Published on
August 30, 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.
Loren Connors & David Grubbs
Evening Air
(Room 40)
Twenty years after their Arborvitae LP, Loren Connors and David Grubbs have rekindled their collaboration and produced this marvellous session for Room 40. Where Arborvitae saw Connors and Grubbs keeping to respective positions on the electric guitar and piano, Evening Air finds the duo fluidly switching between instruments and maintaining the spontaneous moments of beauty that appear within their shared language. A serene listen for end-of-summer days.– JH
Dorothy Carter
Troubador
(Drag City)
Drag City Records follows Palto Flats’ essential 2023 reissue of psaltery player Dorothy Cater’s Wailee Wailee with the re-release of Troubadour — Carter’s solo debut, originally released in 1976. A mystical reimagining of traditional folk songs from Appalachian, French, Jewish and Celtic traditions — alongside several of Carter’s compositions — Troubadour is a spellbinding listen, full of beguiling tales and crystalline melodies that preface the freak-folk and new age movements of later years. – AVD
Yoshio Ojima
Club
(WRWTFWW Records)
Yoshio Ojima’s iconic and highly revered proto-techno electronica album Club gets reissued and rereleased by WRWTFWW. Just over 40 years old, the album is a delicate movement of the tides pushing rugged yet more delicate sounds. Originally released in 1983 on CD, it is a highly sought-after album that bridged the gap between Kraftwerk, YMO and the transatlantic offshoots of contemporary electronic music in Detroit with Juan Atkins and Gerald Donald. A highly interesting piece of sonic history that spawned a vibrant legacy of electronic music.
– EH
Jon Hopkins
Ritual
(Domino)
Jon Hopkins’ first album in three years, Ritual, was initially composed for the psychedelic immersive Dreamachine experience that pitched up across the UK between 2022 and 2023. Much like the project it accompanied, Ritual is an abstract, rich collection, patient in its progression. Leaning into Hopkin’s ambient persuasions, Ritual builds and builds across hypnotic synthesizers and swirling textures. A peaceful, understated collection. – KD
Kankawa Nagarra
Wirlmarni
(Mississippi Records)
From the Wangkatjungka lands in West Australia comes one of 2024’s best blues records, courtesy of Kankawa Nagarraa — a Walmatjarri Elder, campaigner, environmental activist, teacher and singer of Aboriginal blues and gospel — released via Mississippi Records in partnership with Flippin Yeah Records. Across 12 acoustic guitar and vocal tracks, Nagarra lives up to her name as ‘Queen of the Bandaral Ngadu Delta’, crafting a collection of raw, rootsy and intimate songs that shift between languages and musical styles with fluid ease. – AVD
Rene Lowe (Vainqueur) & Paul St Hilaire (Tikiman)
Faith
(Kynant Records)
The brains behind the epic Kynant records have had a spectacular year and a half since the release of TIkiman aka Paul St Hilarie’s first solo album in 17 years. The label has now reissued Paul St. Hilarie and René Lowe’s Faith, in light of that roaring success. 20 years after its initial release and reissued for the first time, this iconic dub techno record has magnificently stood the test of time and this new iteration breathes life into an already beloved classic of the genre. – EH
Laurie Anderson
Amelia
(Nonesuch)
Laurie Anderson’s Amelia picks up on an Amelia Earhart-inspired performance that Anderson gave at the turn of the millennium and develops it into an album-length narrative of the aviation pioneer’s final adventure. Using Earhart’s diaries for guidance, Anderson’s masterful storytelling expands on historical accounts, shifting between settings and character with her multifaceted song-speech and string arrangements. Compelling throughout and a fitting exposition on themes of freedom and tragedy. – JH
Los Bitchos
Talkie Talkie
(City Slang)
Los Bitchos’ second album Talkie Talkie is an absolute blast – a tongue-in-cheek frolic through ’80s surf rock, synth pop, psychedelica and almighty DIY power. Named after a fictional club, Talkie Talkie leans into a liberated sense of fun as it cycles through genres and keeps a consistently loud and fast pace. Impossible not to dance along. – KD
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