THIS WEEK’S NEW ALBUMS REVIEWED | FEATURE
For The First Time (Ninja Tune)
One of the year’s most hotly anticipated debuts does not disappoint. You may have already heard Black Country, New Road’s debut single Sunglasses, a near-nine-minute blend of post-rock and skronk-jazz featuring vocalist Isaac Hyde screaming about the emptiness of a material life over a tune that starts out sounding like Philophobia-era Arab Strap and building to the kind of barking vocals/screeching sax and scraping violin crescendo not heard since Long Fin Killie’s Heads Of Dead Surfers.
Instrumental recalls the cacophonous whirling dervish at the heart of A Hawk And A Hacksaw, initially building on a crazed synth riff and somehow ending up sounding like the theme to a Romanian heist movie. Athens, France twists and turns in a similar spirit, changing its mind about whether or not it wants to be a rock anthem a dozen or so times, before deciding to peter out as a Mogwai-esque lullaby instead. Science Fair is even more unhinged, an apocalyptic soundscape of distorted guitars and sinister brass, and Track X brings to mind a baroque Stereolab.
For The First Time’s closer Opus enters as a demented klezmer rally and turns into a brooding farewell to… well, I’m not entirely sure what. Avant-garde, thrilling and unlike anything else you’ll hear this year, this is the perfect soundtrack to our uncertain future.
words PAUL JENKINS
Legacy + (Partisan)
From a family never great at conformity, this is neither a collaboration between two Kutis nor a double album – rather, a two-album release of Femi Kuti’s 11th, Stop The Hate, paired with For(e)ward, the debut album from his son Made [pictured] (pronounced a little like Sade). Marshalled by Sodi Marciszewer, who produced Femi’s dad Fela’s final six LPs, the afrobeat blood of the great patriarch pumps through the veins of both generations: Femi’s album and its political sloganeering, especially, being something you could imagine Fela producing had he prevailed for a few decades more.
Stop The Hate bridges the gap between the exuberance of highlife and the funky structure of afrobeat. Na Bigmanism Spoil Government has complex timing, big brass and an infectious melody, and You Can’t Fight Corruption With Corruption would come off well in a Roforofo Fight. Young Boy, Young Girl, with its fuzztone intro, is a Femi cracker, venturing further from the template and setting the tone for Made’s LP.
Playing all instruments himself to reconstitute the formula into new shapes, with added vitality, Free Your Mind builds into a kaleidoscopic experience, with its intricate horn arrangement, insistent percussion, rippling keyboard lines and layered vocals combining to funkadelic effect. Both Your Enemy and Blood are hypnotic grooves, bursting with synths and brass. Different Streets showcases Made’s jazz education in London, where Fela once learnt and broke the rules, and adds plenty of soul too.
After a strong first half, side two of For(e)ward goes too far off-piste for me, with Higher You Find, an off-kilter novelty take on Yankee Doodle Dandy and We Are Strong glancing sideways to contemporary Afrobeats. It would have been interesting to see the traditional sound of Femi blended with the modernism of Made, but perhaps they’ll build upon their legacy with that another day.
words CHRIS SEAL
Medicine At Midnight (Roswell)
Has it really been 25 years since Dave Grohl sat in his room singing to himself and playing every instrument? Cheesy lyrics abound in the 10th album from a band who have become a mainstay of pop-rock: leadoff track Making A Fire opens with tinny cymbals and a chorus of “na na na”s, which wasn’t the Metallica and Motörhead-induced sound I was told to expect. Shame Shame, which succeeds it, got me wondering (in respect of its title at least) if the band had been influenced by Shirley and Co circa 1975.
A bit of a weak start, then, but in time moments of greatness arrive which give the listener a glimpse of what Foo Fighters can do when they drop the jazzy elements. Once they hit their musical stride, Medicine At Midnight throws up some decent anthemic numbers, the Bowie-esque title track standing out. And while Grohl has never been one to hide his musical influences, the penultimate Chasing Birds is far too John Lennon for comfort. A bit of a mish-mash, ultimately, but when the Foos rock they rock and you can give me more of that.
words LYNDA NASH
Lost Themes III: Alive After Death (Sacred Bones)
Most people know John Carpenter as the director of classic films from the 1970s and 80s, but more recently his passion for music has taken up much of his time. Since 2015, Carpenter has been joined by both his son and godson on a series of albums of original music titled Lost Themes, Alive After Death the third in that series.
The songs provide an interesting glimpse into his writing process when not restricted to scoring a film. It allows him to be free to explore a world of moody synths, heavy guitar and retro aesthetics that can go anywhere he wants. The results are often impressive, in particular the buildup and heavy climax of Vampire’s Touch and the synthy soundscape of the opening title track. Compositions can occasionally blur together, though, and perhaps need a film to really bring them to life; still, Lost Themes III should please fans of synthwave and classic horror alike.
words MATT LEE
Tyron (Method)
Exploding onto the scene in 2018 with his distinct brand of high-octane but socially conscious rap, and occasionally overshadowed by his impudent antics, Tyron Frampton, aka Slowthai, is back with his sophomore album. The duality of Tyron is immediately noticeable, with the high energy bangers and introspective tracks segregated to their respective halves of the record. On the former half Frampton offers a tired mix of braggadociously shallow lyrics layered over vaguely menacing trap beats, and not even the solid assists from industry veterans Skepta and A$AP Rocky can save it from feeling like anything more than an obligation.
It’s not until the second half that Frampton deploys his trademark caustic lyrics. Previously used to take aim at political leaders and social issues, they’re instead wielded on this release to candidly tackle his own life. It doesn’t always work, with nhs being more mawkish word association than song, but for the most part, this is the best part of Slowthai. Separating the bombastic and the thoughtful elements of the album may have seemed novel on paper, but in practice it’s a reminder that Slowthai’s sound has always been, and should remain, an emulsion of the two.
words ALEX PAYNE