Published on
September 6, 2024
Category
Features
Essential weekend listening.
This week’s rundown is by VF’s Kelly Doherty and contributors Annabelle Van Dort, Emily Hill and James Hammond.
Molchat Doma
Belaya Polosa
(Sacred Bones Records)
Molchat Doma went viral back in 2020 with their hypnotic contemporary take on dark wave and subsequently relocated from Minsk to Los Angeles where Belaya Polosa, their fourth studio album was recorded. Keeping that industrial feel at the core of their music, this album sees them evolve to new heights exploring and experimenting with percussion and chunky drum machine beats indebted to hip hop and ’90s dance music. – EH
MJ Lenderman
Manning Fireworks
(Anti)
North Carolina songwriter MJ Lenderman unleashes his fourth solo album and it’s a wryly observational collection of anthems for losers. A polished indie-Americana affair, Manning Fireworks is packed with references and the minutiae of living as the underdog. Riding a fine-line between literary excellence and gross-out humour, Lenderman’s builds a world that may be miserable to experience but impossible to pull away from. A funny and odd highlight in guitar music this year. – KD
Farida Amadou
When it Rains it Pours
(Week-End Records)
Farida Amadou’s When it Rains It Pours finds the Brussels-based electric bassist delving further into a language of free improvisation and expanded sound palettes for the bass. At the core of these pieces is Amadou’s distinct ability to carefully expand and contract her improvisations without losing the sense of momentum, employing a range of techniques that include circular patterns, percussive striking of the strings, mangled loops, and feedback and distortion. Cathartic, exploratory and with a curious balance between spontaneity and composition, there’s plenty here for lovers of adventurous sounds to delight in. – JH
Joe McPhee
Black Magic Man
(Superior Viaduct)
Appearing in 1975, Joe McPhee’s Black Magic Man appeared as a sister release to his trailblazing debut release Nation Time. Recorded during sessions that led to two albums worth of material over the course of a weekend at Poughkeepsie’s Vassar College, Black Magic Man, whilst often overshadowed by Nation Time, is a further testament to the remarkable music of McPhee and his collaborators. With his work initially neglected in the US, Black Magic Man became the first release of the Swiss Hat Hut series, and a batch of key LPs from the series get a needed reissue alongside Black Magic Man this week courtesy of Superior Viaduct. – JH
Ishmael Ensemble
Ritual
(Sevvern Songs)
Bristol-based collective Ishmael Ensemble expand their sonic palette into new terrains with the release of their third album, Rituals. The group seamlessly blends jazz, electronica, and dub to forge their own genre-bending, cinematic whole. Rituals brims with a newfound energy, full of luscious, layered textures fit for cathartic arena shows. – AVD
Various Artists
Studio One Soul 2
(Soul Jazz Records)
Another long-out-of-print Studio One compilation receives a much-needed repress, with Studio One 2 released back on shelves for its 17th anniversary—courtesy of Stuart Baker’s Soul Jazz Records. Shining a light on Jamaica’s enduring fascination with American soul and funk music, Studio One Soul 2 explores how these soulful strands form the crux of reggae’s early DNA. Featuring legends like Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy, The Heptones and Jackie Mittoo, this wide-ranging compilation includes stone-cold classics as well as obscurities waiting to be rediscovered. – AVD
Various Artists
Orsova
(12th Isle)
Every record announced by 12th Isle is a cause for excitement, and their latest continues this run. The Scottish label and collective, spearheaded by DJs and tastemakers including Fergus Clark (who also runs an excellent NTS show) drop a compilation that moves to otherworldly dimensions across 6 tracks spanning the electronic music ethereal plain. Highlights include a cosmic flight path marked by Berlin-based Irish producer Der Opium Queen. – EH
