Review Corner

Author: jerobear

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    Natalie Schwaabe: Piccolo Works

    A bit like the Opera Jazz Blues album, an album featuring the piccolo — known as the screaming twig or Ak47 for its ability to cut through the loudest orchestra — might be something that you never think you’d need, but this is a decent, if idiosyncratic, album. You wouldn’t want a collection of piccolo…

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    Hibla Gerzmava: Opera Jazz Blues

    This CD is a programme of work it probably never crossed your mind you’d need: soprano Gerzmava sings classical, jazz and blues. This doesn’t mean she stops being a soprano and sings jazz in husky tones, it means you get jazz/blues (and classical) piano accompanying what is mostly operatic singing. Track one is a delicate…

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    Silent Riders: Silent Riders

    Enigmatic is the word for this Danish electronic band. They wear masks on stage, are known only as Lu, Gee and C and play minimalistic music in the style of Portishead and Massive Attack. Of course, mononomic (is that a word?) stage names and masks are not new — Portishead and Massive Attack were pioneers;…

  • Courtney Marie Andrews: Honest Life

    Musician Courtney Marie Andrews has been on the road since she was 16, when she left home in Arizona for her first tour. She travelled up and down the West Coast, busking bars and cafés. Then for a decade or so she’s was a session and back-up singer and guitarist for nearly 40 artists, including…

  • Vyacheslav Artyomov: Gentle Emanation + On The Threshold Of A Bright World

    In the review of the Kreutzer Quartet we said that work was on a micro scale, this on a macro, it making the listener think of the vastness of space. After writing this, we noticed the stellar scenes on the CD sleeves but also that, as a young man, Artyomov was preparing to become physicist,…

  • Kreutzer Quartet: Choreography, The Soundtrack

    So: you make a film about the importance of seeing music being played, featuring pieces that have a strong visual component (by Stravinsky, Ligeti, Lutoslawski and Finnissy). Then you release a CD soundtrack of that film. In other words, this is a CD of music that’s meant to be seen being played, that accompanies a…

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    Leif Vollebekk: Twin Solitude

    Vollebekk is a Montreal singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is/was a fan of Nick Drake. We’d also guess he’s a big fan of David Gray, whose White Ladder this sounds very much like. For older readers, Gray was a singer-songwriter whose fourth album White Ladder was massive, partly helped by a memorable televised performance at…

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    Nell Bryden: Bloom

    “Singer-songwriter and BBC Radio Two favourite” says the Press release, which almost tells you all you need to know. It’s very melodic and carefully crafted and, for style, Carole King / Carly Simon. Classy, melodic tunes, delivered in a classic style. On one level, it’s flawless. Bryden has a pleasing, soulful mid-range voice, does nothing…

  • Lower Than Atlantis: Safe In Sound

    This is Lower Than Atlantis’ fifth studio album, which means they’re pretty good at what they do: delivering friendly, accessible melodic rock. The obvious references we can think of are on the pop side: Athlete (on a good day) and even ELO, though maybe a little of Incubus and melodic rock bands like Jimmy Eat…

  • Amber Run: For A Moment, I Was Lost

    Amber Run play atmospheric indie pop of a kind that you’ve heard before, but it’s got a fresh sound and it’s entertaining. It’s emotional pop with soaring harmonies aplenty and slightly falsetto vocals, the instrumentation lush and multi-layered. It starts off well with Insomniac, an emotive tune that reminded us of Longview. Amber Run also…