Album of the Week – 26/05/23

This week, there are some interesting new releases from Arlo Parks (My Soft Machine) and Wolf Eyes (Dreams In Splattered Lines). The best of the Irish is probably BellX1 with their new album Merciful Hour. They’re always good live, so check them out if you can as they tour Ireland next month. Bayonne returns with Temporary Time and it’s worth a listen.

For our albums of the week, we went for something slow and a little bit dreamy. It should be the perfect sound for those hot summer nights…

Album of the Week – Gia Margaret – Romantic Piano

At first, Gia Margaret called her new album ‘Romantic Piano’ to be a bit cheeky. Its spare, gentle piano works share more spirit with Erik Satie, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou and the ‘Marginalia’ releases of Masakatsu Takagi than they do with, say, a cozy and candlelit date night. But in that cheekiness lies hidden intention: across the gorgeous set, “Romantic” is suggested in a more classic sense, what the Germans call waldeinsamkeit. Its compositions conjure the sublime themes of the Romantic poets: solitude in nature; nature’s ability to heal and to teach; a sense of contented melancholy.

“I wanted to make music that was useful,” says Margaret, vastly understating the power of the record. ‘Romantic Piano’ is curious, calming, patient and incredibly moving — but it doesn’t overstay its welcome for more than a second.

Albums of Note:

— Arlo Parks – My Soft Machine

— BellX1 – Merciful Hour

— Daniel Blumberg – Gut

— Kevin Morby – More Photographs (A Continuum)

— Bayonne – Temporary Time

— FRIDGE (feat. Kieran Hebden of Four Tet) – Happiness – Anniversary Edition

— Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte

— Wolf Eyes – Dreams In Splattered Lines

May 26th:

— AJJ – Disposable Everything

— Al Green – Call Me (Vinyl Reissue)

— Alex Anwandter – El diablo en el cuerpo

— Alex Pester – Better Days

— Arlo Parks – My Soft Machine

— Asher White – New Excellent Woman

— The Barnestormers (Jimmy Barnes, Jools Holland, Chris Cheney, Slim Jim Phantom & Kevin Shirley) – The Barnstormers

— Bayonne – Temporary Time

— Big Words – Nightmares of a Stardom Dream

— Black Country, New Road – Live at Bush Hall (Physical Release)

— Boy & Bear – Boy & Bear

— Calexico – Feast of Wire (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

— Carry the Torch – Delusion

— The Champs – III (Reissue)

— Charley Crockett – The Man From Waco Redux

— Chenayder – Blue Oblivion EP

— Clark – Sus Dog

— CLOAK – Black Flame Eternal

— d4vd – Petals to Thorns EP

— Daniel Blumberg – GUT

— The Dirty Nil – Free Rein to Passions

— Drew McDowall – Lamina

— Eliades Ochoa (of Buena Vista Social Club) – Guajiro

— The Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (Expanded & Remastered)

— Eydís Evensen – The Light

— Fishbone – Fishbone EP

— FMB DZ – P Rock Baby

— FRIDGE (feat. Kieran Hebden of Four Tet) – Happiness – Anniversary Edition

— The Fucking Champs – III

— GHÖSH – PRISMASSIVE EP

— Gia Margaret – Romantic Piano

— Harold Land – Damisi (Vinyl Reissue)

— Herbie Hancock – The New Standard (Vinyl Reissue)

— HiTech – DÉTWAT

— IMMORTAL – War Against All

— Incendiary – Change the Way You Think About Pain

— Izzy Camina – ANG3L NUMB3RS EP

— JAAW – Supercluster

— Joe Perry (of Aerosmith) – Switzerland Manifesto MKII

— Joni Void – Parallax Error

— KayCyy – TW2052 EP

— Kari Faux – REAL B*TCHES DON’T DIE!

— Kassa Overall – Animals

— Kassi Valazza – Kassi Valazza

— Kevin Morby – More Photographs (A Continuum)

— Khamari – A Brief Nirvana

— Kieli – From Summer to Spring

— Kings Never Die – All the Rats

— Kool & The Gang – People Just Wanna Have Fun

— Laila Biali – Your Requests, Volume 1

— Larkhall – And You Were: Say You’re With Me Reworked

— Legion of the Damned – The Poison Chalice

— Les Lullies – Mauvaise Foi

— Lil Durk – Almost Healed

— Lucy Dacus – Historian (Vinyl Reissue)

— Matchbox Twenty – Where the Light Goes

— Matthew Herbert x London Contemporary Orchestra – The Horse

— Metal Church – Congregation of Annihilation

— Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bell (50th Anniversary Edition)

— Miranda and the Beat – Miranda and the Beat

— Miya Folick – Roach

— The Mon (Urlo of Ufomammut) – Eye

— Monaleo – Where The Flowers Don’t Die

— Moneybagg Yo – Hard to Love

— Nas – The Lost Tapes (Vinyl Reissue)

— nascar aloe – HEY ASSHOLE! EP

— Nonso Amadi – When It Blooms

— Oceanlord – Kingdom Cold

— The Orielles – The Goyt Method EP

— quickly, quickly – Easy Listening EP

— The Ramona Flowers – Hey You EP

— Ray Barretto – Que Viva La Música (Vinyl Reissue)

— Shirley Collins – Archangel Hill

— Shy, Low – Babylonica EP

— Simply Red – Time

— Sirenia – 1977

— The Sisterhood – Gift (Reissue)

— SOM – FAITH EP

— sophie meiers – shine__space EP

— Soundwalk Collective – All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

— Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte

— Steely Dan – Countdown to Ecstasy (Vinyl Reissue)

— Stimmerman – Undertaking

— Struck – Freak Frequency

— Suicide – A Way of Life (35th Anniversary Edition)

— $uicideboy$ – Yin Yang Tapes: Winter Season (1989-1990) EP

— Swervedriver – Petroleum Spirit Daze EP (Reissue)

— Tame Impala – Lonerism 10 Year Anniversary Box Set

— Taylor Swift – Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)

— Tito Puente – Mambo Diablo (Vinyl Reissue)

— Twin Princess – Blood Moon

— Tyler Posey – UNRAVEL

— Various Artists – Nuclear War: A Tribute to Sun Ra: Volume 1

— Versus The World (feat. members of Lagwagon and Good Riddance) – The Bastards Live Forever

— Vonavibe – Bleed to Life

— Water From Your Eyes – Everyone’s Crushed

— Wayne Shorter – Footprints Live! (Vinyl Reissue)

— Wolf Eyes – Dreams In Splattered Lines