And on we go, new year, new albums, the non-stop operation, the cherry picking of the releases that interest us more than most things do, the first batch of January, the first of many many I would imagine? Shall we go on with this?

Edvard Graham Lewis – Alreet? (Upp Records) – “Maverick musician and artist Edvard Graham Lewis returns with Alreet?: an exciting album of majestic, experimental pop” so it says here, a new solo album from Wire’s always interesting Mr. Lewis. yes, that cheery North Eastern greeting of an album title kind of belies the tension and drama that lies within. The album is an almost brooding set of dark rhythms, warm electronics organic layers of melody, earth colours, words that are sometimes sung, sometimes almost spoken. Lewis’s deep, distinctive voice has aged into a rich baritone, it all fits together rather well. This is a snug sound, it feels warm, it feels kind of spiritual, a sense of some kind of otherness about it, something a touch beyond his time as as bassist/vocalist/lyricist with post-punk ground-breakers Wire, clearly an artist still looking forward rather than trading on past glories. 

“Aside from his work with Wire, Lewis has previously released a string of solo albums, under both his own name and the He Said and H-A-L-O monikers. Meanwhile, in partnership with Wire’s Bruce Gilbert, he’s created five albums of industrial strength studio manipulation as Dome. He’s also recorded scores for documentaries, dance pieces and art installations, as well as recording collaborative albums with various musical luminaries, including Mike Watt, Jean-Louis Huhta, Ted Milton and Anna Livia Löwendahl-Atomic”.

Alreet? is an intriguing album, it feels different, earthy, stark, full bodied, stout, it does feel spiritual, forward looking though, a touch sinister, all kinds of things to unwrap, song lines to decode, someone said something about a some of it feeling like a pop art sci-fi novel in miniature, that is kind of right with the more regular shaped songs. Some of it is propulsive, soem of it kind of tastes of Kate Bush or Gazelle Twin or even the much loved Webcore. This is a very  atmospheric album, lines like ‘The lord of lost things has emptied his temple’ fit us right here a quarter way into this century that is no longer new. That seven minute track at the end, Who The Hell, hints at things to come both musically and…  

Bandcamp / PinkFlag  – The album is released on January 25th

Marc Neys – Harmonium (for Wallace) – What we have here is ten rather quiet rather graceful rather peaceful piano pieces, ten compositions for and inspired by the poetry of Wallace Stevens (1879-1955). Harmonium (For Wallace), a tribute to the poetry of Wallace Stevens. This piano and keyboard-driven album invites listeners into 10 serene, introspective compositions where music and poetry intertwine seamlessly. Can’t say I’m familiar with Wallace Stevens (or indeed a big reader of poetry by anyone). 

Marc Neys tells us that “each track on the album draws inspiration from a specific poem by Stevens, capturing the essence and depth of his literary work through nuanced and meditative compositions. With Harmonium (For Wallace), I pays homage to Stevens’ ability to evoke profound emotions and imagery, crafting a musical counterpart that is hopefully equally evocative. Wallace Stevens’ poetry has always been a profound source of inspiration for me. This album is my way of honouring the beauty and complexity of his words”.

These are quiet minimalist pieces, reflective, uplifting, rather beautiful, a listening experience that does indeed encourage stillness and contemplation. “Perfect for moments of quiet introspection, the album resonates with those seeking a deeper connection to both music and poetry”.

The album is released on January 25th which is when it will be up on Bandcamp so we’re told (right now there is nothing to share). Stop Press, here it is…

Legendary Pink Dots – So Lonely In Heaven (Metropolis Records) – The Legendary Pink Dots are one of those bands who’ve always floated around on the edges, one of those bands who always seem just out of reach, a lazy bite of their biog and the press release tells us “the music made by The Legendary Pink Dots has incorporated elements of neo-psychedelia, ambient music, electronic music, tape music, psychedelic folk, synthpop, post-punk, progressive jazz, noise music, pop music, goth rock and alternative rock…. occasionally all at the same time” and that it is “often likened to an industrial version of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, it was actually early David Bowie, The Residents, Can, Faust and musique concrete composers such as Pierre Henry who were far bigger influences on the Dots when they started out. Indeed, the lengthy fever dream-like sonic expeditions that litter the band’s catalogue have often received the greatest praise”.  it does sound far more light a mellow Bowie quietly floating out there in a tin can than anything as painterly as Syd Barrett, it is essentially, a least this time around, mellow almost poppy slightly psychedelic space rock. it is all very easy on the ear, almost crisp, clean-cut, likeable future-pop maybe? Lyrically, “the machine is everything we are. It sees everything, hears everything, knows everything and feeds, speeds, drinks us down, spits us out – we lost control of it at the instant of its conception. You may cough, curse and die, but the machine will resurrect you without the flaws, at your peak, smiling from a screen, bidding someone in a lonely room to join you. It’s an invitation from Heaven, where anyone can be anything they want to be, but it’s a Nation of One. You’ll be everything we are. You’ll be a shadow of yourself. You’ll repeat yourself – endlessly. You’ll be desperate for some kind of explanation. You’ll be lonely. So very lonely…”  

“Way way back in the early days I used to say a lot about ‘The Terminal Kaleidoscope’, a concept comparing the fragile planet we live on to a drowning human being with life flashing before his or her eyes, the images constantly accelerating. It’s 2024, a little over two decades since the turn of this unbearably turbulent century and the concept appears to have become an unlikely soap opera where we are the cast. Let’s hang in there….”  Edward Ka-Spel – The Legendary Pink Dots…

Bandcamp / Website – So Lonely In Heaven is out on 17th January

Beneath a Steel Sky – Cleave (Ripcord Records) – “Born out of the bleakness and uncertainty of the Coronavirus lockdown in 2020, Beneath a Steel Sky began as an instrumental project and has since evolved into a full band ensemble” –  they’re from Scotland, and this is their debut album. Besides the obvious matter of way too many lost lives and a hideously self-serving government far more interested in the heath of their own pockets and laws that they thought themselves above, I didn’t find the lockdown entirely bleak, I found some of the quiet, the empty streets, peaceful aeroplane-free skies and the people pulling together to be something rather uplifting, all the people caring about each other a little more that’s gone again now – this album isn’t bleak either, whatever they might say. True, it probably does sound like way too many post rock things we’ve heard way too many times already, they do hint that they might take it further sometime soon though and while they are following the blueprint here, following the “a deeply emotional journey through desolate and contemplative landscapes, making occasional detours into more intense territories characterized by thunderous rhythms and earth-shifting riffs”, there are bits of colour, touches of things slightly different and yes, it is, on the whole, a rather uplifting positive listen. Yeah, there are the occasional rule-obeying cookie monster vocal moments, not too many though and there is a lot of positive in the light and the healthy amount of shade. The press release tells us the album is “for fans of Isis, Aereogramme, Cult of Luna, Cave In, Russian Circles, and Mogwai”, none of whom do anything much for these ears and one or two who bore me far far more that this album does, I mean, Russian Circles for gawdsake! Actually none of Cleave bores me (Russian Circles really really do!), yes this is a good album, not sure about the claim that “Beneath a Steel Sky offer an exciting listening experience that merges post-rock intensity with profound musical exploration”, it is a nice enough experience though, kind of like it was walking the city streets during the lockdown. Now if only they were as brave with the rest of the album as they are with the rather beautiful closing track The Becoming, and not just because of the ‘proper’ singing, that final track will make you want to hit the play it again button, it does suggest that this is a more than decent debut if slightly epic post rock is your thing…

Bandcamp – Cleave is out on January 25th

Megafauna – I Owe This Land a Body – Seems that this album is about death, seems that most music is, this particular Megafauna comes from somewhere called Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. We’re dealing in dark mostly minimal electronic sound, someone said something about Godspeed Your Black Emperor via the arcade games of Aphex Twin with a sprinkling of Ulver, a touch of Author and Punisher, and hint of Zeal and a well, whatever the brooding thing is, if it sounds like it might interest you then, here it is…   

Bandcamp

Motherhood – Thunder Perfect Mind (Forward Music Group) – New Brunswick (Canada not NJ) self-declared art punk trio Motherhood’s Thunder Perfect Mind album is, naturally, a slighty mathy kind of twitchy concept album about a bridge crossing pedestrian who is taken back to the dawn of time and forced to oberserve a real-time return to the present while being held captive by an otherworldly force. The band describes it as basically a sci-fi novel, but also as their most accessible record yet. It probably is little more accessible, does it fall between several stools though? A not quite raw enough poppy punk album that isn’t quite art rock enough to to satisfy either camp? Some of it is catchy in a new wave kind of way, some of it awkward, some of it positively so, some of it in a bit of a rush, some may say they’re kind of all over the place, I don’t know? I really don’t know. But then what do I know?

Bandcamp

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And for those who do the Spotify thing, this month’s evoling playlist is indeed evolving…