The best new albums this week

Our writers’ verdict on the albums that matter

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Fila Brazillia – Retrospective Redux 90-22 (Re:Warm)

When The Housemartins claimed to be the fourth best band in Hull they weren’t wrong. Releasing records on the city’s influential Pork Recordings, Fila Brazillia are in my top three, easy. Formed in 1990, Steve Cobby and David McSherry made music that stood out. With their louche beats and mellow grooves, their output was prolific, 10 albums between 1994 and 2004, and that doesn’t include a mountain of great remixes or work under nom de plumes, which is a whole other story.

‘Retrospective Redux 90-22’ is their second collection, their first – ‘Retrospective 1990-2006’ – marked a quiet hanging up of boots… which they re-laced in 2020, returning with the ‘MMXX’ EP. Maybe this new compilation is a clearing of the way for more. Let’s hope.

‘Retrospective Redux 90-22’ splits their career into four periods – the early Pork sample-heavy years as evidenced on opener ‘The Sheriff’ from their debut album ‘Old Codes New Chaos’ and the low-slung bass and beats of ‘A Zed And Two Ls’ from 1995’s ‘Maim That Tune’. There’s the later Pork years, see ‘Little Dipper’ from 96’s utterly brilliant ‘Black Market Gardening’, the advent of their own 23 Records label and the live band years (marvel at the key-pimping disco of ‘Bumblehaun’ from 2002’s ‘Jump Leads’). Finally, there’s the post-Hull years which found them working remotely on tracks like ‘Hush Hush’ from the most recent EP and and a whole new cut, ‘Toro De Fuego’ a joyful Latin-flecked belter that shows the pair have lost none of their vigour. The collection also includes two tracks only previously available digitally – ‘Madame Le Fevre’ from 2004’s ‘The Life And Times of Phoebus Brumal’ and the standalone 2007 single, ‘Neanderthal’.

For newcomers, ‘Retrospective Redux 90-22’ is a perfect jumping off point. Watch out though, it’s a voyage that will have you reaching for the credit card. This is a collection that should find itself on heavy rotation round your place for the entire summer.

NM

Matthew Herbert x London Contemporary Orchestra – The Horse  (Modern Recordings/BMG)

Enigmatic doesn’t even come close when describing Matthew Herbert. In an electronic music scene that’s not just defined by, but in many cases purposefully interferential and familiar, he has always occupied a place so far removed from the rest it might as well be in another galaxy, let alone genre. 

Over the years we’ve had entire shows based on the life of a pig – complete with tracks made from the sounds of a sty and inhabitants – and records constructed from objects and situations within the food chain. Tracks have been forged out of human hair and skin. And, of course, one LP was laid down amid sessions inside the Houses of Parliament, at a landfill site, and the lobby of the British Museum. 

All this is before we mention the early micro house, that landmark Roisin Murphy stuff and 2015’s The Shakes, which saw his long-awaited return to writing dance music ‘proper’. Which is exactly the point at which analysis of his efforts becomes particularly fascinating, because even with all the curious concepts and bold background ideas, his work has often still contained plenty of danceable bits. 

The Horse is a case in point. Based around a full-size horse skeleton, chosen following a search for the largest animal corpse to explore musically, so much of what’s here invokes images of wilderness, emptiness, midnight rituals around camp fire, and a resolute determination to capture the kind of naturalism we have grown so distant from. Parts sound like the chants and shouts of tribalistic bacchanal, passionate expressions of freedom and autonomy. Nevertheless, ‘The Horse Is Put To Work’ and ‘The Rider’ break from this by bringing in more traditional electronic music totems and structures, while never veering away from the experimental vision that always sits at the heart of Herbert’s output.

MH

Baxter Dury – I Thought I Was Better Than You (Heavenly)

Round our house, when we spot the offspring of the rich and famous following in their illustrious parents’ footsteps it’s always greeted with a cheery “I wonder how they got their big break?”. Baxter Dury is well aware of the elephant in the room as far as he goes. His old man, Ian, left behind some big boots. “Trapped in an awkward place between something you’re actually quite good at, and somebody else’s success” is how he succinctly puts it. And he really is quite good at what he does. All six of his solo albums since 2002’s ‘Len Parrot’s Memorial Lift’ say so.

Baxter wrote about his complicated childhood in the excellent 2021 book ‘Chaise Lounge’ and with ‘I Thought I Was Better You’ he kind of provides the soundtrack to those written words. It’s not something he’s gone at head-on musically before. Telling his story through a series of dreamlike events that trace his formative years, here he confronts a childhood that was the double-edged sword of being Ian Dury’s kids.

On the cornerstone ‘Shadow’ he talks about being “a prisoner of famous parents” and, as he deftly puts it, “… you want to be like Frank Ocean / But you don’t sound like him, you sound just like Ian”. And while he might sound like his dad, Baxter’s music isn’t much like. The loose hip hop grooves of tracks like ‘Crashes’ and ‘Pal White Nissan’ are a nod to the music him and his mates – “graffiti boys with colourful shoelaces and boomboxes” – were listening to while they were dragged up.

It’s a really punchy record too, 10 tracks, nothing longer than three and half minutes. You’ve got to love the helium vocals on ‘Celebrate Me’ and the way the perky ‘Sincere’ with its girl group vocal sonically melts in front of your ears. The record is also full of female voices – the likes of Eska Mtungwazi, JGrrey, Madeline Hart – who take on the role of Baxter’s subconscious, often dominating like on the towering ‘Crowded Rooms’.

It must be difficult making your way in the same sphere as a famous parent – the artist needs to feel they’re where they are on merit, the outside perception is you are not. On ‘I Thought I Was Better Than You’ Baxter emerges from his father’s shadow by facing up to it. That it’s taken him seven albums and 20 years says a lot about that shadow. That this is one of his finest moments makes it all worthwhile.

NM

Ben Folds – What Matter Most (New West)

It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a project from Ben Folds. Over the past decade we’ve seen the reformation of his original 90’s trio Ben Folds Five for their 2012 comeback album The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind, his orchestral compositions and 2015’s subsequent collaboration with baroque chamber collective yMusic; So There. While that album featured 8 new cuts with the final third of the record devoted to the aforementioned orchestral pieces, it’s been almost a decade since the man has put pen to paper and his name to a collection of material.

The absence making the heart grow fonder colloquialism aside, What Matters Most is a pristine 10-track reminder of why Mr. Folds still garners endless praise and a devout cult following so many years removed from his initial tenure. Describing the work as his truest material yet, he elaborates – “I come from the vinyl era, and this perhaps more than any record I’ve made is a true album. There’s a very specific sequence and arc to each side, all building up to this almost surreal positive finale, and that structure was really important to me.” 

The most accurate sentiment in describing his own project – “Sonically, lyrically, emotionally, I don’t think it’s an album I could have made at any other point in my career”, is indicative from one simple spin alone. ‘Exhausting Lover’ is easily the most reliably silly cut on here, detailing an encounter with a groupie during his earlier touring days which ends in fetishist sex, daddy issues and a boatload of regret. Folds even admits that while it’s the outlier tongue-in-cheek standout, it’s already resonated with listeners more than the most vulnerable cuts, which is often the case.

From the lush arrangements of ‘Winslow Gardens’, perfectly summarising the hectic self-displacement of finding a new home and moving in a rush, to the utterly heart wrenching delicacy of ‘Back To Anonymous’, which toys with the steady decline of a relationship and the evident growing apart that happens between two souls previously so intrinsically linked, What Matters Most serves as a seasoned victory lap of the songsmith’s endless talents. Poppy, baroque, self-aware yet self-sabotaging, reflective but still hopeful, this is the soundtrack to analysing the most important parts of one’s past, present and future, while flagging the missteps and embracing the joy encountered along the way.

ZB

Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy (BMG)

Singer/songwriter extraordinaire Rufus Wainwright follows up 2020’s Unfollow The Rules with a curious folk revisionist project releasing on his 50^th birthday. Elaborating on the endeavour, Wainwright states – “This album is almost like a recorded birthday party and birthday present to myself. I just invited all the singers that I greatly admire and always wanted to sing with.” 

Boasting a near absurd array of talented guest features including David Byrne, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan and Brandi Carlile, to name but a few, the work plumbs the depths of worldwide folk classics that were essential soundtracks growing up with veterans Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle as parents and musical sherpas. 

Releasing the utterly dour Appalachian murder ballad ‘Down In The Willow Garden’ with Carlile as lead single, should provide insight into the folk excursions Wainwright has taken when drafting this tracklist. The song serves as a muted middle point between the more obvious inclusions such as Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ (featuring Andrew Bird & Chris Stills), ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’ or ‘Arthur McBride’, and the more obtuse and mysterious ballads of ‘Shenandoah’ or Schubert’s ‘Nacht und Träume’.

Marking yet another specialist project that sees Wainwright shy away from original material, Folkocracy seems like a long overdue pilgrimage of adoration and respect for the world of folk music and its integral makeup, unbridled by time, space or distance. Even the closing family affair of classic Irish/Scottish ballad ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ featuring his sisters, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, aunt Anna McGarrigle, cousin Lily Lanken, and close family friend Chaim Tannenbaum (playing Kate McGarrigle’s iconic banjo), swells with jovial love and a romanticist’s fondness for the style, ending the proceedings on one long, lush, hopeful note. Happy birthday, Mr. Wainwright, and a thank you for such a giving self-delivered present.

ZB

Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is But A Dream… (Warner)

Hailing from Huntington Beach, California, mainstream metal mainstays Avenged Sevenfold have been relatively quiet on the creative front for almost a decade now, with many fans quietly assuming perhaps the band had hung up their spurs and embraced an unofficial hiatus.

Returning with their first album since 2016’s The Stage, marking their longest gap between projects yet, Life Is But A Dream… takes a deep plunge into the progressive metal waters originally toe-dipped by its predecessor.

Working with acclaimed producer Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, The Jesus Lizard), in order to sonically push the members far beyond the reaches of their (or listener’s) comfort zones, this hour-long collection is an utter far cry from the anthemic, accessible metallic rock the group had built their name on, with a ‘Beast & The Harlot’ or ‘Seize The Day’, nowhere to be found.

Here they embrace leftfield influences from the likes of Mr. Bungle and Dream Theater, and if they seem like lofty comparisons, it’s because they are. Working with a 72-piece orchestra, swirling rumours of frontman M. Shadows and guitarist Sinister Gates taking astral projecting trips with Shaman licking toads, lengthy dirge-like song-lengths, this very much feels like the curveball project from a group disillusioned with their core sound and back catalogue, and striving for relevance after such a creative respite.

From the virtuosic guitar leads of ‘We Love You’ to the Mike Patton-esque eccentric crooning found on lead single ‘Nobody’, this is a singular work with zero regard for fan anticipation or listener ease. Life Is But A Dream… serves as a unique, hallucinogenic opus, only made more impressive when held in balance against their far more digestible previous output. Ironically, this could be the album that wins over a vast majority of naysayers, while skewing perhaps too experimental for the previously indoctrinated. Wherever your loyalties lie, Avenged Sevenfold have returned with easily one of the most surprising and dynamic LPs of 2023.

ZB

Wicca Phase Springs Eternal – Wicca Phase Springs Eternal (Run For Cover)
Adam McIlwee, better known as Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, has made a bona fide career out of his unique emo-trap style ever since departing emo revivalists Tigers Jaw over a decade ago.

What’s likely elevated McIlwee above many imitators within the newfound scene or even members of his own collective Gothboiclique, is his previous songwriting experience, which has offered his Wicca Phase project many differing creative facets in which to deliver his “occult love ballads”.

For instance, his Raw & Declawed EP was a stripped back acoustic affair reminding all of the power McIlwee carries in his darkened Morrissey-like croon, while the expanded edition of his 2019 LP Suffer On came with a bonus disc of the entire album stripped down to bare bones acoustics.

McIlwee isn’t naive enough to completely turn his back on the trap-inflected witch house material that first garnered him his legions of avid fans, hence last year’s surprise 20-track hour-long mixtape Full Moon Mystery Garden serving as a victory lap of the hypnotic, drugged out atmospherics Wicca Phase conjures so effortlessly, while complete with a who’s who of guest features and producers from within the emo-trap movement.

With the arrival of his self-titled third full-length LP less than a year later, it’s evident McIlwee thought it best to deliver an opus-like bevvy of fan service to instil good faith before requesting patience and an open mind on this creative leap forward.

Working with previous collaborator Darcy Baylis to help craft the synthwave post-punk euphoria of Depeche Mode-indebted lead single ‘Moving Without Movement’, to the gothic folk of ‘It’s Getting Dark’, this is Wicca Phase Springs Eternal as we’ve only ever heard in brief glimpses. Unrestrained by his previous output and the anticipatory attitude that comes with such a back catalogue, here McIlwee taps into much older, deep core influences to craft a collection of post-punk emo-folk, almost eschewing any trap machinations. For those disappointed by such a turn, that’s precisely what last year’s mixtape is for, but for the listeners paying close enough attention to Wicca Phase Springs Eternal as a creative outlet should know that the emo-trap sonics have only ever been a vital notch on the overall belt McIlwee wears. Going off of that metaphor and the horseback riding imagery of the artwork, McIlwee requests company on his frosted, folksy journey through the snowcapped mountains, avoiding 808s and trap nuances at every treacherous fork in the trail.

ZB

Various – Dorohedoro Soundtrack (Murder Channel)

Picture this: a decrepit underworld rife with crime, but with a twist: its psychopathic bosses and lords double up as magic sorcerers and sigil-bearing demons. Such is the basic premise of Dorohedoro, first released in Japan as a bloody, dark fantasy manga series. Written by the rather mysterious manga artist and writer Q Hayashida, Dorohedoro was later turned into an anime series, but this occurred only as the result of its preexisting gravitas as an especially spooky and horrific franchise, a substance lent to it in part via its soundtrack. Yes, you read that correctly – a manga with a soundtrack! 

Of course, such a seemingly incongruous fusion might raise questions, not least since the makers of the series would’ve had to trust their fans to whack a CD into a home player while reading. But the risk paid off, since they were actually more than willing, so here’s a lesson: when guerrilla marketing, do not underestimate the joys of multimedia interactivity. Even so, the original release came in 2016 as a rather oversized 2xCD set, a format and package which failed to predict the tastes of the most pedantic role-players out there. Fantasy fans love their sense of immersion, and this is as much reflected in the medium on which their fantasy plays out as it is by the content itself. 

That problem is solved with this new reissue, which sees both limited cassette and 2xLP vinyl versions released. Refreshingly, it’s an incredible album, with contributions from the likes of Roly Porter, NAH and Dead Fader formerly lost to the ether. Videogame soundtracks usually favour ambient orchestral soundscapes or chirpy melodisms; but Dorohedoro seems to constantly grab our attention, plunging head-first into industrial metallic scrape-fests and bass-driven, psychopompic plods-onward. Certainly carrying with it a dungeony/EBM influence, the soundtrack nevertheless takes these into more technologic directions, with the likes of Genghis’ ‘The Hole’ bringing a NIN-esque drive but working in subtle hi-hat reversings and oppressive acoutrements, and Hanali’s ‘She Is A Devil’ sounding like almost like a dembow rave in a surreal, bad-trip house of horrors. Perfect for the Hayashida’s horrific world of chainsaws and sorceries. 

JIJ

This week’s reviewers: Zach Buggy, Neil Mason, Jude Iago James, Martin Hewitt.