A Few Quick Ones While He’s Away
Friday is fun because it's always about music with a playlist (or two). Today, some recent finds and recommendations....new albums by great artists, yay!
Who got the reference in the title? Well, anyway, I’m not just punning – or double-punning, as you’ll soon find out, I am actually going on holiday. Today. I’m off – with the family – for a week of school holiday fun, a long drive, a possibly bumpy boat-ride, etc. We’ll see. But we need to pack light, we have a small car and it’s going to be full – the dog’s coming too. And we aren’t known, usually, for packing light.
Fortunately, the one thing that you can travel light with these days – is music. I remember it feeling like not all that long ago that I still took a discman on a flight, and a bag of CDs. Even in the iPod era I liked limiting my options down to a curated few. And car trips used to me stacks of CDs, but not only that, I had a portable record player in the boot and a box of LPs. I had more CDs for the trip (review copies usually) and even as we moved to Mp3s I was still the one with a bag of connections and cords, backup portable speakers and at least two laptops.
But now – finally – I am free of all that. For this trip, I’ll be taking my phone, my iPad, and some headphones. That’s it. The car has Bluetooth, the places we stay will too – or they won’t, doesn’t matter – and all of the music I could ever need is online or in my files.
So, I wanted to share a few albums I’ll be listening to. These aren’t reviews. Because I have only just heard these for the first time, or in some cases I’ve done a wee bit of listening to them. But I thought I’d share them now – as some of them might take your fancy, or you might know more than me about whether they really stack up or not. You can also add your suggestions and recommendations below, as always, of course.
So, in no particular order, I will be excited to scroll to these over and across the next week.
Courtney Marie Andrews, Loose Future
Big fan of this country-tinged singer/songwriter. Got to see her live a few years ago when she was barely known. She was terrific. Since then, she’s only added more great songs (and albums) to the pile. New one is so fresh to me that I’ve yet to hear it right through, but I instantly like it. Her voice and songs are a balm for me always.
S.G. Goodman, Teeth Marks and Old Time Feeling
I’m still catching up with S.G. Goodman – can recommend listening to her on Marc Maron’s podcast for crucial background by the way. So, I’ve yet to even hear the new album Teeth Marks, but I know from a quick click flick through three songs that it’s gonna be great. I’m still dealing with her 2020 album, Old Time Feeling – which is masterful enough as it is! First song Space and Time just puts me right where I like to be. One of those songs that’s just snuck up on me and owned me. I love it.
This was recommended to me as being “like Aimee Mann with a Stratocaster” Um, SOLD! I love Aimee Mann, she’s a gold standard songwriter I reckon – and a great singer. But the thought that there’d be a bit more, well, electricity behind things had me intrigued. And so far so very good. I’m into this one. The songs are strong, and the vocals do have hints of Mann also. These are not bad things. These could never be bad things.
Aimee Mann, Queens of the Summer Hotel
All this Aimee Mann chat reminds me I never spent much time with her new album from late last year. I need to fix this. Stat.
Bjork returned just a couple of weeks ago, with her first new album in five years. As multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer Bjork is significant. And vocally, she’s a powerhouse. I’m already impressed, again, by the agelessness of her voice on these latest recordings. But a Bjork record needs time to soak in. It won’t be for everyone, which is one of my favourite things about all of her records eh.
I don’t hate Beth Orton, but I can normally count on two fingers the number of albums by her that I did. And even then, I never feel all that compelled to listen. I was curious though about her new album – the first in six years, and self-produced. That intrigued me. Also, if I’m being blunt, which I’m known to be sometimes I guess, I thought her last album was a bit shit. So I was wanting to see if this was some return or a slide. It’s neither. It’s easily – instantly – the greatest thing she’s made and it’s a sea-change, a left-turn, a rebirth. Orton’s voice, weathered, reminds me of 90s Joni Mitchell; reminds me even, at times, of Marianne Faithfull without all the crags and the arrangements and instrumentation are soft, layered and beautiful. This is on high rotate and I’m looking to listen to this always. It’s got a feel of those woozy, drunk John Martyn albums too, particularly the heart-breaking final ones. This record, crucially, feels hard fought. I always love finding that sort of sound.
Always have liked what Santigold is about without ever listening too often. New album hooked me on one listen. Now it’s time to go deep with it.
Canadian composer, Sarah Davachi, is a maker of droning shapes and minimalist music. Her music is dark and lingering, sometimes it’s more sound-design than music. It creeps towards film composition but these are fragments for your own imagination rather than any filmed images. I love her work and I’m so into this album already.
She & Him, Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson
I’ve had a hard time reconciling She & Him over the years. I love anything that showcases M. Ward – he’s a genius. But Zooey Deschanel sorta annoyed me after a while, though she’s most definitely a talented singer. And the intention behind the duo seemed pure at first, then it seemed calculated. These are my hangups by the way, this is baggage I have carried to the project. I’m fairweather when it comes to tributes, but the thought that someone decided to time a Brian Wilson tribute for his 80th birthday really touched me. These songs are monuments. And these venues are frequently surprising yet still faithful and warm. This feels like the best and most vital of the She & Him projects, rescuing them (for me) from cheeky, lazy Christmas albums and the like.
This instrumental duo has been blowing my mind for a while – they were discovered due to their brilliant YouTube clips and the album has been a long time coming really. I’ve thought about writing about them quite a lot over the last couple of months but I still feel like I’m getting to grips with the album, which isn’t as great as the best of their performances, but is still lovely and subtly mind-blowing. DOMi’s keyboard playing is virtuoso+ and JD BECK has become one of the most influential and inspiring drummers of recent years. And to me, they’re both still kids. Brilliant stuff. And what lies ahead!
Patty Lomuscio, Star Crossed Lovers
Speaking of great and inspiring drummers, I love Joe Farnsworth so much. He’s a tasteful player always and he is hardworking and his jazz chops stretch to cover standards, new music, his own work and loads of sessions. If you follow a great drummer like this you’re going to get introduced to other brilliant musicians. Through worshipping Joe’s work I’ve found my new favourite jazz singer, Patty Lomuscio. She is terrific here throughout, as is the band.
Terri Lyne Carrington, New Standards Vol. 1
When I first moved to Wellington, over 25 years ago, I found a Terri Lyne Carrington CD in a sale – and I found my new favourite jazz drummer. I followed her career as she worked with some of the greats (Herbie Hancock) and continued to release her own albums as a bandleader. I would read her columns in Modern Drummer magazine and generally keep up with her work. But this new album is an incredible project, something I will write more about another time. Basically, she’s addressing the blatant sexism in the jazz (music) industry. The legendary book of standards (The Real Book) features 100 compositions and only one is by a female composer. So, Carrington worked to find 101 new compositions by female composer and has created that book. She’s taken 11 of the best tunes from it and recorded versions with her kick-ass band.
Megan Thee Stallion, Traumazine
My favourite thing about Megan Thee Stallion, and the only thing that matters, is she’s fucking good! She can rap. She can write. She can flow. She has adlibbed a cappellas that are better than other, mediocre rappers planned, written verses. But of course she cops it as some sort of sellout, some sort of token female rapper, or whatever. I loved her early singles, and her last full-lengther so I need to really climb into this. I have only played it once and it was pretty good straight away, but she deserves a close listen.
And if I have time for anything else, I’ll do my best. But that’s a full dance-card for my week away.
I’ll try and bring you the newsletter still. But you’ll understand if I miss a day it’s because I’m technically on a break.
I hope I’ve given you some inspiration for some new listening here and I’m keen to know any recommendations for recent records that have blown your mind.
As always, I have a playlist for you for the weekend. This is vol. 85 of A Little Something For The Weekend…Sounds Good!
Happy weekend all.