New music

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This article was published 18/08/2023 (1008 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROCK

The Hives
The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons (Disques Hives)

Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist may be the last of rock ’n’ roll’s shoot-from-the-lip frontmen:

“The Hives don’t release a record for 10 years, rock becomes completely unpopular,” he told the New York Times earlier this year. “Coincidence? We think not.”

Yes, The Hives are back — finally — with their first full-length record of new songs since 2012’s Lex Hives. Renowned for their natty, matching black-and-white suits and the unadulterated fun of their back-to-basics blend of punk-fuelled garage rock, the Swedish quintet may not single-handedly revive the commercial fortunes of rock music — but The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons is a signal that the genre’s pulse is far from fading.

The album’s title refers to the band’s mythical origin, which involves a Kim Fowley-esque svengali named Randy Fitzsimmons, who recruited each band member by sending them individual letters in their hometown of Fagersta (two hours northwest of Stockholm) and then guided every step of their career. The story goes that Fitzsimmons suddenly disappeared but, after years of no contact from him, the band was then mysteriously directed to his grave, which they dug up, only to find a note and the demos for the 12 songs on this record

It’s a silly tale (‘Randy Fitzsimmons’ is actually a registered pseudonym of lead guitarist Niklas Almqvist, a.k.a. Nicolaus Arson), but it’s also an indicator of The Hives’ approach to music — they ask listeners and audiences to suspend their disbelief, tap into their inner teenagers and surrender themselves to the band’s frenetic beat. In that vein, The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons wastes no time in going for the jugular with the 1-2-3 opening salvo of Bogus Operandi (a nod to their myth, perhaps), the short, frenetic, minute-long burst of Trapdoor Solution and the swirling, pulsing swagger of Countdown to Shutdown, which posits that the world is going to hell — so let’s dance. Elsewhere on the record they flirt with ’60s pop (Rigor Mortis Radio), bluesy cabaret tunes (Stick Up), and Ramones-inspired rave-ups (Smoke & Mirrors). This may not be to your taste, but, as the band intones on the album’s last song, “step out of the way if you can’t take the pace.”

★★★★ ½ (four and a half) out of five

STREAM THESE: Bogus Operandi, Stick Up, Step Out of the Way

On YouTube: The mystery of The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – wfp.to/NH7

— John Kendle

POP

Greta Van Fleet
Starcatcher(Lava/Republic Records)

This third studio from Greta Van Fleet is the latest confirmation that the band’s love affair with the bombast of ’70s-era rock has not grown stagnant.

We’ve come to know Greta Van Fleet from their early and obvious Led Zeppelin comparisons to the Grammy-winning ground they now lay claim to. We now accept this is not merely a trick of mimicry. They’ve grown.

Starcatcher offers lofty, searing songs right out of the gate. Fate of the Faithful is in immediate overdrive, and Waited All Your Life is full of powerful fits and starts, led by Josh Kiszka’s soaring vocals. “You’ve come from so far away! / And do you intend to stay? / Swim to shore / If this is what you’re looking for,” Kiszka belts out, his voice the additional instrument that moves the needle for the band’s sound.

His brother, bassist Sam Kiszka, said in a press release that the album represents “going back to our roots while moving forward at the same time.” They wanted something raw around the edges and found it. The growling guitar work blends nicely with the fantastical themes and lyrics.

It’s one thing to hear a musician’s work, their offering. It’s quite another to experience a band’s collective vision — in GVF’s case, that means building a sonic universe rooted in fantasy. The band continues to invite us to absorb the evolution of that vision. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THIS: Fate of the Faithful

— Ron Harris, The Associated Press

JAZZ

Ember
August in March (Imani Records)

Sometimes an album sneaks up on you — in a good way. The trio called Ember has released two previous albums about which I admit I was unaware. I mention the earlier releases because it no doubt explains the amazing degree of synchronicity there is between the players in this music. Ember is saxophonist/trumpeter Caleb Wheeler Curtis (a fairly unusual combination), bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Vincent Sperrazza.

Not knowing what to expect when I first listened I was drawn in from the first track. By the second I was a fan. The music is adventurous and intricate. The writing is complex and wonderfully intense. Each member gets full acknowledgement with generous solo space along with close ensemble playing. Curtis moves between soprano and trumpet seamlessly as in Sink and Swim. The notes state that the music is extremely personal, and while the notes also comment on “simplicity and exploration” the terms are not mutually exclusive. There is a sense of full-on commitment to the music that communicates to the listener throughout.

The opening track, Suspense, is a slowly moving and haunting tune with a shifting beat and Curtis on soprano. It leads into Snake Tune with Curtis shifting temporarily to trumpet while maintaining the same mood. Each member contributes solos as Curtis returns to soprano and bassist and drummer each draw the tune together. The tempo moves up on Frank in the Morning with stronger riffs with wild flurries of notes. The title track opens with arco bass by Garabedian leading into a unison duet with Curtis that then leads further into individual expression. I was impressed by the seamless involvement by each musician on all tracks. They are absolutely on the same page.

The tune Flotation Device and the Shivers is haunting with a repeated bass note and drum beat supporting Curtis’ soprano. It is extremely effective and powerful.

All in all this album is a winner that has depth and surprises galore. ★★★★ ½out of five

STREAM THESE: Sink and Swim, Flotation Device and the Shivers

— Keith Black

CLASSICAL

Cupertinos & Luís Toscano
Magalhães
Missa Veni Domine & Missa Vere Dominus est (Hyperion)

In this latest release by Hyperion, a cappella vocal group Cupertinos led by Luis Toscano perform sacred works (mostly) by Filipe de Magalhães, hailed as the most celebrated Portuguese composer of his time. Notably, the album offers the inaugural recording of all but two works: Magalhaes’s Commissa mea pavesco, as well as a motet by one of his contemporaries, Francisco Guerrero’s Veni Domine.

What strikes the ear immediately is the eight-member ensemble’s fullness of sound, matched equally by seamless phrasing first heard in six-voice motet Exsurge, quare obdormis Domine? with each contrapuntal line clearly articulated.

Several larger-scale works are also included, with the first of those, Missa Veni Domine comprised of five liturgical-based sections sung in Latin, in turn inspired by Guerrero’s earlier work. Highlights include the plaintive opening Kyrie, with its imitative entries, the more jubilant Gloria in excelsis Deo, as well as sombre Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere.

The album’s second pillar, Missa Vere Dominus est based on Pierre de Manchicourt’s Vere Dominus est (included) begins each section with a motif derived from the Flemish composer’s motet, before a series of subsequent elaborations.

Magnificat anima mea Dominum, similarly unfolding as 12 movements, briefly spotlights individual vocalists from its opening Magnificat anima mea Dominum, through to final Sicut erat in principo.

Last but not least, another surviving six-voice motet Commissa mea pavesco ends the program on a lofty note, regarded the composer’s best known and most internationally performed work still resonant throughout the ages. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THIS/THESE: Magnificat anima mea Dominum, Missa Veni Domine, Kyrie, Gloria in excelsis Deo

— Holly Harris