New music

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This article was published 17/05/2018 (2710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

POP / ROCK

 

Courtney Barnett

Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk!/Mom + Pop/Marathon Artists)

Courtney Barnett emerged seemingly from nowhere in 2014 — a fully formed, Australian indie-rock singer/songwriter tailor-made for the second decade of the 21st century. She’s a literate, feminist chronicler of a post-literate age whose laconic, arty/slacker sensibilities illuminate the universal with witty musings on the everyday, set to pleasingly edgy three-piece garage rock.

Barnett, now 30, actually came of age in the suburban sprawl of Sydney and made her way into the art and music scene of Melbourne, where she released a pair of ear-catching EPs before bowling over the indie world with her debut full-length, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, which earned her Grammy and Brit nominations and three ARIA awards.

Tell Me How You Really Feel, which comes out on Friday, May 18, is Barnett’s ‘difficult second album’ and it’s a rather more raw and soul-baring record. Musically, the rough ‘n’ ready vibe is a function of working with her live rhythm section (bassist Bones Sloane and drummer Dave Mudie), along with Drones’ guitarist (and co-producer, along with Burke Reid) Dan Luscombe. This band recalls the melodic side of Nirvana but is also capable of the neo-apocalyptic squall of PJ Harvey (check out the brooding feel of album opener Hopelessness and the riotous stomp of I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch) or the ringing sheen of post-Guyville Liz Phair (Charity, record closer Sunday Roast).

The songs themselves are personal musings on the contradictions and anxieties of Barnett’s new lot in life (City Looks Pretty, Charity), descriptions of the never-ending push-me-pull-you of relationships (Need a Little Time, Walkin’ on Eggshells) or, in the case of Nameless, Faceless, they’re a fierce smack back at misogyny, with a Margaret Atwood quote thrown into the chorus for good measure. Regardless of theme, though, these 10 tracks are sharp, vibrant and fascinating.

Barnett will perform on the mainstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on Friday, July 6. hhhh1/2 out of five

Stream these: City Looks Pretty, Nameless, Faceless, Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence

– John Kendle

 

ROOTS / COUNTRY

Willie Nelson

Last Man Standing (Sony/Legacy Records)

If you ignore the fact that in 2006 still-living rock’n’roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis beat Willie Nelson to the proverbial punch with an album titled Last Man Standing you can’t decline the rootsy country music demi-god his due. At 11 tracks in less than 35 minutes running time Nelson’s Last Man Standing is no late-career magnum opus, but it is an album full of good-hearted, sage reflections and even some humour. Working with longtime songwriting collaborator and producer Buddy Cannon and a youthful band, Nelson sounds like a younger version of his 85-year-old self. The title track opens the album with a shuffle groove and old Willie reveals that maybe it’s not such a bad thing that he’s still around making music after all these decades. In the same vein, we have the silly Bad Breath where again we hear from the man that he believes halitosis is “better than no breath at all.” Something You Get Through is an earnest review of the totality of life’s lessons to us all and here Nelson’s vocals are as clear and true as they have ever been. Ready To Roar sweetens the pot with its excellent Western swing arrangement and lovely fiddle work from guest Alison Krauss. Of course long-serving harmonica man Mickey Raphael is here locking down the characteristic Nelson sound and that is always a fine thing for fans. Apparently, Nelson, similar to his not quite as long-in-the-tooth compadre Bob Dylan, is working on an album of Frank Sinatra-related cover songs. One can only hope it has some of the same energy that stands this album in such respectable light. hhh1/2 out of five

Stream these: Last Man Standing, Ready To Roar

— Jeff Monk

 

JAZZ

Kenny Barron Quintet

Concentric Circles (Blue Note)

Pianist Kenny Barron celebrates his 75th birthday this year and as well marks 50 remarkable years in the jazz world. Part of the celebration is the release of this album that continues his record of strong playing, vibrant compositions and always pleasurable music. His quintet here has Mike Rodriguez on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dayna Stephens on saxophones, Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums. Eight of the tracks feature original tunes by Barron, and he has explained that the quintet format gave him greater scope for interpretation of his music. There are blues flavoured tracks like Blue Waters, Latin rhythms and driving post-bop tracks like DPW and Von Hangman. Barron has supported and played with many greats over the years, and his playing and inventive compositions shine throughout his decades of accomplishments. He has always acknowledged his admiration and debt to Thelonious Monk, and the final track of the album is a beautiful solo version of Monk’s Reflections. To some extent, this music straddles familiar jazz modes that reflect the straight ahead, high energy music that never asks the question “Is that jazz?” At the same time, it is always creative and wonderfully expressive. Barron appeared at the Asper Jazz Series several years ago and demonstrated the same touch with both ballad and up tempo tunes. Kenny Barron has been a gift to the jazz world for 50 years and hopefully is not close to being done yet. hhhh out of five

Stream these: Blue Waters, Von Hangman, In The Dark

— Keith Black

 

CLASSICAL

Zvonimir Nagy

Angelus (Harmonia Mundi)

Pipe organ lovers might think they’ve died and gone to heaven with this new release featuring five solo organ works by Croatian-born, Pittsburgh, PA-based composer/performer Zvonimir Nagy.

The album’s two pillars are Litanies of the Soul, comprised of five palindromic movements, as well as the seven-part Preludes for a Prayer. Of the latter, its Preludes III and IV offer greater textural contrast, while Prelude V exploits the organ’s full sonorous range.

The moody Prayer likewise begins in the lowest depths, with melodic wisps rising like incense to create several pungent chords before subsiding peacefully again. Title track Angelus similarly pulses with repeated notes evoking tolling bells in this musical call to prayer, until gradually becoming subsumed by lugubrious pedal tones. Two Canons present as cleverly worked out contrapuntal explorations, albeit not as emotionally communicative as the other works.

The album unusually opens with the final two movements of Litanies of the Soul, and concludes with that same work’s opening three sections that feel oddly disjunctive. However, this artistic choice effectively creates an overall cyclic nature for the entire album that arguably represents the non-linear circle of life itself, while showcasing the full range and capabilities of this mightiest “King of instruments.” hhh out of five

— Holly Harris