There’s a line in “No Home”, the staggering centrepiece of Lady Dan’s debut album, that perhaps sums up the project. “Wolves will never be my masters again,” the artist, real name Tyler Dozier, sings as the strings swell, in a voice like the wilderness. “Men will never be my owners again.”
The career of Raf Rundell has had one of the most satisfying trajectories of any in UK music – a steady process of self-realisation, from record label staff via DJing and artist management, through being a serial studio collaborator, to becoming a fully fledged artist in his own right. For a musician to only now, in his late 40s, be releasing his second full album might seem odd, but there’s something very natural about the way it’s all happened, which is expressed in the confidence of his sound which only continues to mature like fine wine.
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t spent more time alone with their thoughts than they otherwise would have liked over the past 12 months. Manchester musician Caoilfhionn Rose has been confined a little longer: forced to take a year off from music after she became ill on tour in Denmark, her second album documents a physical, emotional and spiritual healing.
Rumours keep swirling of pressing plants stumped by the effects of COVID-19 lockdown, and it’s true that vinyl editions of many albums have been delayed, yet still those records keep arriving. At theartsdesk on Vinyl, no-one cares if an album was streaming or out in virtual form months ago. Vinyl is the only game here and when those albums arrive, they are heard, and the best of them, from hip hop to Sixties pop to steel-tough electronic bangin’ to whatever else, makes it into 6000 words of detailed reviews. There’s no shortage of juice or opinion here. Dive in!
The debut album by Australian-Ghanaian artist Genesis Owusu is so musically restless it’s exhilarating. What’s clear is this guy doesn’t want to be placed in a box, marked hip hop or anything else. Over a wild variety of music, he adopts multiple vocal styles, reminding of beatbox genius Reggie Watts (most especially his recent Wajatta project with John Tejada).
Theartsdesk is a labour of love. Bloody-mindedly run as a co-operative of journalists from the beginning, our obsession with maintaining a daily-updated platform for good culture writing has caused a good few grey and lost hairs over the years. But it has also been rewarding – and looking back over the 10 years of Disc of the Day reviews has been a good chance to remind ourselves of that.
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.
Ten years ago yesterday, on Monday 14th February 2011, one of theartsdesk’s writers, Joe Muggs, reviewed an album called Paranormale Aktivitat, by an outfit called Zwischenwelt. It was the first ever Disc of the Day, a new slot inserted into theartsdesk’s front page design, where it still resides today.
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"
Music has been a solace during a year when we’ve both retreated into our private spaces and reached out more feverishly than ever on social media.