New music

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This article was published 25/08/2023 (1113 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROCK

DeYarmond Edison

Epoch (Jagjaguwar Records)

Before Justin Vernon burrowed in the woods to make the music that became the Grammy-winning Bon Iver, he had an indie folk band with his childhood buddies that changed their lives forever.

DeYarmond Edison, a moniker taken from Vernon’s actual middle names, lasted a mere two years. It evolved from the high school act Vernon played with brothers Brad and Phil Cook in Eau Claire, Wis. The split came suddenly in 2006 in Raleigh, N.C., when the quartet — then including Joe Westerlund — reached a creative impasse.

But the band’s spirit lives on in Epoch, a five-LP, 83-song compilation that includes previously unreleased tracks, live recordings and other epilogues to the band’s two studio albums. Hints of Counting Crows, Sufjan Stevens and even Lead Belly are tucked in a wide-ranging release, which spans teenage battle-of-the-bands nostalgia to gospel to blues.

The boxed set is packaged with a 60,000-word mini-book by music writer and friend of the band Grayson Haver Currin. It details the impulsive move these innocent Midwesterners made to stretch themselves in the South — and their wistful post-breakup reflections. The Cooks and Westerlund stayed in North Carolina to form Megafaun, eventually graduating to other ventures. An ailing Vernon felt the pull of home and famously wintered in a family cabin to heal and carve out his own path and sound.

Currin’s eloquent report is required reading to fully appreciate this wandering collection of coming-of-age tunes that carry many of Bon Iver’s genes. Without it, the albums could overwhelm a casual fan.

There are 20 songs from an art gallery residency the band played in North Carolina. A Satisfied Mind features Vernon’s first use of his now-familiar falsetto at Brad Cook’s suggestion. In a subset of Vernon’s solo recordings, hazelton starts with a cascading guitar that birthed the 2011 hit Holocene.

The 83rd track, Set Me Free, sounds like a nine-minute elegy to the band, except it was recorded in its infancy. In the lyrics, “I’ve been dragging my feet in the sand / They’ve been bleeding all over this land,” it sounds as if the band knew what had to happen to set everyone free. ★★★★1/2 out of five

STREAM THIS: A Satisfied Mind

— Dave Campbell, The Associated Press

COUNTRY

Teddy Thompson

My Love of Country (Chalky Sounds)

Teddy Thompson began a recent concert by singing George Jones ’ 1972 hit A Picture of Me (Without You), and smiled as the crowd applauded.

“That’s a new song I just wrote,” he joked.

Well, no. But Thompson puts his stamp on that tune and nine other classics on his latest project, an album of covers: My Love of Country.

Country music is in Thompson’s DNA, even though he was born in London. His parents, Richard and Linda Thompson, are revered British folk rockers who found room for such Nashville standards as Together Again and Honky Tonk Blues in their 1970s stage shows.

Their son has long been partial to classic country, and his zeal for the peal of a pedal steel — and mandolin, and fiddle — is evident on My Love of Country. Thompson’s disciplined, almost reverent interpretations shun showboating in the vocals or arrangements; his vibrant tenor is more than enough to make the songs shimmer.

Most are weepers. They range from Patsy Cline tunes and the Charlie Louvin hit I Don’t Love You Anymore to more unpredictable selections, including I’ll Regret It All in the Morning, a drinking song written by Teddy’s dad.

Among those contributing backing vocals are Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell and Aoife O’Donovan. Producer David Mansfield provides subtle support on multiple instruments while keeping the focus on the lead singer.

Thompson finds a Scottish lilt in Buck Owens’ Crying Time, makes octave leaps seem effortless on I Fall to Pieces, and elsewhere evokes Roy Orbison.

He saves his best for last: a lovely version of You Don’t Know Me. On the final verse, Thompson climbs the scale but resists any temptation to let loose, his artful restraint somehow making the moment more moving. ★★★★1/2 out of five

STREAM THIS: You Don’t Know Me

— Steven Wine, The Associated Press

JAZZ

Aline Homzy

Eclipse (Elastic Recordings)

Back in the day many jazz folks didn’t believe violins had a place in jazz except maybe those played by Stéphane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty. Since then there have been huge advances in “acceptable” jazz instruments (my goodness, even electronics). Canadian-American violinist Aline Homzy occupies a very solid position on the jazz continuum. She appeared at the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival in June with her band, Aline’s étoile magique. This album (officially released today) is her debut as leader and offers a terrific sample of the range and scope of her writing and inventiveness. Her band has Michael Davidson on vibes, Thom Gill on guitar, Dan Fortin on bass, Marito Marques on drums with João Frade on accordion and vocalist Felicity Williams. A theremin shows up on one track. The notes state that the music was 10 years in the making to express a level of maturity and compositional skill she was satisfied with.

The music is deceptively complex, with solid melody augmented with wonderful solos and restrained and subtle post-production sonic layers. There is a gentle feel on most tracks with a rhythmic base that works without being overwhelming. The notes suggest that when violin, vibes and theremin are combined, there is a lot of room for playfulness and enjoyment. The music is all original except for a cover of the Charlie Parker tune Segment. The waltz time Aliens Are Pieces of Wind is appropriately a bit goofy, while Hanakotoba is more serious and gives Homzy a beautiful intro and evolution into a lovely melody.

The longest track is Circa Herself. It moves the tempo up and dances around time signatures and rhythms charmingly. The mood throughout the album is totally contemporary while referencing classic jazz violinists in ways they would have totally endorsed. The variety of moods and tempi are excellent. Without doubt, Homzy’s patience before releasing this debut album met her goal of expressing maturity and clarity in her music. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THESE: Cosmos, Rose du Ciel

— Keith Black

CLASSICAL

Cyrille Dubois, Orfeo Orchestra & Purcell Choir

Jouissons de nos beaux ans!

(Aparté)

In this new release by Aparte, French lyric tenor Cyrille Dubois treats listeners to a recital featuring many lesser-known gems from the 18th century French operatic repertoire – several notably being recorded for their very first time.

Hungarian conductor György Vashegyi skilfully leads the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir throughout the program celebrating the haute-contre tessitura vocal range, the hallmark of this period.

Rameau fans will enjoy several offerings in particular, including the dramatically intense (and album title track) Jouissons de nos beaux ans from Les Boreades, as well as Peuples heureux, unissez-vous a moi, from opera-ballet Les Fetes de Polymnie.

Instrumental numbers also abound while providing satisfying contrast, including a sprightly Ouverture, from Rameau’s Zais, and Sarabande pour Hebe et sa suite, from his Castor et Pollux.

However one of the album’s greatest strengths is its championing more obscure French Baroque composers living in the looming shadow of Rameau. Dubois holds nothing back during his passionate delivery of François Revel and François Francoeur’s Impetueux torrent, dont l’onde menacante,” from Tarsis et Zelie. Another debut recording, Verset, Amour, le jus de la treille, from Antoine Dauvergne’s Les Amours de Tempe further showcases his chameleonic characterization, with the singer now morphed into Jupiter’s son and that always irresistible Roman god of wine, Bacchus. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THESE: Verset, Amour, le jus de la treille, from Les Amours de Tempe; Sarabande pour Hebe et sa suite from Castor et Pollux

— Holly Harris