Despite being the third anniversary of one of the most despicable events ever to take place in U.S. history, this weeks music is, for the most part, a sampling of some terrific music.
Best of the Week
Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark - Bauhaus Staircase
2023 12 tracks (42:58)
An outstanding set of tunes sets off this rendition of OMD whose work launched the electronic music genre in the early 80’s. If anything, this represents some of their best work, expertly arranged and played. Nothing sucks, it sounds timeless and fresh as ever. A
Lilly Hiatt - Walking Proof
2020 11 tracks (37:35)
Following in her father’s, John Hiatt, footsteps, Lilly has a great knack for writing songs with passion, energy, and word sense. Some sound like country, others are more crossover into rock. It’s a great set of songs to boot, all of them are memorable in their own right. That is some accomplishment. She has a fantastic voice, one that reminds me of Allison Krauss. What a delight. A
Long Distance Calling - Boundless
2018 8 tracks (49:24)
Call it post-rock, progressive metal, or death metal, this band from Germany plays some excellent instrumentals. All are 5+ minutes, but nothing extends too far and provides enough change and variety to recognize the differences. Every one of the cuts is listenable and a great add to the playlist because when it pops up, you’ll go “all right!” A-
Interesting Finds
Igorrr - Spirituality and Distortion
2020 14 tracks (55:36)
French experimental prog musician Gautier Serre, known by the name Igorrr, provides some very bizarre and occasionally captivating musical moments. His music contains black metal, electronic pop, classical baroque, breakcore, trip hop - you name it. I listened to the whole thing which probably doesn’t happen very frequently. I kept going on the premise, gee, what is he going to throw at you next? This won’t show up at your next head slamming party. Carnival music and death metal? You get both with “Musette Maximum”. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher helps out (?) on “Parpaing”. For the truly adventurous only. D
Dool - Summerland
2020 9 tracks (54:35)
Dool is a dark heavy metal band from The Netherlands with a decent sense of melody to blend in with the dense guitars and drumming. The first cut “Sulphur & Starlight” makes this clear. There is a certain uniformity that makes listening to an extended set of songs tiring, better to sprinkle them into a playlist. A few standout and the rest are acceptable. B-
Maneskin - Rush!
2023 18 tracks (55:39)
Maneskin is an Italian glam/pop/hard/funk rock band that plays high energy banger music. Though the group name is Danish for moonlight and are all Italian born, they sound like an American or U.K. dance club band. Panic at the Disco would be a great companion group for them. The eighteen songs run about three minutes each thus not allowing you to tire of the song. All are bouncy beat crazy tunes, fun all the way through. B+
Tom Meighan - The Reckoning
2023 12 tracks (41:31)
The volatile former frontman for the group Kasabian has his own gig now. Comparisons to Liam Gallagher are common with the dense production and lively songs, all of single length. The kick ass quality of rock here is done well even if lacks a certain “it” factor. Not bad, not great. C
Siiilk - Eemynor
2022 10 tracks (46:05)
This is a proper prog rock endeavor, filled with spectacularly beautiful moments punctuated with soaring guitar and keyboard work. The only frustrating part is that they put out an album once every five years. The two leadoff items, “Eemynor” and “Signs in the Sand”, are both two-part segments for some odd reason. It was better to join them together and will be listened to over and over again. B+
Devendra Banhart - Flying Wig
2023 10 tracks (48:04)
Banhart and his music have traveled a long strange road from Houston to Venezuela to San Francisco to Paris. The music here could be psychedelic folk or weird America. It has a dreamlike presence and slow rhythms, but not quite shoegaze. Slow tempo electronic music can be worthwhile, but Banhart is a little too quiet and sparse. His voice is just above a whisper and the keyboard work is like a zonked out Peter Gabriel cut. C-
Myrkur - Spine
2023 9 tracks (33:44)
Danish singer Amalie Bruun combines her angelic vocals against a backdrop of heavy fuzz-laden guitar. This symphonic metal hybrid creates a gothic feel that is both lovely and powerful. I would like to see extended versions of these songs that would allow for more flow, but it still is good. B-
M83 - Fantasy
2023 13 tracks (1:06:20)
French group led by multi-instrumentalist Anthony Gonzalez plays a rich electronic keyboard brand of prog rock a little more energetic than shoegaze with dreamy backdrops. This is their ninth album and the first in four years. Almost all the songs have vocal accompaniment but some are long enough to allow instrumental extension. Hints of Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, and Brit Pop synth bands like Depeche Mode abound. B+
Forgettable
Tribulation - Down Below
2018 10 tracks (50:19)
Well, this is the pits. Jonathan Hulten, whose solo work is transcendary, is the gravel sounding throat singer for this band. Doubly sad is the music itself has some decent chops. Often a song starts and interests you immediately until the dreaded doom vocals start. Please, somebody make this horrid trend stop, it ruins a lot of good music. Like this one. F
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