Author: jerobear
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Cuatra Puntos: Jaipur to Cairo
There’s world music and there’s world music: from Paul Simon’s world-tinged pop to Plant/Page roping in ethnic musicians to make polished albums or Tinariwen using western instruments for traditional songs. Then there are musicians from wherever playing traditional instruments. We’re fond of gnawa from Morocco, two-string guitars (that means real string) and qaraqueb — metal…
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Jon Deak: Symphonic Tales
This entertaining album stands repeated listens; Deak is a man who clearly enjoys his music. He is the young composers advocate of the New York Philharmonic, where he founded the award-winning Very Young Composers Program in 1995. His interest in making music accessible to younger listeners is clear. Two of the works are for full…
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Galina Ustvolskaya: Complete works for Violin and Piano
Dutch critic Elmer Schönberger called Galina Ustvolskaya “the lady with the hammer”, not because she whacked the piano with ham-like fists but because she composed using unusual combinations of instruments, and often used piano or percussion to beat out regular rhythms. She was a pupil of Shostakovich, who commented (according to Wikipedia): “I am convinced…
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David Gray: Gold in a Brass Age
We can’t have been unusual in seeing Gray at Glastonbury (on the telly) promoting White Ladder and buying the album; we seem to remember that while he was doing ok before, the Glasto show pushed the album out to the masses. Like other bands before and since (Dido, James Blunt) Gray was then everywhere —…
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Blood Red Shoes: Get Tragic
Blood Red Shoes are — and we’d forgotten they existed — one of those indie / alt rock bands who never quite hit the premier league; never quite as good as Foals or Bombay Bicycles, but still pretty decent. Their fans probably wonder why they’re not bigger; their last tour played Manchester Gorilla. From what…
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Boieldieu: Piano Concertos, Six Overtures
Adrien Boieldieu numbers among the most important exponents of the opéra comique of the French imperial era and the subsequent restoration. From 1803 to 1811 he was the court music director in St Petersburg, and in 1817 he became a professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory. This programme of works is — as the…
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Jenny Lewis: On the Line
This new album from Lewis encapsulates why she should be more famous — and why she isn’t. Musically, it’s damn near perfect with clever lyrics, flawless tunes and moments when you think pop music can get no better. Her backing band includes — get this — Beck, Benmont Tench (ex Tom Petty, delivers some lovely…
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Adam Baldych: Sacrum Profanum
Brexit, traffic noise, that shouty boss, arguing neighbours: if anything’s doing your head in, this may well be the answer; even the first few seconds rinse out the space between your ears. Polish violinist Baldych was once (say the release notes) hailed by a German newspaper as having “the finest technique among all living violinists…
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Wolfgang Rihm: Music for Violin and Orchestra — Volume 2
Wolfgang Rihm is big in German music (and still alive, only 67) but is not well known over here, despite having written 400 works. This is modern music, but not terribly difficult to listen to. You do have to listen; it’s not really music to have on in the background. Based on these three works,…
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Jaws: The Ceiling
Jaws call themselves dream-pop and hail from Birmingham. This is their third album; we quite like their last, Simplicity, as it’s melodic and clever while being inoffensive. You can listen to it and it’s fine, or not listen and your brain is fine filtering it out. This new one is a bit stronger and more…
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