New music: Wet Leg, Conan Gray, Jon Irabagon, La Reveuse

ROCK

Wet Leg

Moisturizer (Domino)

A few songs into the second studio album from buzzy English post-punks Wet Leg, singer Rhian Teasdale yells “level up!” And level up they have.

The alt-rock duo-turned-group took their time to complete their sophomore release, Moisturizer. It was worth the wait.

The Grammy Award-winning Wet Leg emerged from England’s Isle of Wight in 2021 with the quirky viral hit, Chaise Longue, a cheeky track centred on Teasdale’s deadpan delivery and guitarist Heather Chambers’ chunky, jagged bursts.

On Moisturizer, the two have expanded their skills and range, but they’ve also retained the raunchy, goofy energy that gained them an adoring audience. Their touring band, bassist Ellis Durand, drummer Henry Holmes and guitarist/synth-player Joshua Mobaraki have formally joined the project and share writing credits on several songs. The expanded band complements Chambers’ oddball progressions and facilitates a bigger, more layered sound.

Across the album, there are plenty of tracks that work to rattle car speakers and dominate summer festival mainstages. On the belligerent single Catch These Fists, Teasdale declares, “I don’t want your love / I just wanna fight.” On Pillow Talk, Teasdale coos over an industrial metal drone and delivers some of the horniest lyrics in the band’s notably graphic catalog.

The slower songs show off the band’s new tools. Davina McCall, named after the English television presenter, begins bendy with some oddball chord changes and surprisingly delicate vocals. The slow jam 11:21 could sit next to the soft singer-songwriter Weyes Blood on a playlist. Don’t Speak channels the bluesy energy and corny-sweet lyrics of late Replacements.

In total, Wet Leg has a fuller sound. Fans will be wise to join them on the journey.

★★★★ out of five

Stream: CPR; Catch These Fists; Don’t Speak

— Jim Pollock, The Associated Press

 

POP

Conan Gray

Wishbone (Republic)

Rejection serves as inspiration for angst and contemplation on pop singer Conan Gray’s wistful fourth album, Wishbone. It is a return to form for Gray with 12 diaristic tracks that oscillate between bold heartbreak anthems and moments of tender reflection.

Discovered on YouTube in the early 2010s, Gray’s narrative pop earned him a place among the tastemakers of Gen Z music. He collaborated closely with producer Dan Nigro (known for his work with Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan ) on his first two albums. The 26-year-old’s most recent, 2024’s Found Heaven, was a departure from Nigro and the affective melancholy of his previous singer-songwriter releases. Swedish super-producer Max Martin produced many of that project’s well-received ’80s-inspired tracks, which saw an adaptable Gray convey big emotions through sound, rather than story.

Nigro returns as the executive producer of Wishbone. Their reunion finds Gray comfortable but candid, as recurring characters, settings and symbols help him recount relationships atop a sonic landscape informed by his past releases.

Many of Gray’s lyrical stories are relatable, but some of the stickiest tracks are the ones that focus on his inner thoughts. The acoustic guitar and piano that start Nauseous is drowned out by Gray’s layered vocals as it takes on his fear of love and the childhood trauma that informs it. Caramel, with an ear-worm of a chorus set to electric guitar, describes the memories he can’t shake after a breakup. The intimate Class Clown reflects on Gray’s self-image — and how that school-born label feels relevant, still.

While Gray struggles with his place, the way he deftly tackles those feelings in song proves he’s among the star pupils of his class.

★★★★ out of five

Stream: Nauseous; Connell

— Elise Ryan, Associated Press

 

JAZZ

Jon Irabagon

PlainsPeak (Irabbagast )

Saxophonist Jon Irabagon loves word play. He recently moved back to his family’s home in Chicago and this album is a tribute to his hometown. It is the “peak” of the “plains” and allows for plain speak about its features. Word play. Plain speak can be very edgy at times. The album proves that nicely. Irabagon’s quartet has Russ Johnson on trumpet, Clarke Sommers on bass and Dana Hall on drums. Irabagon plays alto throughout.

The compositions and music cover many moods (as does Chicago) with a distinct drift to the adventurous side of the bell curve. The melodies are wonderful and give full air time to all four musicians. The opening track, Someone To Someone, is a reference to his family that is quite melodic until the end when it suggests that you know who is at it again. Buggin’ the Bug is hilarious as it describes the severe cicada invasion in Chicago last year.

These folks are having a good time.

The wildest playing is on the track Malört Is My Shepherd, a cheeky hymn-like reference to a Chicago liqueur called Jeppsen’s Malört described as “like a baby aspirin wrapped in a grapefruit peel, bound with rubber bands and then soaked in well gin.”Whatever one imagines that might sound like, you would still have to hear it to know.

At What Price Garlic is an obvious reference to Chicago pizza that moves through 11/4, ¾, 5/4, or 9 beats to the bar. Irabagon is perhaps simply suggesting many toppings. Things get introspective without getting maudlin on Tiny Miracles (at a funeral for a friend).

Overall ths is celebratory music marking a return home, if you will. It is boisterous, challenging, fun wand truly enjoyable, just like Chicago. That Toddlin’ Town is alive and well.

★★★★1/2 (out of five)

Stream: Buggin’ the Bug; The Pulseman

— Keith Black

 

CLASSICAL

La Reveuse

London circa 1760 (Harmonia Mundi)

Early music ensemble La Reveuse whisks listeners to London circa 1760 with its latest release in an ongoing series dedicated to British music.

Baroque music buffs will enjoy such highlights as C. F. Abel’s Concerto a Viola da Gamba Concertata, with the reconstructed version immediately showcasing the sensitive artistry of viola da gamba player Florence Bolton.

Another is J. C. Bach’s Quartet, op. 8, No. 2, or Francesco Geminiani’s Pieces for English Guitar in D minor, its filigree ornamentation brought to life by the group’s co-founder with Bolton, lutenist/theorbist Benjamin Perrot. Of particular note is its second piece, No. 2 Affettuso, with its delicate polyphonic lines interwoven like fine brocade tapestry.

Also included are two excerpts from Abel’s 27 Pieces for Bass Viol, arranged by Perrot, No. 26, Adagio in D minor, and No. 24, Allegro in D minor, as well as Rudolf Straube’s highly introspective Largo from Sonata in C major, No. 1.

However the album’s sweet spot comes with 18th century concert impresario and reputedly “femme fatale” Ann Ford’s Instructions for Playing on the Musical Glasses, its two movements, Italian Air and Duetto, featuring player Sylvain Lemêtre, charming modern day ears just as it would have when first penned for London’s upper crust, chamber music loving society.

★★★★ out of five

Stream: Pieces for English Guitar in D minor, Affettuso; Sonata in C major, No. 1, ‘argo; Instructions for Playing on the Musical Glasses, Italian Air’

— Holly Harris