THIS WEEK’S NEW ALBUMS REVIEWED | FEATURE
Wrong Way Up
ENO/WOBBLE
Spinner (both All Saints)
Two reissues, from 1990 and 95 respectively, which comprise two pairings of experimental British pop colossi. Nevertheless, neither Wrong Way Up or Spinner are canonical classics in the varied CVs of Brian Eno, John Cale or Jah Wobble – but both are well worth the revival afforded them by Eno’s long-term label home, All Saints.
It’s unclear what sort of album he and Cale were trying to make with Wrong Way Up, but despite jarring shifts in tempo and mood across its 12 songs, the duo’s compositional elegance hangs it together. An especially haunting highlight is Cordoba, whose ostensibly mundane but naggingly dark lyrics about leaving a parcel on a bus (and suchlike) are paired with minimal, deathless sophisti-pop arrangements and folk-classical viola. Spinning Away rides a beat analogous to the indie-dance of the time, albeit without the laddishness, and a foray into country-rock (Crime In The Desert) is given a strange android production that radicalises the genre as comprehensively as Cale’s Velvet Underground did to rock’n’roll.
Spinner is predominantly on the instrumental ambient tip that Eno himself codified, with an extra air of dubby mysticism which could be traced back to Jah Wobble’s 80s/90s group the Invaders Of The Heart. There are live beats on tracks like Marine Radio (played by Jaki Liebezeit of legendary Germans Can, I believe, although subject to fair studio editing) and a general yen for groovy bass that one would expect from Wobble, who as John Wardle took on that pseudonym in the late 70s when joining Public Image Ltd. Like ‘the dress’ of a few years back, or other optical illusory images, your ears may interpret this music as soothing or sinister, with neither being incorrect.
words NOEL GARDNER
Home Schooling (Libertino)
In the chill out lounge on lockdown street, this suitably eclectic lo-fi mix has something to charm all the neighbours. This Side Of Luv has a strong T-Rex-70s-Christmas vibe; Phases is a very acceptable bottom-lip-puckered, headnodder. Although The Strain sounds a bit Elliot Smith or even Travis – this may be the gig track where you head elsewhere to roll some fresh air – luckily, the evokative Cold Hands is back en-flique.
The slightly depressed Beatles/Floyd of Cargoes is perfect for the neighbours at number 5, followed by a sofa jumping Trick Of The Light. After a lyrically lacklustre Name Across My Heart we go into hyper-production-drive with a banger of a tune in Leave Your Mind Behind,a visual journey of fragmented technicolour. Then the all too brief Souljacker-era Eels-esque Home Schooling, a genius lockdown ditty. With a nod to Boards Of Canada to finish, this is a great housebound summer album that leaves you keen to get out and hear Keys live.
words NIA&DOM
Songs For The General Public (4AD)
As a band dressed like the New York Dolls whose previous record, 2018’s Go To School, told (in their words) “the heartbreaking coming-of-age story of Shane, a pure-of-heart chimpanzee raised as a human boy as he comes to terms with the obstacles of life”, The Lemon Twigs make for unlikely pop stars. And yet the title of their third LP is no crudely ironic joke. Brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario repeatedly hit the sweet spot with tracks that are both steeped in the sound of the 70s and totally timeless.
The Beatles are a permanent presence, and on Leather Together you get glimpses of the Stooges trying to escape from beneath the glistening studio gloss, but by and large the influences are as fashionable as the choruses are gargantuan: Todd Rundgren, Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac. Hell On Wheels give in-his-pomp Elton John a Jagger drawl; Moon adds a harmonica solo to a Meat Loaf song; Hog reimagines Rufus Wainwright as a pop-rock superstar; and Why Do Lovers Own Each Other? starts out as a musical theatre number before the Beach Boys and a church organist barge their way onstage.
MOR music is so often derided, but the Lemon Twigs show that if you play chicken with the juggernaut of critical opinion, the middle of the road can actually be the most thrillingly dangerous place to be.
words BEN WOOLHEAD
Another Knock At The Door (IYEARA Remixes) (Flooded Soil)
Remix albums are often a mixed bag, but the best seem to be the ones that have been remixed by one artist or the same team throughout. An early example of this is The Human League’s Love And Dancing that the band released under the pseudonym of Love Unlimited Orchestra, with producer Martin Rushent remixing the League’s Dare album into a seamless dance frenzy. More recently, Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here was taken apart and rebuilt entirely by jazz musician Makaya McCraven. Now, Mark Lanegan’s 2019 album Somebody’s Knocking has been given a complete overhaul.
Duke Spirit guitarist Toby Butler, producer Malcolm Carson and vocalist Paul O’Keeffe are IYEARA, who have fulfilled Lanegan’s dream of having one of his albums remixed from head to toe. IYEARA only surfaced in 2019, but have already remixed UNKLE, The Prodigy and Dave Gahan’s Humanist. On Another Knock…’s opener Disbelief Suspension, Lanegan’s vocals have a raw Alan Vega-like brutality to them that was maybe not so apparent on the original track. IYEARA’s electronic reworking of the original gives Lanegan’s vocals more space to breathe, something also evident on the likes of Letter Never Sent. This darker electronic realm ends up like a cross between early New Order 12” remixes doused in the cinematic sheen of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack, and is arguably the finest remix album in years.
words DAVID NOBAKHT
Source (Concord Jazz)
Despite everything else, 2020 will be looked back on as being a mighty year for the UK jazz scene, with damn fine albums released by Moses Boyd, Kamaal Williams and Nubya Garcia [pictured]. In the past, Garcia has collaborated with other musicians as part of the Nérija ensemble, but with Source the award-winning saxophonist is stepping out of the shadows and taking centre stage, with Bobby Womack and Solange producer Kwes in the production seat.
Garcia’s parents are part of the Windrush generation and whilst she was growing up, there was always music pumping out of the stereo in the living room, be it Sonny Rollins or heavy dub reggae. Garcia’s musical upbringing has seeped into the sound of Source: there are dub vibrations to be heard on Pace and the title track, flourishes of Brit-funk scattered throughout The Message Continues and the subtle soul of Boundless Beings, with Akenya on vocals. An uplifting celebration of different genres of music and social unity, with Garcia’s saxophone playing the powerful driving force behind it.
words DAVID NOBAKHT