New music: Alice Cooper, Hozier, Marc Copland, The Curious Bards

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This article was published 31/08/2023 (1105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROCK

Alice Cooper
Road (earMusic)

Seventy-five-year-old Alice Cooper has more miles on him than a 1968 Volkswagen, and in any given year, he’s probably on tour somewhere near you.

That’s the theme of Road, the latest album from the shock rock king who’s been losing his head onstage for half a century. Cooper has outlasted his ’70s theatrical rock peers not only through sheer endurance but by consistently birthing brilliant new hard rock, with one of the best backing bands in the business.

A frequent creator of concept albums (From the Inside, about his recovery from alcoholism; Welcome to My Nightmare, about the dreams of a child, Along Came A Spider about a serial killer, and the self-evident Detroit Stories), Cooper offers up another one on Road, with 13 songs that deal with aspects of life as a touring rock band.

From the lights-on adrenaline rush (Welcome to the Show), to painful goodbyes to a loved one at the start of a tour (Baby Please Don’t Go), to the disorienting lack of a schedule after the tour ends (100 More Miles), this is a look at Alice on the road, from the inside.

It also introduces us to stalkers (Go Away), a gorgeous truck stop waitress (Big Boots), and a maniacal truck driver (White Line Frankenstein). The latter is at least the third Alice Cooper song to use Frankenstein in its title.

The song writing is clever, catchy and multi-layered, as usual. And this time, Cooper had his full touring band write and record the album, including the triple guitar attack of Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henricksen.

The sound is at once old and new, with references to past Cooper glory including the lyrics “like it/love it” hearkening back to 1970’s I’m Eighteen. ★★★★1/2 out of five

STREAM THESE: Big Boots, White Line Frankenstein

— Wayne Parry, The Associated Press

 

ROCK

Hozier
Unreal Earth(Columbia Records)

Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, the Irish musician who records under the moniker Hozier, has recently become associated with the cottagecore TikTok trend.

These TikToks consist of soft acoustic music — often Would That I, from Hozier’s 2019 album Wasteland, Baby! — playing in the background of imagery that can only be described as “cozy fall vibes.” It’s usually videos of fall leaves, people strolling in scenic hiking areas, or photos of decor that evoke a home in the woods.

Clearly, rich visual lyricism — about nature, love and beyond — are at the core of Hozier’s songwriting. That continues on his third album, 2023’s Unreal Unearth.

The release highlights the singer-songwriter’s soft acoustic ballads, the kind commonly associated with the aforementioned cozy falls, and he also shows off his vocal prowess in powerful songs meant to be sung at the top of his lungs.

The album opens with De Selby Part 1, which starts off with a soft and slow melody. Its successor, De Selby Part 2, does not. Here, it’s clear he is inspired by symphonic funk and soul music.

The album has some firsts, like Hozier singing in Gaelic on a few tracks, including To Someone From A Warm Climate (Uiscefhuaraithe).

Ultimately, the album is a collection of his strengths. Hozier knows his way around a slow burn, like the ability to slowly build up and deliver a powerful chorus in Francesca.

That differs from a track like I, Carrion, which hits almost like a lullaby, quickly followed by Eat Your Young, which swells with powerful bass and lyrics that exude a sense of danger and gluttony.

“Seven new ways that you can eat your young / Come and get some” Hozier sings.

A surprise collaboration on the album is an upbeat duet with Brandi Carlile on Damage Gets Done, a celebratory soundtrack to a long road trip.

“Unreal Unearth” is a journey that ebbs and flows from start to finish. With each track, listeners learn to “unearth” a new layer of the journey, from loud to quiet, from dark to light. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THESE: Francesca, Damage Gets Done

— Karena Phan, The Associated Press

 

JAZZ

Marc Copland
Someday(InnerVoice Jazz)

Pianist Marc Copland started his jazz life as a saxophonist. Apparently he came to believe that his musical ideas needed to be expressed on a wider palette, so to speak, and so he revisited his earlier training as a pianist. The result has been welcomed by the jazz world where he is seen to be simply extraordinary.

At least one critic puts him in the same world as Bill Evans. That opinion is up to you, but this quartet album is very fine indeed. His colleagues here are Robin Verheyen on tenor and soprano, Drew Gress on bass and Mark Ferber on drums. Verheyen is perhaps lesser known than Gress and Ferber, but he has played with Copland for years and is his acknowledged favourite tenor and soprano player.

The music here is stellar at any tempo or mood. The opening track, Someday My Prince Will Come, is so well-known that to make it stand out as “new” is a challenge that happily the quartet handles easily. It sets the stage for the underlying lyricism that informs Copland’s piano. I can see where the Evans name creeps in at times. Whether driving hard as in Who Are You or gently flowing through Dukish, Copland’s beautiful touch is noteworthy. There is wonderful interplay with the quartet members. I was continually impressed with Verheyen, while each member gets plenty of air time. Gress’s bass is a good lyrical partner for Copland, and Ferber lets it all out on tracks like Round She Goes and the joyous cover of Thelonious Monk’s Let’s Cool One.

There are two longer tracks. Round She Goes is one of those tracks where you hit repeat just to hear it again quickly. Verheyen’s soprano sails over the tune beautifully and everyone is dialed in totally. Ferber’s solo is terrific. The band’s cover of Miles Davis’ Nardis is a great exit track. From end to end a satisfying and sophisticated album. ★★★★1/2 out of five

STREAM THESE: Encore, Day and Night

— Keith Black

 

CLASSICAL

The Curious Bards
Indiscretion (Harmonia Mundi)

This ear-pleasing new release by Harmonia Mundi features 18 reels, airs, jigs, and country dances from 18th-century Scotland and Ireland, performed by The Curious Bards. The early-music ensemble founded by violinist Alix Boivert is joined by a quartet of guest artists performing on period instruments, as well as folksier drums and whistles.

After an ebullient opener: Robbin Powers Fancy – Miss Douglas Brigton’s Jigg – Cosey’s Jigg, the group then tosses off an equally lively medley of reels: Miss Rose of Tarlogie’s Reel – Colonel McBean’s Reel – Mr. Reid’s Reel, guaranteed to get toes tapping, as well as a series of snappy Scottish strathspeys: Miss Clementina Sarah Drummond of Perth – The Marquis of Huntley’s Farewell – Mr. Moore’s Strathspey.

However the well-balanced program also provides darker, more contemplative works to the livelier dances for contrast. One of those is Mable Kelly featuring the plaintive vocals of mezzo-soprano, Ilektra Platiopoulou, also heard in The Tears of Scotland. The simple yet potent Daughter’s Lament featuring smallpipes player Quentin Viannais offers a prelude to the latter piece. Other highlights include reels: The Perthsire Hunt – Mrs. James Erskin of Kirkwall’s Reel – Mrs. Gillespie’s Reel, as well as the lyrical “By Moonlight on the green,” once again highlighting Platiopoulou.

This appealing album that follows the group’s prior debut release (Ex)tradition hits on many notes, whether one is an early music buff, an ethnomusicologist, or just a curious music lover longing for an hour or so of indiscretion before autumn leaves fall. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THESE: Mable Kelly, Miss Rose of Tarlogie’s Reel – Colonel McBean’s Reel – Mr. Reid’s Reel

— Holly Harris