The best new albums this week

The critics’ choice

ALBUM(S) OF THE WEEK

Black Dog Productions – Bytes / The Black Dog – Spanners (Warp)

When hit play on Spanners, the second album proper by The Black Dog, it’s striking how naturally it flows on from a more contemporary electronic release. Does that mean music has struggled to move on, or was the trio of Andy Turner, Ed Handley and Ken Downie ahead of the curve when the album came out in 1995. The three of them had certainly been pushing at the frontier of techno since their debut EPs in 1989, responding to the inputs of foundational electro, breakbeat hardcore and Detroit’s hi-tech soul to create an intricately crafted machine music bursting with flair and pushing at the possibilities of the technology. Even earlier, comparatively raw tracks like ‘Virtual’ displayed a sprightliness which lifted out of the murk associated with most UK rave-orbiting gear at the time.

Many of The Black Dog’s peers have continued to serve as legacy acts. Out of the few artists who committed albums to Warp’s feted Artificial Intelligence series in the early 90s, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Speedy J and B12 are still active. The Black Dog was a bit more complicated, and in the wake of Spanners Turner and Handley headed off to focus on their Plaid project and Downie continued the Black Dog name – both entities are still active now, but the signs of the different creative energies within the group was already apparent on Bytes, the AI entry from 1993 which was credited to Black Dog Productions.

Bytes came out at the same time as The Black Dog’s debut Temple Of Transparent Balls (on GPR), an album which pushes at the fringe of UK techno but sometimes gets tangled up in its own push and pull between club energy and experimentation. Serving as a compilation for solo tracks and collaborations under different names, Bytes gave Turner, Handley and Downie a bit more breathing room with their individual ideas, and looking back 30 years on, the results have aged far better. Plaid’s opening ‘Object Orient’ is a perennial classic which proves Handley and Turner had already established the sound they’d develop in stunning style on their 1997 album Not For Threes. Downie’s Xeper track ‘Carceres Ex Novum’ rolls with a Balearic lilt, but it’s pitched at the Ibiza of the far future, and his I.A.O. track adds high drama to the gritty, broken machine soul being pioneered by Carl Craig et al. It’s a bit futile to list every magical track on this album – it’s been recognised as an end-to-end benchmark of the era for a long time already.

What’s interesting is how apparent the split in sonic interests is between the three artists, as though they were bound together simply by having had a few records out in the past. Still, before heading in their respective directions, they were able to sit down and make Spanners, which achieves what Temple… struggles with and brings their respective skills together into an an album which remains a high watermark for electronica overall. The sound is incredibly detailed and richly produced, leaping far beyond the bedroom studio ambitions of early techno and electronica, but beyond the gleaming mixes it’s also about the sheer volume of ideas contained within.

‘Raxmus’ opens the album in a strange inversion of downtempo before ‘Barbola Work’ twists up electro funk into a giddy, technicolour carnival of synth lines and skittering drum patterns. ‘Psil-cosyin’ is a marauding 10-minute epic of acid exoticism, ‘Nommo’ adds nuance and complexity to the beanbag reveries of ambient house and ‘Pot Noddle’ weaves a heart-rending dream around a perfectly sculpted hip-hop shuffle. The Black Dog sound like a wholly cohesive, clear-sighted formation drawing on their respective strengths to create a landmark record. Perhaps Handley and Turner’s distinctive synthetic flutter was tempered a bit when you consider the direction of Plaid, but Spanners still beams out prismatic light from every corner.

Both albums capture the shifts taking place in electronic music at the time, as increasing sophistication was able to creep into studio processes. Bigger ideas for smarter methods undoubtedly pushed different artists in different directions, but on Bytes and Spanners an unlikely synergy was found which resulted in music that maybe wasn’t meant to happen. Out of the chaos of the rave explosion, we should count ourselves lucky it did.

OW

Belbury Poly – The Path (Ghost Box)

The UK DIY electronic scene that Ghost Box spearheaded when it shimmered into view back in 2005 has only gone from strength to strength. It all began with a modest little CD-R EP by Belbury Poly which has grown into this, an eighth album from the label’s big tomato Jim Jupp and it finds Belbury Poly in ambitious mood.

It’s distinctively Belbury Poly but it finds Jim potentially firing up his own electric Dylan/Judas moment because ‘The Path’ features a full-blown real-life band featuring occasional collaborator Christopher Budd on bass and guitar, Midlake/Mercury Rev’s Jesse Chandler on flute, clarinet and keyboards, Max Saidi on drums plus narration from author and poet, Justin Hopper. An album made in the spare bedroom this is not.

Hold on, narration? Yes, you read that right. It’s an idea that Belbury Poly have visited before. In 2019, ‘Chanctonbury Rings’ took US author Justin Hopper’s book, ‘Old Weird Albion’, and along with Sharron Kraus set his spoken word to music. Here the spoken word forms a loose, open-ended narrative while the music works some real Ghost Box magic.

With Jupp leading the charge on electric piano, unspecificed synths, Mellotron, percussion and “sound effects”, ‘The Path’ takes its lead from early 70s British soundtrack composers such as Roy Budd and Roger Webb, whose work spans everything from ‘Get Carter’ to ‘George And Mildred’. With Chandler’s flute upfront, the title track comes on all taut and krauty as it echoes that easy-going lost 70s sountrack vibe. The narration – Hopper’s gentle Stateside tones compliment the music rather than dominate – bears repeated listens as you piece together the tale and luxuriate in the quality tuneage.

This is high quality work. But then this is a Ghost Box production, you’d expect nothing less.

NM

Various Artists – After Dark – Vespertine: Mixed by Bill Brewster (Late Night Tales)

The groove in the heart is strong with this one. Legendary selector and DJ, writer, and music historian Bill Brewster opens the door for us to board another ride through lesser trodden avenues of electronic and dance music, refusing to let us leave the floor in the process. His reputation as a master of understanding the importance of capturing and keeping a vibe, but also allowing it to develop in a seemingly organic way, more than precedes this outing, and for reasons well beyond his other contributions to the Late Night Tales series (which involve the birth and continuation of its After Dark spinoff, taking aim firmly at the party, rather than the after party-comedown the parent saga has always focused on).

As ever, the soiree in question is sophisticated but reassuringly sweaty. It’s opening moments are as serene as they are progressive and building, growing from the beautifully warm shuffles of ‘Infinite Consciousness’ by Toe, into the truly joyful and celebratory Island Band gem, ‘Idle Hours’. The two are so perfectly matched we’ve mentally moved from sunbed, cocktail in hand, to stand on two feet without realising, taking in the kind of inspired soundscape you’d wish were pot-able at an actual event.

Almost as good, Vespertine means you can hear it again and again, even the album can never recreate the feeling of being in a moment. Taking things down and dubbier for a minute or two, the mix makes overall intentions clear as slick beats take hold, standout moments from Nick Munday and Carl Finlow, pulling in elements of disco, house, afro, synth, Kosmische and more as we snakes our way towards a conclusion. Curveballs and rarities in abundance, there are many arguments for why DJing is still an art in the age of automation. This is one.

MH

DJ Nature – Otherwhere (Jazzy Sport)

As DJ Nature, Milo Johnson’s been able to continue a legacy which began at the dawn of widespread sampling and has since served as an authoritative demonstration of the evolution of Black music. As he returns to Japanese label Jazzy Sport for his first album in nine years, you can hear the same artist who set an impossibly high bar for rugged house music at the turn of the 90s. From those days as Nature Boy through his production for Mighty Force, Tricky and through the Golf Channel albums and EPs to where we are now, he’s maintained a soul foundation which informs his music.

The production approach only shifts in subtle ways – Johnson knows how to nail down a groove, and he doesn’t appear concerned with moving into new methods of sequencing or synthesis because his focus is on musicality, feeling and expression. As such, Otherwhere might feel comfortably familiar, but DJ Nature tracks never sound tired or repetitive. As the foggy chords come hovering in over ‘Synthetic Crisis’ and the Rhodes starts flexing, it’s clear we’re in for another masterclass in soulful house music of the highest calibre.

There are plenty of shifts on the album, from the tangled samples and flute acrobatics of ‘Mbakwe’ to the sustained build of aptly titled ‘Cosmic Assignment’, while ‘Drifting In The Foam’ is a marvel of understated, early morning mystery. Embellished with talented jazz players and gifted with the insight of a true lifer, Otherwhere is another sharp reminder of what house music can be capable of in the right hands.

OW

An Autumn For Crippled Children – Closure (Prosthetic)

The 21st century rise of blackgaze is still a hot topic amongst purists. Combining some of the ugliest aspects of black metal with lush post-rock and shoegaze atmospherics, this bastardisation of disparate genres has birthed a global scene all unto its own.

The Netherlands’ An Autumn For Crippled Children predate the subgenre moniker, or at least its common usage and entry into the metal vocabulary. Their latest effort, Closure, showcases the elusive group at their most succinct and melodious, with a tight collection of ten soaring pieces, equal parts euphoric and tortured.

With an unmatched consistency over the course of ten full-lengths, as well as a slew of EPs, it’s quite remarkable just how potent and inspired they still manage to sound, whilst continuing to sonically stray from the malevolence of their roots, with an undeniable sense of hope and an ethereal air to their compositional structures. The lilting mellotron permeating throughout ‘I See You…But Never Clearly’provides a transcendental aura, while the inhuman vocals are pained, riddled with despair, and shrouded in audible fog and mystery.

In fact, the two most direct “kvlt black metal” aspects of the production lie with the approach to vocals and drums, both of which feel so compressed and buried deep within the mix. While this is usual standard genre fare, rather than being engulfed in walls of caustic blasting and tremolo riffage, the smothered percussion and emotive shrieks give way to frosted, blissful soundscapes, more in line with Sigur Rósthan Gorgoroth.

Eschewing the more opus-like lengths of their genre forbearers, An Autum For Crippled Children have always maintained a strong sense of brevity in their work, covering musical ground in a third of the time of several of their contemporaries. The cuts here swell, build and descend with grandiose, operatic poise, while mostly staying under five minutes a piece. 

The delicate keys that lead saccharine closer, ‘Here Comes Sorrow’, towards a harsh, heartfelt crescendo of simultaneously subtle yet bombastic finality feels like a testament of purpose, power and longevity, delivered with conflicting beauty and abrasion. It’s a poignant closing note, one of tepid, reluctant despondency that portrays a group comfortable and confident with their artform, methods and sincerity. Above all else, black metal rarely sounds this hopeful or therapeutic. 

ZB

Chris & Cosey – Technø Primitiv / Trust / Pagan Tango (CTI)

Continuing their remastered limited-edition vinyl reissue series, Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti serve up a trio of albums that take us on a trip through their very own ice age.

The frosty synthpop of 1985’s ‘Technø Primitiv’ was originally released by Rough Trade and it’s a very Rough Trade-sounding record. Made around the time Chris and Cosey were hanging out with Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox (if you’ve not heard ‘Sweet Surprise’ featuring Annie Lennox on vocals, do search it out) it’s not hard to imagine C&C being Eurythmics big because they couldn’t half pen a pop song. Look no further here than the bright tinkles and cute, breezy vocal on lost smash hit ‘Stolen Kisses’.

But following 1983’s ‘October (Love Song)’, a smash hit elect, they made a conscious decision to pursue their own agenda, free from major labels, with no one telling them what to do. The title track of ‘Technø Primitiv’ is a prime example. It bristles with middle eastern vibes and studio tricks galore as it drops in and out, even playing backwards at one point. As brilliant as it is, it would’ve had major labels scratching their heads.

‘Trust’ from 1989 heads off in a more EBM kind of direction. The beats are even chillier and way harder, but the tunes are no less prominent. The excellent ‘Rise’ – all eight minutes of it – starts off as a rockabilly romp before giving way to a sharp-edged driving rhythm not dissimilar to ‘Pump Up The Volume’.

Wax Trax! picked up 1991’s lesser-known ‘Pagan Tango’ and you can hear why. Driving rhythms, pounding basslines, floaty vocals. The opener, ‘In Ecstasy’, nods at a new fangled drug on the scene, and while even when Chris & Cosey are ice-cold they’re still making tunes that could melt the coldest of hearts. The NME’s late Dele Fadele noted of ‘Trust’ that “seldom have electronics this deep-frozen exuded so much warmth”. He wasn’t wrong.

Their pop sensibility works time and again as the perfect foil to their leftfield instincts and has shaped their a glittering career. They clearly made the right choice. That said, the thought of Chris & Cosey being huge pop stars is a delicious one.

This is a heady triple bill. Can’t wait for the next bunch.

NM

Locate S,1 – Wicked Jaw (Captured Tracks)

It takes real vision to turn an album into something more journey like without getting lost en route, what with each stop-off along the way conjuring new atmospheres and scenes in the mind,. Rather than breadcrumbs, we can only picture Athens, Georgia-based Christina Schneider — AKA Locate, S1 — leaving a trail of exceptionally well-written and wonderfully rendered pop songs with which to guide her way, and ours, on an odyssey that’s rooted in timeless chart-friendly fare, but also refuses to kowtow to the limitations that can often come with making a record consistent and coherent.

Borrowing its title from the noir fiction of Daschel Hamitt, there’s an overarching feeling of nostalgia running through the album, although also a sense of this not really being nostalgia in the truest sense, but a strange retro-trip into a surrealist work of art. Pop garage (‘Have You Got It Yet’), surf (‘Danielle’) strange, opiate balladry (‘Blue Meaniez’), synth-backed euphoric anthems (‘Pieta’), slow-mo 80s club (‘Heart Attack’), there are moments where you have to be reminded this isn’t the soundtrack to a cult movie. Not that it needs one. A wonderful, visceral and compelling collection of oddly familiar yet resolutely original escapist tunes, everyone should try.

MH

Various Artists – Test Pressing IV (Muscut)

The Test Pressing series has become a thoroughly useful window into the curious world of Muscut, the outstanding Ukrainian label dealing in leftfield sonics of a fragile and curious nature. This fourth volume sees a return from some familiar faces and a whole host of new arrivals, most of whom are well-established within this experimental realm. There’s a sense of Muscut reaching outwards and confirming its place amongst the wider international scene, and after all why shouldn’t they? The quality is well maintained, with Bristol jazz oddity Memotone and Baltimore kosmische diviner Tarotplane  bookending this collection.

From Romeo Poirier’s minimal mantras transmitting from a synthetic aquarium to Felix Kubin’s creeping electro-acoustic, concrete-referencing sound studies, the emphasis is always on compelling new modes of expression. Each track has something special about it, but particular mention goes to Jake Muir’s digi-swamp of ambience – a pleasure to roll around in, and Felicity Mangan’s filigree detail on her suspenseful environmental piece ‘Wings’. 

The flow of the compilation feels a little all over the place, but then this is a sampler rather than a conceptually rigorous collection. It points to some interesting new connections being forged as Muscut continues to grow in stature. 

OW

Daniel Rossen – Live In Pioneertown & Santa Fe (Warp)

Live recordings are divisive things. On the one hand, when an act is great on stage some of that energy transfers onto the record, tape, CD or digital file. Of course, it will never fully recapture the experience of being there, but for those who couldn’t make it, or those just want to relive a little of their memory, it bridges a gap.

Looking at it from another way, though, and it’s more a case of here’s what you could have won, or seen, immortalised and ready to haunt you for years to come. But there’s also a third category, when a live recording honours an event so incredible and unforgettable it deserves to be captured, packaged and sold as take out. Daniel Rossen followed his landmark debut solo album, You Belong Here, with a tour that saw him unplug, leave the crew at home, and carry his own amp to intimate venues for shows worthy of stillness and candlelight. Steeped in an old time romance, Live In Pioneertown & Santa Fe was recorded at the legendary Pappy & Harriet’s, Pioneertown, and the artist’s hometown, Santa Fe, and sounds almost as special today as it did on the days of the shows.

MH

Fun Boy Three – Fun Boy Three / Waiting / The Complete Fun Boy Three (Chrysalis)

Even though we have some distance from the untimely death of Terry Hall last December who doesn’t still catch themselves when they remember he isn’t here any more? As great as his loss is, he left behind one heck of a body of work all of which will hopefully enjoying another day in the sun.

First out of the reissue traps is the complete works of Fun Boy Three, who always felt like a pressure value for Terry, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding post-Specials. Fun Boy Three made two albums in double-quick time, their eponymous debut was released in March 1982 and the follow-up, ‘Waiting’, came under a year later in February 1983. Both are reissued here on coloured vinyl.

Interestingly, they are pretty different-sounding records. The debut saw the trio strip down the ska sound they were synonymous with and add tribal rhythms and funky basslines. It’s also where we first met Bananarama. ‘It Ain’t What You Do…’ still sounds as great today as it did then.

The follow-up, ‘Waiting’, is a much more expansive record. Produced by Talking Heads’ David Byrne, it opens with ‘Murder She Said’, their take on the theme tune from the ‘Miss Marple’ films. Always makes me laugh. As a whole, it’s a record that’s much more akin to The Specials, with the trio enlisting a six-piece band for recording, which also allowed for live shows. As great as the debut is, I’ve listened to ‘Waiting’ way more. When ‘The Tunnel Of Love’ gives way to the stone-cold classic ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ I could almost stand up and cheer.

Aside from two crisp new vinyl versions of these essential albums, there’s also ‘The Complete Fun Boy Three’, which does what it say on the tin. Across five CDs and a DVD it collects both albums and adds singles, b-sides, outtakes, previously unreleased tracks, extended versions, remixes, sessions, a live show from The Regal Theatre, Hitchin in April 1983, promo videos and ‘Top Of The Pops’ appearances. Everything.

‘The Complete Fun Boy Three’ shows just how brightly they burned in such a short time. I’d recommend submerging yourself in it. Hammer the albums until you know them backwards, then you can feast on the extras. You won’t be sorry you did.

NM

Ten Tonnes – Dancing, Alone (Silver Heat)

The difficult second record from Ten Tonnes has taken a lot to get here. Four years ago, the indie rock hotshot unveiled his debut LP on Warner Bros to critical acclaim, and it seemed the world was at his feet. Suffice to say, many of us probably felt the same, and the next two years served only to accentuate how close we were to realising this goal or that. In the case of Ethan Barnett, the pandemic’s disruption is only one part of the overall story, with the near-half-decade since his first long form and now typified by dramatic but positive changes.

Leaving London behind, focusing on his emotional and mental health, waving goodbye to major labels and stepping out independently — these are huge steps for anyone to take. All seem to have proven beneficial, though, with Dancing, Alone landing as a collection of rousing, room-filling-yet-intimately written songs about growing, reflecting, self-determination and love. Packing anthems aplenty, from the motoring ‘Monday Morning’ to the garage-hued ‘Drowning in the Deep’, when it’s loud you need this turning up, but the quieter moments make just as much impact, with ‘Lone Star’ and ‘Waiting for the Sun’, and their acoustic croons, unarguable showstoppers.

MH

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