Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Endless Rooms
(Sub Pop)
★★★★

ARGUABLY the most consistent band in indie pop return with their third album, following 2020’s similarly impressive Sideways To New Italy. 

Once again, the Aussie five-piece have written songs that rush out of the speakers, brimming with energy and infectious hooks. Based around a propulsive guitar lick, single Tidal River gives “a little snapshot of living in a place at a time when it feels like there is no-one at the wheel,” according to the band.

There is a lot going on, including a nod to Eddie Cochran’s Summertime Blues, recognition of the indigenous land in Victoria which the song is about, and maybe a reference to the wildfires (“ceiling’s on fire”).

Things slow up a little as the record progresses with perhaps a little more experimentation than their previous work but rest assured this is another top-class set.

Tindersticks
Past Imperfect: The Best of Tindersticks ’92-‘21
(City Slang)
★★★★

A 20-song compilation spanning the Nottingham outfit’s 30-year career, Past Imperfect confirms why Tindersticks are considered icons of the UK indie music scene.

With frontman Stuart Staples influenced by ’60s hit-maker Lee Hazelwood and alternative crooners like Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave, Tindersticks are best known for their sumptuous, orchestra-backed music.

There are too many highlights in this set to list them all but Travelling Light, a duet with Carla Torgerson from The Walkabouts, is wonderful, while the Scott Walker-sounding Rented Room adds a darker hue to proceedings.

My favourite track is the eight-minute My Sister, an intensely English spoken word song in the same vein as Pulp’s David’s Last Summer. 

While their earlier work is when they made their mark, the songs from their later albums stand up well.

A fantastic introduction to a great British band.

Jon Balke Siwan
Hafla
(ECM)
★★★

THE successor of the Magnetic North Orchestra, Siwan is led by Norwegian jazz pianist and composer Jon Balke.

With an Algerian lead vocalist, Norwegian drummer, kemençe player from Turkey and Iranian tombak master you’ll be hard pressed to find a more multicultural ensemble. The talented Norwegian group Barokksolistene also provide expansive strings accompaniment. 

Taking inspiration from the great Arab orchestras, the lyrics are from Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, the 11th-century princess of Cordoba and lover of the poet Ibn Zaydun.

It’s definitely one of the more challenging listens in the ECM catalogue. There is a sense of restlessness to many of the tracks, with Mona Boutchebak’s melancholic singing creating an affecting mood.

Fans of Tunisian oud virtuoso Anouar Braham and the ambitious work of other ECM stars like Vijay Iyer and Chris Potter will find much to savour here.