The best new albums this week

by Juno Daily on 02.12.2022 at 18:03pm.
Last edited: 19.12.2022 at 17:33pm.

The big and the beautiful albums of the week

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Leftfield – This Is What We Do (Virgin)

It’s impossible to write about new work from an act like Leftfield without diving into a retrospective explaining exactly why expectations were so wildly high before pressing play. The name is tied to one of the most significant and influential, albeit relatively small, back catalogues in electronic music history — certainly from a UK perspective — with the startlingly original debut, Leftism, ranking on all-time best album lists since it landed in 1995.

That record transcended the scene and genre snobbery that — in the past at least — often prevented dance music from getting what you might call a fair hearing in the wider critics’ court. One of the first LPs of its kind to achieve that, it also set a template for much that followed as the first decade of rave as mainstream music played out. 1999’s Rhythm & Stealth, the long-awaited follow up, then cemented the artists, Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, in the upper echelons of British club stuff, at which point they could have hung their synths up and still been referenced today.

One did depart the project, but stayed active and remains highly respected among heads today, leaving Barnes to push on as a one-man show (albeit with frequent collaborators). Alternative Light Source would finally mark end of a 16 year hiatus, the start of a new period, and the album was released to some gushing reviews. What it lacked in the broken ground we all first fell in love with Leftfield for, it compensated with grand sound design, texture and finesse. Attributes we can also applaud This Is What We Do for, the latest offering in the solo era that pulls in favours from some incredibly talented and well-chosen voices.

Opening on the broken, electro-leaning ‘This Is What We Do’, Baines is clearly looking to set out a stall and send home the message that one of the pinnacle names in electronic beats is back. As a track it certainly makes an impactful intro, invoking other studio and live titans like Chemical Brothers. But the atmospheres that unfold as things progress really give a sense of pedigree at play, with elements referencing a range of cultural influences, from North Africa (‘Heart & Soul’) to the mechanical funk of proto-electro (‘City of Synths’), betraying an artist who has been immersed in the music world for a great number of years, while paying homage to Leftfield’s longstanding reputation for looking outside the obvious frames of reference.

Other highlights include the dark and teeth-clenched ‘Full Way Round’, which features the perfectly-matched lyrical delivery of Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten — a rowdy, riotous tune. Similarly heated emotions are evident on ‘Making A Difference’, with legendary northern English poet, author, and playwright Lemn Sissay on typically fine, outspoken form. Both nod to the politicised history of rave, and dance music’s slow emergence as 21st Century message-delivery device. This Is What We Do is probably not destined to change the world this time round, though, but nonetheless it’s a confident, expertly-executed record born into an incredibly uncertain age. An era when the bold, revolutionary noises these genres first caused moral panic for seem increasingly confined to the rear view mirror, while the standards and benchmarks to meet have never been higher.

Carl Cox – Electronic Generations (BMG)

Even though this is Carl Cox’s fifth album of original compositions, it’s not doing him any disservice to say he’s still way better known as a DJ than a producer. Although perhaps it’s fair to point out that as one of the most instantly recognisable and generally all round successful faces in the industry it’d be pretty hard not to be.

Fair play to the man, he’s set up for life spreading his big loveable smile and equally loveable vibes around the planet, but instead he’s chosen – or, we concede, may have been forced by the pandemic – to devote some time to his home studio in Melbourne and make some tunes of his own.

The results are not drastically different from his DJ sets, in that instrumental, tough edged techno is very much the order of the day here as it is there. The best thing about it is, however, is that having decided to use techno as his medium, he’s drawn on his more than 30 years of experience in the field to truly represent just about every corner of the genre across the 15 tracks here.

So we get a touch of everything – as long as it’s techno. There’s the electro evolution of the album’s open, its title track, leading onto the brutal acid gnarls and thump of ‘How It Makes You Feel’, a funky disco flavour inexplicably emerging out of the wreckage to resemble the sleek groove of Jeff Mills in his Purpose Maker mode. Then there’s the cagey, minimal Richie Hawtin sound on ‘Toys Out Of The Pram’, the Green Velvet-esque synchopation of ‘Bring It Back’, the Belleville Three-style prodding technofunk of ‘Lite Lock’… and so on.

It’s a little like an international tour of the ages and flavours of techno, and while that might not be a huge challenge of a listen to his public, it’s full of life, never gets stuck in one mode longer than its welcome and will doubtless be what his fans are hoping for.

David Lance Callaghan – English Primitive II (Tiny Global)

The twin national catastrophies of Brexit and Covid have been the cause of much self-examination among the British and especially the English, at least the more intelligent ones. The state of the nation vibe of English Primitive II by David Lance Callaghan certainly fits into an artistic trend that connects Deep England by Gazelle Twin – the red Mr Punch character adopted by her for that LP also makes an appearance on the sleeve here – the current Orbital/Sleaford Mods collaboration ‘Dirty Rat’ (“you voted for them”) and recent recordings like ‘Shit Britain’, ‘Flag’ and ‘Imperfect’ by the soon-to-be-massive Benefits.

Callaghan’s pedigree is already immense, from the indie heroes Wolfhounds to the Too Pure-signed Moonshake, way ahead of their time by applying sampled beats and dub techniques to their vicious songwriting. Amazingly, ‘English Primitive II’ feels like an amalgamation of that musical history, filed under folk/Americana but actually closer to the pastoral electronica (future folk?) that Robert Wyatt and Ultramarine made together. ‘Beautiful Launderette’, for instance, coasts along gracefully on junkyard percussion, possibly aping the revolving washing machines, while gorgeous vocal harmonies swell and retract. And yes, it is a tribute to the glorious local launderette, open all hours and never finding a job too dirty to take on.

The highlights are plentiful. ‘Bear Factory’, sounding like Captain Beefheart with a string quartet. ‘The Burnet Rose’, so simple with its echoing guitar and precious little else to accompany the pure voice. Closing track ‘London By Blakelight’, with its bullying hip-hop beat and its almost shanty-like group vocal, the superlative guitar creeping in and tingling your spine.

All in all, it’s delivered with all the confidence and fervour of an artist on a mission, to tell stories and paint pictures rather than simply sell records. Riding a true carousel of moods and atmospheres, indeed commanding them, this album is an experience in itself that can’t be recommended more highly.

Move D & Dman – All You Can Tweak (Smallville)

Those with a close eye on the techno transmitting out of the Mannheim-Heidelberg area over the years might well be familiar with the work of Dirk Mantei. As Dman he’s largely operated as a cult figure connected to the same world David Moufang (Move D) moves in, starting right back in the early days of the seminal Source Records and later on his own Source sublabel 800trak, more recently on Workshop. He’s not exactly become a household name outside of these relatively niche circles,, but he has a consistent quality in the realms of deep n’ dusty hardware jams which sits comfortably alongside the likes of Lowtec, Kassem Mosse, Even Tuell and indeed Roger 23, with whom Mantei recorded the 222 album released in 2020.

Last spotted together on the Homeworks 1 12” back in 1994, it’s a pleasant surprise but also completely logical to find Move D and Dman back on the same record nearly 30 years later. The two have remained friends over the years, and with Mantei’s renewed activity alongside Moufang’s unerring output and the pair’s propensity for jamming on hardware, it was surely on a matter of time until some music materialised. What we have on All You Can Tweak is exactly what you would expect – understated, expertly executed 4/4 rollers played by experienced heads who know how to dial in their intended sound without fail. There’s space for impulse and diversions, but this is naturally flowing music that can hold down a groove without fail.

‘Doomscrolling’ is a fine case in point, revolving around a steadfast, dubby rhythm section and keeping the variations sparse but significant when they do arise. The simplicity of the elements on offer mean that the changes in vibe are delivered without resorting to production histrionics. It’s the warm blanket of pad lingering behind the bones of ‘All You Can Beat’ which makes it into an exquisite deep house immersion chamber, while ‘Colon.ize’ revels in a particular reverb send to ping out a cosmic quality across 10 minutes of trippiness.

It’s interesting to see them revisiting ‘Wired To The Mothership,’ a track very much of it’s time from the full-length 1993 CD of Homeworks (A Collection From The Source). The approach is light-footed, retaining that early 90s organ-like bassline and the distinctive sound of bleep, which was a big influence in those early years of Source. The track juts out a little in the context of the other music on this seven-track album, but there is also a certain direct, no-nonsense quality which has remained Mantei and Moufang’s approach for all this time. When dealing in such well-worn practices, real quality shines through, and All You Can Tweak is packed full of it.

The Devil Wears Prada – Color Decay (Solid State)
From their origins as a Christian metalcore band, to their rebirth as genre saviours, all the way up to their recent identity crisis and line-up shifts, The Devil Wears Prada, have seemingly always thrived in the face of adversity.

Often written off as another genericore group of the early noughties scene, 2011’s, ‘Dead Throne’, showcased an unprecedented transformation into a rattling behemoth, capitalising on the aggressive momentum started by their, ‘Zombie EP’. Following the darker, outlier style of, ‘8:18’, and departures of two thirds of their founding members, ‘Transit Blues’, would arrive in 2016, and is often heralded as not only the group’s finest work to date but a modern metalcore classic.

2019’s, ‘The Act’, marked a conscious shift to a more alternative metal demeanour, with lead vocalist Mike Hranica, taking up guitar, and with those lessons learned, ‘Color Decay’, marks another momentous metamorphosis into, what can credibly be considered to be, an entirely new project.

2019’s ‘The Act’ marked a conscious shift to a more alternative metal demeanour, with lead vocalist Mike Hranica, taking up guitar, and with those lessons learned, ‘Color Decay’, marks another momentous metamorphosis into, what can credibly be considered to be, an entirely new project.

Gone are the chugging riffs, mammoth breakdowns and cavernous heaviness, and in their stead, are lush hues of post-hardcore serenity, with Hranica and guitarist/clean vocalist Jeremy DePoyster often trading off one another or singing in tandem, creating an audible aesthetic similar to that of warring emotions on the anthemic single, ‘Broken’, or the delicate hush of, ‘Time’.

There are still shades of old to be found on the seething aggression towards the backend of, ‘Watchtower’, or the slow crawl out of anguish to the light on standout penultimate cut, ‘Hallucinate’, while, ‘Twenty-Five’, recalls the spoken word atmospheric screamo of La Dispute which the group have been toying with all the way back since, ‘Home For Grave, Pt. II’, from, ‘Transit Blues’.

While those who initially flocked to The Devil Wears Prada for their crushing heft may find themselves dumbfounded or underwhelmed, any who’ve been paying close attention will have seen this subtle transformation coming a mile off. Many take the leap, and most fall flat, but, ‘Color Decay’, is a pristine example in how to naturally progress, eschew the older, unwanted aspects of past works and re-establish oneself without losing all semblance of musical identity.

Nyx Nott – Themes From (Melodic)

Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat does a very neat line in side hustles. Do check out his Little Box Of Hiss cassette label, especially Toygasm’s ‘Nighttime Rainbows’, an album recorded with a bunch of toys, apps and the help of his children. And all four albums by his charity-shop-record-sampling L. Pierre offshoot are well worth exploring if you’re not familiar.

L. Pierre hung up his boots in 2017 with the brilliant ‘1948-’, which sampled ‘Mendelssohn Violin Concerto’ performed in… wait for it… 1948 by New York Philharmonic from YouTube. The recording is widely held to be the first long-playing vinyl album. L. Pierre’s version came as vinyl-only, no downloads, no sleeve even, and had a locked groove that meant it didn’t end until the listener wanted it to. And the title is like an unfinished tombstone with no date of death. Lots to unpick there, right?

Anyway, out of the ashes of L. Pierre came Nyx Nott, whose first album, 2020’s ‘Aux Pieds De La Nuit’ is a proper things-that-go-bump-in-the-night sort of record. It featured a track called ‘Theme From’, which was part a separate project of theme tunes for imaginary Netflix shows. The plan was for an entire record of 90-second tracks, but Moffat felt they were too gimmicky so he took the idea and ran with it. Drawing from actual TV and film music library samples, he fleshed out the snippets into full-blown songs.

On ‘Theme From’ he really captures that library feel, the 60s/70s vibe isn’t far away on tracks like the hectic jazz of ‘Caper’ or the swirling emotive strings of ‘Docudrama’. As you will have gathered the titles all come from the sort of shows they made Moffat think of when he listened back. So ‘Porno’ is late-night slo-mo sleazefest of lazy cymbals, moody bassline and unsettling strings, while the acid squelches and jazzy parps of ‘Hardboiled’ conjure up images of John Woo action flicks or the steamy nighttime backstreets of Scorsese’s New York.

Moffat is a real treasure and his work outside of Arab Strap is something you really need to tune in to if you’re not bingeing on it already.

Cosmic Putrefaction – Crepuscular Dirge For The Blessed Ones (Profound Lore)

While Italy is often heralded for its contributions to the prog rock scene of the seventies, it’s almost fitting that several of today’s progressive death metal acts hail from the same side of the Adriatic. Last year, Schio based Ad Nauseam put out one of the most complex, avant-garde projects the scene has borne witness to in many a moon, and now Cosmic Putrefaction of Milan stake their claim for 2022’s most hypnotic, depraved entry.

The brainchild of one Gabriele Garmaglia, who solely handles all production, composition and instrumentation duties; this one-man mammoth combines the tech-death intricacies of Gorguts and Cryptopsy with Lovecraftian atmospherics and haunting ethereal shifts in tone.

From the Morse code blast beating percussion, to the hallucinogenic finger-work on display, the entirety of, ‘Crepuscular Dirge For The Blessed Ones’, sounds far removed from the thrashing bedlam of the American death metal scene. Rather, it channels avant-garde prog motifs in a manner akin to dosing the genre with a humdinger batch of acid.

From the cavernous dirges that the light-consuming hellscape, ‘From Resounding Silence To The Obsidian Womb’, plummets, to the acoustic meanderings before the crescendo of, ‘Twisting Spirals In The Murk’, it’s evident that this work has been poured over, analysed and approached with an auteur-like vision towards cosmic horror and compositional fluidity. Not to discredit peers within the scene, but the scope of Cosmic Putrefaction and this grandiose third full-length, goes far beyond the machinations of typical fare.

Garmaglia has conjured a truly unique, often desolate and despair-filled sonic experience, yet radiating some soft semblance of brightness scattered throughout, as if to indicate there is hope beyond the black, otherworldly clouds of gloom, but one must traverse deep down the abyssal depths in order to climb back out.

While not the admittedly fun, retro thrashing of say, Undeath; ‘Crepuscular Dirge For The Blessed Ones’, isn’t necessarily for moshing or headbanging, it’s the thinking person’s death metal, with the promise of repeat listens opening vistas of solemnity but with the purposeful transcendental nihilism satiated by the project’s end.

Waajeed – Memoirs Of Hi Tech Jazz (Tresor)

It’s difficult to think of another artist to so successfully have traversed the hip-hop/house divide as Detroit maestro, Waajeed. The metamorphosis from his Platinum Pied Pipers beginnings to the soul-searing four/four material he’s best known for today is entirely striking, powerfully demonstrating his unparalleled stylistic scope. His ‘Memoirs Of Hi Tech Jazz’ LP chronicles a yet more profound transition, paying homage to the new-found leisure time experienced by Detroit’s black community following the explosion of the city’s transformative automotive industry.

Predictably, the music is exceptional, with mesmerising grooves propelling limber jazz refrains and soul-rich harmonics throughout. One of many highlights, ‘Snake Eyes’ bursts with once-repressed energy, with fluid sax solos dancing over effervescent bass and raw rhythmic thrust. ‘Keep It Coming’ is effortlessly engaging, with freeform synth lines fusing with soaring sax motifs as spritely bass and scattered drums maintain the groove.

Feel-good abandon continues into the joyous dance flex of ‘Let’s Give It Up’, with stirring vocals gliding over captivating chords and sax bursts, before the hypnotic horns of ‘The Dub’ mesmerise as they hover over throbbing drums and sturdy bass notes. The atmospheric strings and brooding tones of interlude ‘Rouge’ prove powerfully evocative, while the driving chords and stripped topography of ‘Right Now’ overflow with a similarly affecting intensity. As ever, this is stunning work from Waajeed, proving himself once again to be one of the ho-ho game’s most compelling protagonists.

Galcher Lustwerk – 100% Galcher (Ghostly International)
House music was made for artists – for songwriters with personalities who could sit in front of their music and carry it. The lack of vocal house groups in the vein of Ten City is often lamented, and there has been some acknowledgement of addressing the void with acts like musclecars coming through. Meanwhile the likes of Seven Davis Jr help remind us there’s space for identity in this club music – it doesn’t have to belong exclusively to anonymous studio bods.

Galcher Lustwerk’s instant success circa 2013 supports this idea, because his canny blend of sublime, deeper-than-deep house and laconic rap was something to latch onto when so much house was entirely faceless. Hip house was an acquired taste even at its inception and many have gotten the recipe all wrong, but Lustwerk knew exactly how to pitch his delivery on both fronts, and his arrival was best cemented with his iconic 100% Galcher mix for online series Blowing Up The Workshop. While there were two attendant 12”s which carried some of the key tracks, it was the whole mix which drew so many people into Lustwerk’s world, and it’s telling that Ghostly International have deemed it worthy of an official release nearly 10 years later.

It’s still as flawless as it was back then, packed full of those sleek, minimal-friendly beats and oceanic pads, sounding charmingly handwrought but also refined. Lustwerk’s music satisfies on every level, and each one of these tracks shines as bright now as they did on first release, tucked away in the folds of the online mix megacomplex.

Flevans – A ShortDistance To Fall (Jalapeno)

If it’s become a bit of cliché to point out that as we hurtle towards the winter solstice, music that brings a little sunshine into our lives packs an extra punch. Forget the scene of a snow capped mountain on the sleeve, the latest Flevans album is a ray of sheer warmth and brightness. Nigel Evans from Brighton has hit on a beach side cocktail of interlocking influences here, drawing heavily on disco and funk but also dragging hip-hop, electronica, soul and exotica into its luscious orbit.

There’s a friendly, unpretentious and approachable vibe to Evans’ productions that makes it a pleasure to listen to – see ‘For A While’, with its pitched up vocal and seductive bassline, the slow motion disco and heavily filtered vocal samples on ‘We Walk Alone’, and the poignant piano tinkling on ‘This Troubled Earth’ are all worth checking. Atmosphere-wise. We swing from the heads-pleasing DJ Shadow-esque breakbeat exercises of ‘In Shadows’ to the instant party that is ‘Digits’, meaning the moves never get tired. If effortlessly cheery is how you like your music – but showing enough restraint to avoid cheesiness – then you’ll Fall for this album instantly.

Dezron Douglas – Atalaya (International Anthem US)
Chicago-born record label International Anthem has been a reliable spearhead of innovative new jazz for a while now. Recently, they have released boundary-pushing works by the likes of Tom Skinner, Makaya McCraven, Alabaster DePlume, and Jeff Parker, all to rapturous receptions. Their latest release, Atalaya, provided by the magniﬁcent jazz bassist Dezron Douglas, is a refreshingly self-assured album. Where lots of modern jazz feels the need to blend genres and push jazz in progressively surprising directions, Douglas has crafted an album that is content to reside within a familiar jazz context.

That’s not to say that Atalaya is unoriginal; only that Douglas’ individuality is quieter than many in the current jazz mainstream. In other words, just as there is space for brilliant, fusion-heavy artists, it’s nice to know that there is space for the warm, acoustic palette of the classic jazz band. Regarding this album’s band, they’re on top form here. With Douglas on bass, George Burton on piano, Joe Dyson Jr. on drums, and Emilio Modeste on saxophone, it’s a record of magniﬁcent, stirring performances. It’s hard to pick highlights from such a consistently great album, but “Rosé”, “J Bird”, “More Coffee Please”, and “Coyoacán” stand out on ﬁrst listen. Needless to say, Atalaya deserves a spot on any jazz fan’s shelf.

Counterparts – A Eulogy For Those Still Here (Pure Noise)

Canadian metalcore outfit, Counterparts, are arguably one of the most consistent acts in the scene today. Their nuanced yet hyper energetic melding of melodic hardcore tropes with metallic heft and emotive abandon, has garnered them a legion of avid followers, while the subtle sonic shifts between projects has helped evade any signs of stagnation across their seven full-lengths.

While 2019’s, ‘Nothing Left To Love’, exuded a penchant towards more melodic fare, ‘A Eulogy For Those Still Here’, re-examines the cathartic angst of earlier material such as 2017’s brutally intense, ‘You’re Not You Anymore’, but with one foot unsure of the chaotic trudging the other finds itself so rooted.

Delving into earnest, palpable meditations on grief, loss and hopelessness, frontman Brendan Murphy has rarely sounded so wounded or at a loss. The anguish that resonates through, ‘Whispers Of Your Death’, is made all the more real upon the realisation that the track serves as an ode to Murphy’s cat who sadly passed away. It’s a touching display of vulnerability as well as a testament to the deep bond and companionship forged by pet ownership, as well as the crushing weight of loss.

Reliably mammoth breakdowns are juxtaposed with ethereal melodies, and serene clean vocals on cuts such as, ‘Skin Beneath The Scar’, providing dynamic moments of calm, but it’s still in their most unhinged, oppressive aspects that the band stake their case for one of the most endlessly consistent and vehement acts in the scene today. It may not convince or intrigue anyone not already fully invested, but for those who like their hardcore with an equal reverence towards expulsion and implosion, both musically and emotionally, ‘A Eulogy For Those Still Here’, is a rewarding, often unforgiving triumph.

Daeva – Through Sheer Will & Black Magic (20 Buck Spin)

The debut full-length from Philadelphia blackened death metal hybridizers, Daeva, has been slowly gestating since the release of their immense 2017 EP, ‘Pulsing Dark Absorptions’. In the five long years since, the group haven’t necessarily strayed from their initial formula, rather, they’ve sharpened and honed what made their earlier work so potent, and refined the chaos into a malevolent sonic beast.

‘Through Sheer Will & Black Magic’, takes a modern approach to the tropes of old, with its oppressive atmosphere and nihilistic abandon. Guitarist Steve Jansson’s riffs are crafted at the ugly nexus where tremolo picking and thrash shredding coalesce in despicable fashion with a frenetic mangling of the fretboard bolstered by cavernous yet clear production. In an age where tonality serves as the bedrock for any and all metallic nuance, the self-aware disregard for the machinations of their influences benefits the project greatly, conjuring an experience akin to listening to both a retro black metal release of the late eighties at the exact same time as spinning a modern death metal record, with less or more overlap depending on your preference.

Vocalist Edward Gonet eschews the more tortured commonplace howls or guttural throating, instead channelling the likes of Tom G. Warrior from Celtic Frost or Mayhem’s Dead, with his unusually intelligible delivery and snarling rasp.

Lyrically centred around all things macabre, occult, and horrific, the work teems with credence for its forebearers without ever resting too firmly on any one specific laurel. From the frosted bedlam of, ‘The Architect & The Monument’, to the more tech death maelstrom of closer, ‘Luciferian Return’, this is a project by scholars of their field, designed to instil that same intimidating malevolence they clearly creatively thrive upon.

Yet another phenomenal entry into the modern extreme metal sphere, handled by the wonderfully decrepit souls at 20 Buck Spin, continuing their ascent to becoming one of the most vital labels in the scene today.

This week’s reviewers: Noah Sparkes, Ben Willmott, Martin Hewitt, Zach Buggy, Neil Mason, Oli Warwick.