Published on
July 19, 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.
Los Campesinos!
All Hell
(Heart Swells)
Following a seven-year wait, Los Campesinos! are back for their self-released seventh album. All Hell retains the hallmarks responsible for the Welsh band’s long-time cult status–the lyrics are unwieldy and verbose, leftist politics and football references are omnipresent and they continue to veer between heart-on-sleeve emo and acerbic British indie-rock swipes. That’s not to say All Hell is treading redundant ground; All Hell is expertly conducted, expressing the neuroses and anxieties that haunt us far beyond our teen years through tight, rousing anthems. A moving, thoughtful reminder that while times may change, the struggles remain the same. –KD
Spring Heel Jack
Masses
(Treader)
Recorded in 2000, Masses finds Spring Heel Jack stepping away from breakbeats and towards a world of textural prompts for an all-out improv session with a fearsome group of practitioners. Finally getting a vinyl edition, this unique session combines John Coxon and Ashley Wales’ digital scree and audio detritus with free improv percussion, brass, piano, double bass, violins and other instruments. Unique at the time and still one for repeated listens twenty-odd years down the line.–JH
Stephen Colebrook
Shake Your Chic Behind / Stay Away From Music
(Numero)
Numero Group continues to unearth essential tropical grooves with the latest addition to their Hottest Sounds Around series of Carribean 7″ singles, Stephen Colebrook’s “Shake Your Chic Behind”. Pressed on green vinyl, this double-header from the Nassau-born multi-instrumentalist is light and carefree, the perfect airy grooves for a summer’s day.–AVD
Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance
Jinxed by Being
(Drag City)
Both parties here are no strangers to collaboration, yet it’s fair to say that a merging of Sam Shackleton’s questing electronica and Ben Chasny’s ritualistic folk song doesn’t come as an obvious pairing. Any potential mismatch fears are quickly put to rest here, with the open approach to genre that Chasny and Shackleton have long maintained keeping Jinxed by Being an engaging affair throughout. Intertwining sparing percussion, mantras, bass lines, field recordings and fingerpicking into long-form explorations, this one contains more than a few foreboding undercurrents.–JH
Denzel Curry
King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2
(Loma Vista)
Denzel Curry drops the follow-up to his 2012 mixtape King of the Mischievous South, Vol. 1. This latest volume sees the Florida rapper lean into his most brash self, switching back to the bratty extroversion of his early years. With a rollcall of big name collaborators including A$AP Rocky and Ski Mask The Slump God, King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 is a patchwork collection of infectious, blown-out heavy-hitters, all delivered with Curry’s characteristically charismatic flows. A big, booming ode to Southern rap.–KD
Baba Stiltz
Stockholm Remixes
(Public Possession)
Public Possession presents four stellar experimental recuts of Baba Stilz’s “Stockholm”, a track taken from their latest album Paid Testimony, released almost a year ago. Reworked by Powder, Klara Lewis, DJ Python and Stilz themselves they explore a more meditative parallel world of electronica, new wave and ambient. Python kicks off the A-side with some calming percussive notes, stretching the vocal into a blissful new world whilst Klara removes the vocals completely for a stripped-back sonic landscape. Drawing things to a close Stilz goes full-on electronica with a touch of psychedelia with woozy guitars.–EH
Skee Mask
Resort
(Ilian Tape)
Skee Mask is truly a master of their craft, releasing consistently some of the best music since they stepped onto the scene back in 2016. Their hypnotic sets have transported dancers and listeners alike into a new realm of joy as he carefully weaves together a narrative from all corners of the musical world. ‘Resort’ is a double LP released on their home imprint ‘Illian Tape’ exploring the eclectic world of beatsy breaks and electro, a truly genius approach that captures an inventive reimagining of formative electronic musical genres.–EH
Orquesta Akokán
Caracoles
(Daptone Records)
On their third album, the Cuban music collective propels their unique interpretation of mambo into the 21st century, partnering up with virtuosic composer, vocalist and Buena Vista Social Club collaborator Kiko Ruiz. Caracoles bring echoes of Machito and other 20th-century Cuban titans into the present, imbuing their rambunctious big-band sound with tenacity and deep spirituality—revitalised by Ruiz, who intertwines references to the afro-cuban religion of Palo Mayombe within his lyricism.–AVD
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