New music

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This article was published 17/09/2015 (4050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROOTS

Joe Ely

Panhandle Rambler (Rack ‘Em Records)

TEXAS singer-songwriter Joe Ely has been creating his distinctive brand of musical voodoo since the first album with his on-again/off-again combo the Flatlanders. Over the decades, Ely’s solo work has confirmed that his brand of Americana/progressive country music should be regarded as the gold standard of the genre. With his 19th album, the startlingly first-rate Panhandle Rambler, Ely hits proverbial pay dirt again. The dozen tracks here roll out with the kind of unhurried pace and attitude that is scarce these days. Opening track Wounded Creek sets the tone with its delicious Spanish guitar figures drifting around a simple rhythmic hush while Ely reveals the story, inch by inch. You want to pay attention.

Ely’s songs have always been populated by similar kinds of characters — the lonely, the sometimes lost and those who swirl their personal wisps of dust at the edges of normal existence. Gypsies, gamblers, railroad hobos and ladies with rolling southern eyes are all here, living in the imaginative world Ely has created for them. Panhandle Rambler ranks with any of Ely’s prior high points and could even bring him the wider recognition he so deserves. In stores Sept. 18. *****

DOWNLOAD: Wonderin’ Where, Magdalene

— Jeff Monk

 

The Arcs

Yours, Dreamily (Warner)

FROM their humble roots on Bomp Records imprint Alive! Records to some of the largest stages in the world, U.S. indie-blues darlings the Black Keys have proven themselves able to modify their sound ever so slightly, yet still sound like a loose and clanky garage-rock band. With the Arcs, guitarist Dan Auerbach enlists a four-piece band (minus Keys drummer Pat Carney) to create a kind of psychedelic soul music that still touches sonic bases familiar to Black Keys fans.

There is a lot to hear here, and it takes a few listens before you realize it is the tricky nuances of the songs that speak loudest over time. The simple, fuzz guitar figure in The Arc, the blaxploitation soundtrack groove of Velvet Ditch and the weird, adult-movie sound-effects overlay on Come & Go all make for a fascinating ride. None of these songs would sound out of place on a Quentin Tarantino film soundtrack.

Auerbach continues to challenge himself to come up with fresh variations on what can be considered his branded sound, and Yours, Dreamily is yet another step in the right direction. ****

DOWNLOAD: Pistol Made Of Bones, The Arc

— Jeff Monk

 

ROCK

The Libertines

Anthems for Doomed Youth (Virgin/EMI)

WHATEVER happened to the likely lads, eh? Indie fans and Daily Mail online readers will know the Libertines, a uniquely English equivalent of the Replacements, imploded in 2004 when singers/guitarists/co-founders Carl Bar¢t and Pete Doherty fell out over Doherty’s drug addiction.

Ten years of melodrama, other bands and multiple rehab attempts ensued, but the quartet finally acquiesced to a reunion offer this past summer followed by the requisite reunion album.

By all accounts the shows went well. And the album? Well, it’s what’s to be expected after a 10-year layoff — an effort largely concerned with cautionary tales and sifting the band’s ashes. It opens in understated fashion with a restrained but rockingly anthemic Doherty song called Barbarians; the first single, Gunga Din, is a white reggae tune lamenting Doherty’s drug use; and Iceman explores a similar theme. The title track, sung by Bar¢t, is a mid-tempo reflection on the past that includes the fateful line, “They thought that they were brothers, then they half-murdered each other.”

There are hints of the band’s roaring days — when Bar¢t and Doherty breathlessly trade vocals over revved-up jangly guitars on songs that seem on the verge of falling apart until bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell reel them back in — and Fury of Chonburi and Glasgow Coma Scale Blues are the best examples. Ultimately, fans will love this; others will wonder what the fuss was about. *** 1/2

Download: Anthems for Doomed Youth, Gunga Din, Fury of Chonburi

— John Kendle

 

CLASSICAL

Angela Hewitt

Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4 (Hyperion)

CANADIAN pianist Angela Hewitt, known for her masterful Bach performances, tackles four of Beethoven’s piano sonatas in this new release.

The London-based artist brings her pristine artistry to each of the four solo works, displaying sparkling technique during the scherzo movement of Sonata in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, and its rondo finale, as well as during Sonata in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1.

Her deeply expressive musicality is at its best during the sonatas’ respective slow movements, including the latter’s Adagio Molto and the opening section of Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110. Hewitt also builds intriguing contrast between the two movements of Sonata in F sharp major, Op. 78, including its sprightly quote of Thomas Arne’s Rule, Britannia theme while keeping an eye — and ear — on the greater whole.

Despite Hewitt’s sterling artistry, what is sometimes missing in action is temperament — the lifeblood of all Beethoven’s music — which ironically becomes marred by her controlled precision. Still, this latest recording provides a thoughtful addition to the ever-growing body of Beethoven solo piano recordings courtesy of one of the world’s greatest living pianists today. *** 1/2

DOWNLOAD: Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110

— Holly Harris

 

COUNTRY

Lucero

All A Man Should Do (ATO)

LUCERO lead vocalist Ben Nichols is one of those rare individuals whose voice sounds like he gargles with razor blades and whisky, and you wouldn’t want it any other way. This is a band that also makes people who don’t appreciate the sound of horns… well… appreciate horns.

Along with that microphone, Nichols also holds the cinematically influenced writing utensil behind every song (except for the tasteful, yet nasal cover of Big Star’s classic I’m In Love With a Girl). Alcoholism (“A quilt of poor intentions ravelled out”), searching (“Drinking whisky in my winter coat, an empty-hearted town soon gets cold”) and reminiscing (“It was 1993, missed every opportunity, no other way it could be”) are among the often bleak but accessible themes on display.

All A Man Should Do is an album that wraps its arms around you and happily refuses to let go. With a taste of Eagles-style country, some majestic accordion and those previously mentioned Memphis-style horns, this disc, like many of those from Lucero before, demands heavy rotation. **** 1/2

DOWNLOAD: Went Looking for Warren Zevon’s Los Angeles, They Called her Killer

— Bruce Leperre

 

THIS WEEK’S SINGLES

OMI

Hula Hoop (DMD/Ultra)

Following up a juggernaut like Cheerleader was going to be next to impossible, but OMI succeeds admirably with this bouncy tropical house track that, much like its title suggests, will spin around in your head for days. HHH 1/2

 

HEDLEY

Lost in Translation (Universal)

First off, Jacob Hoggard rapping? It conjures up bad memories of Madonna trying to rap on American Life, or Brad Roberts’ strange spoken-word turn on the Crash Test Dummies’ Keep a Lid on Things. Second, the constant “parlez, parlez-vous” in the chorus is remarkably annoying. Third, skip it. HH

 

LITTLE MIX

Black Magic (Sony)

Some have labelled these X Factor alums as the next Spice Girls, but this first single from their upcoming album Get Weird is about as generic and forgettable as you can get in the candy-pop genre. Think Wannabe crossed with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, pitched down and covered in dryer lint, and you’ve got the gist of it. HH 1/2

— Steve Adams