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newmusickarl · 2 years

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Album & EP Recommendations

A Light For Attracting Attention by The Smile

Ever since their electric debut during the Glastonbury livestream last summer, the project from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, as well as Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, has been creating a wild buzz. With great track after great track continuing to drop since, anticipation for this debut album has been locked at fever pitch for a while now - and thankfully it is now finally here.

To get the slight negative out the way first, if you go in thinking this album will be a complete detour from Radiohead then you may want to think again. The six singles leading up to this record certainly hinted that there would be heavy shades to Thom and Johnny’s main project, and that is certainly the case here. Although there are moments where Tom Skinner’s jazz influence and a touch of Greenwood’s film score work come into play, for the most part this very much sounds and feels like a Radiohead album. With long-time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich also at the helm, just make sure that your expectations are firmly set heading into the record, else you might leave slightly disappointed.

That said, what it lacks in any crazy sonic experimentation or radical direction changes it does more than make up for with some pretty great music which is more than worthy of the Radiohead name. After the understated, steady electronic build of opener The Same, the stuttering bluesy guitar riffs of The Opposite soon arrive to kick the record firmly into gear. Brilliant lead single You Will Never Work In Television Again then follows, built around raw, grungy guitars and the return of Yorke’s shout-sing vocals, offering a neat throwback to their early 90s/The Bends-era sound.

As mentioned above, there are a few moments on the album where the trio do add elements to their Radiohead template and it is in these moments that the record really shines. Pana-Vision for example, which got its debut in the series finale of Peaky Blinders, is a hugely cinematic and grand composition, playing out like a less-sombre, spiritual sequel to Pyramid Song but with even more multi-layered orchestration included. The Smoke is then another slightly more ambitious cut, built around a jazzy bassline and big horns, along with Yorke’s signature falsetto vocals - it’s completely entrancing.

Speech Bubbles then serves up one of the most goosebump-inducing moments on the whole album, with its gentle strings and Thom’s transcendent, soft vocals. Recent single Thin Thing then picks up where The Opposite left off earlier in the record, with more vintage jittering guitar mastery from Greenwood. Open The Floodgates is then another hair-raiser, with its beautiful piano, mesmerising synths, twinkly guitars and Yorke’s utterly inimitable vocals. Free the Knowledge then really is something straight off The Bends - an acoustic-driven track with some hugely atmospheric and spellbinding orchestration. I said when it was released a few weeks back that it was my favourite so far from The Smile and safe to say, it still remains a strong favourite now.

After the jazz-infused A Hairdryer and ominous electronica of Waving A White Flag, the penultimate track We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings is another big early favourite. Once again carrying all the hallmarks of a signature Radiohead track, this one would happily slot onto In Rainbows with its mix of pulsating synths, heavy rock guitars, thumping drums and a hypnotic central refrain. Before you’ve barely caught your breath from that incredible whirlwind of sound, the album is drawn to a close with Skrting on the Surface. Once again centred around Yorke’s ethereal vocals which glide sumptuously across soft drums and Greenwood’s gentle guitar melody, a gorgeous melancholic horn arrangement eventually joins the fray in the latter half for what is a sublime climax to the record.

Having been ever so slightly disappointed after the initial first play, this is an album that has already grown massively on me with subsequent plays during the week and will no doubt continue to do so as the year moves forward. With plenty of the Radiohead hallmarks you already know and love, with just a hint of something new and refreshing too, this is a really fine and accomplished debut for The Smile. Although everyone will undoubtedly want a Radiohead album next, I would also happily take a follow-up to this one too.

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MORE D4TA by Moderat

Back in 2017, I had only just started to discover the music of German electronic supergroup Moderat when suddenly, they announced they were splitting up and returning to their original projects (Apparat and Modeselektor, which admittedly are both also excellent). Although thankfully I managed to catch them live during their last UK show before they all went their separate ways, I was still disappointed I wouldn’t be getting any new music from the trio for the foreseeable future. Thankfully though, the split didn’t last too long at all.

Having returned to their original projects and got that out of their system, Moderat have now returned with their first new album in six years – and I’m pleased to say it doesn’t disappoint. Gargantuan opener Fast Land sets the standard straight out the gate, an utterly magnificent synth-soaked instrumental that builds frequently to huge electronic swells. Easy Prey then follows and offers a striking contrast - an understated ambient track infused with a laidback garage beat and haunting, distorted vocals.

It’s an utterly hypnotic one-two combo to kick the record off and from there the trio continue to forge fascinating electronic soundscapes – from the thumping neon-aura of Drum Glow to the also Radiohead-esque Undo Redo. However, it is about the midway point where the album really starts to light up – Neon Rats is an epic 7-minute house-influenced track, which steadily builds throughout before eventually erupting into a glorious technicolour sea of sound during the emphatic final minute and a half. It’s spellbinding and completely euphoric.

Subsequent track More Love is also really excellent, with its mesmerising, futuristic synths and warped vocoder vocals which make for quite an addictive listen. Numb Bell then completes this strong trio of tracks, with its thrilling beams of otherworldly synths. Then after the foreboding rhythms of Doom Hype, the album is rounded up perfectly with the radiant vibrations and gorgeous vocals of closer, Copy Copy.

All in all, for a comeback record from Moderat you really couldn’t have asked for anything better. Building nicely on their original album trilogy whilst reminding listeners why the three of them together is such a special combination, they have delivered arguably the best electronic record of the year so far, at least for me anyway. Welcome back lads, you’ve been missed!

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This Is A Photograph by Kevin Morby

Elsewhere, American singer-songwriter Kevin Morby also released his brilliant seventh solo studio album this week. Powered by a really stunning first half that includes must-hear moments such as the title track, Bittersweet TN and Disappearing, it’s an engaging and frequently wonderful listen.

With strong shades of legends Bob Dylan and Mike Scott throughout, this album has a real timelessness about it that will keep you enraptured from beginning to end, and then constantly coming back for more once it’s over. The perfect example of this is Stop Before I Cry which arrives late in the second half and is probably the best track on the whole record, and indeed one of the finest songs of the year so far. Built around gentle pianos, soaring strings and an enduring melody, it is just beautiful in every single way.

In any other week this album would have gotten the big write-up for just how incredible it is, but all I’ll say for now is do not sleep on this one – it’s touching, heartfelt and tenderly crafted brilliance from start to finish.

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Also out, also great: Dance Fever by Florence + The Machine, Blue Hours by Bear’s Den, Are You EP by White Flowers

Tracks of the Week

The Foundations of Decay by My Chemical Romance

Flick that fringe to the side and dust off your best black eyeliner – My Chemical Romance are officially back. To mark them finally playing their much-delayed huge UK reunion shows over the next couple of weeks, they have delivered a six-minute mini-epic to further tug on the nostalgia of lifelong fans, but also hint towards what can be expected from them in the future too. With a stellar vocal performance from Gerard Way, plenty of dramatic grandeur and lots of big, heavy riffs, I’m not ashamed to say I’m pleased to have them back making music.

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Through The Echoes / Lose It by Paolo Nutini

It’s been eight long years since Scottish singer songwriter Paolo Nutini released his third studio album Caustic Love, but finally after all this time he is back with new music. Fourth album Last Night In The Bittersweet is due for release in July, and he’s given fans the first taster with two new songs. First track Lose It is a fantastic guitar-driven rock track that’s not a million miles away from Fontaines D.C.’s recent material, whilst Through The Echoes is just an exquisite stripped-back love song. Both are well worth your time, but the latter is probably my pick of the two just for Paolo’s spine-tingling vocal performance.

Listen to Through The Echoes here

2001 by Foals

“OH. MY. GOD. BRIGHTON ROCK.” You know a song is going to be a huge summer anthem when you hear it for the first time live and already find yourself singing along by the end of it. With under a month now until their new album Life Is Yours finally arrives, Foals continue to deliver the belters with this new one featuring an insanely catchy chorus and a funky Chic-style central guitar riff. Major earworm warning!

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Doomscroller by Metric

They may be over 20 years and eight albums into their career at this point, but Canadian indie rockers Metric proved this week that they are still more than capable of serving up some truly excellent music. This one is a captivating 10-minute plus epic, which begins as a pulsating industrial banger before switching up to a gorgeous and melodic piano-driven ballad in the second half. Absolutely superb.

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Chaos Energy by Daniel Avery, HAAi & Kelly Lee Owens

Daniel Avery has produced some of my favourite electronic records of the last couple of years, so I was pleased to find out this week that he has a new album titled Ultra Truth lined up for a November release. This intense new taster track features some additional star power too, with fellow electronic artists HAAi and Kelly Lee Owens joining Dan for this one.

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Mecca by Nick Mulvey

Although they disbanded a couple of years back to work on their own solo projects, Wild Beasts remain one of my favourite bands and Mecca from 2014’s Present Tense one of my favourite songs of theirs. So, when I found out English singer-songwriter Nick Mulvey (formerly of Portico Quartet) would be releasing a cover for his upcoming album New Mythology, I was keen to hear his take on the track. Safe to say he does the song justice, keeping true to the original whilst also adding his own unique spin.

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Dancing Machine by Oscar and the Wolf

And finally this week, this is the one to kickstart your weekend! I still can’t understand why Oscar and The Wolf are not one of the biggest pop acts on the planet and this latest track only further adds to confusion. From upcoming new EP Afterglow which follows last year’s The Shimmer which was one of my Top 20 Albums of 2021, Dancing Machine is a glistening, blissful and groovy pop track, centred around an instantly catchy chorus of “Everybody just wants to dance with you.”

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