There are still a bunch of worthy 2022 releases to cover – this week I discuss the weirdo British-folk of Richard Dawson, the pop/rock of France’s Phoenix, and the 1970s singer-songwriterisms of Weyes Blood.
Richard Dawson
The Ruby Cord
2022, 9/10
Newcastle Upon Tyne’s errant folkie Richard Dawson is prolific, releasing a deluge of material as a solo artist, in collaborations like Hen Ogledd, and under the alter-ego Eyeballs. His rough-hewn guitar and freewheeling vocals are distinctive, and Japan’s David Sylvian recently stated that Dawson “will be, if he’s not already, a national treasure.”
Last year he collaborated with Finnish experimental rock band Henki for the excellent Circle. His seventh solo album, The Ruby Cord, is every bit as good. After chronicling modern life on his previous solo album, 2020, The Ruby Cord is rooted in British folk, recalling Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span’s forays into electrification. But thematically, it’s set in a dystopian future, 500 years from the present.
Social mores have mutated, ethical and physical boundaries have evaporated; a place where you no longer need to engage with anyone but yourself and your own imagination. It’s a leap into a future that is well within reach, in some cases already here.
https://richardmichaeldawson.bandcamp.com/album/the-ruby-cord
The tracklist is dominated by the 40-minute opening track ‘The Hermit’ – it’s the album’s first single, and a short film has been made to accompany the track. It’s worthy of its long running time, but the shorter tracks on the back half of the album are often outstanding. Dawson showcases his impressive falsetto on ‘The Fool’, while ‘The Tip of an Arrow’ rocks hard. Closing ‘Horse and Rider’ has a reassuringly traditional folk sound, with its lovely fiddle part.
Dawson’s always creative, and The Ruby Cord is an outstanding entry into an already impressive catalogue.
Phoenix
Alpha Zulu
2022, 7.5/10
French pop/rock band Phoenix have been together for three decades. They’ve made a lot of likeable music, even though 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a masterpiece that overshadows the rest of their discography. Phoenix started making Alpha Zulu during the COVID-19 pandemic, recording in a studio within the Louvre – most of the record was written in a 10-day burst of inspiration. The band lost longtime collaborator, Philippe Zdar, in 2019 – Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter stepped in to help with the new record.
Alpha Zulu isn’t a top-tier Phoenix album, but it’s typically breezy and fun. Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig provides guest vocals on the standout tune ‘Tonight’, driven by a great bassline. ‘All Eyes on Me’ thrives with a rigid beat and electro-pop sound – there’s a great chorus. The snappy and tuneful ‘Artefact’ is another highlight. The closing track ‘Identical’ was originally from the 2020 Sofia Coppola movie On The Rocks – I never realised that Coppola is married to Phoenix vocalist Thomas Mars.
Alpha Zulu is modest and unassuming, filled with enjoyable gems.
Weyes Blood
And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
2022, 7/10
Natalie Mering’s previous album, 2019’s Titanic Rising, was one of my favourites of the year. Mering’s poised and piano-based music recalls the early 1970s singer-songwriters. Her rich voice resembles Karen Carpenter, while her father dated Joni Mitchell in the 1970s. And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is in the same vein but, with less memorable material and a lack of new stylistic ground, the formula wears thin.
Most of the tunes aren’t strong enough to carry the record – there are solid tunes like the quasi-title track ‘Hearts Aglow’, the opening ‘It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody’, and ‘Grapevine’. But much of the remainder sounds like Titanic outtakes. The lengthy ‘God Turn Me Into a Flower’ has quickly become a fan favourite, but it drags, delivered at a glacial pace.
Coming after the impressive Titanic Rising, Hearts Aglow is perhaps my biggest musical disappointment of 2022.
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“Titanic outtakes” is very descriptive!
Perhaps a bit harsh? I’m kind of in trying-to-review-everything-I-want-to-by-the-end-of-the-year mode, and it doesn’t help that Inflo has released 7 albums in November/December, and that my neighbour plays terrible smooth gangster music very loudly when I’m doing yard work.
My favorite here is Weyes Blood. I previously featured “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” in a new music revue. Natalie Mering’s vocals are really captivating. Unlike Richard Dawson and Phoenix who are entirely new to me, I have more familiarity with Weyes Blood, so there could well be some bias here.
Yup, I think I commented on that one. She sounds a lot like Karen Carpenter to me. Phoenix are the artist I’m most familiar with, since I’ve been a Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix fan for years.
I’ve never heard of Richard Dawson that wasn’t a game show host…but I like this. A lot of different things in this. It just pleasing to listen to. I’m on my third listen right now. I’m going to check out the Hermit. I also like the slight Oriental part thrown in.
Love the cover art also.
I only know the other Richard Dawson from Hogan’s Heroes – apparently the guy who played LeBeau passed away recently, he was 96 and a holocaust survivor.
I have covered Dawson on this site before, but his previous record was quite different – he was working with a Finnish experimental rock band.
Same Richard Dawson…he was in Hogan’s Heroes. He was huge over here hosting Family Feud. I always wondered how people took that show when it came out…it was only around 15-20 years after the war.
This I like a lot. I listened to The Hermit and it was interesting…and I liked it. I’m going to give it another listen today while I work.
All I can think of when I see the name Richard Dawson is Family Feud lol.
Or Hogan’s Heroes… The musician is excellent though, two very strong albums in consecutive years.
Excellent!