Big Country
Out Beyond the River: The Compulsion Years Anthology
(Cherry Red)
★★★★

 

THIS all-embracing anthology extends over a grand total of six discs, as it brings together all the recordings that Stuart Adamson’s instantly identifiable outfit made for Chris Briggs’s Chrysalis imprint Compulsion Records during the early-1990s.

 

The band’s commercial fortunes were flagging fairly noticeably at this stage of their career, as they found it more and more difficult to translate critical plaudits into solid record sales.

 

The contents of Out Beyond the River include a fascinating assortment of rare B-sides and demos and the astute compilers have also found space for a rousing DVD featuring highlights from the group’s euphoric show at Glasgow’s Barrowlands Ballroom in December 1993, capturing Big Country at their rabble rousing best as they serve up energised renditions of perennial crowd-pleasers such as Look Away, Fields of Fire and In A Big Country.

 

Kevin Bryan

 

 

Yello
Point
(Polydor)
★★★★★

SING it from the mountain tops, Yello are back with their 14th studio album. The pioneering Swiss duo of Boris Blank, who handles sound composition and engineering and Dieter Meier, lyrics and vocals, have inspired generations of DJs and producers.

 

Musically, Point takes the classic Yello formula of past albums like Stella, Flag and One Second and twists it into something ultra-modern — part spy film, part surrealist painting, part car chase and part deep-space torch song.

 

Opener Waba Duba, in the same vein as the duo’s classic hit The Race, is bold and joyous, with quick-fire jazz swing rhythms and off-centre surreal vocals.

 

Arthur Spark performs more circus tricks of blending absurd words with irresistible dance beats and a sense of wistful longing, while Rush for Joe works around epic cinematic trombone solos and closer Siren Singing, with guest vocals from Fifi Rong, is eerily beautiful.

 

Simon Duff

 

 

Heavy Salad
Cult Casual
(Dipped in Gold Recordings)
★★★

 

AN EXPERIMENTAL psychedelic-pop concept album taking the listener on a backwards tour through existence, Cult Casual is an interesting debut from Heavy Salad.

It opens like some 1950s surf-rock doo-wop throwback with the track Death, which would not be out of place on a Twin Peaks soundtrack, before it turns into a psych-rock wig-out.

 

Other highlights include the Matchbox B-Line Disaster-like This Song Is Not About Lizards and Routine Dream, with its “you wanna party hard but haven’t got the time” refrain.

 

In places influences are a bit too obvious — you can hear hints of Spiritualised, The Walking Seeds and even some early 1980s Clash — and there are touches that evoke The Zutons or Space, making the album something of an eccentric combination of styles.

 

All in all, a bit more consistency and being a little bit less mixed-up would give this more weight.

 

Mik Sabiers

 

 

Nils Lofgren Band
Weathered
(Cattle Track Road /Wienerworld)
★★★

 

Nils Lofgren has played a key role in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band since he joined their ranks as Steve Van Zandt’s replacement in 1984.

 

But the Chicago-born singer-guitarist was actually a fairly significant solo performer in his own right during the 1970s and he’s continued to release material under his own name on a regular basis ever since then.

 

This fine live set was recorded at a variety of US venues in 2019 as Nils set out to promote his Lou Reed tribute album Blue With Lou, which featured five songs that Lofgren had co-composed with the former Velvet Underground mainstay.

 

Weathered showcases a blend of freshly minted new material and bittersweet gems from Lofgren’s illustrious back catalogue such as No Mercy and I Came To Dance, as well as an impromptu revamp of The Temptations’ Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”(***)

KB

 

 

Jessy Lanza
All the Time
(Hyperdub)
★★★★

CANADIAN born but San Francisco-based, Jessy Lanza is a pop electronic crossover artist, whose unique vocal sensibility, combined with producer Jeremy Greenspan's input, continues to break new ground.

 

Her third album opens with the slow, techno-inspired Anyone Around that works around Trap influences with loud 808 hand claps, shuffling hi-hats and deep house bass before Lanza’s vocal melody comes to the fore.

 

Taking centre stage, it’s sensual, subtle and understated.

 

Face explores an original, fast-paced breakbeat technique, Like Fire uses urgent fragmented siren call synths and Alexander and Baby Love veer towards effortless R&B with nods towards Janet Jackson, the heady work of Jam & Lewis’ lush production techniques and early Madonna.

 

Hyperdub with Lanza is a genuinely fresh aesthetic pop journey that will continue to thrill with its promise of a new future.

 

SD

 

 

Alex the Astronaut
The Theory of Absolutely Nothing
(Nettwerk)
★★★★

THE DEBUT studio album from Alex the Astronaut — 25-year old Australian singer-songwriter Alexandra Lynn — touches on friendship, love, loss and pain, as well as the wonder of growing up, but all in a way that makes you warm to the singer and her folksy pared-back tales with a twist.

 

I Like to Dance is a standout, written from the first person-perspective, it’s both delightful and then dark and then disconcerting as it catalogues the impact and reality of domestic abuse.

 

Conversely, Christmas in July is an uplifting tale celebrating the wonder of a new relationship, Happy Song is anything but, while I Think You’re Great has a faster electronica beat with Alex supporting a friend in need.

 

Despite a dark side, it’s an album with fun running through it. Evoking the third person storytelling of Suzanne Vega, combined with the some of the confessional nature of Kate Nash, this is a confident debut.

 

MS

 

 

Justin Wells
The United State
(Singular Recordings)
★★★★

THERE can’t be too many Americana practitioners who are able to cite Pink Floyd and Guns’n’Roses as major musical influences but this was the eclectic aural landscape which helped to fire Justin Wells’s imagination during his formative years as a musician in Kentucky.

 

This commendably open-minded character has since gone on to put together four albums with alt country/Southern rockers Fifth on the Floor before striking out as a solo performer in 2016 with his critically acclaimed debut album Dawn in the Distance.

 

The singer-songwriter and rhythm guitarist’s eagerly anticipated follow-up set The United State could be loosely categorised as a concept album as he explores what it means to be human, mapping out the journey from cradle to grave via skilfully crafted gems such as No Time For a Broken Heart, The Screaming Song and The Bridge.

 

KB

 

 

Various
I Hope This Finds You Well In These Strange Times, Volume One
(Nonclassical)
★★★★

SYNTH improvisations, field recording and homespun lockdown productions are at the heart of this compilation of new and unreleased works from Nonclassical’s eclectic roster of artists.

 

Released over two volumes, this first opens up with Dirty Electronics, a chiming piano work complete with glitchy percussive reverb, while Gabriella Swallow’s cello piece — composed by Alex Groves — creates a distant, fog-like mix.

 

Vocal experimentation is well to the fore on the GBSR Duo’s track, composed by Chaines and James Greer’s nature recordings explore new territories.

 

Likewise, the Ligeti Quartet’s offering, composed by Robin Haigh, strives to break new cinematic sonic territory and Will Dutta explores atmospheric piano and rap vocal FX dynamics.

 

Xenia Pestova Bennett concludes with a John Cage-inspired toy piano-like piece on this brave and bold compilation. Available via Bandcamp.

 

SD

 

 

Katy Perry
Smile
(Capitol)
★★★

SMILE is all about turning the frown upside down, as Katy Perry — one of the best selling artists of all time — tackles her depression head-on and prepares for a new lease of life.

 

Released just a couple of days after giving birth to a baby girl, it’s a collection of a dozen three-minute pop songs very much in her signature upbeat style even when she’s singing about her sadness.

 

Daisies is classic Perry confronting her demons, while Tucked takes the listener on a sweet little trip to a better place. But a number of tracks could have benefited from being shaken up a bit more — the album is lacking flourishes or Roar-like calls to arms.

 

There are hints of the more interesting sonic pop experiments of Charli XCX as well as some Taylor Swift-like touching tunes but this Smile may be a bit too forced overall.

 

MS