New music

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/07/2022 (1266 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

POP/ROCK

Metric
Formentera (Metric Music International)

If you were wondering how Emily Haines feels about the social, cultural and political schisms of recent years, she and her bandmates in Metric lay it all down in Doomscroller, the epic, 10-and-a-half-minute song that opens the Toronto quartet’s eighth studio album.

In a sonic roller-coaster ride that encompasses screaming synths, pastoral piano passages and huge stadium-rock crescendos, Haines and bandmates Jimmy Shaw, Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key address the capitalist world’s great divide in no uncertain terms: “Salt of the earth underpaid to serve and scrub the toilet / Ruling classes / Trickle piss from champagne glasses / That’s just how the evening passes.”

Our nightly Twitter habits are encapsulated in just a few lines: “I’m a true doomscroller / I can’t seem to shut it down / Until it’s over/ And it’s never over.”

Harsh as it may be, Doomscroller ultimately offers a redemptive message of love, urging listeners not to give up hope, for all is not lost.

It’s heavy stuff, but this is a heavy time and Haines and Co. have never backed down from saying what’s on their minds — just check out the cynical, existential litany of society’s superficiality in False Dichotomy or Oh Please. That said, Formentera is named for a Spanish island, just south of Ibiza, which represents an idyllic escape in the title song, and Metric and Haines still believe there is strength in the communion of music and dance and art and living in our moments of joy. Consider its continued commitment to pulsating, lose-yourself pop-rock and the lyrics of its closing song, Paths in the Sky, which is ostensibly written to a lover but could also be applied to Metric’s audience: “We’re doing what we can / Flying on a path / Know we’re flying blind.” ★★★★

STREAM THESE: Doomscroller, False Dichotomy, Oh Please

— John Kendle

 

 

JAZZ

Charles Lloyd
Trios: Chapel (Blue Note)

Octogenarian reed player Charles Lloyd shows no sign of slowing down. This release is the first of a “trio of trios” albums, with this one out now, the second out in August and the third in October. The personnel is different on each session with an intentionally different sound and approach and a different guitarist in every trio.

The Chapel in the title refers to the Coates Chapel in San Antonio, Texas, apparently chosen for the stunning acoustic that is better heard with a small percussionless group. This trio had its debut there in 2018.

Basically a tenor player, Lloyd also plays flute and a variety of sometimes exotic reed instruments. The Chapel trio features Bill Frisell on guitar and Thomas Morgan on bass. Frisell’s music can cover a wide range, from country to avant-garde, but he is a longtime colleague of both Lloyd and Morgan. He and Morgan are perfect foils for Lloyd’s mainly mellow and reflective mood. Morgan simply moves and underpins the trio in total synchronicity.

The laid-back vibe, punctuated by Lloyd’s trademark flying arpeggios, is never forced. For example, the opening track is a stunningly beautiful cover of Billy Strayhorn’s Blood Count. It sets up an album that consistently delivers a great jazz experience. Song My Lady Sings begins with a lengthy guitar solo and moves into a flowing tribute.

Lloyd switches to alto flute on Beyond Darkness with no diminution of the peaceful vibe. The longest and final track is Dorotea’s Studio. The reference here is to Lloyd’s wife, who has a working studio in their home. It adds a Latin rhythm and great solos, and the fairly quiet applause at the end confirms a live performance.

Years ago I met a man in California who is a close friend of Lloyd’s. He referred to Lloyd as a wonderful friend and a beautiful person who has “earned his wings already.” Let’s be glad he doesn’t need them yet. ★★★★1/2 out of five

STREAM THESE: Blood Count, Ay Amor

— Keith Black

 

CLASSICAL

Bach and Bartok
Karl Stobbe (Leaf Music)

JUNO-nominated Canadian violinist Karl Stobbe turns his bow to a pair of linked masterworks in Bach and Bartok in this new release, the first in an ongoing series on the Leaf Music label.

In J. S. Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005, from his collection Sei Solo, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s associate concertmaster displays his natural affinity for the complex contrapuntal textures that become a showcase for his technical virtuosity. Stobbe also displays his expressive ease while navigating the yearning emotional landscapes of the opening Adagio, and a deeply felt Largo infused with lyrical, flexible phrasing.

His joyous finale, Allegro Assai, is particular highlight, delivered with firm control and enthralling momentum. It’s all too easy to get lost in the weeds with fugues, with the inordinately difficult second movement, Fuga, further highlighting the violinist’s bravura. His rendering of its intricately woven polyphonic voices is clean and clear throughout, marred only slightly at times where energy flags.

Bartok’s Violin Sonata, Sz. 117, dated 200 years later, owes a debt of gratitude to the Bach C Major Sonata after the ailing Hungarian composer, then living in the United States after fleeing Nazism in 1940, first heard violinist Yehudi Menuhin perform it in 1944.

Stobbe’s sheer conviction is palpable throughout the resolutely contemporary work, which propels listeners from darkness to light. His driving Tempo di ciacconi is filled with pungent dissonances and idiosyncratic snap pizzicato, leading to a carefully paced Fuga. All energy becomes dissipated during the ethereal Melodia, with the musician’s flawless intonation and feather-light ornamentation making its melodic lines sing in the stratosphere. The work ends with another tightly coiled, bursting finale, Presto, leaving listeners on the edges of their seats in this gripping new addition to the solo violin discography.

★★★★ 1/2 out of five

STREAM THIS: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005

— Holly Harris