Shall we dance around it all again, all those tall buildings with post-modernist baroque bits of whatever, shall we try and keep up with all the demands and why haven’t you reviewed this yet? Did we say this last time? Where were we? Catching up, hey, too many albums not enough time, and (some of) these things do demand proper time and anyway, there was an art show to curate and battle with last week, putting on art exhibitions takes lots of draining time as well, and then there was the painting with EarthBall thing and quit your moaning again, I know this one came out last whenever and should have been covered on these pages already, we’re running just to stand still here, these are thankless times and…
Wendy Eisenberg – Wendy Eisenberg (Joyful Noise) – A joyful noise indeed, well no, not really a noise, this is rather breezy, well on the surface it is, a joyful collection of beautifully breezy uplifting tunes and songs. Brooklyn-based guitarist, songwriter and improviser Wendy Eisenberg has just released a rather delightful self-titled album. Eisenberg is of course a rather prolific artist with work spanning jazz, avant-rock and what you could almost call progressive folk, she is a rather respected musician and music maker. A regular on the airwaves of our Other Rock Show (Resonance FM), this is maybe a little bit unexpected? It is rather easy to listen to, it is rather happy, breezy, bright and I have been listening to it rather a lot over the last month or so; I found myself singing some of it to myself on the way to the post office today. It is by far Wendy Eisenberg’s easiest sounding record so far. There really is something joyful about it all, almost a feeling of reinvention or maybe just being at ease, of just feeling right with it all. Beautifully crafted, carefully so, songs that are, well, confident isn’t quite the right word, she’s always sounded confident, songs that feel just right. It almost feels like Wendy Eisenberg is celebrating herself, enjoying herself, looking back maybe? Feeling content? It all just feels so so good. Some kind of breezy mix of clever Americana, folk, sunny country music that still takes in her ability to be really positively cleverly progressive, so musically accomplished, songs and tunes that leave you with so many good bits, with so many details, with colours that catch you every time. Truth is, I’ve been enjoying this album way way to much to settle down into writing something about it, just go play it for yourself, it is an album loaded with treat after treat, it is so so comfortable, so uplifting, so simple… (sw) Bandcamp
Map 71 – The Feral Jinx (Foolproof Projects) – Brighton two piece Map 71 with more of their rather experimental blend of darkly psychedelic electronic sometimes almost witchy-flavoured forward movement. A sometimes minimal freeform sound that colourfully rolls along in a positively heady way, a sometimes slow moving almost spoken word thing, a sometimes rather dark thing. Singer/front-person Lisa Jayne talks, sings and sometimes makes rather feral noises while she sometimes hits bits of percussion. Andy Pyne brings the drums, more percussion, synths and in his own words, sound manipulation (he also plays a recorder on one of the tracks). Some of it is kind of a spoken word with backing music thing, some of it is instrumental with hints of words in the background, some of it sounds like out in the trees ritual. There are lots of sometimes and sometimes if you catch Map 71 in the right frame of mind then they are rather intriguing and I don’t know why I’m writing all this down when you can just go listen for yourself? I suspect you do have to catch them on the right day when your mind is in the right place, when you do catch them on the right day then yes…
Trace Monument – Hollow Land (Shadow World) – We’re told that this is an “uncompromising and explorative forty-minute odyssey of shadowy electric guitars and crushing amplified synthesis from composer Daniel Elms, (known for his work with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Manchester Collective as well as films such as Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and The Northman), and Adam Blyth, frontman of UK doom band Blind Monarch”. The album is released on Friday 24th April via Shadow World on Tape Cassette and download only (no streaming).
What we have here is a very quiet extremely restrained piece of very slow moving rather minimal and yes rather shadowy piece of music. Beautifully crafted, the silence considered as much as sound, each space before the next string plucked very carefully precisely considered. Considered is the right word here, this in a beautifully considered piece of composition. They talk of tension, not sure I hear or indeed feel tension, I certainly feel a chemistry between the two musicians, an understanding but no, this feels cleansing, gorgeously so, this is something to just quietly sit with. The piece doesn’t really go anywhere, it doesn’t really need to, it maybe comes from a place where once things were busy and no longer are (the four minute taste they afford you on the Bandcamp page is pretty much where the whole forty minutes are at). it is, quite simply a quietly beautiful thing that for the two of them may be about one place but for you might be about different places. Yes Hollow Land might be rather akin to a lot of so called Post Rock things of this nature, things that have drifted past us again and again since the start of this century and probably a good few years before that, this one is worth your time and space though…
THE ORGAN 