|
|
|
Wasteland, Baby!
Hozier's great trick is how he hangs suspended between past and present, drawing upon old forms without sounding traditional. This gift is what fueled "Take Me to Church," a bit of protest neo-gospel that became an unexpected international blockbuster in 2014 -- a success so great, the Irish singer/songwriter was in no need to hurry up with a sequel. He certainly took his time to release Wasteland, Baby!, a sophomore set delivered nearly a half-decade after his debut. Given that lengthy gap, it's appropriate that Wasteland, Baby! feels considered, its every move telegraphing a deliberate decision. That's as true of Hozier's lyrics -- which use Nina Simone and Duke Ellington as signifiers, tying him to a heritage that's not quite his own -- as it is of the ruminative music, which feels contemplative even when the tempo quickens. Hozier may be moody but he doesn't dodge happiness, nor does he avoid modern accouterments. These two trends culminate on "Nobody," a lightly rolling piece of pop-soul that seems nearly ebullient in this context, but even his melancholy moments feel open-hearted. Much of this draws from the same well as "Take Me to Church" -- there's more than a hint of soul and gospel, tempered with arty arena rock that's drawn equally from U2 and Peter Gabriel -- but the overall feeling isn't anguished, it's consoling. It's a subtle but notable shift that lends emotional gravity to a singer/songwriter who already favored weighty topics.
-- AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
|
|
|
Amarae Morti
Although he is known primarily as both the founder and the conductor of the Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips is also involved with several other choral ensembles across Europe, including the outstanding El León de Oro from Asturias, Spain. This group’s latest recording is a collection of polyphonic works by relatively obscure Renaissance composers, some of them from the Franco-Flemish region and some from the Iberian peninsula. While names like Orlande de Lassus, Tomás Luis de Victoria, and (especially) Giovanni da Palestrina will be familiar to most classical-music lovers, figures like Dominique Phinot and Nicolas Gombert are likely to be recognized only by specialists. The program itself is organized to flow from penitential works (notably settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and of the legendarily powerful Media vita text) to expressions of devotion and praise. Some are works for double choir (an approach of which Phinot was one of the early adopters), and all benefit from El León de Oro’s combination of large numbers–for this recording the group consists of no fewer than 33 singers–and rich blend. A must for all collections of Rennaissance music.
-- Rick Anderson, CD HotList
|
|
|
Best of Everything: The Definitive Career Spanning Hits Collection
Consider The Best of Everything a companion piece to An American Treasure, the first posthumous Tom Petty compilation. Weighing in at four CDs, An American Treasure was designed as a gift to the devoted who were still in mourning. In contrast, The Best of Everything is aimed at the fan who didn't dig quite so deep, or perhaps to listeners who always liked Petty but never bothered to purchase an album. The Best of Everything relies on the hits that were largely absent on the box set but it takes a similar non-chronological approach to sequencing, a move that emphasizes Petty's consistency as both a songwriter and recording artist. This distinguishes The Best of Everything from 2000's Anthology: Through the Years, which also spanned two discs and contained four fewer songs than this 2019 set. Apart from that notable aesthetic choice, there is a considerable amount of overlap between the two double-disc collections -- namely, all the hits Petty had with and without the Heartbreakers between 1976 and 1993, when he switched from his longtime home of MCA to Warner. The Best of Everythingtrumps Anthology in that it also includes hits Petty had for Warner -- "You Don't Know How It Feels," "You Wreck Me," and "Walls" -- and extends to his strong last decade as a recording artist, adding two unreleased cuts for good measure (an alternate take of the title track which was heard in a shorter version on An American Treasure, the unheard "For Real," which is laid-back and nifty). All this adds up to the best overall overview of -- and perhaps introduction to -- Tom Petty assembled to date.
-- AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
|
|
|
This Land
F*ck you, I'm America's son/This is where I come from." Gary Clark, Jr. spits out that line with all the venom he can muster on the opening track of 2019's This Land, and while he's specifically challenging a racist neighbor who doesn't believe he can afford the Texas ranch he calls home, it also sounds like he's shouting down anyone who has dared to question his creative ambitions or tried to pigeonhole him as just another bluesman. Since making his major-label debut with 2012's Blak and Blu, Clark has steadily been widening his boundaries as a musician, and This Land is his toughest and most ambitious work to date, a bold and often ferocious set of songs that serves as a polyglot of African-American musical idioms and sharply articulate thoughts about American life in the midst of the Trump era. As on his previous albums, Clark frequently demonstrates he's a gifted and forceful guitarist, but on This Land, the songs are ultimately more important than the solos, and the rich, densely packed production, the melodic diversity of material, and the undiluted passion of the lyrics (and the way Clark delivers them) is what truly makes this album succeed. From the raw, funky rock of the title cut, the Chuck Berry on speed punkability of "Gotta Get Into Something," the proto-reggae menace of "Feeling Like a Million," the hard rock thunder of "What About Us," the slinky but robust R&B mood of "Don't Wait Til Tomorrow," and the Prince-meets-Hendrix groove of "Feed the Babies," This Land is stylistically fearless as Clark explores nearly every musical option that crosses his mind, and remarkably enough, all of it works, fitting together like distinct, individual pieces that make a larger and unified whole. While several of the tracks on This Land were built around samples and Clark reveals a deep knowledge of the history of African-American music, his vision is strong enough that This Land sounds fresh and compelling at every turn. Clark and co-producer Jacob Sciba have given it a potent sound that makes these songs sound as muscular and uncompromising as required. And while Clark plays most of the instruments himself on these sessions, bassist Mike Elizondo and drummer Brannen Temple generate grooves that are as big and as expressive as Clark's guitar. This Land is not an album many were expecting Gary Clark, Jr. to make when he burst into nationwide recognition at the start of the 2010s, and that's one of its greatest strengths -- it frequently upends expectations while confirming Clark's broad talent and imagination, and if this doesn't convince you he's a major artist, nothing will.
-- AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
|
|
|
On the line
Consider On the Line as the companion to its predecessor The Voyager. It's not simply that the cover art invites such comparisons. Jenny Lewis once again works with producer Ryan Adams for a good chunk of the album, reuniting with a number of familiar players on the SoCal circuit, such as keyboardist Benmont Tench and Beck, while finding room for cameos from Ringo Starr, Don Was, and Jim Keltner. It's a high-end set of professional players, a supporting cast that lends On the Line the feeling of a low-key Hollywood jam session: everybody is in place, doing their best to make the star shine. The Voyager had a similar aesthetic but a different vibe. On that 2014 album, Adams created a stylized retro-fantasia that evoked the forgotten corners of early-'80s AOR -- a sound that suited a suite of songs that suggested Lewis pulled herself together. On the Line doesn't sound nearly as coherent. Produced in part by Adams and Shawn Everett, On the Line feels as if it's slowly falling apart, a collection that marches slowly but not particularly steadily. Credit its coherence to all the old pros, including Lewisherself, whose singing is strong and nuanced throughout the record, her exacting phrasing underscoring how her songs dodge autobiography; this isn't confession, it's performance. All the sonic elements are in place, so it's slightly disappointing that the songs aren't as vivid as the album's deliberately hazy vibe. At times, Lewis' lyrics are a little too precise, while her melodies ramble -- a pair of excesses that make the sharper tunes pop, whether they're soft ("Taffy") or bright ("Red Bull & Hennessey," the neo-girl group title track). When these moments arrive, they're powerful enough to give the rest of the record momentum, yet it's an album where the particulars dissipate after its conclusion, leaving behind pleasant thoughts but no distinct memories.
-- AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
|
|
|
Joys and Solitudes
The latest from pianist and composer Jonathan Avishai is a wonderful collection of subdued but complex and fascinating modern jazz. After opening with a slow and contemplative take on the Duke Ellington standard “Mood Indigo,” the remainder of the program is given over to very different fare: original compositions by Avishai that vary from quiet chamber jazz (“Tango,” the gorgeous jazz waltz “Shir Boker”) to rather abstract contructs that challenge the ear without assaulting it (“Joy,” “When Things Fall Apart”) and delicate contrapuntal music that sounds like the kind of jazz Bach might have written (“Lya”). All of it is very lovely in that classic “ECM jazz” way: quiet, intellectual, impressionistic.
-- Rick Anderson, CD HotList
|
|
|
Acoustic Women
Our journey begins with Brazilian samba-inspired singer-songwriter Fernanda Cunha, whose career has spanned seven solo albums and extensive international tours. We then take a trans-Atlantic journey to Denmark for Stine Michel’s “Frejas Indblik” (Freya’s Insight). Michel sings a fascinating tale of the Nordic goddess Freja opening a shop in Copenhagen and experiencing humanity. Our next stop takes us to the Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca, where we are treated to the captivating voice of Buika singing “La Falsa Moneda.” Buika, whose parents emigrated from Equatorial Guinea, is one of Spain’s most celebrated singers. The female trio Elle & Elles from Martinique follows, offering some Caribbean sunshine with “Samba Lé,” which illuminates the diversity of people in the Caribbean. Next, Canan Uzerli’s “Zaman” explores the singer’s Turkish roots and laments the fleeting nature of time. The second half of this album kicks off with Mónica Giraldo, her third appearance on a Putumayo collection. Born and raised in Colombia, Giraldo has received a Latin Grammy nomination and toured the world. Her song “Todo Me Lleva a Tí” is a love song inspired by the traditions of the Nueva Cancion (New Song) movement. From Colombia, we head back across the ocean to Sweden for CajsaStina Åkerström’s “Är Det Så Här Det Känns Att Komma Hem” (This Is How It Feels To Come Home). Once an archaeologist, Åkerström now dedicates her career to music but remains inspired by ancient Scandinavian folklore and traditions. Lebanese singer-songwriter and visual artist Tania Saleh’s moving composition “Ayya Shi” was a response to the turmoil and insecurity in 2010/2011 in the Middle East. Saleh sings: “Anything can happen anytime / Stay alert, stay awake…” Francesca Blanchard was raised in France and Vermont and, in “Tu n’existes pas,” sings to her imaginary lover: “In the city of my dreams / You live by my side / It’s the world I’ve invented / You’re just a dream that I have rented.” The international journey winds up with Bendith, a collaboration between Welsh groups Colorama and Plu. Their song “Angel” is an ode to unconditional love.
-- www.putumayo.com
|
|
|
Begin Again
During 2018, Norah Jones concentrated her creative endeavors on a series of digital singles that found the singer/songwriter stretching herself stylistically. Usually, she pushed herself by teaming with new, unexpected collaborators, including Wilco's Jeff Tweedy -- a tactic that guaranteed a variety of sounds and songs, a practice put into sharp relief by the 2019 release of Begin Again. This brief LP collects the seven songs recorded for this project -- all but one released beforehand -- and while they're a disparate batch, they nevertheless cohere thanks to their elegant, elastic experimentation. Jones plays with presentation more than form -- arrangements run from the spooky austerity of "A Song with No Name" to "Uh Oh," an effervescent number that's deceptively dense -- but that's enough to give Begin Again an elusive charm. Every track seems to hint at a grander version than what was delivered, but the loose ends and modest scale are alluring, since they appear to offer an insight into how this fiercely imaginative, quietly fearless singer/songwriter challenges herself.
-- AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
|
|
|
Absinthe
Here is a light, gorgeous, and impressionistically floating new album from guitarist Dominic Miller, assisted by bandoneon player Santiago Arias, keyboardist Mike Lineup, bassist Nicholas Fiszman, and drummer Manu Katché. The comparison with impressionism isn’t mine–it’s from an interview with Miller himself, who lives in the south of France and whose compositions for this album were significantly influenced by his thoughts about the region’s “sharp and witchy mistrals, combined with strong alcohol and intense hangovers, (which) must have driven some of these artists toward insanity: skies that are green, faces blue, perspective distorted.” But if that language leads you to expect music of lurid color and exaggerated expression (à la Toulouse-Lautrec), think more in terms of Seurat or Monet: pastel hues beautifully wielded, soft surfaces masking tight structure. This is an utterly gorgeous album.
-- Rick Anderson, CD HotList
|
|
|
Amidst the Chaos
There may be no other title that captures the feeling of living in the late 2010s than Amidst the Chaos, the name Sara Bareilles gave her sixth album. Appropriately, Amidst the Chaos feels as if it was born from the turmoil left in the wake of the 2016 election, wearing its scars proudly even as it hesitatingly offers glimmers of hope. Bareilles doesn't address politics directly, preferring to rhapsodize about the Obama era in the guise of love songs and donning metaphorical armor to combat the age of Trump, and such skilled obliqueness -- where the audience recognizes what's being said, even if the themes are never spoken out loud -- are a reflection of how Bareilles has sharpened her songwriting by writing tunes for the stage during the bulk of the 2010s. There are hints of theatricality on Amidst the Chaos, particularly when the tempo quickens, but Bareilles opted to cut the album with T-Bone Burnett, a producer who specializes in analog impressionism. Burnett's predilection for foggy, atmospheric audio stands in stark contrast to the crisp, bright productions of Bareilles' earlier records, a shift that's more startling than the singer/songwriter's decision to tackle socio-political topics, yet his deliberately arty setting emphasizes Bareilles' versatility. Much of the album is moody and contemplative, a tone that suits Burnett's atmospheric touch, yet this also makes the handful of pop tunes -- "If I Can't Have You," which nearly glides by in its effervescence and the rolling "Orpheus" -- seem all the more vivid, while also setting the gospel undertones of "Saint Honesty" and the steeliness of "Eyes on You" in an effective, welcome contrast. Such distinctions are subtle but notable, and Amidst the Chaos invites the kind of close listening that helps draw out these differences: its surfaces are elusive and inviting, and its core is deep and nuanced, a combination that results in a rich, rewarding experience that shifts slightly with each return visit.
-- AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
|
|
|
Baermann: Music for Clarinet and Piano
The legendary clarinetist Heinrich Baermann had four sons, among them Carl, who would himself go on to become a legendary clarinet pedagogue. But both men also distinguished themselves as composers (Carl particularly), and this marvelous disc features world-premiere recordings of three pieces from each of them, as well as a wonderful performance of Carl’s instrumental settings of six Schubert lieder. All of these pieces were written at a time–the Romantic period–when the clarinet’s emotive qualities were being put to the most fruitful use, and the performances (on modern instruments) are outstanding. This disc should be considered an essential purchase for all classical collections. -- Rick Anderson, CD HotList
|
|
|
And Then Comes The Night
The title of bassist/composer Mats Eilertsen’s third album (and his second as a leader for ECM) might lead you to expect music of quiet intensity and darkness. If so, you’d be only partly right: accompanied by pianist Harmen Fraanje and drummer Thomas Strønen, what Eilertsen delivers here is a program of music that is quiet and intense, but also oddly bright in flavor. Some of it is carefully composed and some of it is significantly improvised, and the group recorded without headphones so that their interactions would be as acoustically organic as possible. There are very few solos; instead, the three players constantly move with and around each other, giving each composition its own identity but treating the music less as a vehicle for individual self-expression than as a project that they are constantly working on collaboratively. In some ways this is classic “ECM jazz,” and in other ways it’s unlike anything else I’ve heard.
-- Rick Anderson, CD HotList
|
|
|
Epistrophy
For their second duo album, guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan returned again to the Village Vanguard, the legendary (and legendarily intimate) jazz venue where they recorded their first album, 2017’s Small Town. And as before, together they explore an idiosyncratic program of standards (“Lush Life,” “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”), country melodies (“Wildwood Flower” [again], “Red River Valley”), and less-familiar fare (Paul Motian’s weird “Mumbo Jumbo”). As the title indicates, there’s some Monk on there as well: not only the title track, but also a lovely take on the ballad “Pannonica.” And just as they did with “Goldfinger” on the last album, they take a run at another Bond movie theme here: “You Only Live Twice.” Frisell and Morgan are a dream duo, never sounding “tight” but always connected. Brilliant and gorgeous. -- Rick Anderson, CD HotList
|
|
Freegal MusicGet three free mp3 downloads per week and listen to 3 hours of streaming per day with your library card. Available via the Freegal Music app or the Freegal website.
|
hooplaSet-up a hoopla account with your library card to use the hoopla app and website to stream music. You can borrow full albums for one week, up to five per month.
|
|
Mercer County Library System 2751 Brunswick Pike Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 Phone: (609) 882-9246 E-mail: nrsupprt@mcl.org |
|
|