Album of the Week – 17-01-20

This week sees the release of albums by …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Holy Fuck and Pinegrove, among others (all of which feature below).

But… it should come as no surprise we’ve gone for the new album from Aoife Nessa Frances, called Land of No Junction! It’s a gem and you can read our review here.

“Frances’ soft voice carries each of the songs, from the rolling guitars of In The End to the fuller sounding, keyboard led Heartbreak.

The first great album of the new decade, I suspect this one will certainly stand out at the end of this year.”

Album of the Week – Aoife Nessa Frances  – Land of No Junction

On the eponymously titled final song of her debut album Land of No Junction, Irish songwriter Aoife Nessa Frances sings “Take me to the land of no junction/Before it fades away/Where the roads can never cross/But go their own way.” This search, indeed the heart of the album, recalls journeys towards an ever-shifting centre – a centre that cannot hold – with maps that are constantly being rewritten.

She writes: The album title is a result of a mishearing. Cian Nugent [Aoife’s musical collaborator and co-producer] was telling me about childhood trips he made to Llandudno in Wales, passing through a station called Llandudno Junction… Land of No Junction later became a place in itself. A liminal space – a dark vast landscape to visit in dreams… A place of waiting where I could sit with uncertainty and accept it. Rejecting the distinct and welcoming the uncertain and the unknown.

Albums Worth Exploring –

— …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – X: The Godless Void and Other Stories

— Holy Fuck – Deleter

— Pinegrove – Marigold

January 17th:

— 070 Shake – Modus Vivendi

— …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – X: The Godless Void and Other Stories

— A Girl Called Eddy – Been Around

— Acid Mammoth – Under Acid Hoof

— AJJ – Good Luck Everybody

— Algiers – There Is No Year

— Alice Boman – Dream On

— Anti-Flag – 20/20 Vision

— Arcana 13 – Black Death EP

— Benjamin Gordon – Where Did We Get Lost

— Bill Fay – Countless Branches

— Bleed the Sky – This Way Lies Madness

— Blessed Black – Beyond the Crimson Throne

— Bombay Bicycle Club – Everything Else Has Gone Wrong

— Bonded (feat. members of Sodom) – Rest In Violence

— British Lion (Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris) – The Burning

— Charlee Remitz – Garden

— Chelsea Cutler – How to Be Human

— Cold Mailman – Baby Wake Up We Are Losing The Fire

— Criteria – Years

— David Dondero – The Filter Bubble Blues

— Della Mae – Headlight

— Deltoid – Terminal Terrestre

— Deserta – Black Aura My Sun

— The Drowns – Under Tension

— Elliot Moss – A Change in Diet

— Emily King – Sides

— Emma McGrath – Keep Your Eyes Open EP

— FROGG and Their Reptilian Dystopia – A Reptilian Dystopia EP

— Fruition – Broken At The Break Of Day

— G. Love – The Juice

— Gabriel & Dresden – Remedy

— Gabrielle Alpin – Dear Happy

— Halsey – Manic

— Hayley Mary (of The Jezabels) – The Piss, The Perfume EP

— Holy Fuck – Deleter

— The Innocence Mission – See You Tomorrow

— Jana Herzen – Nothing But Love

— John McLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan, and Zakir Hussain – Is That So?

— Jolly Goods – Slowlife

— Jonah Parzen-Johnson – Imagine Giving Up

— Jonny Polonsky – The Weeping Souls

— Keeley Forsyth – Debris

— Khushi – Strange Seasons

— Kiwi Jr. – Football Money

— Laumė – Waterbirth

— Lev Snow – Someday Soon EP

— Mac Miller – Circles

— Mangum – The Serpent Rings

— Marcus King – El Dorado

— Marquee Grand – Marquee Grand EP

— Mr. Elevator – Goodbye, Blue Sky

— Mura Masa – R.Y.C

— My Bus – Our Life in the Desert

— Odious Mortem – Synesthesia

— of Montreal – UR FUN

— OOIOO (feat. YoshimiO of Boredoms) – Nijimusi

— The Osedax – Meridians

— Oval – Scis EP

— Pinegrove – Marigold

— Pintandwefall – Your Stories Baby

— Porta Nigra – Schöpfungswut

— Professionals (Madlib and Oh No) – The Professionals

— Pulse Emitter – Swirlings

— Rat King – Vicious Inhumanity

— Ryte – Ryte

— Simen Lyngroth – Morning Light

— Skull Koraptor – Chaos station

— Sleepwraith – Day Terrors

— Steve Moore – Bliss (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

— Stretch & Bobbito – No Requests

— String Machine – Death Of the Neon (Vinyl Reissue)

— Stroke 9 – Calafrio

— Sun Kin – Private Time

— Svarttjern – Shame is Just a Word

— The Still Tide – Between Skies EP

— Television Supervision – Waldo

— Uncommon Evolution  – Algid

— Various Artists – 2020 Grammy Nominees

— Various Artists – Bad Boys For Life Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

— Victorious – Space Ninjas From Hell

— The Weeklings – 3

— Whyte Horses – Hard Times

— World/Inferno Friendship Society – All Borders are Porous to Cats

— Yoshihiro Sawasaki – Neocrystal (1994-2020)

— Yung Pinch – Back 2 The Beach