New music

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/11/2020 (2123 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

POP / ROCK

Yukon Blonde
Vindicator (Dine Alone Records)

The cover photo of Yukon Blonde’s fifth album is a shot of a sunset over water, viewed through a windshield from a dark car interior. It’s an interesting time of day to depict — the magic of golden hour has passed, the day and its struggles have ended, night and its temptations are on the horizon. People’s moods can vacillate in this light; from sadness to satisfaction, from bittersweet reminiscence to dreamy anticipation — and it’s this space that the Vancouver-based quintet explores on Vindicator.

In the decade-plus Yukon Blonde has been writing and performing, the group has transformed from fresh-faced indie upstarts into a five-piece groove machine that creates soul-and-funk-inflected pop dreamscapes — 11 of them on this record. All five members sing, and they use those voices to build stacks of cascading choruses, effervescent call-and-response verses, reverb-laden gang vocals and then they double, triple and deliberately Auto-Tune vocal parts to create a multitude of effects and nuances. Musically, they’re mostly reliant on the electric piano and soaring synthesizer washes of Rebecca Grey and Jeffrey Innes for melodies, but the guitars of Innes and Brandon Scott are always there, chiming fuzzily or adding psychedelic, wah-pedal vibes to the smooth, funky feel of bassist James Younger and drummer Graham Jones.

Earworms galore abound on this album and many listeners will find themselves playing the first three tunes — It’s What You Are, Fickle Feelings and YGTT (for “you got that thing”) — again and again and again. Those folks would be remiss, though, if they didn’t stick around for the closing trio of Your Heart’s My Home, Get Precious and Big Black Cloud, a set of pop-rock songs that may find older listeners getting misty for mid-’70s 10cc (which is definitely a good thing). ★★★1/2 out of five

STREAM THESE: YGTT; Your Heart’s My Home; Get Precious

— John Kendle

 

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ROOTS / COUNTRY

Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche,
I Can Still Hear You (StorySound)

Here’s what we need now: harmony.

On I Can Still Hear You, Suzzy Roche (best known as a member of venerable folk trio the Roches, with her sisters Maggie and Terre) and her daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche (also a solo singer-songwriter and daughter of Loudon Wainwright), beautifully blend their warm voices and create a delightful musical counterpoint to the dissonance of 2020.

Not that they ignore the challenges of these times. Most of the material was written by Suzzy, and she and Lucy sing movingly about ugliness, loneliness, longing and death. The crushed flowers of Ruins provide an apt metaphor for the toll this year has taken. There are also moments of whimsy in the 11 songs — and lots of small animals.

The pandemic interrupted work on the album shortly after sessions began, so Suzzy and Lucy retreated to their homes in New York City and recorded while in lockdown. Despite the circumstances, their vocals produce a familial glow. Lucy’s cheerful soprano rides above Suzzy’s knowing alto, and they also swap the melody and sing in unison, making it all sound as natural as breathing.

Producer and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Hamlin oversees discreet accompaniment, which ranges from electric guitar and keyboard to French horn and trumpet. Rhythm plays an important role, with mid-tempo pulses echoing the human heart as Suzzy and Lucy contemplate its mysteries.

“Love is a thing that does rule every nation,” goes one lyric. Let’s hear it for harmony. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THIS: Ruins

— Steven Wine, The Associated Press

 

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JAZZ

The Nimmons Tribute
Volume 1 — To the Nth (Self-Produced)

If you are a Canadian jazz listener of a certain age, the name Phil Nimmons is one you know well. Clarinetist, composer, bandleader and educator Nimmons, and his ensembles Nimmons ‘N Nine, or Nimmons ‘N Nine Plus Six, were a mainstay of the Canadian jazz scene for decades.

Nimmons has Junos, an Order of Canada, Order of Ontario and the affection of the jazz world. He has always been a passionate supporter of Canadian music in all forms. Now 97, he can hear this tribute to his music, arranged for this album by his grandson, pianist and composer Sean Nimmons. It is clearly a labour of love to a living legend.

The tunes on the album — which will officially be released Nov. 27 — are all Phil Nimmons compositions, played by a stellar group of musicians, all of whom are former students, colleagues and friends, including: Kevin Turcotte (trumpet, flugelhorn), Tara Davidson (alto and soprano), Mike Murley (tenor), William Carn (trombone), Perry White (baritone), Sean Nimmons (piano, Fender); Jon Maharaj (bass) and Ethan Ardelli (drums).

The new arrangements are obviously contemporary in style, but true to the original moods. Gentle tracks like Holly also show Sean Nimmons in fine form.

The album has the feel of a bunch of friends expressing real affection for Phil and his music. The rhythms and moods are varied and tightly arranged in a fairly straightforward jazz mode. Nimmons’ music would never be described as experimental. It was (is) jazz that offers conversational enjoyment — well played, sincere and somehow familiar. If you know the band members at all, you can be assured they are all solid in solo and ensemble at all times. Night Crawler and Swing Softly are standouts, while Harbours is actually a part of a larger work called The Atlantic Suite.

This is a fine tribute to a Canadian jazz pioneer and mentor to hundreds of younger musicians. The title indicates Volume 1, so maybe Sean has other ideas up his sleeve. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THESE: Sands of Time, Rista’s Vista

— Keith Black

 

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CLASSICAL

Alexandra Conunova
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Aparté)

Moldavia-born violinist Alexandra Conunova turns her bow to Vivaldi’s iconic The Four Seasons, adding her own interpretation to the vast number of recordings in the classical discography of the baroque masterwork from 1725.

At first blush, this might be deemed somewhat redundant; however, the musician pens her own heartfelt explanation to listeners in her liner notes. She poignantly reveals how she has clung to the familiarity of Vivaldi’s set of four solo violin concerts during a widespread lockdown stemming from the global pandemic, even performing from her balcony for passersby, seemingly inspired by the Italians famously singing from their stoops as a way to hold onto something positive during these unprecedented times.

Because of this, her latest album is filled with deep conviction and passion, albeit curiously re-ordered to begin not with the first in the series, Concerto in E major, op. 8, no. 1 RV 269, a.k.a. Spring, but the third in F major, Fall, performed with vigour and the crispness of autumnal leaves.

From there they fall successively, through Winter in F minor including its eloquent Largo inner movement, Spring in E major, which bristles with new life, before ending with Summer, performed in G minor. After Conunova casts a spell during the opening Allegro non molto, it’s followed by the haze of a hot summer day juxtaposed with sudden, rugged down-bowing effects by the string orchestra during the Adagio. The work — and album — ends with the finale Presto, performed with a gale-force fury evoking a pandemic-struck world’s fist shaken at the heavens during its own season of struggle and discontent. ★★★★ out of five

STREAM THIS: Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor, op. 8, no.2, RV 315, Summer, Presto

— Holly Harris