Enrico Pieranunzi & Bert Joris
Afterglow
(Challenge Records)
★★★★

THE outcome of a collaboration between Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi and Belgium trumpeter and flugelhorn player Bert Joris, Afterglow is a delightful instrumental jazz record.

Recorded in Belgium, these original lyrical sketches — with Pieranunzi taking the lion’s share of the writing — run through a variety of tones.

Siren’s Lounge is a spirited opener, followed by the deep romanticism of the title track, the piano positively singing.

While a couple of the tracks feel more like neat workouts to showcase their musical chops, the warm-sounding Cradle Song for Mattia and Millie, a playful track which sounds like the theme tune to a 1970s US sitcom, are much more accessible.

There’s nothing too taxing here, which is all part of the album’s charm. And in our dark and difficult times, Afterglow’s lightness and contemplative mood is a welcome comfort.

Julien Baker
Little Oblivions
(Matador)
★★★★

HAVING released two critically acclaimed solo albums and worked with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus in indie supergroup boygenius, Julien Baker returned to university in Tennessee to finish her degree.

Written after this break from the music world, Little Oblivions heralds a significant expansion of her sound, shifting from the stark guitar and vocals of her earlier work to full band arrangements.

Combined with her unflinchingly cathartic and seemingly autobiographical lyrics, this enlarged and more radio-friendly alternative rock should, by rights, push the 25-year-old’s star even higher.

Single Faith Healer deals with vices and personal demons, while Song In E is a big and broken hearted country-soul ballad.

“I wish that I drank because of you and not only because of me,” Baker — who identifies as a gay Christian socialist — sings on the latter.

A dazzlingly talented songwriter.

Femi Kuti and Made Kuti
Legacy +
(Partisan Records)
★★★★

THIS is surely a first — a father and son each releasing a new record on the same day, packaged together as the magnificent double album Legacy +.

Afrobeat master Femi Kuti’s 11th album Stop The Hate is a high-octane, sloganeering set, reflecting his recent involvement in the anti-police brutality protests in Nigeria.

Incendiary tracks like You Can’t Fight Corruption With Corruption and Privatisation are, typically, lyrically direct.

For(e)ward, his offspring Made Kuti’s debut, is a looser record with a wider palette of sounds and more subtle lyrics.

The slow-burn Different Street includes spoken-word interludes, while Young Lady is inspired by a BBC documentary about sexual harassment at the University of Lagos.

Created by the son and grandson of Nigerian Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, Legacy + shows the future is very bright for this remarkable musical dynasty.