New music

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This article was published 08/02/2018 (3149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Good Lovelies

Shapeshifters (Independent)

The Good Lovelies’ fourth full-length album of original material is aptly titled, as it marks a significant sonic shift. The trio has seemingly shed its folk sounds and sensibilities and taken a confident step into the world of luxuriant, nearly baroque pop.

The 10 songs are, as ever, rooted in the harmonies of and vocal interplay between Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Susan Passmore, but the rhythms here sway and swing like a Bahamas record (check out Take Me, Take Me or Pulse and Flatline) and the richly textured vocal treatments at times recall the work of Pierre Marchand and Sarah McLachlan.

That’s the overall sensibility, yet each of the tunes is a separate take on themes of love, doubt and the ebb and flow of life’s journey. The album opens with I See Gold, a sunny pop tune whose message — there is light after darkness — underlines the musical notion that Brooks, Ough and Passmore are on a new path. On I Had a Dream, the Lovelies and producer Dan Ledwell create an ethereal, almost choral chill-out tune; they catch a quasi-Carpenters vibe on When We Were Young; and then, just when you thought you wouldn’t hear a song featuring acoustic guitar and banjo, they bring them in to colour the album’s coda, This Little Heart, which starts as an a cappella lament, but swells to a near-Celtic crescendo.

As a whole, Shapeshifters is a bold move that bodes well.

★★★½ out of five

Stream these: I See Gold, Take Me, Take Me, Move Away Clouds

— John Kendle

 

Ruby Boots

Don’t Talk About It (Bloodshot)

For her Bloodshot Records debut Austin, Texas-via-Australia singer Bex (Ruby Boots) Chilcott presents a terrific mixed bag of tough and tender tracks, that in turn keenly observe and flat out rock.

With first-rate backing band, The Texas Gentlemen, Chilcott is able to bob and weave through a myriad emotions with the confidence and swagger that only a band of this calibre can provide. Opener It’s So Cruel is a solid, fuzzy guitar riff-centric blast that gets one’s attention fast. Both Believe In Heaven and the title track shift gears significantly and dive headlong into a girl group, ’60s groove with a contemporary sheen.

Adding a dollop of echo and double tracking to her vocals on some songs creates a distinctive resonance that is alluring. Easy Way Out, with its confident jangle-pop acoustic guitar figure throughout, has all the moving parts required for sing-a-long classic. On the softer side, Chilcott really shines.

Her natural singing voice is a perfect fit for the sentiments required to get the shimmering Break My Heart Twice across most convincingly. Similar in tone is the a cappella I Am Woman (“I am a believer / Standing strong by your side / I’m the hand to hold onto / When it’s too hard to try… I am a woman / Do you know what that means / You lay it all on the line / When you lay down with me”) and it is this song’s quiet resolve and emotional muscle that make it a standout on Don’t Talk About It.

While these 10 tracks may be a mix of styles, this album ties together perfectly as a whole and definitely has all the ingredients to get Boots widespread attention. Definitely worth a listen.

★★★★ out of five

Stream these: Easy Way Out, Somebody Else

— Jeff Monk

 

GoGo Penguin

A Humdrum Star (Blue Note)

The Manchester-based trio GoGo Penguin is bassist Nick Blacka, pianist Chris Illingworth and drummer Rob Turner. In the evolution of the jazz trio they are at the cutting edge; think EST or The Bad Plus. They have their own distinctive sound that blends aspects of classical music, electronics and sonic invention with a driving, rhythmic foundation.

While that might sound confusing, it is actually exciting, inventive and always appealing. This album (to be officially released Feb. 9) is terrific. Each musician gets a lot of airtime, with tracks that move from an introspective feel, to ones that indeed do point to the stars. The electronics are used effectively and do not overwhelm the essential acoustic basis of the music.

The upbeat tracks are relentless, offering a counterpoint to the gentler tunes. While the band is egalitarian as mentioned, I believe pianist Illingworth is the glue. The title of the album is part of a quote by astrophysicist Carl Sagan: who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star, lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.

Having established our stellar insignificance, we can perhaps do no better than enjoy the wonderful music that may, in fact, justify our worth as we circle that humdrum star.

★★★★½ out of five

Stream these: Bardo, Transient State

— Keith Black

 

 

Lisa Batiashvili

Visions of Prokofiev (Deutsche Grammophon)

In this new release by Deutsche Grammophon, Georgian-born violinist Lisa Batiashvili sets her sights on Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev, an artist who has played a prominent role in her own celebrated musical career.

The album’s two cornerstones are Prokofiev’s pair of violin concertos — including No. 1 In D Major, Op. 19 that Batiashvili learned at the age of 12, while studying at the Hamburg Musikhochschule. It is now regarded as her signature piece.

She imbues its opening movement Andantino, with pensive introspection, as well as during the Moderato, while the Scherzo: Vivacissimo showcases her technical prowess. Her sensitive artistry is also heard throughout the much later composed Violin Concerto No. 2 In G Minor, Op. 63, with its finale Allegro, ben marcato teeming with the clacking energy of fiery Spanish dance.

Also included are three excerpts from larger stage works, arranged for violin and orchestra by Batiashvili’s father Tamás Batiashvili. Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, allows her solo instrument to ring out over Prokofiev’s richly coloured orchestral fabric, as it also does during the lilting, equally appealing Grand Waltz from Cinderella, Op. 87. The Grand March from The Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33 feels less stately with the more transparent instrumental textures; nevertheless, Batiashvili’s crisp playing still gives the winsome piece from the composer’s fruit-filled fairy-tale opera plenty of bite.

★★★★ out of five

— Holly Harris