iceberg, though. If their musings on pretence have a notable translation here, it’s in the band’s obvious desire to reach and strive for more: be that in the messages they’re packing or merely in the multi-faceted, smart way they present them”.

Whilst BODEGA were creating a buzz in the U.S. prior to Endless Scroll’s release last year, many of us here did not know about them until the album came out. Endless Scroll was lauded for its humour and cleverness. The album is quite sparse and minimal, yet there is much to recommend. It is no wonder reviewers in the U.K. were struck by this new sensation. This is The Guardian’s take on Endless Scroll:

“Like an LCD Soundsystem that never went clubbing, or a Parquet Courts whose eyebrows arch vertiginously high, this debut finds Bodega veering between satire and indignation. “This machine you know it don’t kill fascists,” sings Ben Hozie on How Did This Happen?! “This machine you know is just a guitar.”

The band’s other singer, Nikki Belfiglio, provides gum-snapping backing vocals and takes the lead on Gyrate, a riot grrrl-ish ramalama about female masturbation. Few songs exceed the three-minute mark, and throughout, the band pepper the gaps between songs with digital-era apercus on computer-voice simulators, such as: “I use my computer for everything. Heaven knows I’m miserable now.” You could quote them all day. “Have I heard the latest single by so-and-so?” sneers Hozie on Name Escape, about that guy whose name you can’t remember, and information overload. “No I have not my son, and I don’t wanna know”.

It is that quotability and freshness that makes BODEGA interesting. Rather than rely on cliché and conform to expectation, they put their own personalities into the blender. This sense of the intrepid and extraordinary continued into this year’s Shiny New Model.

This seven-track release came out a couple of months ago and received a lot of positive reviews. There were few radical changes between their 2018 work and Shiny New Model. The songs are stronger and there are differences here and there; it is a case of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. Paste Magazine were eager to lend their thoughts to Shiny New Model:

 “They open up with a snide joke: “People ask me, ”’Ben, what’s the deal with all these ATMs?’ / Well, have I not been thorough or clear or concise enough?,” a line that references their stage setup, their former band Bodega Bay’s album artwork for OUR BRAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE and the earrings that Belfiglio commonly wears around Brooklyn. Hell, about halfway through the extended version of “Truth is Not Punishment,” (a version of the Endless Scroll album closer that reflects the improvised and lengthy way they perform it live, available only on physical copies of the EP), Hozie starts laughing when speak-singing about trying to take off a seatbelt. Though only a few of the seven punchy tracks on Shiny New Model are as punishing as anything on Endless Scroll, it seems like the Bushwick, Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens band is having more fun than ever.

Beginning with “Shiny New Model,” an ode to their corner store namesakes and the overcharging ATMs, BODEGA take a lot of the edge off via their newfound shimmering guitar tones and less forceful basslines, giving off more of a vibe of friends jamming in a rehearsal space with no stakes. Describing the space “In the aisle by the cleaning supplies / In the corner by the stale crackers” by “All the bottles and the stale Pringles / All the six packs and the paper towels,” a pretty distinct setting for any New Yorker, the backing instrumentals recall the indie college rock of bands like Dinosaur Jr. or even Yuck.

While the song does still explore the capitalistic idea of forced obsolescence (“You can increase up your service charge, but you’re competing with a shiny new model,” “Pray it will save you from a data dictator”), the title track feels lighter than anything BODEGA has put out before with the exception of the introspective “Charlie” off of Endless Scroll.

“Treasures of the Ancient World” sees Hozie lose the monotone vocals and sing a bit more, while the sub-minute “Realism,” a song about printing copies of nude photos of an ex just to tear them up, is a mid-tempo indie rock jam that ends before it reaches a chorus. Belfiglio takes center stage on “Domesticated Animal,” but unlike her lead vocal tracks on Endless Scroll (“Gyrate” and “Margot”), the song is based around a simple, bouncy processed beat, a far cry from the wiry and upbeat tracks that tear the house down when played live”.

It has been a busy and successful ride for BODEGA so far. You can keep a track of their tour dates, and I am sure there will be more material next year -though don’t quote me on this. I think they have a lot more to offer next year and will be included on many people’s ‘ones to watch’ lists. I am going to conclude soon but, just prior to that, I wanted to introduce a recent interview Ben from the band gave.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin W Condon

There have not been many interviews from the band in 2019, but Ben was quizzed by Underscore Part 3 ahead of the band’s U.K. tour:

“You’ve described BODEGA as a project and have spoken in multiple interviews of ‘rules’, what were some of those rules or things you wanted to bring from previous projects into BODEGA? And will or have any of the rules changed as the band has evolved?

‘We don’t even speak about ‘rules’ anymore because the five of us have internalized them so deeply.’

The stand-up drums, for example, was something me and Nikki carried over from our last band BODEGA BAY. Much of our approach to songwriting came from that band too (extremely short songs that function like little open ended mini-essays). Our initial BODEGA rules were designed to highlight the best aspects of that old band while streamlining our sound and designing something that was more direct and exciting. We don’t even speak about ‘rules’ anymore because the five of us have internalized them so deeply. Our bodies know them now.

You term yourselves as Art Rock, what does this mean to you and will we be seeing any releases that step further than the ‘normal’ song/single/album route?

All rock and roll is ‘art rock’ really (all bands have some unifying ‘concept’) but I really appreciate the term and it is almost always applied to bands I admire: from Pink Floyd to the Residents or Wire. [Art ock] is vague enough to encompass many musical styles but also strongly suggests the conceptual (and visual) nature of our band. I despise the terms ‘post punk’ or ‘indie rock’ as they seem to hint at a certain kind of revivalist state-of-mind. Of course we draw on the past but we aim to combine concepts/ideas in order to update the rock vocabulary. We may experiment with release formats in the future but for now I still create with the LP in mind. I prefer the emotional and intellectual experience of complete simple works (a film, novel, or LP) than more episodic things”.

I am not sure whether I have done full justice to BODEGA, but one can follow them on social media and keep abreast of all the developments in their camp. It is always hard to gauge how long an act will be around and whether they will continue to make music for many years. I have every confidence BODEGA will be…

AROUND for a long time yet.

___________

Follow BODEGA 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BODEGABK/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/enterbodega

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/bodegabk/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMbULEEEUNFMiLbx1mJqtQ

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3lnWfdMG9U0oVMC15SEbB5

Bandcamp:

https://bodegabk.bandcamp.com/

FEATURE: Modern Heroines: Part Fourteen: M.I.A.

FEATURE:

Modern Heroines

IN THIS PHOTO: M.I.A./PHOTO CREDIT: Samuel Engelking

Part Fourteen: M.I.A.

___________

THIS is a bit of a strange feature…

because I am promoting and raving about an artist who has retired – or may not be writing and releasing music anymore. I shall come to that later but, in the meantime, I want to throw some love the way of the incredible M.I.A. I think she is iconic and inspiring because of her incredible sounds and the fact that she speaks her mind. M.I.A. (Mathangi Arulpragasam) has attracted controversy in the past; taking shots at MTV, Beyoncé and taking issue with celebrities backing Black Lives Matter – and whether they would support Muslim lives and rights. Like all great innovators and leaders, M.I.A. has faced her share of critical criticism and judgement. She has made the news for the wrong reasons and incurred some backlash. Whilst M.I.A.’s last couple of albums were not as regarded as her earliest work, one only needs to listen to her body of work to realise, here is one of the most intriguing and pioneering artists we have seen for decades. In her activism and mix of cultures; her style and bold music, M.I.A. is someone who has influenced other artists and made her mark on the music scene. Born in 1975, the stage name is, obviously, a reference to the military term ‘missing in action’ – maybe ironic considering we may not hear from M.I.A. again! M.I.A. started her career in 2000 as a visual artist, filmmaker and designer in West London. Not only is M.I.A.’s music evocative and cross-pollinating; look at some of her most eye-opening and memorable videos and you can see that that this background played directly into her music. Starting her music career, M.I.A. was actually one of the first artists to gain attention through the Internet and MySpace.

We take the Internet for granted, but M.I.A. was one of the early pioneers who understood the role the Internet would play and how important various platforms were. By 2004, she was turning heads with incredible singles like Sunshowers and Galang. In 2005, her much-anticipated debut album Arular, arrived. It is not surprise that her debut received such acclaim. Since that album, M.I.A. has embarked on global tours, and she founded a multimedia label, N.E.E.T. In March 2005, Arular was launched into the world (in the U.S.; it was released a month later in the U.K.). Because M.I.A. put a mixtape and singles out the year before, people sort of knew what to expect with the debut. That said, Arular still sounds remarkable today. I remember the album coming out and did not know of too many artists mixing cultures and sounds together like this. This year has seen artists like Sampa the Great take music away from the mainstream and West to new places. Maybe a lot of the most inventive and international music we hear today cannot be directly linked to M.I.A., but I definitely feel she (M.I.A.) opened doors and infused many other artists. Although M.I.A.’s music is eclectic, colourful and engaging, the production is quite sparse. She created the backing tracks for her debut on a Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine. Everything about the album seems like a step away from the predictable and ordinary. The songs are instantly original and the album’s title is the political code name used by her father, Arul Pragasam, during his involvement with Sri Lankan Tamil military groups.

Through Arula, M.I.A. fuses Hip-Hop, Punk-Rock and a multitude of genres to extraordinary effect. It is clear the album is very personal to M.I.A. It was said that her mother said of her father that all he gave us was his name. There were rumours M.I.A.’s father was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and, estranged from the family, there is this sense that Arular is its creator trying to make sense of her upbringing and her father; maybe he would hear this album and think of his daughter. I will bring in an interview later where M.I.A. discusses her father, but I do like the fact that this enigmatic and exceptional artist released this debut album with such weight and personal meaning; far more arresting than a lot of what was being put out by other artists at the time. As I said, critical acclaim faded slightly after a few albums; Arular was a remarkable debut and was taken to heart by so many critics. This is what AllMusic had to say in their review:

“The blend of styles -- a dense, often chaotic collage of garage from the U.K., dancehall from Jamaica, crunk from the Dirty South, electro and hardcore rap from New York, and glints of a few others -- is unique enough to baffle anyone who dares categorize it. Beats crack concrete in whomping blasts and scramble senses in exotic patterns; flurries of percussive noise, synthetic handclaps, and synth jabs add chaos; exuberant vocals are delivered in a manner that will be frequently unintelligible to a lot of ears.

More importantly, once all the layers of rhythm and accents are peeled away, you'll hear that Maya Arulpragasam -- the London-based woman of Sri Lankan origin who, along with a host of fellow producers, is behind the album -- has a lot more on her mind and in her past than fun, even when she's only alluding to the violence and strife her people have endured. The images that adorn the cover of the album aren't present merely for the sake of design, either; the tanks aren't a nod to the No Limit label. (Enter 10,000-word history of pre-tsunami Sri Lanka here.) The one key definite about Arular is that it's the best kind of pop album imaginable. It can be enjoyed on a purely physical level, and it also carries the potential to adjust your world view.

Naturally, there was a lot of curiosity and interest aimed the way of M.I.A. after such a well-received and accomplished debut. It was only a year until her second album, Kala, arrived. I guess there was desire from XL and Interscope (record labels) to capatalise on her momentum and put another album out into the world. It is obvious M.I.A. herself was brimming with ideas and motivation. Kala is named after M.I.A.’s mother; a contrast to her debut and the way it references her dad. Family and roots were hugely important to M.I.A. If the debut was a heavier and more masculine album, its follow-up is a little lighter. Maybe that is the wrong word, but Kala is about M.I.A.’s mother finding work and her struggle; trying to raise her children and put food on the table. Sound-wise, there is a beautiful blend of World and Dance sounds.

Kala is both accessible and far-out; it is personal, yet anyone can listen to and relate. I think M.I.A. is a hugely influential artist, as she was fusing sounds that didn’t go together before. Now, there are artists who combine Asian and African sounds; they put unusual beats alongside electronics and more conventional tones. There are unconventional sounds, samples and a playfulness that, on paper, shouldn’t work. It is testament to the vision and talent of M.I.A. that her sophomore album is so remarkable, cohesive and free of filler. Like any M.I.A. album, sometimes her ambition and freewheelin’ approach does not yield solid gold. However, like its predecessor, Kala found willing patrons from the media. This is The Guardian’s assessment:

“And you certainly couldn't accuse MIA of undue reverence towards her musical source material. On Bird Flu, the Indian drums get battered amid a backdrop of squawking chickens and shouting children. The Bollywood samples are distorted and twisted almost beyond recognition. Similar treatment is meted out to a Nigerian rapper called Afrikan Boy: before his guest appearance on Hussel gets underway, his voice has been looped, cut up into stuttering patterns, drowned out by a honking synthesizer. Then he starts rapping in a thick west African accent, brilliantly inverting hip-hop's macho posturing. He mimics the swagger of a gangsta rapper, but there's nothing to swagger about in the illegal immigrant world he depicts: "You can't touch me," he snaps, "like leprosy."

Occasionally, she pushes her luck as well as the envelope. In 48 minutes, you get just two songs you might describe as having a tune: Jimmy, and the dreamy, Clash-sampling Paper Planes. You start out thinking it's a brave and bracing decision, but by the time you reach World Town - which, instead of a melody, has a synthesized noise that sounds like a mosquito repeatedly dive-bombing your ear - you begin to question its wisdom. But, even at its weakest moments, Kala sounds unique - and, thrillingly, like an album that could only have been made in 2007, which is not something you can say about many albums made in 2007”.

I will bring in some interviews a little later on, to provide a sense of how M.I.A. was perceived by the media and what she had to say. I wanted to bring in her first few albums to the fore first. Maya arrived in 2010 and was the first to be released to her own label, N.E.E.T. Recordings, through XL Recordings and Interscope. Not changing things up too much, songwriting and production was split between M.I.A., Blaqstarr and Rusko; Diplo, Switch and Sugu Arulpragasm (her brother) also worked on the album. At this time, M.I.A. was living in Los Angeles, and a lot of Maya was recorded there. It is worth reading the entire interview, but I want to quote from a piece from The Guardian, where Miranda Sawyer met M.I.A. I was particularly struck by mentions of her father and her relationship with him:

“Mostly, she gets into trouble for speaking out about Sri Lanka. Born in London in 1975, she moved to her parents' native Sri Lanka when she was six months old, spending her first 10 years in a village outside Jaffna, in the north, and in Chennai in India. Her father was a founder of Eros, a student body which campaigned during the 70s and 80s for a separate Tamil state; his actions meant that Maya and her family were forced to return to London in 1987, where they lived in bedsits, hostels and council flats.

Maya doesn't take her politics from her dad, but she does speak out in support of Tamil citizens. Her assertions that the Sri Lankan government is guilty of the genocide of local Tamils have not been going down well. She's even been accused of supporting the LTTE, or Tamil Tigers, the separatist group that was defeated by the Sri Lankan government last year, ending almost 30 years of civil war. Kylie she ain't.

For an absent father, Arul caused a lot of grief, I say.

"Even now, really," says Maya. "Because everyone thinks my story is to do with my dad, when, you know, it's my uncle in Morden [south London] on my mother's side who's my inspiration." And she launches into his tale: he smuggled himself into the UK, sold clothes out of a car, ended up in the 1960s as "the first ever brown guy to have his own stall on Petticoat Lane". Everywhere you look in Maya's vast family, there's a story of adversity overcome, an epic adventure.

After she returned to the UK, aged 10, Maya heard nothing from her dad, until she summoned him back into her life by calling her first album Arular. "I thought that if he Googled himself, he'd get my LP and then he'd get in touch." The tactic worked, but their relationship is still fraught. Maya learnt most of what she knows about her dad from other people. "It irritates me that I end up giving him so much attention when he had so little to do with my life," she says”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Woffinden/The Observer

If one talks about the glory days of M.I.A., maybe the last huge release was Maya. I love all of M.I.A.’s album, yet one can definitely trace back to a time when she was unstoppable and had few peers. Again, Maya attracted a lot of positive reviews. Although some critics were not full of love, there were many who had praise for a remarkable album. Here is SPIN’s take:

“On the Suicide-sampling fuzzbomb “Born Free” (which was reduced to witless agitprop by Romain Gavras’ hamhanded video — watch below) she asserts: “I don’t wanna talk about money / ‘Cause I got it / I don’t wanna talk about hoochies / ‘Cause I been it.” And she’s even more blunt amid the synth cross fire of “Steppin’ Up”: “You know who I am / I run this fuckin’ club.”

And as a first-world pop-star mama, what’s obsessing M.I.A. day to day? Well, the Internet, of course, and Google and social networking and smart phones, and their subversive/oppressive potential (see her YouTube-crazed cover art). M.I.A.’s most plainspoken tracks, the data-dazed R&B of “XXXO” and “Space Odyssey,” speak dreamily of love and technology and how those wires so often get crossed. In the former, a pushy lover is kept at bay (“You Tweetin’ me like Tweety Bird”); in the latter, even a Puzzle Bobble game induces paranoia. “My lines are down, you can’t call me,” she coos. Despite M.I.A.’s fervor to engage the world’s battles, even she can feel overly connected.

After all, how do you think that terrorist couple first met? Yep, on the Internet”.

One of the most interesting things about M.I.A.’s albums are the lyrical themes and how we see these changes between albums. On 2013’s Matangi, she looked at Hinduism and reincarnation. Released in November 2013, in a lot of ways it was business as usual for M.I.A. The songs were as heady and explosive, but there was a change towards the more spiritual and religious – the album’s title references the Hindu goddess, Matangi. The blend of East and West makes for an exhilarating, diverse and potent listen. I did mention that, by her fourth album, there was a little bit of a split regarding critical acclaim. Despite that, there was a lot of love for an artist who remained original, forward-thinking and extraordinary. Here is SPIN’s review of Matangi:

“What sets Matangi apart from // / Y / is that this record’s highlights are also career highlights. M.I.A. is a far savvier songwriter than she ever gets credit for being, with a flair for naïvely memorable pop melodies, although she often undercuts them with noise or some other musical disruption, the equivalent of drawing an ugly mustache on a lovely portrait. That fusion of accessibility and disruption works best here on “Come Walk With Me,” the goofy verses on “Lights,” and “Exodus,” her gorgeous, cinematic collaboration with the Weeknd. Her facility with hooks extends to vocal manipulation: The apparently Julian Assange co-write “atTENTion” has some monstrously catchy octave drops, while “Only 1 U,” which might be the album’s best song apart from the Danja-helmed “Bad Girls,” brilliantly makes hooks out of a digital stutter (“Only 1 U U-U-U,” “Muthafucka now I’m steppin’ in-IN-IN-IN!”).

Matangi is also speckled with moments of dazzling production, mostly on the Switch-helmed songs: the crazed sound collage that occurs three-and-a-half minutes into “Noize,” the mosaic of vocal elements in “Attention,” the multidimensional sonics of “Exodus.” The result is a rollercoaster of sounds that rarely goes where you expect it to.

M.I.A. never makes things easy. Like its creator, Matangi is flawed, frustrating, and occasionally confusing, but it’s also intermittently brilliant and completely unique.

I have sort of whizzed through M.I.A.’s discography and her career from the start to here. Her last album - whether it will be her final album – was 2016’s AIM. There are a few collaborators on AIM but, like her previous albums, there is a clash of the East and West; a balance of the personal and hard-hitting. Whilst some of the critics were unsure of M.I.A.’s album, I love the fact that she was as innovative as ever. There are clashing swords – recorded in India – on Swords; lyrically, she talks about borders and refugees. I also mentioned earlier how M.I.A. has inspired artists today. The fact that M.I.A. was keen to document displaced people and melt different sounds in such a bold way has definitely rubbed off on some artists of today. Maybe AIM is not as mesmeric as the first few M.I.A. records; one cannot fault an artist who puts out such an eclectic and important album.

I remember when it came out, being struck by the gravitas and sheer brilliance of many songs. There were some slightly mixed reviews but, again, there were reviewers who could identify a unique artist in flight. Here is NME’s take:

“M.I.A.’s fifth album arrives with the usual mix of bumps, bruises and bravura. In June she was dropped from the line-up of London’s Afropunk Fest after making controversial comments about the Black Lives Matter movement; then last month she claimed her label was refusing to “clear” ‘Bird Song’, her first collaboration since 2010 with her former producer and ex-boyfriend Diplo. The track now appears on ‘AIM’’s Deluxe Edition.

Meanwhile M.I.A., AKA Mathangi Arulpragasam, has said that although she’ll probably continue to “put music out”, she thinks ‘AIM’ could be her last album. So it’s slightly surprising to find that it contains some of her most relaxed and reflective work. ’Survivor’ is a stylish synthpop glide; ‘Freedun’ features a beautifully woozy chorus sung by Zayn Malik (in a way, the M.I.A. of One Direction); and ‘Finally’ has her rapping about ignoring the haters over something close to a tropical house beat”.

Since she came onto the scene, M.I.A. built this reputation as someone who writes provocatively about politics. That is why I think it is sad she is not recording anymore…or there are no immediate plans! M.I.A. is somebody who can put out these songs that open your eyes, but she also has a lot of heart and passion. From her raw honesty, drum machines and openness, there is something very real about M.I.A. She is not someone defined by ego or hiding behind other people.

I think M.I.A. relates and connects to so many artists because she is very human; although her talent is clearly immense. Maybe the fact she is quirky and unique means that many took a while to warm to her. I feel a lot of people who criticised some of her later albums were not quite prepared for something as wild and otherworldly as M.I.A. Although M.I.A.’s political commentary and conversation has seen her on the wrong side of the media in the past, it can be traced back to M.I.A.’s early life where she was uprooted and displaced. She could relate to those involved in civil wars and battles; those who had to leave their homes. M.I.A. used platforms such as Twitter and MySpace to raise awareness of civil rights and warfare. I am going to wrap things up in a little bit but, as M.I.A. sort of departed from music back in 2016, I want to bring in a couple of interviews. She spoke with The Guardian - and there is a lot of fascinating information in the article.

“Arulpragasam was in her late 20s, and impatient. Against the advice of her then-manager (they split) she moved to the US. “Kids in America were downloading my MP3s. It was the country where George Bush was, where shit was happening. I wanted to go.” Her relationship with Pentz ended and Arulpragasam later suggested this was due to her growing embrace by the mainstream. She signed to Interscope, a subsidiary of Universal, and had meetings with Kanye West and Timbaland. After the release of her second album, Kala, in 2007, and its high-charting single “Paper Planes” in 2008, the rope properly lifted and MIA became an industry darling. She gigged at the Grammys with Jay-Z, was nominated for an Oscar, and even “married into the music industry” – Arulpragasam’s words to me – when she got together with Ben Bronfman, grandson of the CEO of Warner Music. The couple had a son together, Ikhyd, in 2009.

Remembering this period of prominence, Arulpragasam says to me: “When I came [into the spotlight], I came with all my complications.” The complications started to tell around 2010, when she rowed in blockbuster fashion with the New York Times over an unflattering profile, and ended up publishing the writer’s personal phone number online. In another 2010 interview she stated her belief that Google was a stooge company for the CIA, and via her intermittently written blog she got so deep into a war of words with a Sri Lankan rapper called DeLon that it led to accusations of her being a terrorist sympathiser. Her third album, 2010’s Maya, sold a fraction of her big-hit second. After the Super Bowl fiasco in 2012, a messy compensation claim followed her around for months. She came to believe her fourth album, 2013’s Matangi, her lowest-seller to date, had been “buried” by her own record label, because of all the trouble she’d caused them.

“Stars come and go / just like every empire,” she raps on her new album. Complicated as she was – as she is – Arulpragasam was never likely to have an endless career as a mainstream star. She seems relaxed about this, clearly more comfortable as a fringe-dweller, as someone who has talked, talked, talked and finally pissed them off.

It is clear that she needed time away from music. Maybe it was the attention she was getting regarding her political opinions. A lot of people felt the quality of her work declined, although it was merely evolving. I can appreciate the fact M.I.A. wanted to step back and take time to reflect. Earlier this year, she was awarded an MBE, and there are a lot of people wondering when she will return.

PHOTO CREDIT: Samuel Engelking

Definitely, one can see her spirit carried on in other artists. In this feature, I normally spotlight a female artist who is making music now and will be an icon of the future. I think M.I.A. is a hugely influential artist and cannot be overlooked. In a sort of ‘farewell’, she gave an interview with NME and it is clear she had reached a bit of a moment of breaking point:

“Even the most limber contortionist can only bend so far, though, and the industry seems to be trying Maya’s patience. “I just need time away from it,” she says, cool evening air drifting in from the balcony of the Soho hotel room in which she’s fielded questions from HBO and others all day. “I don’t want to change how I think creatively, to brand myself into an acceptable brand.”

Acceptable, it’s true, is definitely not on-M.I.A.-message. From day one of her career, she drew fire as well as delirious hype: critics questioned her back story, her grasp of the Sri Lankan politics they’d just hastily Googled, her authenticity. Add to this her ongoing US visa difficulties, the lawsuits, the furores… just trying to be M.I.A. over the last decade must have been pretty knackering. “It’s like I went through the washing machine on every level you can possibly think as a human,” she confirms. “If you say to me, ‘You went through all this sh*t, but you need to shut up because you had such an amazing run at the music game,’ it’s like, ‘No, I didn’t.’ Every step of the way they were like, ‘Shut the f**k up about your politics,’ and now it’s super-trendy. I never thought it was gonna be cool, otherwise I would’ve stockpiled my records and started releasing them now”.

I was eager to feature M.I.A., as she is a brilliant artist who does not quite get the credit she deserves. Her music is incredible, and it has definitely made an impression on me and so many other people. I just hope that that this wonderful and original artist is not…

DONE quite yet.

FEATURE: L'Amour Looks Something Like You: Book and Music Suggestions for Those Who Wish to Explore the Beguiling Kate Bush

FEATURE: 

L'Amour Looks Something Like You

PHOTO CREDIT: Kate Bush

Book and Music Suggestions for Those Who Wish to Explore the Beguiling Kate Bush

___________

ALTHOUGH I vowed that I would not…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush looking focused in a promotional shot for 2011’s Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

put out another Kate Bush feature until next year – as I am comfortably into double digits! -, I have been thinking about Christmas and the fact a lot of people might be looking for something Bush-related. I have covered Kate Bush from a number of angles this year, so there is not a lot more I can discuss regarding individual albums and releases. What I did want to do is to sort of guide people who might be at the beginning of their Kate Bush quest; those that want some suggestions when it comes to sound and literature. I would urge people, in addition to what I will link to here, is to have a look online at the interviews and music videos available. I cannot stress enough how stunning and fascinating Kate Bush is in interviews. Whatever she is asked – and she is asked the same questions a lot! -, she responds eloquently and with interest. This is tangential to my main point, but there are so many great videos around that one needs to investigate. This year has been a ‘quiet’ one for Kate Bush, where she has not released any box-sets or announced any news. I think 2020 is a year where we may see something in the way of an album or something else. Because of that, newcomers and diehard fans will want to make sure they are fully up to speed regarding Kate Bush and her work.

I will start with books that are worth some money. Interestingly, I was communicating this morning with the author of Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, Graeme Thomson. I was raving about his book on Twitter and I put a link to Amazon where you can buy it. He jested that it was also available from other retailers – those that pay taxes and are not quite so all-conquering. In all cases, I am linking to websites, but I would urge people to go to their local bookshop and buy Thomson’s great work. It is a fascinating and detailed look at Bush’s life, from her childhood right up until 2014. This is how Waterstones describe the book:

“ Ivy examines Bush's unconventional upbringing in south London, the youthful blossoming of her talent and her evolution into one of the most visually and sonically creative artists of the past 35 years. It focuses on her unique working methods and pioneering use of the studio on landmark albums such as The Dreaming and Hounds Of Love, her core influences and key relationships, her profound influence on successive generations of musicians, and her most recent releases: Director's Cut, on which Bush reworked 11 songs from her back catalogue, and 50 Words For Snow, her first album of new material for six years”.

I love the book, and I must have re-read it about a dozen times! Thomson is engaging and authoritative throughout, but he writes in a style that makes Kate Bush’s incredible work and life accessible to all. I would also recommend Kate: Inside the Rainbow. It is a collection of photos taken by her brother, John Carder Bush; more than two-hundred-and-fifty stunning, rare and unpublished black-and-white and colour photographs, taken between 1964 and 2011. The book shows the visual side of Kate Bush and how captivating she is in front of the camera. There are rare shots that many fans would not otherwise have seen, whilst Carder Bush provides insights and revelations that give new layers to one of the world’s most inspiring and popular artists. My favourite parts of the book are the video stills that we see – included are shots from the Army Dreamers video. I also really like the photos of a young Kate, before she recorded her debut album. The hardback costs between £35-£40, depending where you buy it from, but it is well worth the money! If you want another biographical take, I would encourage people get behind Kate Bush: The Biography from Rob Jovanovic. Although it only takes us as far as 2005 – when Bush released the long-awaited Aerial album -, Jovanovic uses different language and has a different style to Graeme Thomson. He also approaches Bush from a different angle, so it is nice to have both books, so one gets as full a picture as possible.

The book is reasonably priced, so if you want a nice guide to Kate Bush and a jolly good read, I can give the thumbs up to Kate Bush: The Biography. I have read it a few times, and I learned things about Bush I did not know before. I will get to her recent book of lyrics soon but, randomly, I was searching for Kate Bush books online as I figured I had the pick of the best. Homeground: The Kate Bush Magazine: Anthology One: 'Wuthering Heights' to 'The Sensual World' is the first of a two-part work that is a definite must for new Kate Bush fans and the super-fans alike. Here is some information about the volumes:

“For a Kate Bush fan there was nothing more satisfying, other than perhaps Kate herself dropping around for a quick cup of tea, than the arrival of a much awaited issue of HomeGround. Just as the illusion of being the one and only devotee reaches overwhelming heights a surprise package is delivered as a joyous reminder of Kate Bush’s hold over, not just me, but many of us.”

… so Emmy Award winning actor Guy Pearce introduces HomeGround: The Kate Bush Magazine Anthology 1982-2012, a project we have worked on for over five years, and which we are delighted to say, is now available to order.

The first issue of HomeGround appeared in 1982, four years after Kate Bush’s dramatic debut with Wuthering Heights. Starting with an ancient manual typewriter, real scissors and a pot of genuine paste, we mounted articles on recycled backing sheets and added hand-drawn artwork to fill the gaps. The first issue was photocopied, the pages hand-stapled together and twenty-five copies were given away to fans we knew. Only later did we discover the magic of word processing, and then desktop publishing.

From those beginnings HomeGround became a cornerstone of the ‘Kate-speaking world’, going on to co-organise with the official fan club four fan conventions and events at which Kate Bush and members of her family and band appeared; arrange at her request a team of fans to be extras in two of her videos, and organise annual informal fan gatherings on Glastonbury Tor, and at Top Withens, the storm-blown ruin on Haworth Moor thought to be the place which inspired the creation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Years before the internet, HomeGround became a place where fans could discuss Kate’s music, and a place where they could publish creative writing and artwork inspired by that music.
This is a two-volume set published both in hardcover and paperback. Volume 1 covers Kate’s career from the late 1970s to the late 1980s – from before Wuthering Heights to The Sensual World and the box set set This Woman’s Work. Volume 2 covers Kate’s career from the 1990s to date – from The Red Shoes to 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. Both volumes include a detailed Kate timeline and discography and a “who’s who” of people involved in the story.

These volumes also contain a definitive collection of the beautiful Kate-related artwork from professional artists Paulina Stuckey-Cassidy and Steven Brown, the riotous Cosmic Kate graphic stories of Chris Tilley, the Kate-related extemporary photography of Rob Assenberg, Paul Camilleri, and Jules Angel and the work of published poets John Carder Bush, Collin Kelley, Kyla Clay-Fox, Antonello Saeli, and Jeff Side.

It is a little pricey buying both, but it is staggering how much information there is to be found! Between the letters, articles and photos, it is a treasure trove that will keep you occupied for weeks!

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Moorhouse/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The second half of this feature looks at the sonic world and the collections available. I have listed books that give you perspectives about Kate Bush from other people’s vantage points. If you want to read Kate Bush in her own words, How to Be Invisible is a selection of Kate Bush’s lyrics beautifully laid out. Whilst many fans want to know about Bush’s creative process and personal life, many overlook the words themselves and how moving they are. Much emphasis is put on her voice, but I think Kate Bush is one of the most original songwriters the world has seen. How to Be Invisible was released last year, and it is one of the most recent books concerning Bush. Here is a snippet of The Guardian’s review:

“Two sections dwell on gender. Joanni, her portrait of Joan of Arc, is juxtaposed with an indictment of masculine warmongering (Army Dreamers). Later, Bush explores masculine and feminine perspectives, contemplating desire (Reaching Out) and obligation (Night of the Swallow), never reaching trite conclusions.

If there is one to be drawn from How to Be Invisible, it isn’t that Bush is unknowable, but that life is: how much can we ever know about love, ourselves, the things we lose? She is never cowed by the uncertainty. Her songwriting suggests the only way to weather it is with curiosity; applying silliness as courageously as literary seriousness, balancing spiritual insight alongside unabashed carnality, domestic truth alongside fantasy, never concerned by contradictions.

Desire runs wild in the final section: Mrs Bartolozzi’s sexual laundry fantasia; the wily, windy Wuthering Heights. This headstrong pursuit has guided Bush. The question is not what we can learn about her, but what we might learn from following her lead”.

Whilst it is tricky recommending books about her – as one has to do the reading to get a true sense -, the audio side of things is a lot easier. Kate Bush’s most recent studio album, 50 Words for Snow, was released in 2011 and one would think there was nothing else! Prior to last year, it was pretty tricky buying Bush’s back catalogue on vinyl. Mercifully, her albums were remastered, so now one can listen to her incredible catalogue in its finest format. Here is some more information:

“It comes in many formats. As well as each album being individually re-released, there are two CD and four vinyl-LP boxsets. The first two vinyl sets and the first CD box are available from mid-November, with the remainder arriving at the end of the month.

The Kate Bush Remastered CD Box 1 (or Vinyl Box 1 and 2) collects the albums from 1978’s The Kick Inside to 1993’s The Red Shoes and is frequently staggering. Her debut spawned not only the phantasmal Wuthering Heights but also The Man With The Child In His Eyes, a miracle of insatiable, mystical dream-pop.

Bush’s first albums brimmed with art-pop of almost unconscionable vim and imagination. Lionheart (also 1978) and Never For Ever (1980) found her training a childlike eye on adult emotions via meditations such as In Search Of Peter Pan and the fluttering Babooshka. By her 1982 masterpiece The Dreaming, Bush was both feverishly sampling and producing her own album – unheard of in those sexist times.

Her vocals, alternately raw and immaculate, were a thing of wonder on 1985’s Hounds Of Love and 1989’s The Sensual World (a quintessential Bush LP title). On The Red Shoes, she further explored themes of sex, sensuality and gender roles.

The albums making up Kate Bush Remastered CD Box 2, from 2005’s Aerial to 2011’s 50 Words For Snow, are bigger on stylised reflection and lighter on impactful pop hooks, but harbour moments of genius such as poignant 2005 single King Of The Mountain. Bonus tracks include 12″ mixes, B-sides and (in the CD box only) 2016 live album Before The Dawn.

Like the books I have recommended, I would not push new fans and the curious to buy ALL of the box-sets and albums. The best Kate Bush album is a subjective thing – mine is The Kick Inside; most people prefer Hounds of Love -, so it is a case of starting from the beginning and going from there. These remastered sets are now reduced in price, so you can grab her marvelous work for not a lot! Bush is an artist who loves vinyl above all other formats. She is a huge fan of great sound quality, and I think you get the best experience owning the vinyl. The C.D.s are also great, so one can make their own decision as to which they prefer. There are a couple of recommendations that would make great post-Christmas presents.

The superb collection, The Other Sides, is also very reasonably priced, and it includes some great rarities and treats:

“‘The Other Sides’ is the final physical instalment of the definitive catalogue remastering project that was released in November 2018 on vinyl and CD boxes. This new release separates the rarities collection from the remastered CD box 2.

The 4 CDs celebrate b sides, 12” mixes, rare tracks and cover versions – with one CD being devoted to covers including Kate’s versions of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ and ‘Candle In The Wind’, and George and Ira Gershwin’s ‘The Man I Love’. Rare tracks such as ‘Brazil’, from the film soundtrack, ‘Lyra’ from the film ‘The Golden Compass’, ‘Be Kind to My Mistakes’ from Nic Roeg’s film ‘Castaway’ and ‘Humming’, an early demo never released before, are also featured in the special set”.

Maybe, before embarking on studio albums and box-sets, grab a copy of Kate Bush’s live album, Before the Dawn. I say this, because hearing Bush on the stage is quite rare, and one gets a different side to her music; a sensational and buzz that you do not get when listening to studio recordings. Although this was written before the release of the album in 2016, here is some information about Before the Dawn:

"Before the dawn" was recorded during the incredible run of 22 sold-out shows performed by Kate at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 2014.  The album will be released on Fish People  and distributed by Rhino  on November 25 2016.

In March 2014 Kate Bush announced plans to perform 15 shows in London in August and September that year, her first live shows since 1979.  The shows sold out so quickly that a further 7 were immediately added, with all shows selling out in 15 minutes.  This very website crashed with the demand.

The first night of the shows prompted a complete media frenzy with the Evening Standard declaring that the show was "an extraordinary mix of magical ideas, stunning visuals, attention to detail and remarkable music – she was so obviously, so unambiguously brilliant, it made last night something to tell the grandchildren about."

Later that year the show won the special Editor’s award at the highly prestigious London Theatre Awards, the only contemporary music show to do so.

On November 25 the live album "Before The Dawn" will be released on CD (3 CDs) and vinyl (4 vinyl) and digital download.  The conceptual heart of the show is reflected in the CD format, which is split over 3 discs centred around the two integral pieces – 'The Ninth Wave' and 'A Sky Of Honey'.

CD1 ends with the pivotal track 'King Of The Mountain' which bridges into 'The Ninth Wave' suite of songs on CD2.

You can buy the vinyl version for under £50, which makes it a steal in my book! It is a truly astonishing and emotional listen, and it provides a great entry point for new fans; in addition, it is a must-own for those who are steeped in Kate Bush’s work. There are other Kate Bush books and vinyl/C.D.s out there – the aim was not to cover everything – but I have collated a starter’s guide for those who might know a bit about Kate Bush’s music and life but want to dig deeper. If you have some vouchers or money after Christmas, you could do a lot worse than invest in some Kate Bush! I keep predicting she will release an album soon but, as we head to 2020, I get the sense she will release something. In preparation, I hope there is enough in this feature that…

GIVES you the whole story (so far).

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: David Bowie – Blackstar

FEATURE:

Vinyl Corner

David Bowie – Blackstar

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IN this feature…

I am looking back at some of the most important and popular albums of the decade; those that you need to own on vinyl and experience in their finest state. David Bowie’s Blackstar is an especially lovely thing on vinyl. It’s cover, supposedly, when left out in the sun reveals something rather captivating. I am not sure whether it is true but, if you do get the vinyl and leave it until things warm up, you can find out for yourself. The tragedy of Blackstar is that it was revealed to the world only two days before Bowie died – Blackstar came out on 8th January, 2016; Bowie died on the 10th. There was massive delight Bowie had released his twenty-fifth studio album. In terms of Bowie’s best decades, we can all agree the 1970s was his regency. He released some great albums in the 1980s and 1990s, but it wasn’t until the 2010s that he started to regain the sort of form he exhibited back in the ‘70s. 2013’s The Next Day was hugely well-received, and we were looking forward to many more classic albums from Bowie. Few knew what we would hear in the news two days after one of David Bowie’s best albums came out – that the master had succumbed to cancer aged sixty-nine. We are still feeling the reverberations of Bowie’s passing, almost four years to the day! When you listen to Blackstar, one can hear mentions of death and the fact that this creator would not be in the world for too much longer.

Before Bowie’s death, one assessed the songs in a different way; when we heard the terrible news, the tracks took on new meaning and weight. The album was largely recorded in secret – perhaps so that people were unaware Bowie was dying -, at The Magic Shop and Worldwide Studios in New York City alongside Tony Visconti – Bowie’s friend and long-time producer. In terms of genre and sound, Blackstar is a lot more Jazz-infused than a lot of Bowie albums; featuring musicians such as saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his quintet. It is heart-breaking Bowie was living with liver cancer when he was recording the album. Although his voice was more strained and weaker than we are used to, I think the raw emotion he exudes on every number is more potent and memorable than if his voice was stronger and not ailed. This album was a parting gift to fans; Bowie knew he would soon die and, as such, left us with a fantastic gift. If the album had been a little underwhelming, Blackstar still would have topped the charts and have sold in the shed-loads. On the contrary: Blackstar is a masterpiece and one of the best albums of the 2010s. I am not sure where Bowie fans would place Blackstar in their lists but, to me, it deserves to be very high up the top-ten – maybe in the best five of his career, no less!  The album topped the chart in many countries and, critically, scooped four and five-star reviews across the board. The album was a massive commercial success and, even now, it sounds cosmic, genius and so different to anything in the world.

I will continue with the positives soon but, when we think about the timing of Blackstar and Bowie’s death, the fact he did not get to see how the album was received is so sad. Bowie would have been too ill to read the first batch of reviews one suspects, so would only have received feedback from family and those who worked on the album – I’d like to thing he knew he’d released a special star into the universe and people would fall in love with it. Also, Blackstar marked a new peak for Bowie. If he were alive today, he might well have another album out and he would be looking at the 2020s and seeing where he would head next. It is so tragic that Bowie died so young and at a time when we needed his music more than ever. Regardless, he did create this staggering album that requires fond attention and dedication. It is not an album you can play in the background or turn it low: one needs to crank up the volume and give their all to its incredible lyrics, music and performances. Even though Bowie was very ill, I think his delivery is superb. He is vulnerable and emotional one moment, strong and defiant the next. It is the sound of a man who knows his fate, yet he battles stoically until the very end. Bowie wanted to avoid a Rock sound on Blackstar and, having been inspired after listening to Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly (2016), Blackstar incorporates Jazz and Art Rock.

Even if you are not a Bowie fan and steeped in his history and evolution, one can appreciate Blackstar as a standalone album. It is such an affecting and compelling record, one cannot deny its brilliance. As I said, Blackstar received intense respect and applause upon its release. Here is what AllMusic wrote:

“Unlike its predecessor, 2013's The Next Day, Blackstar doesn't carry the burden of ushering a new era in Bowie's career. Occasionally, the record contains a nod to his past -- two of its key songs, "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore," were even aired in 2014 as a supporting single for the Nothing Has Changed compilation (both are revamped for this album) -- but Bowie and producer Tony Visconti are unconcerned with weaving winking postmodern tapestries; now that they've shaken free their creative cobwebs, they're ready to explore. Certainly, the luxurious ten-minute sprawl of "Blackstar" -- a two-part suite stitched together by string feints and ominous saxophone -- suggests Bowie isn't encumbered with commercial aspirations, but Blackstar neither alienates nor does it wander into uncharted territory. For all its odd twists, the album proceeds logically, unfolding with stately purpose and sustaining a dark, glassy shimmer. It is music for the dead of night but not moments of desolation; it's created for the moment when reflection can't be avoided. Fittingly, the music itself is suspended in time, sometimes recalling the hard urban gloss of '70s prog -- Bowie's work, yes, but also Roxy Music and, especially, the Scott Walker of Nite Flights -- and sometimes evoking the drum'n'bass dabbling of the '90s incarnation of the Thin White Duke, sounds that can still suggest a coming future, but in the context of this album these flourishes are the foundation of a persistent present.

This comfort with the now is the most striking thing about Blackstar: it is the sound of a restless artist feeling utterly at ease not only within his own skin and fate but within his own time. To that end, Bowie recruited saxophonist Donny McCaslin and several of his New York cohorts to provide the instrumentation (and drafted disciple James Murphy to contribute percussion on a pair of cuts), a cast that suggests Blackstar goes a bit farther out than it actually does. Cannily front-loaded with its complicated cuts (songs that were not coincidentally also released as teaser singles), Blackstar starts at the fringe and works its way back toward familiar ground, ending with a trio of pop songs dressed in fancy electronics. This progression brings Blackstar to a close on a contemplative note, a sentiment that when combined with Bowie's passing lends the album a suggestion of finality that's peaceful, not haunting”.

There were some reviewers who, perhaps, were affected by Bowie’s death and focused more on mortality and the tragic rather than the beauty one can find across Blackstar – understandable, I guess, but I wonder whether they would take a different approach if assessing Blackstar in 2019. Here is The Telegraph’s review:

 “Only seven tracks and 42 minutes long, Blackstar is impressively hard to place in his back catalogue and feels completely self-contained. It has some of the off-kilter character of his late Seventies Berlin trilogy (Low, Heroes and Lodger) but little of their electronic flavour.

It is shot through with a late-life melancholy that sits intriguingly with the jazzy modulations. Beneath the swooning cinematic rush of Dollar Days beats a gorgeous, bittersweet piano ballad on which Bowie proclaims himself “dying to... fool them all again and again” but the phrase breaks apart until he sounds like he might be singing “I’m dying too.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jimmy King

It is a song that evokes and then dismisses regret. “If I never see the English evergreens I’m running to,” Bowie sings, “It’s nothing to me.” On epic closing track, I Can’t Give Everything Away, Bowie sounds like he is grappling with his own mystery: “Saying more and meaning less / Saying no but meaning yes / This is all I ever meant / This is the message that I sent”.

Although, obviously, Bowie could not control the day he died on, there were theories regarding Blackstar’s release and name. Obviously, Bowie knew he would not release another album and that he had to release the album before he died. Many people took to the Internet to look for hidden messages and clues that would reveal whether Blackstar was more than a routine Bowie album – and whether he was peppering songs with illusions to death and passing. The Guardian ran a feature that broke down the album and focused on a few different areas:

“Yes, it’s a name for a cancer lesion, although one usually associated with breast cancer, so its meaning in outer-space terminology is likely to have been far more significant for the Starman. As well as being the name of a “hidden planet” that the apocalyptically inclined think will crash into the Earth (“Guys! He knew it was coming!”) and another name for Saturn (“He won a Saturn acting award once!”), it’s also the term for the transitional state between a collapsed star and a singularity (a state of infinite value) in physics – which makes sense if Bowie is placing himself as the collapsed star, and the singularity the state he will enter after his death.

Blackstar was the first Bowie album not to feature his image on the cover, perhaps because he knew he would die soon. Furthermore, the vinyl release’s black star is die-cut – ie it features his absence. The graphic alphabet on the bottom of the cover is also rumoured to be a cipher alphabet, spelling Bowie, while @mattround on Twitter has an even wilder theory: “Bowie’s final album’s name isn’t just an Elvis reference. The Unicode black star character ★ is U+2605. 26 May is Mick Ronson’s birthday.”

First released as a single in late 2014 – as we know now, after Bowie’s cancer diagnosis – Sue (in a Season Of Crime) features the line: “The clinic called/ The X-ray’s fine/ I brought you home.” The album track Dollar Days (again a nod to Mos Def’s Dollar Day, perhaps) also has a telling lyric: “Don’t believe for just one second I’m forgetting you/ I’m trying to/I’m dying to.” Or “dying too?” The title of the final track, I Can’t Give Everything Away, also now sounds deliberately playful – I’m giving you so many clues, but I’m not telling you the whole story, dammit – and it also samples the harmonica solo from A New Career in a New Town as it kicks. A new career in a new town for Bowie indeed, online, in the stars, everywhere, always”.

We will never know what Bowie could have achieved if he were still alive today, but I know Blackstar was no fluke. Here was a man at the top of his game right until the end. I think Blackstar is one of this decade’s best albums, and every music fan should grab it on vinyl – stream it if you cannot. I listened to the album recently. I was struck by the immediacy of the songs, but also how long they lingered in the memory. It is a masterpiece of an album and one that, of course, is tinged with sadness. Although the great Mr. Bowie is no longer with us, Blackstar means that he…

WILL live on through us all.

FEATURE: Station to Station: Song Six: Annie Nightingale (BBC Radio 1)

FEATURE:

Station to Station

IN THIS PHOTO: Annie Nightingale/PHOTO CREDIT: Milton Boyne

Song Six: Annie Nightingale (BBC Radio 1)

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THERE are few broadcasters as busy as Annie Nightingale…

IN THIS PHOTO: Annie Nightingale at the launch of URB (University Radio Bath) in 1973

at this moment. Her Annie Nightingale presents… show is in full steam, and she is counting down some of the biggest tracks of the decade very soon. She had Sofi Tukker to talk with her just recently, and it looks like 2020 will be a very packed and enjoyable one for her! I am surprised I didn’t include Nightingale earlier in a feature that celebrates radio icons and innovators. When one thinks about those who have changed the game and pushed radio forward, Annie Nightingale must be near the top of everyone’s list. I have discussed gender equality a lot this year, and I think the radio industry is an area that is slowly improving. To be fair, most of the big stations have a way to go until there is true equality, but it is thanks to broadcasters like Annie Nightingale that we have come so far. I am not sure whether she would approve of me using her name as a champion of gender equality, but there are so many women in the industry – and not just in radio – that revere her and hold her in very high esteem. There is no denying the fact Annie Nightingale is hugely important. Not to go all Wikipedia here, but it is worth highlighting the incredible biography of a radio titan. Nightingale’s first broadcast for the BBC was in September 1963 as a panellist on Juke Box Jury. Her debut Radio 1 show was in February 1970. Annie Nightingale was the first woman to broadcast on BBC Radio 1.

IMAGE CREDIT: Kathy Wyatt Illustration

That sounds absurd when we think of all the brilliant women in radio now; Nightingale’s stint as a Sunday evening host was short-lived, but her impact and important was clear. At a male-dominated station, I can imagine the earliest days might have been a little strange for her. Perhaps they weren’t. I am not sure why there were no women on BBC Radio 1 before Nightingale, but she had an enormous impact and, for the sole fact that she was the first woman to present on the station, she warrants serious respect and acclaim. Nightingale is the longest-serving presenter on the station, and I love the fact that she remains loyal to her roots. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Nightingale presented a few different shows on BBC Radio 1, including a Sunday afternoon request show in the mid to late-1970s. I do wonder, with the sheer raft of great artists around, why music T.V. is not a thing anymore. We have Jools Holland and his BBC show, but I think there is room and demand for another format in the market. Annie Nightingale was the main presenter on The Old Grey Whistle Test from 1978, where she replaced Bob Harris. I have seen clips from the show and just love Nightingale’s presenting still and passion. Because of Nightingale, the popular show moved away from Country and Blues Rock – favourites of Bob Harris – and included genres like Punk Rock and New Wave.

Although Nightingale can be heard in the early hours of Wednesday morning, I think she will have other shows on BBC Radio 1, maybe occupying a daytime slot. Nightingale has helped popularise Trap music and had her own 1Xtra show. It is dizzying taking in everything she has achieved and what she has given to radio! It is clear that a lot of people – not only women – owe a debt to a pioneer like Annie Nightingale. I know she will have many more years on radio, but Nightingale also D.J.s and can be found bringing bliss and energy to club-goers around the world. I think Nightingale is one of the most important champions of music we have. Like her friend, the late John Peel, Nightingale has been responsible for bringing so many great acts to the forefront. She was an early supporter of Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk. Rightly, Nightingale received an MBE in 2002 for her services to broadcasting and I wonder, in years to come, whether she will be made a Dame. In 2007, she was nominated for the Broadcasters’ Broadcaster Award and in 2008, Annie won the John Peel Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio, awarded by the PRS Radio Academy. In 2011, for the sixth year running, she also won Best Radio Award at the International Breakbeat Awards before receiving the first-ever Pioneer in Media Award in 2014 from Music Week magazine.

Nightingale speaks at festivals about her career and is an invaluable source of guidance for anyone wanting to follow her footsteps. In addition to all of this, Nightingale is a journalist and has contributed to news programmes such as The Today Programme. Maybe we do not realise how hard it was for women like Nightingale at a time when there was sexism in radio – there is now, but it was far more pronounced in the 1960s and 1970s. I want to source from a couple of interviews and let Nightingale speak for herself but, reading this BBC article, it is clear how pioneering Nightingale was (and is still) and what she had to face early in her career:

“We tend to take particular notice of the women who come first. When Radio 1 decided that they needed a 'token woman', Nightingale was there, ready and eminently qualified. Her standing as the only female DJ continued for 12 years until Janice Long joined Radio 1 in 1982.It was not until the 1990s and the 'girlification' of Radio 1 with the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball, that Nightingale's exceptionality became her longevity and impact rather than her gender alone.The radio itself is a reference point in her interviews and memories, beginning with the small white Bakelite wireless bought by her father, through which she listened to BBC children's serials, and later, Radio Luxembourg. Her intimate relationship with radio and with the audience was formed at this time:

The breakaway moment came when my Dad who was always obsessed with tuning the radio in properly and you'd have it on a dial and it would say all these places like Prague and Hilversum which were kind of magic. They might have been on another planet. I didn't know where Hilversum was, or Prague, but these are places you could tune your radio in and it was like a mystery. I still feel that romance. I still feel when you're broadcasting, you don’t know where it’s going, and it could be reaching outer space somewhere and I am still in love with that, completely.

The experiences that Nightingale reiterates in her interviews and writing are the stories that matter. She has often talked about how she shifted from managing a band to presenting a pop music programme on television, about how she was initially locked out of the BBC, confronted by sexism in ways that she had not experienced as a print journalist. She describes the independence of being an evening DJ compared with a daytime presenter tied to the playlist, and how difficult it was to master the technical aspects of broadcasting. Each of these stories maps change, reminds us of who helped (and who didn’t) and demands that we remember the work of all the women who came first.

On 1st April of next year, Annie Nightingale turns eighty. She will still be at BBC Radio 1 and, when we mark the start of her ninth decade of life, I think we owe more than a few kind messages and generic birthday messages! There are very few who have remained as relevant as Nightingale. A lot of her contemporaries in the 1960s and 1970s are no longer in radio, with very few of those remaining in a position as esteemed and important as Nightingale. I keep returning to gender and why Nightingale is so influential, but it is a big part of her story.

In this interview from 2015, the radio icon discussed the barriers that were in place when she was starting out:

 “Oh, there was all sorts of nonsense. They said I wouldn’t have authority because I was a woman, or that my voice wouldn’t carry properly. One executive told me that DJs were supposed to be ‘husband substitutes’. Well, I’d survived Fleet Street as a journalist, so I knew how to stand up for myself, and I wrote in magazines, so I had a voice.”

Facing a growing wave of criticism for their lack of female talent, the BBC turned to the woman who’d been lambasting them in article after article – a decision that’s paid off rather spectacularly.

“The situation’s improved immensely for women in radio”, agrees the trailblazer herself. “There’s more women on Radio 1 than there’s ever been. I’m a patron of Sound Women, a group that works with women in radio.

“I met a girl a few weeks ago who does a breakfast show, co-hosted with a guy, and I asked her if she drove the desk? She said no, he does. I told her she had to change that. It’s more work, but otherwise you’re just a passenger”.

In the same year, Nightingale discussed the subject of sexism when she was interviewed by The Guardian:

 “There’s been lots of healthy dialogue about sexism in the arts in recent years. What were your experiences like?

There was a ban on women on Radio 1. They said that disc jockeys were husband substitutes, so they didn’t need any women. They also believed women’s voices didn’t have enough authority to be on the radio. I was writing for various magazines, so I was in a position where I could attack their stance. At some point, the culture changed, they realised they needed to do something about it and my name came up.

PHOTO CREDIT: Handout

Were you surprised that more women DJs didn’t come along after you started?

I thought loads of women would rush through the door and then there wasn’t anyone for 12 years until Janice Long came along. I ended up thinking that perhaps it was just something that no one wanted to do. Of course, now it’s all changed.

We look back at the music business in the 70s with some horror now. Did you have any sense of that at the time?

It’s become a national joke, the idea of a 70s DJ. I lived in Brighton and had small kids, so I’d come into London, do my show and go home. You were always fighting over studio time. There wasn’t a situation where you’d all hang out together. There was no sense of knowing what [the DJs] were doing when they were off air”.

Regardless of attitudes decades ago, Nightingale is very much about the present. She encourages music lovers to go and support artists and catch D.J.s at clubs; she is all about embracing what is to come. It is wonderful to see someone like Annie Nightingale give so much of her time and energy to new music. She has helped make radio a more equal space – despite the fact there is a way to go – and inspired countless people to go into radio as a career. My words hardly do her full justice, but please do make sure you catch her on BBC Radio 1 – go to the BBC Sounds page/app and you can listen back – and (if you haven’t done so already) acquaint yourself with a radio icon. The sensational and hugely influential Annie Nightingale is true…  

RADIO royalty.

FEATURE: Mistletoe in the Snow: Cool Cover Versions, Beautiful Images and Angry Messages: The Alternative Christmas Playlist

FEATURE:

Mistletoe in the Snow

PHOTO CREDIT: @fineas_anton/Unsplash

Cool Cover Versions, Beautiful Images and Angry Messages: The Alternative Christmas Playlist

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THIS is going to be pretty short…

PHOTO CREDIT: @anniespratt/Unsplash

as I am focusing on the music. As Christmas is here, we are hearing a lot of new Christmas songs, but many of the classics that we all know and love. I know we have the impression that Christmas is all giving, snow-strewn scenes and happiness of the season. For many, that is not the reality at all – whether their circumstances or different or they are just cynical and a little bitter! From various genres, there are alternative Christmas songs that a little angrier, out-there or eye-popping. Also in the playlist are cover versions of well-known Christmas classics. We will have out fill of cheesier Christmas songs over the next few days and, whilst they are great and put us in the mood, I do think we need the flip side to offer some sense of relief, release and fresh perspective. Because of that, I have been digging through the archives to find those perfect songs that give an alternative take on Christmas. These songs address the Christmas spirit in a different way and provide…

PHOTO CREDIT: @jeshoots/Unsplash

SPICE in addition to sweetness.

FEATURE: Golden Years: Vinyl Reissue: Putting a Glorious Period of Music on T.V.

FEATURE:

Golden Years 

IN THIS ILLUSTRATION: U.S. Hip-Hop group Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav and Chuck D/ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Roger Andrews

Vinyl Reissue: Putting a Glorious Period of Music on T.V.

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THAT title might suggest…

IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1990/PHOTO CREDIT: Harper’s Bazaar

I am talking about David Bowie and his Golden Years track from 1976’s Station to Station. Rather, I am thinking about the late-1980s and 1990s. There have been documentaries made about the period before: from looks at the Madchester scene and Rave through to Britpop and Grunge, we have been given the chance to experience the music and culture of the time. I was born in 1983, so I got a first-hand experience of the times and was really drinking in everything. It was thrilling to be part of a time that was synonymous with experimentation, music scenes and absolute quality. There are many people who wonder why we can’t go back to the late-‘80s and ‘90s and see that sort of music come back. Certainly, they were simpler times, and we did have some remarkable music around. There have been shows where the 1980s and 1990s have been used as the backdrop. From Derry Girls and My Big Fat Diary, we have been able to enjoy the music of the time. I do not think there has been a show on T.V. that looks at the music of the late-1980s and 1990s in a very detailed and first-hand way. Whilst the shows I have mentioned brilliantly illuminate that time and perfectly back them with an astonishing score, I am thinking more in the vein of Vinyl – a short-lived show that was on HBO back in 2016. That concerned the record industry and featured artists around in the 1970s.

That time period was wonderful, and it was great to see a show that was about the records and culture of the 1970s. So many people are fascinated by the music and movements that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, yet we have seen very little in the way of television shows. Right now, we have The Goldbergs on: a show set in the 1980s that, at times, drops in songs from the decade. I was especially inspired by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. That has just finished its third season, and started life in the 1950s – at the end of the third season, we are in the early-1960s. I love the colour and sense of escape you get watching the show. I am not suggesting a 1980s/1990s-set show would be escape from the modern world, yet one could definitely get involved with an immersive and fascinating story and get so much of the music from the time – from the Dance of the late-1980s to the Britpop of the 1990s and, if there was enough longevity, the final days of the 1990s. It is clear T.V. is getting darker and, even at this time of the year, there is so much darkness and misery. People defend this as T.V. makers making our lives less bleak but, truly, we want T.V. to be an escape or project some positivity – why would anyone willingly tune into a show where they were being barraged by unhappiness and gloom?! I think a 1980s and 1990s soundtrack would not be all upbeat – there is Grunge to include! -, but there would be some truly terrific tracks and, with it, incredible scenes.

Mobile phones were getting slimmer and people were using C.D. players more. In spite of that, there were still a lot of cassettes and records being played. It was a fantastic time where scenes were being formed and there was a lot to be excited about. Not only that, but so many artists from today have taken inspiration from this time. I am not sure what the exact plot and store of the series would be but, in my view, Vinyl’s run was unfairly cut short after only one series. The premise focused on music scene in 1970s New York; one still awash in sex and drugs, but Rock 'n' Roll was giving way to an era of Punk, Disco and Hip-Hop. Desperately trying to navigate the changing landscape is American Century Records founder and President Richie Finestra, whose passion for music and discovering talent has gone by the wayside. With his American Century Records on the verge of being sold, a life-altering event rekindles Finestra's professional fire, but it may leave his personal life in ruins. That is the basic nub of the series but, with an epic soundtrack and a great cast (including Olivia Wilde and Ray Romano), it is a pity something like this has not been kicked back up. One can argue that 1970s time period was the most varied and exceptional but, as several T.V. series have shown, people have a lot of love and affection for the late-1980s and 1990s – when we had everything from Rave and the second Summer of Love to the excellent Alternative scene coming out of America.   

There is an appetite for dramas and comedies that are set decades ago, because it is unusual and new and, for those who lived during that time, there is something nostalgic and comforting. Maybe it would not get the same budgets as an HBO show, but I see no reason why it could not be taken up by Amazon or Netflix. I have written about a comparative T.V. show before but, as we are stepping into a new decade, it is back on my mind. I think British T.V. is in a pretty poor state and, with only the odd decent comedy and a few dramas showing any originality and legs, the Americans are still leading the way. A new T.V. series could feature similar lines to Vinyl, whereby we concentrate on a record label or, maybe, friends that are pulled apart at the end of the 1980s. We could switch between the U.K. and America. Maybe the series could relate to a band navigating their way through different scenes and, again, we could take in the U.K. and U.S., to get a contrast in regards the various sets and sounds. All the while, there would be this epic soundtrack and, like Vinyl and series such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, we could have real-life characters and artists – maybe Oasis and Kurt Cobain walking alongside Björk and Public Enemy?! There have been various films, biopics and series that have touched on the music, but none – in this country at least – that have really used music as the central force and represented that changing time as their prime intention.

As we celebrate artists and albums from the 1980s and 1990s, I do think there would be a demand, granted the characters were compelling and there was a good story. As Vinyl had Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger helming it, there was a lot of excess and a lack of rawness. Maybe the lack of simplicity and focus was a reason why many critics did not warm to the show. Some noted how there was patchy humour and, when you needed structure and cohesiveness, that all went away. The lack of a compelling story and structure was, perhaps, a reason why Vinyl did not get a second series. If one were to put the 1980s and 1990s into a series, there has to be more than a biblical soundtrack and nostalgia. The story would have to involve the music industry in some way, whether that was radio stations, bands or record stores. The latter would allow for something grounded and relatable and, like Vinyl, we could see musicians and historic figures of the time come into this world. Humour would have to be a big part and, with an eclectic cast, I think that broadness would allow for natural humour without things being cluttered and unfocused. It would be exciting to think someone could bring this to the screens and, no offense to British companies, but I think it would need its fair share of American production, money and talent to make it a success. If the balance was struck and the story was arresting I think that, combined with incredible music and characters, could make for a series that would…  

ENDURE for quite a while.

FEATURE: A Soundtrack for the Ages: The Magic of A Charlie Brown Christmas

FEATURE:

A Soundtrack for the Ages

IMAGE CREDIT: United Feature Syndicate

The Magic of A Charlie Brown Christmas

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BACK in 2015…

IMAGE CREDIT: Charles M. Schulz

A Charlie Brown Christmas turned fifty. I will bring in an article that pays tribute and shines the spotlight on a wonderful animated special. It derived from Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts strip. This was the first time characters from that universe were brought to life through the medium of T.V. Making its debut on 9th December, 1965, we find Charlie Brown depressed as Christmas approaches. Lucy van Pelt (the older sister of Linus and Rerun; she is opinionated and bossy in the Peanuts strip) encourages Charlie to direct a neighbourhood Christmas play, yet this is met with mocking and derision. It all looks lost for Charlie Brown. Linus van Pelt (Charlie Brown’s best friend and the younger brother of Lucy) explains to Charlie the true meaning of Christmas and all the Peanuts gang. There is a lot to unpack regarding the messages and plot of A Charlie Brown Christmas. When Charlie and Linus head to the frozen pond, Charlie confides in Linus he is still depressed. After visiting Lucy’s psychiatric booth, she advises him to direct a nativity play but, whilst that advice is sound, her concerns are more material: she wants real estate but is always getting toys. On his way to the auditorium, Charlie Brown sees his beloved Snoopy decorating his doghouse and Sally (Charlie’s younger sister) dictating a letter to Santa – thinking how much she can get.

Charlie arrives to find to find fake trees and gaudiness. Charlie is convinced a little decorated tree will be more special than the aluminium trees.  Charlie asks what the meaning of Christmas is and, being surrounded by a lot of selfishness, he is dejected. After Linus explains the true (biblical) meaning of Christmas, the children realise they were tough on Charlie – scorning him and turning their noses up at him. The tree Charlie chooses is drooping and not as magnificent as the fake ones. Linus helps repair the tree whilst others grab decorations from the doghouse; the tree grows bigger and Lucy even comes around to Charlie’s choice. They all sing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and Charlie returns to find his small tree is now a magnificent thing. It is not surprise A Charlie Brown Christmas was a hit and so many people tuned into watch back in 1965. A Charlie Brown Christmas became a staple in the U.S., and I am not surprised! I think there are a few interesting takeaways from the special. We have ended a year that has been pretty tough and challenging. Politics has divided us all and we head in 2020 with uncertainty. Whilst mine and many other people’s Christmases will be full of presents and excess, I think many of us have been made depressed by the same things. It seems like all is a bit hopeless at the moment but I have heard about so many people donating to charity and helping the homeless.

PHOTO CREDIT: @tomzzlee/Unsplash

Living in London, I have seen so many people changing their mood and helping other people. Maybe it is just a Christmas spirit, but rather than get depressed and tired by division and hate, this time of year should be about acceptance and understanding. I think A Charlie Brown Christmas Special is a  wonderful show that is relevant now and will always be so. It is okay to embrace the commercialism of Christmas, but now is a time when the truer meaning of Christmas – in the sense of acceptance and love – should be taken to heart and spread. Social media can be a poisonous and horrible place, so I wonder whether all of us need to be more aware of the effects of negative words and argument. It may sound schmaltzy, but I there is a lot we can learn from A Charlie Brown Christmas. I do think we can all be a bit kinder and more charitable. Whilst it is okay to open presents and enjoy the big day, I think a togetherness and sense of greater understanding is what we need moving forward. If you want to know more about Peanuts, there is a great documentary here, and I wanted to talk about the music and how A Charlie Brown Christmas was scored. The messages and charm is one thing, but the music featured is brilliant. I will bring in a Pitchfork article from 2015 that poured a lot of love on the soundtrack; Pitchfork also spoke with musicians who recounted their memories of A Charlie Brown Christmas:

“And then there was the soundtrack, composed by jazz piano impresario Vince Guaraldi along with Fred Marshall on double bass and the great Jerry Granelli on drums. “We did the music in a day and a half, two days,” Granelli tells me. “That’s just how you recorded records back then.” These days, it’s quite possibly the most ubiquitous and universally lauded holiday album out there, not to mention the gateway for generations of children who would go onto explore the bottomless chasm of the jazz idiom. Yet for the network suits expecting some Burl Ives-type maximalism, Guaraldi's quaint score was deemed too weird and dark, even though the soundtrack—released on the Fantasy label right around the time the special aired on TV—received rave reviews by such legendary critics as Nat Hentoff, who in 2010 wrote a beautiful tribute to Guaraldi in JazzTimes.

Vince Guaraldi Trio's Jerry Granelli                   

Part of the magic of the whole thing is that nobody had any big plans while making the soundtrack, like, “This is it!” We just played, man. It’s a jazz record. It was pretty natural and real. People heard the heart in it. Honestly, I turned left creatively with my career after that and never thought about it for a while; jazz musicians are sometimes not as open as they may seem when it comes to people having hits or things crossing over—everybody gets all uppity. But then I matured enough to realize that it went way beyond music. It was the first entry point to jazz for a lot of people. And now that I’ve got my credentials as an artist, I’m proud and delighted to be a part of it”.

Perfect Pussy’s Meredith Graves

I've only seen A Charlie Brown Christmas about four or five times, but I know the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack back and forth. And I know that record so well because I basically was Charlie Brown growing up. I was a nerdy kid who couldn't really do anything right. And I was always a singer in the choir as a kid, all the way up through high school. I was the lead in the musicals in the all-state choir and the all-state jazz choir and in opera competitions. And I was weird and mopey, and shit often went totally awry. So, for me, A Charlie Brown Christmas is very much just about Charlie Brown, who gets shit on by his classmates for being a weirdo. Its soundtrack was my soundtrack.

Veruca Salt’s Louise Post

As a kid growing up in the ’70s, seeing a cartoon of children dealing with anxiety and depression was illuminating and liberating. We were all finding our way through those perplexing years, navigating a path through the world of adults—my parents divorced when I was eight after years of unrest—and here was a world made up exclusively of children, expressing their feelings, having their own experience. It was for us. It became sacred. I also felt a closeness with the Peanuts characters, as if they were my childhood friends, and I related to the sibling relationship of Lucy and Linus. I played piano, like Schroeder, and my father was a psychiatrist, so he and Lucy had that in common. Snoopy was my favorite character, and my stuffed Snoopy was with me all throughout childhood and beyond. In college, I got the soundtrack, and it gets played on repeat every Christmas. And now that I have a little girl, we watch the special every year again, too.

It is the time of year where we remember others in addition to swapping presents and being with family. It may sound like a tenuous link, but A Charlie Brown Christmas’ endless spirit and true message seems more relevant and powerful now than it did in 1965. From its sensational music to its heart-warming story, I do think we can all go into 2020 with a fuller heart and a determination to bond together and make the world a better place.

This Christmas, give some money a homeless person or charity; ask someone in need how they are and, next year, think about the efforts needed to improve the environment and world around us – perhaps this goes back to A Charlie Brown Christmas and Charlie wanting a natural small tree rather than something more harmful and less biodegradable. It seems like we all have the potential to make the world better and bring more love into – off the back of a year that has been pretty tough. Of course, the musical element of A Charlie Brown Christmas is a big reason I am here; the majestic nature of the songs and, as we can see above, how (the music) has connected with so many artists. I shall leave things here but, as we approach Christmas Day and wonder what we are all getting, we should take a moment to look around us and help those in need; spend some of our time and money on others (away from family) and think ahead. It has been a good year away from all the bad stuff, but next year will throw up its challenges. I think we will all resolutely combine and commit to helping people and making our world a finer place. I was compelled to write this feature after seeing A Charlie Brown Christmas and, over fifty years after its release, this divine offering is still…  

CHANGING the world.

FEATURE: Prince of Fools: The Ongoing Debate Regarding Posthumous Releases

FEATURE:

Prince of Fools

IN THIS PHOTO: Prince

The Ongoing Debate Regarding Posthumous Releases

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I was going to write another feature today…

PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Maloney/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

but am holding it back because I read an interesting feature over on Pitchfork that relates to a podcast featuring Jon Pareles (The New York Times’ chief pop music critic), Naima Cochrane (a music and culture writer for Billboard, Vibe and others); Keith Murphy (a music journalist for ESPN’s The Undefeated, Esquire, The New York Post and others) and Jay Smooth (the host of Ill Doctrine Radio on hiphopmusic.com). There is debate as to whether the late Prince – who died in 2016 – would have wanted so much of his archive out in the world:

“Prince was a perfectionist. He was a relentlessly creative musician and a refined aesthete, careful about the music he put out in the world, always presenting a seamless package — image and sound.

In the three and a half years since Prince’s death at 57, those responsible for his estate have had to decide just how much of the private Prince will be revealed. When he died, the musician was in the early stages of working on a memoir. “The Beautiful Ones,” published in October, contains the early pieces of the project, as well as images of Prince ephemera. And last month, a deluxe edition of “1999” arrived, including a significant cache of unreleased work from his vault.

Would Prince have agreed to the release of this material in this form? Does the potential public good, and the contribution to the historical record, outweigh whatever uncertainties Prince might have had about the revealing of his rough drafts?”.

There is this legendary vault that, it is rumoured, contains enough material for the next hundred years. Whether that means one album a year or another measure, I am not so sure. It is clear Prince was a tireless artist who was always working on something. Hit n Run Phase Two was released in 2015 and was Prince’s thirty-ninth and final studio album. It is a shame he did not live to see a fortieth studio album out but, even so, Prince contributed to soundtracks and worked with artists like Kate Bush and Madonna. I know I have covered both posthumous releases and Prince’s vault in other features, but it is amazing how much he has put out in 2019 without being alive. In February 2019, the Prince Estate announced reissues of the albums Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic and Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic on purple vinyl as well as Ultimate Rave. On 7th June, 2019, Warner released a new Prince album, Originals, exclusively through TIDAL. The album contains Prince's original versions of fifteen songs he offered to other artists in the past. On 13th September, 2019 The Versace Experience - Prelude 2 Gold was reissued on purple vinyl and C.D. as well as on digital formats. On 18th October, 2019, a single with his acoustic demo of I Feel for You was released digitally, alongside a limited edition 7" purple vinyl in honor of the fortieth anniversary of the Prince album release. On 27th November, 2019, the 1999 album was reissued in a Remastered, Deluxe and Super Deluxe edition; the latter including thirty-five previously unreleased songs and two live concerts.

Who knows what is going to come from Prince in 2020! There is a bit of an ethical debate one can apply to any artist who is no longer with us. Prince amounted this vast reserve of music that he did not have time to finalise and hone before he died. Maybe a lot of the material is there for prosperity; perhaps Prince wanted to revisit the music years later and never got around to it. Whatever the reasoning, his music was left in the hands of the Prince Estate. I am not surprised Prince did not write a will, as he died unexpectedly at his Paisley Park estate aged fifty-seven. When you are a musician, there is a risk of not drawing a will up, which means estates and family members will have the final say. Of course, Prince recorded more than he could ever release and finish. Many artists have files and archives of half-finished tracks and ideas. Maybe Prince would have wanted as much of his vault material out there in the case of his death, though one wonders whether posthumous releases distil an artist’s legacy and quality. I mentioned this when writing about artists like Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and Jeff Buckley. Are estates motivated by money, or is there a genuine desire to give fans unheard material because it needs to be out there and digested?

Many would say money drives posthumous releases, but I can understand why it would be a bit mad to leave material left unheard. Prince is an artist who will be subject to posthumous albums for years and years to come. When you weigh up all the albums that we have seen from 2016 to now and going forward to those that were released in his lifetime, will we hear more posthumous material than anything? Prince’s unfinished or archived material is far stronger than most of the stuff other artists put out when they are at their peak. When thinking about quality, I know the Estate will discern what is worth airing and the material that is a bit scrappy and inferior. Sadly, a lot of great artists will depart the world in years to come and, unless they have a will that clearly states what happens to their material after death, it is a bit of a lottery. I know there are fans who will want to hear every morsel of Amy Winehouse or Prince. They won’t care if it is a demo or a cover version, so long as it keeps the artist alive – in one way, at least. I do not agree that, when an artist dies, there are no more releases from them. It would be a tragedy if there was something great in the archive that was left there for all time.

Also, I don’t think it is a good idea to release everything possible so that the artist is commercially viable or profitable. Prince is an artist who released a load of material in his life and, whilst some of his posthumous releases have been pretty awesome, there has been enough that could have remained at Paisley Park. What does one do to ensure there is that balance between posthumous material that is necessary and that which is not ripe for public consumption? It does seem, when studying a couple of articles from 2018, that Prince’s unreleased material – however revealing it is – would not have been given the sign-off by Prince himself. It seems control over the material was key to him. This NRP article reacts to the release of the Piano & a Microphone 1983 album release of 2018:

“Piano & a Microphone 1983, is the first posthumous album released by the Prince Estate since the superstar's death two years ago. It's an intimate recording of the artist before he was a giant, international star working through songs in a home studio — just Prince and his piano. The never-before-heard recording was discovered in the singer's personal vault on a cassette tape and takes place in Prince's Kiowa Trail home studio in Chanhassen, Minn. But don't think of this release as some unearthed demos meant for others to hear. As NPR Music critic Ann Powers explains, these songs were for Prince to try out ideas and develop new material.

"We are being allowed into a moment that we don't necessarily get and we never would have had access to, honestly, while Prince was alive," Powers says.

As working tapes, Powers believes that if Prince were alive he would "most certainly not" want this early music out in the world. But she also argues that the release of Piano & A Microphone 1983 isn't an exploitation of the artist.

"I think we understand Prince's creativity in a different way because of it and for that reason, it doesn't feel like a violation, it feels like a gift," Powers says.

As The Conversation wrote in a 2018 article, Prince was pretty clear about how he wanted his material to be released:

“…But what of Prince? We will never know what he really thinks but in a 2004 interview in Rolling Stone magazine he spelled out his desire for independence and the power to define himself, away from the influence or pressure of the music business: “Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people.” In my opinion, perhaps the record companies and the people who run Prince’s estate should reflect on that”.

Of course, it doesn’t help matters when the press heaps praise on posthumous releases and raves. People like me are guilty too, as we review this posthumous work and wonder what could have been. It is a hard to compromise so that you can please fans but do not exploit an artist after they have died. I think, in the case of Prince, the tide of material is a little much and I do worry about the financial motivation behind it all. When a beloved artist has died, of course there is interest when ‘new’ material comes out. We like the notion that an artist can continue to produce music even though they are no longer with us. I do think, in most cases, it is best estates and relatives…

LET the artist rest.

FEATURE: A Record High: Albums to Look Forward to Next Year

FEATURE:

A Record High

IN THIS PHOTO: IDLES are due to release their third album, Toneland, next year/PHOTO CREDIT: Naomi Wood for CRACK

Albums to Look Forward to Next Year

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THIS year has produced some stunning albums…

IN THIS PHOTO: Agnes Obel

but we can look ahead to 2020 and start planning which albums we want to snap up. Of those already confirmed, there are some real treats in the pack – I will finish with those that are speculated and not just firmed up. Agnes Obel’s Myopia is out on 21st February – you can pre-order it now. It is a highly-anticipated release from the Danish songwriter, and follows her third album, Citizen of Glass, of 2016. It seems like we are in for a treat.

“Following the same principles as with her previous albums (Philharmonics, Aventine and Citizen Of Glass), which she completed as a one-woman project in her own Berlin home studio, Obel has been under self-imposed creative isolation with the removal of all outside influences and distraction in the writing, recording and mixing process for Myopia. “The albums I’ve worked on have all required that I build a bubble of some kind in which everything becomes about the album.

“For me the production is intertwined with the lyrics and story behind the songs,” says Obel. This is precisely what makes her music so compelling and the same is true with Myopia. “Paradoxically, for me I need to create my own myopia to make music.” Obel was experimenting with techniques of recording processing, warping and pitching down vocals, strings, piano, celesta and lutheal piano, finding ways to melt these elements together to become one and twisting them in a way that you feel at home within the sound she conjures throughout the record”.

I am not going to these alphabetically and, in fact, I am going to break my rule about leaving those T.B.A. albums until last. There is rumour The Avalanches will follow up 2016’s Wildflower next year. We all know they left a sixteen-year gap between their debut, Since I Left You and Wildflower; it is amazing we will get a third album so soon! Again, there is going to be a lot to recommend:

“I think getting 'Wildflower' out of the way... feels like a weight’s been lifted,” multi-instrumentalist Robbie Chater told FBi Radio, adding: “The [new] music is really light, it’s some of the best stuff we’ve done.” It looks like album No.3 will continue to serve up some interesting collaborations, with the likes of the Australian Boys Choir, experimental rapper JPEGMAFIA, soul singer Leon Bridges, and Dhani Harrison (son of George) all rumoured to be involved in its making”.

On 10th January, The Big Moon’s Walking Like We Do, is out and alive. You can pre-order it, and I suggest that you do. The London quartet’s debut of 2017, Love in the 4th Dimension, was nominated for a Mercury Prize, and I love what they are producing. I think they are a band who will be festival headliners in years to come. Just one week later, Bombay Bicycle Club’s Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is released. Make sure you pre-order Everything Else Has Gone Wrong, as it is going to be one of 2020’s best albums.

Guitarist Jamie MacColl spoke with NME about the upcoming record:

“Guitarist Jamie MacColl meanwhile, took a degree in War Studies at King’s College, before making a documentary for the BBC on protest music. Following those projects, he launched a campaign group to help under-30s get involved with Brexit negotiations, helping to get a wide range of voices heard. If that wasn’t enough, he then went to Cambridge to study a masters in Philosophy.

All of this feeds into new album ‘Everything Else Has Gone Wrong’, that Jamie didn’t really think would happen, but now stands as a nice surprise for both band and fans. As the band announce their new record and lengthy 2020 tour, we catch up with the guitarist to talk over all that’s gone on since their disappearance, and what comes next.

Did revisiting that debut album affect how you were writing for the upcoming record? Do you see similarities between ‘I Had The Blues…’ and ‘Everything Else Has Gone Wrong’?

“What we’ve been doing at the moment is definitely more guitar-heavy than the last album, and I’d say that’s particularly the case on ‘Eat, Sleep, Wake’. Also with Jack having done Mr Jukes, he’s maybe been able to separate the two strands of his writing and production, because the last album had loads of layers and samples on every song, whereas I think what we’re doing now is a bit simpler. I was thinking about it in regards to ‘Eat, Sleep, Wake’, and there is a nostalgic element to both the song and the lyrics, and reading what people are saying on social media – which I know I’m not supposed to do – people do seem to be tapping into that, and thinking about being a teenager. Maybe we are conscious of the 10 year anniversary, and also being a bit reflective and looking back on our younger selves with some perspective”.

Field Music’s Making a New World is out on 10th January; it is the seventh album from the Sunderland band, and it is going to be a cracker! I have a lot of love for the group, and I admire their hugely original and memorable sound. This is an album I am definitely looking forward to already. Occupying a different space, Halsey’s MANIC is out on 17th January. She is one of the biggest Pop stars in the world, and MANIC follows 2017’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. Halsey spoke with Cosmopolitan about her upcoming album:

“Still, she says, she’s a Libra—meaning she just wants everyone to love her, even at her most incorrigible. “That’s the problem: I’ll do what I want, knock down everyone in my path who says I shouldn’t, and then when people don’t like it, I’m like, ‘Why?!’” she admits with a grin. “When I made ‘Nightmare,’ there were people saying, ‘I don’t think this is the move. You just had a number one song and now you’re gonna put out this weird, political song that’s not safe.’ Well, yeah, that’s why I’m gonna do it.” She’s talking about her latest radio smash, part of her “Marilyn Manson–inspired goth record” phase. If “Nightmare” is any indication, with its howled lyrics about trampling the patriarchy, the vibe of her forthcoming album is primal scream from the soul.

That might seem like a radical departure if you’d listened only to songs like “Without Me,” the chart-topping ballad she released mid highly public breakup with her on-again-off-again-who-even-knows-again ex G-Eazy. Or “Closer,” her 2016 collaboration with The Chainsmokers that could probably be statistically proven as the biggest song of the 2010s. But then you’d be missing the point. Because Halsey hasn’t been trying to be some sort of picture-perfect pop star. This rabbit hole she’s gone down, it just kind of happened. “But I love that, because I wake up every day wild-eyed and spongy,” she says, “trying to do things better than the last time”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Halsey/PHOTO CREDIT: Peggy Sirota for Cosmopolitan

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien has an album out next year and, after sharing the new track, Brasil, many people are intrigued to see what direction he takes. I cannot see an album title yet, but keep your eyes peeled closely. Grimes’ Miss_Anthrop0cene is an album you just know will score huge reviews and own 2020. Pre-order a copy now and own one of next year’s most anticipated albums. Here is what the BBC said:

“It's been four years since her critically-acclaimed album 'Art Angels', but we will soon get to hear Grimes’ long-awaited, and much-delayed, fifth record. Claire Boucher's latest release will be called 'Miss_Anthrop0cene', and she has described it on social media as "a concept album about the anthropomorphic goddess of climate change," with each song representing "a different embodiment of human extinction as depicted through a pop star Demonology.

We’ve already heard the dark synth-pop of 'Violence' and equally brooding 'So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth'. Previous single 'We Appreciate Power', which refined Boucher’s unholy alliance of K-pop, riot grrl punk and industrial metal, sadly won’t feature on the album, instead included as a bonus track for the album’s Japanese edition”.

IDLES’ Toneland is their third and will be out next year. The Bristol band are one of the biggest acts in the world and are getting stronger and stronger. Their last album, Joy as an Act of Resistance, was nominated for a Mercury this year and is an absolute beast! IDLES are touring next year and have barely had chance to rest since they burst through.

I know Toneland will be another truly magnificent record! This year has been a huge one for the iconic band. They talked to DIY in September and were asked about their Mercury Prize nomination (they lost out to Dave’s PSYCHODRAMA):

“How did you process the news of your album being shortlisted for the Hyundai Mercury Prize?

I think the only way to process it is to be grateful and put it in perspective to where you are and then put it your pocket and keep it there, to keep you warm and fuzzy. It’s something you want and something you work for. The Hyundai Mercury Prize isn’t an award as much as it is a conversation; to celebrate what is going on in Britain in that year that is important and relevant. I think every act on the list for the first time in a while is an interesting and valid part of that conversation. It’s just f*cking beautiful to be part of that conversation. I shall not apologise, nor shall I over-celebrate that. It’s just something that we feel we are part of so we’re glad to be part of it. Obviously you enter, we paid that £190 to be part of the conversation and now we are, and it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to go and see it and see what the other acts have to offer.

You mentioned being a part of that British narrative, you’re in esteemed company; do you feel like part of a wider dialogue?

Yes absolutely. I was talking about this yesterday to Tim Putnam from Partisan Records. Individually, as voices, slowthai, Anna Calvi, Grian [from Fontaines DC] and myself who write all the lyrics, we are worlds apart and we create very different universes, perspectives and windows into the world for our audiences. That’s something that’s intrinsic in us. That’s something that you can’t compare in terms of style. When you extract that style and you talk about believability, vividness and gumption for something they believe in, whether it be something abstract or something real; something working class, something from a woman’s perspective, something from a queer perspective, something from a black perspective, something from a middle-class perspective, something from an Irish perspective, all those things are exactly what we should be talking about and celebrating in Britain”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Laura Marling

Kendrick Lamar and Laura Marling are teasing albums for next year. Lamar’s previous album, DAMN., arrived in 2017, as did Marling’s Semper Femina. I am a huge fan of both artists, but I am especially looking forward to Marling’s new album – an artist who has not put a foot wrong since her debut album! No set dates and titles are confirmed so, again, keep your eyes out. Moses Sumney’s græ is arriving in two parts: the first is in February and the second is in May. You can do some pre-ordering and hear the Californian soar. I want to bring in extracts from an interview he recently gave to SSENSE:

“One way you’ve defined your identity in the media is by presenting your own personality via the ideas of others. You prefaced your last record with an examination of Aristophanes, and then on the record itself, you have a song called “Stoicism.” Where does your interest in Greek mythology and philosophy come from?

It’s so funny, because I think the record makes it seem like it’s been a deep interest of mine, but it only really emerged towards the end of making the record. I wanted to contextualize it in a way that reached beyond modern times.

We’re in such a place where people are [self-]identifying more than ever before, and that feels so modern to people, especially to the old guard. I wanted to contextualize identification as something that has always happened. We’ve always been looking for ways to define and describe ourselves, or ways to give cultural significance to our personal feelings. And so I needed to reach beyond when any of us were born to say, like, these concepts I’m thinking about have been around forever.

In terms of self-identification, Aristophanes himself was a comedic playwright. As serious as your music can sound, do you think there’s anything about Aromanticism—the concept or the record itself—that’s funny?

I do, I think it’s hilaaaarious. The first song on the album is called “Don’t Bother Calling,” and it’s basically being really over-dramatic, and just saying, “Oh, don’t call me, I’ll call you,” and, “I’d love to be in love with you but I’m too busy thinking of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and the alignment of our galaxy.” It’s just so over the top and over-dramatic that in a lot of ways, I feel like I was playing a character while I was writing it, and trying to be as dramatic as possible—which is inherently funny.

I shall do a few more albums that are out next year but we do not know too much about. Phoebe Bridgers is preparing to 2017’s Strangers in the Alps. It was a marvellous debut from the American. She proved herself to be one of the most original songwriters out there and is someone I am looking forward to hearing more of next year. In October, NME asked her about her second album:

“Does that make you feel like a very different person and songwriter to that which wrote ‘Stranger In The Alps’?

“I could talk a big game about how I’m not that person or I’m getting far away from those topics, and then I end up with 10 songs that are about depression. I have no idea. I’ve never really been afraid of how people were going to define me, as long as I didn’t write some cheaper song because people like that I’m depressed.”

IN THIS PHOTO: Phoebe Bridgers/PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Hall/Mixtape Magazine

And what makes the new album different from your debut?

“The production is totally different to my first record. People still kind of think of me as like a folk artist, but on the first record, I truly was deferring to other people to produce me. I basically had these country folk songs. [On the new record] I do a little bit of screaming on what we’ve recorded so far”.

Run the Jewels’ Run the Jewels 4 is out in 2020, but we are not 100% sure exactly when it will drop. The Orielles’ Disco Volador is their second; it is out on 28th February; so make sure you get a copy. The Halifax band are one of this country’s finest. Expect 2020 to be a very busy and successful year for them. The fourteenth album from Pet Shop Boys, Hotspot, is one you will also need in your life. Here is what the BBC reckon:

“For 14th studio album ‘Hotspot’, Pet Shop Boys relocated to Kreuzberg, Berlin’s Hansa Studios, which helped birth records including David Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, U2’s ‘Achtung Baby’ and Pixies’ ‘Bossanova’.

“We’ve written much of our music over the last ten years in Berlin and it was an exciting experience to work on this album in Hansa and add a new dimension to our sound,” the band say on their website about ‘Hotspot’, which was produced by Stuart Price (Madonna, Kylie, The Killers). 2019's ‘Dreamland’ single features Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander, while Suede’s Bernard Butler plays guitar on ‘Burning the Heather’”.

Poliça’s When We Stay Alive is out on 31st January. It is worth your pennies, and here is this some more information:

“The final roots of the band's first solo album in three years - having released a collaborative record with classical ensemble s t a r g a z e last year - lie in an accident that left frontwoman Channy Leaneagh with a smashed L1 vertebrae and battered spine that saw her in a brace with limited mobility for months. Half of the album was written before the accident and another half was written after.

A press release explains: "While recovering, Leaneagh's doctor told her to focus not only on physical healing, but to meditate on the mental act of healing as well - working to erase the anger, regrets, and fear she felt about her fall. To do so, he suggested she rewrite the story she told herself about what happened [when she fell and sustained her injury]."

This process saw Leaneagh look further back into her past. "I felt there were many things I could look at and say, 'This happened to me but I'm okay now,'" she explains. "'It’s not happening anymore and I got the care I needed for it. Now it’s time to rewrite the story I tell about myself and to myself'".

In terms of more albums for next year, here are some more in the ether: Baxter Dury - The Night Chancers (20th March), Childish Gambino – TBA; Everything Everything – TBA, Frank Ocean – TBA; Georgia - Seeking Thrills (10th Jan), La Roux – Supervision (7th Feb), Lana Del Rey - White Hot Forever and Nadine Shah – TBA.

IN THIS PHOTO: Nadine Shah

Let’s break a few of these down. You can pre-order Baxter Dury’s album; it is going to be another witty and highly special album from the master. Go and pre-order Georgia’s Seeking Thrills. This going to be an album you will not want to miss:

“Second album from the wonderous Georgia. Georgia is seeking a thrill. Her new album, Seeking Thrills, is a musically daring story of hedonism, self-discovery, and above all, the transcendental power of the dancefloor.

Inspired by the Chicago House and Detroit Techno of the early 80s, Seeking Thrills is a sonic feat of exploration and excellence, with textures that reflect Georgia’s background in ethnic musicology, and hours upon hours spent rifling through records. Feminine without being saccharine, Georgia’s deep, brooding reflections carry us through euphoria, heartache and melancholy but always with the memory of the good times.

Started Out, the first single Georgia released from Seeking Thrills, is an upbeat pop twist on Mr Fingers’ Can You Feel It, and as Georgia sings you can almost hear the smile: “We are wicked young fools who behave / Back in the arms of somebody who saved us”. Its release was shortly followed by About Work The Dancefloor, a synth-charged, Robyn-adjacent pop song with a delicious hook. Both were runaway hits. The album is underpinned with sense of melancholy and vulnerability, but with a real sense of power.

Seeking Thrills fuses analogue club sounds with stunning pop songwriting, and showcases Georgia's lifelong love affair with the drums. As a session drummer, making her name playing and collaborating with Micachu, Kwes, and Kate Tempest, she used her technical knowledge to replicate set-ups from 80s house and techno”.

Next year will see a lot of eyes trained the way of Lana Del Rey. She only released Norman Fucking Rockwell! this year, so here is another artist keep to capitalise. White Hot Forever proves Del Rey is in fine and productive form. She spoke with NME recently, where she was asked about her albums and working alongside Jack Antonoff:

“Ever since she broke through with the elegantly downcast ‘Video Games’, Del Rey has been an outlier in the pop world, keeping herself sonically separate from her peers. It’s surprising, then, that on ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ she chose to work with Jack Antonoff, frontman of Bleachers and pop producer du jour who’s worked with Lorde, Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sia and Pink. While he doesn’t overshadow the women he works with, there’s a definite Jack Antonoff pop sound – a shimmery kind of deceptive euphoria – that weaves its way through most records he’s involved in. If Del Rey had already carved out her own, very specific space in culture, how would teaming up with someone with an equally distinct but very opposite oeuvre work?

IN THIS PHOTO: Lana Del Rey/PHOTO CREDIT: Mat Hayward/Getty Images

“Jack very much takes my lead – I don’t know how it is with him with other people, but he liked for me to know where I was going,” she says. The two met at a party and it was him who extended that invite to work together. “He asked me if I wanted to come over to his studio in New York and I told him I didn’t have anything to write,” she explains, but he insisted that they could do something together if she just gave him a couple of hours. The way she tells the story makes it seem like she was fairly nonchalant about his offer at the time, but she accepted anyway and was surprised by what she found. “His sensibility is a little more traditional and acoustic than I thought it was. That was really good because some of my songs in my journals were already eight minutes and I didn’t want to condense anything. He’d like, ‘Ten minutes?! Alright!’ He’s like a little comedian”.

Green Day’s Father of All… is out on 7th February, and it sees the Pop-Punk icons as fired up as ever. Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush is another album that is gathering a lot of buzz. The singles Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has put out this year have been blistering – I am especially fond of Borderline. In this interview, Parker talked about his process:

“Parker has clearly felt some pressure. “If I could make an album every year I would,” he said. “I’d love to. I hate to sound precious, or to say I can’t hurry it, but it’s true.”

He added: “Part of the thing about me starting an album is that I have to feel kind of worthless again to want to make music. I started making music when I was a kid as a way of feeling better about myself, you know? The ironic thing is, if I’m feeling on top of the world or feeling confident or like everything’s good, I don’t have the urge to make music.”

IN THIS PHOTO: Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker/PHOTO CREDIT: Graham Miller for The New York Times

Glen Goetze, the A&R manager at Universal Music Australia who first signed Tame Impala and continues to advise Parker, said making music is “a stoically solitary process” for him.

“I know it turns his head inside out sometimes, not having a bandmate or a band, not working in any way where you can turn to other people,” Goetze said. “He’s got to go through all those phases to come out the other end with something as incredible as he does”.

I will finish up soon, but The 1975’s Notes on a Conditional Form will arrive next year. It follows last year’s A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. Here is what we know so far; but you can pre-order and mark your calendars for 21st February. There are actually a lot of great rumoured albums out next year, and I know some brilliant newcomers and legendary artists will bring us some wonderful music. Lady Gaga and Morrissey have albums out next year, and there are a few details out regarding Lady Gaga’s upcoming album. Joanne came out in 2016, and since then she has been keeping busy; her turn in A Star Is Born won her awards and brought huge kudos. Whilst this interview she conducted with Oprah Winfrey for ELLE does not ask her about her next album, I love the openness and bravery Lady Gaga shows when talking about herself. She discusses, among other things, living with mental illness and fibromyalgia:

“It needs to be a much bigger conversation. I want to know, What did you once believe was insurmountable, and in the end, you realized, the solution was so easy?

I once believed that there was no way back from my trauma. I really did. I was in physical, mental, and emotional pain. And medicine works, but you need medicine with the therapy for it to really work, because there’s a part that you have to do yourself.

IN THIS PHOTO: Lady Gaga/PHOTO CREDIT: Sølve Sundsbø for ELLE

Is this suffering from your fibromyalgia?

It is. Although there are many different theories about fibromyalgia—for me, my fibromyalgia and my trauma response kind of go hand in hand. The fibro for me is a lighter pain; the trauma response is much heavier and actually feels the way I felt after I was dropped on a street corner after I’d been raped repeatedly for months. It’s a recurring feeling. So I had a psychotic break at one point, and it was one of the worst things that’s ever happened to me. I was brought to the ER to urgent care and they brought in the doctor, a psychiatrist. So I’m just screaming, and I said, “Could somebody bring me a real doctor?” And I didn’t understand what was going on, because my whole body went numb; I fully dissociated. I was screaming, and then he calmed me down and gave me medication for when that happens—olanzapine.

This is my last question: What do you believe life is asking of us?

I believe life is asking of us to accept the challenge. Accept the challenge of kindness. It’s hard in a world the way that we are; we have a very, very grave history. We’re in trouble, and we have been before. But I think life asks us amid these challenges, this hatred, this tragedy, this famine, this war, this cruelty: Can you be kind and can you survive?”

Dua Lipa is the last artist I shall mention. Her second album, Future Nostalgia, is out next year. She recently put out the title track and has promised a fun and upbeat album with sounds of the 1980s and Disco. It sounds like it Is going to be one of Pop’s biggest albums of next year. I want to bring in an interview she gave earlier this month, where she discussed her sources of inspiration and her fans:

“That unselfconscious expression is something that comes to the fore on Don’t Start Now and the rest of “DL2” (the title her fans have been using in demanding tweets basically ever since the first one came out). She’s aware that her lyrics will be picked apart and scoured over for clues as to her past relationships, but she’s also keen not to give oxygen to specifics. “I mean, it is what it is,” she shrugs. “Art is subjective and the way I think of it is that I focus on songs until the second they’re out and then once they’re out they no longer belong to me. So if people want to pick them apart and make of them what they will then that’s fine. It’s just me being honest and sometimes that bites me in the arse.” She’s acutely aware too that this lyrical unpicking is gendered (“I think as a woman in the music industry, and especially with my life in the public eye, I have been demonised”), and that female sadness is preferred when it comes to high profile break-ups. “I feel like with this record there’s a lot more about being upbeat and fun, and enjoying the fact that I’m allowed to be happy,” she says. “That I’m allowed to have a good time. Without allowing the opinions of others to get in the way of that”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa

Pop stars vs the opinions of others is an ongoing battle, accentuated by social media. It’s partly why she cleared out her Twitter and Instagram ahead of this new era. “Start everything fresh,” she smiles. “But also to prove to me that it’s not real. You can just do whatever you want and people shouldn’t get so caught up in it.” Like most of her peers Lipa has a love/hate relationship with it all. On the one hand she enjoys connecting with her fans, and was obsessed with being the first person to tell them about the new single, favouring a teasing tweet over a billboard or some sort of Challenge Anneka-style marketing campaign. On the other, it’s what nearly crushed her confidence when it came to performing, an area of the (female, men can get away with a lot less, but that’s for another time) pop star code she’s perhaps not excelled at quite yet (there are memes, of course there are). “I was fine for a long time and then I started to see people’s reactions even to things I was proud of,” she says. “I’d go on social media and I’d read things people would write… and I’m not made out of steel. You know. As much as I’d like to think I am, I’m not. It definitely made me second guess myself.” She says 2018’s Electricity video, which saw her dancing around a New York-style apartment, was a turning point. “It was really the first time that I was on set and I had no inhibitions. I wasn’t afraid of what anyone thought. I was proud of myself for not allowing my nerves or anybody else’s opinions get in the way. It was really freeing”.

As the clock ticks I sense we’re eating up valuable pop star time. One last thing: How would her friends describe her? “Probably quite blunt and to the point,” she says, er, bluntly. “I’m probably the most honest, in your-face-person. Like if a mate said ‘what do you think of this dress?’ I would never be the person to lie to them. Or same with boys. ‘Complete wrong ‘un, get rid of them’.” She laughs. There must be so much fakery in this industry though? “Either invoke a ‘be kind’ policy or say things to my face,” she shrugs. “Just be honest. I don’t need a yes person.” And with that she’s off, a little bruised but ready for round two.

IN THIS PHOTO: Nine Inch Nails (Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor)

In terms of late news arrival, it seems Nine Inch Nails are brewing something for 2020. NME provide more details:

“Nine Inch Nails have revealed they are planning to tour and record new music in 2020.

Since the band’s most recent album ‘Bad Witch’ in 2018, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been busy focusing on soundtrack work.

But, in a new interview, it’s been revealed the band intend to tour and work on new Nine Inch Nails music.

There is no further detail on their plans as yet. The interview in Revolver with Reznor and Ross about their soundtrack work simply states: “Nine Inch Nails is not forgotten. In 2020, Reznor and Ross plan to take the group back out on tour, as well as record new NIN music.”

Nine Inch Nails last toured in 2018, around the release of the experimental ‘Bad Witch’ which, at half-an-hour, was the shortest NIN album”.

It is going to be a great year for music next year. I know, as the months progress, we will get more details about those unconfirmed titles and rumoured albums. There are a lot of great ones that we know about; some real corkers in the pack! It is obvious that 2020 is a year where we have…

IN THIS PHOTO: Grimes/PHOTO CREDIT: Chuck Grant for Interview Magazine

SO much to look forward to.

FEATURE: Beyond the Critics’ View: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Underexposed Albums of 2019

FEATURE: 

Beyond the Critics’ View 

PHOTO CREDIT: @katstokes_/Unsplash

Overlooked, Underappreciated and Underexposed Albums of 2019

___________

WHILST this might seem a bit subjective…

IN THIS PHOTO: Amyl and The Sniffers’ eponymous debut is one of 2019’s best albums/PHOTO CREDIT: Nat Wood for KERRANG!

I think there are some albums that have not received the acclaim and praise they deserve. Whether critics have been a bit harsh or an album has not quite gained the traction it warrants, it is important to nod to these treasures. Many people are compiling their favourite albums of 2019 lists, and I might put out another feature before the year is through along those lines. I might well update this feature but, right now, I have compiled some albums that are worth a second glance. In each case, I have included a sample review that either doesn’t do the album justice, or it is glowing and makes me wonder why it (the album) didn’t get more acclaim. Make sure you check out these underrated treats…

IN THIS PHOTO: Former Totally Mild lead Elizabeth (Elizabeth Mitchell) released her debut solo album, the wonderful world of nature, earlier this year

FROM a jam-packed and brilliant year.

__________

Loyle Carner - Not Waving, But Drowning

Release Date: 19th April

Labels: AMF/Virgin EMI

Producers: Jordan Rakei/Tom Misch/Joice, Parsley Palette/Kwes/ Rebel Kleff/Dan Parry (additional)/Charlotte Day Wilson

Standout Cut: Loose Ends (ft. Jorja Smith)

Sample Review:

“At other moments, Carner’s rejection of the blokey posturing that typifies hip-hop – the threats, the boasts, the jokes – proves refreshing. Yet Not Waving, But Drowning isn’t future-facing in a sonic sense: diaristic outpourings of emotion are matched with the comforting patter of boom-bap beats and the cosy tones of vintage soul, while edges are softened further still via luxuriant crooning from Sampha and Jorja Smith. The result is a collection of smooth, soft-centred rap that verges on the sickly, with Carner’s genial charisma floating adrift in a sea of sentimentality and nostalgia” – The Guardian

Brooke Candy – SEXORCISM

Release Date: 25th October

Label: NUXXE

Producers: Boys Noize/Andrew Goldstein/Oscar Scheller/Raf Riley/Carl Ryden/Sega Bodega

Standout Cut: XXXTC (feat. Charli XCX & Maliibu Miitch)

Sample Review:

“What’s particularly ironic is that - thanks to a protracted saga involving her previous label - it’s taken so long for Candy to release her first album that she’s actually been upstaged in the arena of spitting button-pushing, hyper-sexualised, unapologetically crass bars. Over the last few years, CupcakKe has stepped up to the plate and shown how this kind of thing can be done with both technical proficiency and a wicked sense of humour, two things which - on the evidence of ‘Sexorcism’ - Brooke Candy seems to be sadly lacking.

In fact, it’s some of the guest appearances that really show how limited Candy’s range is. Charli XCX is no MC, but she does an alluring turn on ‘XXXTC,’ turning her Home Counties vowels into something more sultry. Similarly, Rico Nasty shows up on album closer, ‘FMU,’ offering a tantalising glance at what could have been.

Ultimately, ‘Sexorcism’ is lacking in ideas and appears to have arrived at the wrong time in Brooke Candy’s career trajectory. There’s always a place to explore and celebrate sexuality in music, but this feels more like a say-nothing, protracted crotch thrust to the ears. Candy’s uncompromising approach has been a breath of fresh air when providing guest verses in the past, but a whole album of pornographic paeans will leave you feeling limp” – CLASH

Sarah Mary Chadwick – The Queen Who Stole the Sky

Release Date: 12th April

Label: Rice Is Nice

Standout Cut: Confetti

Sample Review:

“Personal suffering is often privileged in art. Throughout this record Chadwick challenges this by outlining suffering and then minimising or rationalising it. On the song Next In Line, she spins fairy tale fantasies about romance before shattering them.

“I never had a man around to love me,” she sings over the organ’s drone, before adding, almost like a hastily added post-script, “Having said that, there’s no amount of love could fill me, so I keep working through the line.” It’s romance imagined as construction line, one of life’s great mysteries skewed, dismembered and vacuum-sealed.

Towards the end of the album, on the record’s title track, Chadwick makes peace with life’s dull edges. “Sometimes there will be tears, I’ll have good years and bad years,” she concedes, “I’ll have friends and have no friends, love will start and love will end.” It’s something of a Pyrrhic victory – after an album of trying to rationalise mundane struggle and find something beyond it, we’re told there’s little to be found. Considering the product of that victory, though, it’d be hard to ask for more” – The Guardian

Pom Pom Squad - Ow

Release Date: 12th April

Label: 4MCMC

Standout Cut: Heavy Heavy

Sample Review:

“Pom Pom Squad’s new EP, Ow, is a step above the already-great Hate It Here in every way. The songs are more polished, but they’ve lost none of the edge that made the Hate It Here songs so strong. The vocal hooks are stronger, the production clearer, and the song sequencing highlights Berrin’s strength for storytelling (more on that later). Overall, Ow is just bigger. The diaristic recordings of the last EP have gained about 10 pounds in pure muscle; it’s the same observant, beating heart, but its body is more confident and assertive. Take the first single, “Heavy Heavy.” Its loud electric guitar, sneering vocals, and strong hook make it an instant earworm and crowd-pleaser. 

The biggest strength of Ow, however, isn’t just its singles, no matter how good they might be. What makes Ow so great a listen is its structure. Across these seven tracks, the EP takes on a cinematic structure, with “Ow (Intro)” serving as an impressionist opening credits scene and the final song, “Owtro,” mirroring many of those initial sounds. The middle five songs, then, take on the narrator’s story, and that character arc is reflected in both the lyrics and the arrangements themselves. “Heavy Heavy” and “Honeysuckle” are the early attention-grabbers (and first released singles) where a bad month has stretched into a bad month, that bad month has stretched into a bad break up. “Cherry Blossom” and “Again” slow the pace and strip back the production, reflecting both the narrator’s regret and sorrow. The climax, “Cut My Hair,” swells to a finale where the narrator finds some piece of relief in self-acceptance, and she’s able to move on.

If you wanted to take it on that level, you could. Ow has a story and themes for you to pick at and untie: a soundtrack for your (or someone-like-you’s) life. If you just wanted a solid 20 minutes of great song after great song, Ow can be enjoyed as a dynamic collection of singles. Whichever way to want to hear it, though, Pom Pom Squad has gotten bigger and better in the two years since Hate It Here. Pom Pom Squad’s attention to the big-picture might be their greatest strength, but its their knack for writing undeniable pop songs through a grunge filter that will keep you coming back again and again” – Post Trash

Sampa the Great – The Return

Release Date: 13th September

Label: Ninja Tune

Standout Cut: Final Form

Sample Review:

“It’s fair to say that Tembo’s bragging is not your standard cars-and-girls inanity – instead, she is careful to recontextualise her self-aggrandisement as righteous empowerment, using it to write an impassioned alternative to the narrative of western (and white) supremacy (Final Form, The Return), and emphasising the music industry’s exploitation of black talent on Time’s Up and Any Day. Yet despite weaving southern African influences into the drumming and multilingual lyrics, Tembo’s keen intellect and strong personality isn’t always accompanied by the most distinctive sound: highlight Final Form channels Kanye’s brash take on classic soul and there is much busy but generic R&B on the bloated tracklist. Her vocal, meanwhile, can be offputtingly affected, resembling a parody of Kendrick Lamar’s reedy, staccato flow. That said, Tembo is undoubtedly an intriguing addition to rap’s increasingly rich tapestry – albeit one yet to land on a sonic palette as fresh and compelling as her perspective” – The Guardian

Drenge - Strange Creatures

Release Date: 22nd February

Labels: Infectious/Rough Trade

Standout Cut: This Dance

Sample Review:

“The pair’s third album has plenty of peaks but it also has its troughs. Interestingly, they come in what are probably the two most accessible points on ‘Strange Creatures’ – the wiry new wave of ‘Autonomy’ and the laser-sharp guitars of ‘This Dance’. They’re hooky and poppy, but something about them feels off and, placed next to each other on the tracklisting, they feel too repetitive to belong on a record this daring and bristling with ideas. Still, nearly a whole four years since their last album, ‘Strange Creatures’ is an audacious and gratifying return that makes you want to envelope yourself in its gloom” – NME

Ari Lennox - Shea Butter Baby

Release Date: 7th May

Labels: Dreamville/Interscope

Producers: Jermaine Cole (also exec.)/Elite (also exec.)/Ibrahim Hamad (exec.)/Bigg Kid/Christo/Deputy/DJ Grumble/Hollywood JB/Jaylen Rojas/Kojo/Masego/Nick Quinn/Omen/Ron Gilmore/Shroom

Standout Cut: Up Late

Sample Review:

“The issue of navigating relationships is a foundational crux of R&B, and Ari Lennox channels and tackles both the good and the bad of this. At her most vulnerable – which is arguably on ‘I Been’ – the artist slows it down and keeps things relatable. Somewhere between the purple haze, Tinder references and dodging lies, the 28-year old manages to impart some wisdom to her female fans: “Life is too short to be blocking your blessings like that.”

Lennox learns that no relationship is worth emotional trauma and transforms into a contemporary empowerment leader. In an era defined by ‘situationships’, ‘I Been’ serves as a valuable reminder that toxic environments shouldn’t be tolerated.

Perhaps the most endearing aspect of ‘Shea Butter Baby’ is an authentic innocence that threads through it – the subtle interludes that feature in the space between songs lay bare Ari Lennox’s passions, fears, desires, and intentions. They allow listeners to get to know the singer and her universe, evoking an undeniable form of humility – something that makes the soloist captivating.

‘Shea Butter Baby’ manages to meld contemporary R&B with other sounds like soul, funk, and blues, all while introducing us to the Ari Lennox of today – and the inspirations that guide her every move” – CLASH

Jamila Woods – LEGACY! LEGACY!

Release Date: 10th May

Label: Jagjaguwar

Producers: Slot-A/Oddcouple/Peter Cottontale/Ralph Gene/Justin Canavan/Aminata Burton/Jamila Woods/Stephon "Mooch" Brown/Jasmin Charles/Nico Segal

Standout Cut: EARTHA

Sample Review:

“Racism and its side effects, from theft of culture and land to willful distortions and ignorance of black achievement, weigh heaviest on Woods' mind, yet her voice maintains a sweetness, unfurling like ribbon over the rhythms. Vulgar rebukes such as "Shuddup muthaf*cka, I don't take requests" are expressed with enough grace and melodicism to be as quotable and whistle-able as "I tenderly fill my enemies with white light" or "Take a picture if you want me quiet." Just like HEAVN, Woods' debut, LEGACY! LEGACY! is a modern R&B album recorded in Chicago, mostly with Chicagoans. There's more from Saba and Nico Segal, HEAVN collaborators who respectively add a tailwind-generating guest verse and beaming horns. Three-quarters of the songs, plus a garage-flavored remix of "BETTY," are dynamic Slot-A productions, covering sci-fi electro-soul of numerous shades and chunky hip-hop with elements of post-bop jazz, sometimes with an electric quartet. There's evidence his work was custom built, like when the keyboards burble and blare out of "Miles," evoking the namesake trumpeter's early-'70s dates, and the moment a sampled Geoff Barrow/Adrian Utley one-off elbows its way into "MUDDY," resembling the grit of Electric Mud (an LP recorded in Chicago with Chicagoans). This galvanizing declaration of pride, support, and discontent will no doubt inspire covers itself. Every public library should have at least one copy” – AllMusic

Elizabeth - the wonderful world of nature

Release Date: 1st November

Label: Universal Music Australia

Standout Cut: don’t let my love (bring you down)

Sample Review:

“Elizabeth has just dropped a series of well-crafted "heartbreak bangers" in the form of her first solo album The Wonderful World Of Nature.

The singer-songwriter was the lead singer of indie-pop quartet Totally Mild, but after the band’s break-up earlier this year, fans wondered where she would go from there. Armed with a debut album, Elizabeth has emerged unflinching, and is wasting no time in carving out her identity as a solo artist.

Elizabeth’s sharp, intimate vocals are the perfect balance for the hazy backdrop of distant melodies. Her voice acts like a beacon which focuses all your attention on her, and in songs like Take Me Back, it’s almost haunting.

The Wonderful World Of Nature is beautifully tragic and unapologetically sad. Her melodic voice entices you in to indulge in her pain, but instead you’re confronted by love’s ugly truths. Throughout the album, Elizabeth paints herself as the villain in a series of unhealthy relationships, but instead of wallowing in it, she empowers herself through her indiscretions. This is emphasised in tracks like Don’t Let My Love (Bring You Down) and Here, which bear a stark honesty, but are in no way apologetic” – The Music

Rozi Plain - What a Boost

Release Date: 5th April

Label: Memphis Industries

Standout Cut: Conditions 

Sample Review:

“The brooding and joyful riffs of "Swing Shut" and percussive whooshing of "Conditions" build with all the playful experimentations of AnCo. It all sounds undeniably English, as well. The sweet and earthy allusions to apple trees and awkward smiles, small-talk about the weather – you know, before the racists got in the way. Even the album title reads like a passage of speech in a particularly hearty comic book, more exclamation points the better! There’s no music video juggling satsumas with your parents, and none of the alt-pop jauntiness from the "See My Boat" days – it’s mellowed and grounded – but there’s still plenty of time for a bad punchline. "Symmetrical" sings about asymmetry, then b-symmetry and c-symmetry, too.

Rozi Plain’s signature lyrical peculiarities stay put – "Dark Heart" a particularly bewitching highlight. Musically there’s a confidence in to every layer, from psychedelic synth lines added by The Comet Is Coming’s Dan Leavers to a soothing closing duet with Sam Amidon. Even the slightly awkward wheezing vocal samples in "The Gap" sound crafted with a knowing smile. To fall flat for hyperbole, What A Boost is Rozi’s best, most interesting and experimental album to date. It’s what happens when her introversions gather the worldliness and confidence to let others in. There’s all the same tenderness, all the same familiarity, but it’s never sounded this good before” – The Line of Best Fit

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats' Nest

Release Date: 16th August

Producer: Stu Mackenzie

Labels: Flightless/ATO

Standout Cut: Planet B

Sample Review:

“Coming from a band that was singing wistfully about birdies just a few months ago, Infest the Rats’ Nest is a convincing display of metal muscle. But as heavy as the album is, it feels slight in the context of the band’s catalog, lacking both the unpredictable detours of their biggest rock-outs and the insidious melodies of their more pop-focused work. At their best, King Gizzard absorb an array of seemingly incompatible influences into a sound uniquely their own, with a careening momentum that ensures you’re never really sure where they’re taking you. Infest the Rats’ Nest, on the other hand, is a rock’n’roll spin class—intense and relentless, to be sure, but ultimately fixed in the same spot. Even when the album’s second side introduces a conceptual narrative about a group of people who escape Earth to live on Venus (spoiler: things do not end well), it doesn’t venture anywhere—musically or thematically—it hasn’t already been” – Pitchfork

SAULT - 7

Release Date: 27th September

Label: Forever Living Originals 

Standout Cut: Feel so Good

Sample Review:

“At the other end of the spectrum, both in terms of timeline and tunes, is November’s 7 by Sault. A partner piece to their debut 5, released in May, it’s hard to think of them as anything other than a double album split by a few months and the lack of a spine. Not musically, you understand – these songs possess the backbone of a whale, shaking with carefree punk-funk attitude and deep soul rhythms.

Plundering the past with high-octane abandon, Sault have an incredible sense of which routes lead to the dance. There’s nothing circuitous here, nothing wasted, just an irrepressible desire to find the quickest short-cut to pleasure. Consequently, tracks like “No Bullshit” and “Feels So Good” sound like they were cut in the rush of excitement as soon as the hook had caught. This sense of abandon continues – though taking on a very different form – in “Smile and Go”, which fuses the DIY sound with elements of R&B and African funk. Meanwhile “Threats” is an incredible piece of UK soul – smooth in intent and raw in delivery. It’s about as affecting combination as I’ve ever heard.

Often when bands opt for a melting-pot approach, they run the risk of a clash of flavours that lack coherence and taste of nothing in particular. By stripping back and getting to the essential core of it all, 7 (and its predecessor) reveals something almost indistinguishable from its constituent parts and much, much more appetising. It seems that Sault adds flavour” – The Arts Desk

Kanye West - JESUS IS KING

Release Date: 25th October

Labels: GOOD/Def Jam

Producers: Kanye West (also exec.)/Angel Lopez/Benny Blanco/BoogzDaBeast/Brian "AllDay" Miller/Budgie/DrtWrk/E*vax/Federico Vindver/FNZ/Francis Starlite/Labrinth/Michael Cerda/Mike Dean/Pi'erre Bourne/Ronny J/Timbaland/Warryn Campbell/Xcelence

Standout Cut: Follow God

Sample Review:

“No longer the scumbag of "Runaway," West -- born again and repenting past sins -- fully commits to this direction, forgoing curse words and lewd rhymes in a complete turnaround from the rest of his catalog. While his grasp of Christ's teachings is elementary -- giving detractors further ammunition to question his true intentions (which he tackles on "Hands On") -- his seeming sincerity and vulnerability help temper embarrassing rhymes about fast food chicken sandwiches ("Closed on Sunday") and his troubling alignment with prosperity gospel teachings ("Water," "On God"). Despite the occasional lyrical misstep, Jesus Is King is a wonder of production, housing some of West's most focused and inspired work since 2013's Yeezus. From the rapturous choral sweep on "God Is" and the slapping beat of "Follow God" to the digital swirling "On God" and the languid flow of "Water," the true power of this set lies in what West has accomplished with all his meticulous studio tinkering, crafting an immersive sonic experience that only improves upon repeated listens. Well-utilized guests Ty Dolla $ign and Ant Clemons bridge the secular with the religious, joining gospel singer Fred Hammond and the Sunday Service Choir to add further heft to the proceedings. West even manages to match a reunited Clipse with saxman Kenny G. Considering his new message, the reinvigorated production, and the communal spirit that courses through the album, West seems to be in a healthier place. Presumably reborn in Christ, Jesus Is King reframes Kanye West as a work in progress and, despite the controversies, demonstrates (as humbly as his ego will allow) that he's at least trying” – AllMusic

Shura - forevher

Release Date: 16th August

Label: Secretly Canadian 

Producers: Shura/Joel Pott

Standout Cut: the stage  

Sample Review:

“As with Shura’s debut, Nothing’s Real, her second album is front-loaded. After a brief intro come Forevher’s three best songs, followed by a slump it never quite recovers from. Side Effects is the clear highlight, a perfect collision of aesthetic and emotion. The English songwriter’s spacey, super-melodic, immaculately produced pop casts a wonderful spell when it works, particularly on lead single Religion (U Can Lay Your Hands on Me) or the swooning, filtered coda to The Stage, as endless as summer seems in early July.

It just feels that whenever the rhythms retreat, the songwriting behind these airy, 80s-Janet Jackson jams isn’t always strong enough to really connect. Shura’s sugary voice works best when the beat is insistent, pulling you towards the dancefloor in your head. Sometimes she sounds tamed, quiescent, processed and treated, her vocal lacking the personality to overcome the distancing effect of its digital rendering. That said, you can always hear how songs such as Forever or the endearingly batty Flyin’ (“a virgin had a baby, it’s crazy… I’m scared of flying/ I’m scared of dying”) could be remixed into magic, while the languorous closer Skyline, Be Mine is a beauty” – The Guardian

Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet

Release Date: 1st November

Labels: To the Top/Gang Starr Enterprises

Producer: DJ Premier

Standout Cut: Family and Loyalty (ft. J.Cole)

Sample Review:

“Premier avoids the pitfalls of posthumous releases. The material he has to work with isn’t stretched too thin – tracks linger long enough for Guru to make his point, then stop; the whole thing clocks in under 40 minutes – and the cameo roles seem to have been filled on the basis of compatibility rather than commerce. The one big contemporary name is J Cole, whose position as upholder of traditional hip-hop values and conscience of mainstream rap is well-established. “Who’d have thought J Cole would be rhyming with ghosts?” he wonders, over a beautifully mournful piano figure on Family and Loyalty. Mostly, the guest microphone is ceded either to Guru’s contemporaries or Gang Starr associates: Q-Tip, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug, and Group Home, whose turn on What’s Real belies the obscurity into which the duo have fallen since the mid-90s.

There was a time when Gang Starr’s story seemed to have ended rather sadly. The duo’s split clearly wasn’t without acrimony. Worse, on Guru’s passing, his controversial latter-day producer Solar published a bizarre letter, supposedly written by the rapper on his deathbed, insisting that he wanted Premier to “have nothing to do with my name, likeness, events, tributes etc”.Some people insisted the letter was faked by Solar, and alleged abuse and neglect on his part. But you didn’t have to take sides to think this was no way for one of hip-hop’s most intelligent voices to go out. In that context, a genuinely strong final album with Gang Starr’s name on it, even an artfully patched-together one, feels not unlike righting a historical wrong. One of the Best Yet does exactly what long-term fans might expect a Gang Starr album to do. As a full stop to their career, it works perfectly. In the pantheon of posthumous albums, it lives up to its name” – The Guardian

KAINA - Next to the Sun

Release Date: 12th July

Label: Sooper Records

Standout Cut: Green  

Sample Review:

“The record is named Next To The Sun, and that’s precisely where you’ll want to be when you listen to it for the first time. A lavish fusion of neo-soul and RnB with elements of her Latin heritage weaving it all together, at its best Next To The Sun is, to quote the city’s most famous musical talent, an unmistakably summertime Chi’ album.

That’s not to say it’s all relentless optimism. The melancholic introspection and personal details that form opening tracks ‘House’ and ‘Ghost’ are a vital part of the immersion KAINA builds throughout. Even the album’s title track has a dark undertone with fuzzy guitar lines galloping under KAINA’s gothic vocals. As the album progresses, however, these clouds pass, and by the time it reaches its towering conclusion on ‘Green’, a track blessed with perfectly mixed horns, beautiful percussion and all manner of vocal goodness from KAINA, the sun is shining once more, maybe forever” – LOUD AND QUIET

Amyl and The Sniffers - Amyl and The Sniffers

Release Date: 24th May

Label: Rough Trade Records

Standout Cut: Got You  

Sample Review:

“To an extent, these callbacks are deliberate—certainly, Amyl and the Sniffers borrow heavily from the sartorial style of the sharpies—but what makes the group such a blast is that it takes no knowledge of arcane Australian rock’n’roll to enjoy their debut. The group exists entirely on the surface, cranking amps to 11 and playing like it’s in a rush to head back to the bar.

What makes Amyl and the Sniffers slightly preferable to one of the band’s gigs is that Orton channels its energy and then adds definition to its roar. Also, at home it’s easier to catch lead singer Amy Taylor’s knack for the catchphrases and fleeting images that anchor their songs. Perhaps Taylor doesn’t often shape these words into a coherent story—“Gacked on Anger,” a perennial anthem of the underclass (“I wanna help out the people on the street/But how can I help them when I can’t afford to eat”), and the besotted “Got You” come the closest—but it’s enough to suggest she could sharpen this instinct once she bothered to take a breather.

Then again, the appeal of Amyl and the Sniffers is that it never bothers to slow down. That doesn’t mean the record lacks slack moments—the opening instrumental fanfare “Starfire 500” feels best left on the stage, where the lads can vamp as audience anticipation for Taylor grows—but the aggressive acceleration means the album never invites any time for contemplation. Such relentless momentum can give the illusion that the songs are sturdier than they are, but that’s also the pleasure of Amyl and the Sniffers: The album exists so thoroughly in the moment that it winds up obliterating the group’s fetishization of the past and just delivers pure, uncut rock’n’roll fun” – Pitchfork