Juno Recommends Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s September 2020

Review: It could not have been less on-trend at the time. It's 1995 and the UK is getting to grips with the commercial potential of rave, house music and other dance genres, while momentum is building behind the most unashamedly 90s and British music movement in history, Britpop. Oasis are readying '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' and Blur have just introduced us to 'Parklife'. Then along come Slowdive with their third album, arguably their deepest, most serene and captivating in the cinematic sense. The vision of guitarist, singer and songwriter Neil Halstead, the tapestry of beautiful melodies presented across the record owe plenty to electronic and ambient music, although in many ways were ahead of their time in terms of how those are interpreted by a live band rooted in rock. In short, a landmark release.

Review: Polly Jean Harvey is currently midway through an epic reissue series, delivering freshly re-mastered versions of numerous albums across a multitude of formats. The latest set to get a new vinyl pressing is 1993's "Rid of Me", which saw the celebrated singer-songwriter make her major label bow after years spent operating on small indie imprints. Widely considered one of Harvey's finest moments, the set was far more raw and aggressive than her previous work - despite using the same stripped-back line-up of musicians as its predecessor - with producer Steve Albini, famed for his work with the Pixies, conjuring a particularly "psychotic" sound (as its main protagonist has since called the album in interviews).

Review: It's easy to forget, or take for granted, how consistently impressive and solid Pixies were during the late-1980s and early-90s. Thankfully here's a 30th anniversary deluxe edition of 'Bossanova' to bring memories flooding back, a record that stands up with their finest but gets less airplay, playlist love and written references today compared with the likes of 'Surfa Rosa' and 'Doolittle'. Granted, this came after those seminal moments in alt-rock, noise pop and garage punk, so its track list is less sonically arresting. By now we knew to expect shrill, anthemic explosions of riff 'All Over The World' juxtaposes with low-slung, nonchalant grooves; 'Hang Wire' and 'Rock Music''s air of borderline-heavy metal, and the grunginess of 'Stormy Weather'. But that doesn't detract from the fact every song here is a prime example of why this band are so feted.

Review: New Orleans funk outfit The Wild Magnolias were active in the mid 70s, releasing two albums and then regrouping in the 90s. Their sound is in step with their more renowned Louisiana peers, but certainly running hotter than the likes of The Meters. "Handa Wanda" is a stirring, effervescent call and response epic that shows the band at their best, rocking a wall of sound approach that keeps the pressure up the whole way through. "(Somebody Got) Soul, Soul, Soul" is a more fluid track, but it's certainly no slouch in the energy department either. This is hi-octane funk to get people shaking and sweaty.

Review: By now we all know Glass Animals were born in and among Oxford's psychedelic pop scene, rather than the trap spots of Atlanta. Although you could be forgiven for making that mistake, if this is your first encounter. The four piece take plenty of inspiration from sweat-soaked, kick and snare-laden southern US sounds, sexy R&B and pimp hop, but it's not a case of imitation as the highest form of flattery - the beats can seriously hold their own, even if the tones will never actually be theirs. Socio-psychological discourse aside, 'Dreamland' is the sum-total of our overall point. There's a sticky, sleazy and altogether intoxicating vibe running through most of what's here, conjuring images of slick-to-touch flesh in deep midsummer party mode. Just check the fittingly explicit 'Tokyo Drifting', featuring Florida rapper Denzel Curry, and the rest should fall into place.

Review: If you felt Angel Olsen's 'All Mirrors' album would benefit from a stripped down, pared back interpretation this is your lucky day. Far from some rushed attempt to release anything into the music industry's COVID-19 infested waters, the intimate, often hushed and delicate versions here are actually the original recordings of the tracks, which were then elevated to the scale we heard on that LP of last year.

The plan was always to release these as a counterpoint to the bigger sounding takes, and there will be few reasonably minded people who won't delight in that decision. It's as if we've watched her sepia-hued show-stopping performance in the main ballroom and then retired for intimate drinks in the dressing room. A staggering sibling to what was already one of our favourite records from recent years.

Review: How the mighty fall, and the once-belittled are finally held up as the prophets their disciples always knew them to be. Conor Oberst has gone from emo folk pin up most people over the age of 20 thought was a little, well, teen maudlin, to a genuinely revered songwriter, with this 10th Bright Eyes album, their first in ten years no less, something of a testament to the qualities more people have started to pick up on.

Of course there's plenty here that falls in line with their gloomy, introverted. outsider youth, folk-rock calling cards. So in many ways not much has changed. But 'Down In The Weeds' is more than simply evidence of the public's fickle nature. It's about a band who have been honing their craft for well over a decade hitting a creative peak while new ears are listening to their back catalogue from fresh perspectives and appreciating what many missed the first time round.

Review: exactly inspire the most loving of praise, but regularly receive derisive comments when they fall short of creating new musical iconography. Our expectations are ridiculous, our demands on artists even bigger, despite the fact there have been some incredible cover versions over the years. 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' as delivered here by Whitney and Katie Crutchfield's Waxahatchee folk-rock project, is definitely one of them. And it's not alone on this album. A collection of ridiculously smooth renditions of classics we know and a few we might not, it's a joy to play through, with special nods needed to the lilting guitars of 'A.M.AM', 'Rain' and its sophisticated, jazz-pop moods, and 'Bank Head''s castaway R&B-infused chill.

Review: Whenever you see the name, read about or hear anything by Washed Out you can't help feel a prang of nostalgia and, in 2020 at least, a twinge of envy. Known to some as Ernest Greene, towards the end of the 00s he burst, or rather eased himself onto a chillwave scene then in rude health. A time when things had found a lackadaisical groove, before the last decade's cynical affectations set in. He's not veered from those windswept beaches since, and this latest effort has moments that take us closer to the whispy almost-house music of an oceanside cocktail bar than ever before (namely 'Time To Walk Away', one of three tracks here unveiled before the album arrived). It's blissed out stuff but it's also pretty poignant, with lyrical themes often centring on taking stock and working out what to do with the hand you've been left with.

Review: How could we not recommend Jason Molina? Seven years after his tragic death at the tender age of 39, his work is more essential than ever - a troubled but ridiculously talented acoustic troubadour who genuinely, honestly gets it. Work that's just as likely to inspire and reassure as it is to break hearts wide open, a back catalogue playing out like the memoirs of human experience. Thankfully, that back catalogue is massive, with a capital M. We're talking about a guy who had enough gems piled up to compile an entire box set of original material in 2007, which they say was just a fraction of his stash at that time. 'Eight Gates' takes nine previously unreleased and unheard songs recorded in 2008, while living in London, and it feels like an old friend has arrived for a long-overdue catchup. Familiar, new, and just as precious as ever.

Review: When Mark Eitzel first unveiled 'The Ugly American' there were a few murmurs about the fact this was his second album of non-original material, seizing on moments from his back catalogue with a revisionist's eye (or ear). But this was missing the point, a collaborative concept sees work written during his American Music Club era given an injection of new inspiration thanks to a group of Greek musicians he hooked up with. Bringing winds, reeds, bouzouki and mandolins, among other instruments, the result is transcendental and yet familiar, a folk-ish journey through the mythologised landscapes of southern Europe as seen through the outsider's gaze, with a culture clash at play thanks to the western indie pop foundations. The combination works effortlessly, with some moments of real ingenuity, and better yet it will sound great on 180g vinyl.

Review: It's easy to see 'Tangled Up', the opening track on Cranes' latest, as apt music for our time. There's a haunting feeling of desolation and isolation underpinning the pared back album intro, which then gives way to the kind of explosive guitar work that signals pent up frustrations. But then this is also their most conventional record in terms of aesthetics. Tracks like 'Sweet Unknown' and 'Can't Get Free' are almost jarringly traditional considering the band we're dealing with. Respectively almost-folk and uptempo indie rock, these are contrasted by the raucous punk of 'Breeze', 'Anger Bell''s druggy, jangly rhythmic hooks, and 'Let Go', a dark and muscular slice of party starting metal. Alison Shaw's vocals complementing guitars and drums because they have the capacity to be both commanding and delicate; a sonic seductress who barely needs to whisper for our attention.