I used to think that all the good popular music came from the 1960s and 1970s. I was wrong! Even though popular music doesn’t have the same cultural impact that it did in earlier eras, there’s plenty of talent out there. These are the new releases I’ve been listening to.
Two female solo artists this week. But they’re drastically different. Kara Jackson is a bluesy singer-songwriter, brutally honest on her debut album. Cleo Sol’s back with her second album in a month, her smooth R&B as warm and comforting as…
Acts from both sides of this pond this week. It’s easy to tell which artist is from which side. Blake Mills evokes Laurel Canyon, with traces of country and psychedelia. Tirzah has a more modern sheen. Tirzah Trip9love…??? 2023, 9/10As…
Two very different artists this week. London band The Clientele dip into 1960s chamber-pop with their seventh studio album. Chicago’s Jamila Woods doesn’t deviate from her usual R&B. Yet she explores different themes, tackling love instead of politics. The Clientele…
Two sequels from very different artists this week, following up their 2020 records. English art-rocker Westerman releases his second record, An Inbuilt Fault. American R&B artist Victoria Monét releases the sequel to 2020’s Jaguar, titled Jaguar II. Enjoy! Westerman An…
Two critically revered female acts this week – Dorset’s PJ Harvey and Japanese-born Mitski. They both feature unwieldy album titles, and records are mellower than their usual fare. Enjoy! Mitski The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We 2023, 8/10Mitski…
Just over two years ago, I reviewed new releases by Cleo Sol, Squid, and XTC’s Andy Partridge. Coincidentally, Squid and Cleo Sol just released new albums. To complete the symmetry, I realised that I missed Partridge’s 2022 EP the first…
Two more female solo artists this week, and again they’re quite different from each other. Jessy Lanza, from Hamilton, Ontario, is back with another record of classy adult synth-pop. California’s Olivia Rodrigo just dropped one of the most anticipated pop…
Two very different female artists this week – a classy singer-songwriter record from Julie Byrne, and an attitude-fuelled rock album from Blondshell. Julie Byrne The Greater Wings 2023, 8.5/10Buffalo-born singer-songwriter Julie Byrne was hit by tragedy in 2021. Her former…
Today’s records are both eclectic – Meshell Ndegeocello demonstrates an uncanny ability to play anything, from dub to jazz to spacy instrumentals. Canadian pop treasure Carly Rae Jepsen pushes the boundaries of her sugary and effervescent music. Meshell Ndegeocello The…
There’s a lot of stylistic range in these two albums – the dark and droning Irish folk of Lankum, and the vibrant pop of Ghana’s Amaarae. Enjoy! Lankum False Lankum 2023, 8.5/10Lankum started as two brothers playing Irish songs in…
Americana stalwart Jason Isbell is back with a terrific new record, while The Japanese House continues to deepen her craft on her sophomore release. Read on for details! Jason Isbell Weathervanes 2023, 9/10Jason Isbell first emerged as a songwriter in…
One of this week’s artists is almost four times as old as the other – 81-year-old veteran Paul Simon has released his fifteenth solo album (along with five with Art Garfunkel). Meanwhile, 22-year-old Arlo Parks has just released her sophomore…
This week, we have two female songwriters, both from the northwest. Country/Americana artist Brandy Clark is from the Pacific Northwest originally. Meanwhile, Susanne Sundfør is from Norway, the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Both explore their heritage…
This week I cover two solo artists – neither of whom I was familiar with before this year. It’s my favourite brace of records so far this year. Avalon Emerson & the Charm 2023, 9/10Avalon Emerson has spent her music…
For better or worse, there’s far less sex and violence this week than the names New Pornographers and Anna B Savage imply. The New Pornographers Continue as a Guest 2023, 7/10You could make a strong case that Vancouver’s The New…
It’s a week of milestones this week – we have marriage and motherhood and an engagement. Meanwhile, Fever Ray’s Karin Dreijer is inscrutable about their private life, but returns with more unsettling music. Tiny Ruins Ceremony 2023, 9/10New Zealand singer-songwriter…
Both artists this week have links to Faith No More. Eddie Chacon played in a band with FNM drummer Mike Bordin and Cliff Burton as an adolescent. Shahzad Ismaily has played bass with Trey Spruance in Secret Chiefs 3. But…
It’s an all-female week, from both sides of the Cold War. Russia’s Kate NV on one side of the Bering Strait, and the three women of boygenius on the other. boygenius The Record 2023, 8.5/10American singer-songwriters Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers,…
It’s a notably mellow week of new releases. Kelela’s Raven is minimalist and beautifully sung, while the Manchester Orchestra deliver a mini-album of restrained rock anthems. Kelela Raven 2023, 7.5/10There are some obvious parallels between Kelela and SZA, another alternative…
This week, new releases from Turin’s Yves Tumor and Hamilton’s Kimbra. Enjoy! Yves Tumor Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) 2023, 8.5/10Yves Tumor is an American producer and vocalist, born as…
They’re a generation apart, but Margo Price and Iris DeMent have a lot in common. They both play socially conscious Americana, they were both late starters to their recording careers, and they’re both married to other musicians. These albums are…
It’s the first proper batch of new album reviews for 2023. Former Chairlift vocalist Caroline Elizabeth Polachek is onto her second full-fledged solo album. Robert Derwent Garth Forster, previously of The Go-Betweens, is up to his eighth. Caroline Polachek Desire,…
Just mopping up a few 2022 records that I didn’t get to before the end of the year. Nigeria’s Rema plays smooth Afrobeats with some Arabian and Indian influences. Sweden’s Sara Parkman plays art-folk on an album titled after three…
Often music releases quieten down for December, but as well as SZA’s impressive SOS (covered last week), Little Simz and Tricot also released albums in the final month of the year. Tricot’s drummer is the token male this week. Enjoy…
