Review Corner

Author: jerobear

  • Claudio Monteverdi: Vespro Della Beata Vergine

    There are reportedly many recordings of Monteverdi’s Vespers of the Blessed Virgin, but the unique thing about this new album is that it was produced following the performances of “a scenic interpretation” with the Spanish stage director Calixto Bieito.We’ve got no idea what “a scenic interpretation” is, mind, unless it involves dressing up the musicians…

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    Peach and Quiet: Just Beyond the Shine

    This self-released album from a Vancouver Island duo is a pleasant mix of pop, country and Americana, with a nice organic feel, possibly recorded in minimal takes.Opener Empty To Fill is a catchy 60s pop tune reminiscent of The Byrds, while the next one up is For My Love, a gentler folk/pop tune with some…

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    Jim White: Misfit’s Jubilee

    The Press release calls Mr White an “ever-elusive Americana maverick,” famous for his “dark ruminations on all things Southern”.This new album is varied, from White calling like a circus barker to a stadium-friendly song that wouldn’t sound out of place in a U2 set.The album opens with a fake tannoy train announcement but Monkey In…

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    Mirian Conti: Tangorama, An Anthology of 20th Century Tango, Vol.1

    Conti writes in the sleeve notes that when she studied at the conservatory in Buenos Aires in the 1970s, she did not analyse a tango let alone play one; she herself dismissed tango orchestras and singers as “those old tango guys”. It was only when she moved to the US that she discovered her home…

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    Still Corners: The Last Exit

    Still Corners are, as they say, a dreamy pop duo who tweak their sound with every album, from pop to a more synthy sound to this, more Americana and even Tex Mex: half of Still Corners, Greg Hughes, grew up Arizona and Texas so perhaps not surprising. Tessa Murray is English, and the two met…

  • Chelys Consort of Viols: Amavi, Music for Viols and Voices

    We keep writing this is as Cheryl’s Consort, so apologies if we slip; the album was actually recorded jointly with Fieri Consort and is work by Michael East, who sounds modern but died in 1648, before the (20th century) name Cheryl was even invented. East (or Easte, Est, Este) was an English organist and composer,…

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    Neil Young: Way Down In The Rust Bucket

    Young is now 75 and more likely bang out a well-meaning but average political album or release an archivally relevant but otherwise pedestrian live album, but this was recorded way back in 1990 at what sounds like a warm-up gig for the Ragged Glory tour, his 18th studio album. If you’re a Young fan and…

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    More Soma: Hondendodendans

    This is jazz for those of you like the experimental, free composition, improvisation and the downright weird. The More Soma trio comprises a saxophone, alternately alto or baritone, double bass and drums; a couple of the players featured on the more tuneful _Unk album we reviewed recently. This is the debut More Soma album and…

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    Ilya Gringolts: Pietro Locatelli, Il Labirinto Armonico: Three Violin Concertos

    Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764) was an Italian Baroque composer and violinist. Locatelli possibly studied under Arcangelo Corelli, the famous Baroque composer. He was apparently known as the “Paganini of the 18th century”. It’s a wonderful album, the playing fine and the sound warm and approachable. Gringolts, a Russian is marvellous, and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra…

  • The Heliocentrics: Infinity of Now
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    The Heliocentrics: Infinity of Now

    The Heliocentrics bill themselves as psychedelic-funk which is about right: it’s a hybrid of jam music (Goat or Holy F—sprang to mind) mixed in with Portishead and some Can / krautrock. They claim to sound like the funk of James Brown and “the disorienting asymmetry” of Sun Ra (psychedelic jazz player) It’s all very cool,…