Composed in the first lockdown, and recorded remotely, the seventh album from Newcastle’s Maxïmo Park was produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Deerhunter). But it is not so much a record of the times as a snapshot of a time in the band's lives.
Mathieu Boogaerts has been recording since the mid 1990s, emerging from the nouvelle chanson scene in Paris, a chansonnier who’s performed at the likes of Cafe Oto over here, while establishing himself as a star turn on the Tôt ou Tard label in France, mixing Afro-pop and reggae as well as indie elec
It’s odd to hear a band benefit from becoming more conventional. But where Glasgow’s Mogwai used to fiercely stake out a very distinctive musical space of their own, here they’re letting their influences flood into their songs – and note the word “songs” there – yet managing to retain all the sonic power they ever had, and adding extra emotional impact to boot.
Stuttgart-born auteur and film theoretician Paul Leni, whose illusionistic production designs and direction of Waxworks (1924) helped define German Expressionist cinema, was 44 and approaching master status when he died of sepsis on 2 September 1929.
Nottingham’s perpetually disappointed romantics, Tindersticks would seem to have spent 2020’s almost never-ending Covid lockdown creating their 21st album (including film soundtracks), Distractions. However, just as the pandemic has been for the rest of us, its recording sounds like it was something of a socially distanced affair. Gone is the lush orchestrally infused backing of brass, strings and such that often made Stuart Staples’ mob come over like the musical offspring of Barry Adamson and Tom Waits.
It’s difficult to know where to start with Sia’s Music. The album is billed as a collection of songs “from and inspired by” the film of the same name – so not a soundtrack, except for when it is.
Four albums in and The Pretty Reckless singer, Taylor Momsen, still feels the need to explain herself to her doubters. In a recent interview, the former actress reiterated that quitting the TV show Gossip Girl, a decade ago, was her best decision ever; music has always been her real passion, she said, and now it's become her saviour.
Momsen's recent emotional struggles are laid bare on Death By Rock And Roll. The album's tracks are shot through with tragedy and grief. Two deaths, in particular, underpin the LP: Firstly, the suicide of friend-of-the-band Chris Cornell. More devastating still was the passing of the band's former producer Kato Khandwala, whose motorcycle accident forms the subject of the exhilarating and defiant title track.
In a way, the whole album feels like a tribute to Khandwala. It's not just the lyrics ("Harley Darling" is another eulogy), but also how the band stays true to their old producer's recipe of classic metal mixed with grunge, with a dollop of country-rock on top.
This eclectic mix of styles may not always make for the most coherent listen, but there sure are some rip-roaring tracks: "25" is a soaring power ballad that consciously evokes Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name". "Got So High", another slow number, has a softer, acid-laced, country chill-out feel. At the opposite end of the spectrum, "And So it Went" (feat. Tom Morello), is dark, thick, sludgy, and very loud.
Even the album's fillers are not entirely devoid of charm. Momsen injects some bad girl charisma into the meat-and-spuds metal of "My Bones". And the nondescript, Southern rock twang of "Turning Gold," is (partially) redeemed by the grit and power of her voice.
Of course, The Pretty Reckless like to say they're a band and not just a vehicle for their singer. Really though it's Momsen's persona that dominates. The other three may be fine instrumentalists, but there's nothing strikingly original about the band's music. It's Momsen's attitude, vocals and image that provide the X factor and on Death By Rock And Roll she's as bewitching as ever.
Overleaf: The Pretty Reckless's video for "And So it Went"
Slowthai’s debut Nothing Great About Britain was both strikingly intimate and anarchic. He rapped about his childhood and British inequality over grime beats that sounded as if they were falling apart around him. Here "abrasive" and "insightful" coexisted within the same songs effortlessly.
On TYRON, slowthai divides these two attributes, splitting the album into a raucous first half and a sombre second. The caps lock is used to hammer home this overarching theme of dualism.