Album of the Week – 09/11/23

This week marks the return of Beirut. Yes, expect lush vocals, banjo and that wonderful trumpet! There are even some organ sounds this time out, or Hadselkirke sounds to be exact. It’s all inspired by the island of Handsel off the coast of Norway. What is it about a trumpet that makes everything sound so epic? Still no word on any live dates, but if you fancy a trip to Berlin in February….

Other releases this week include Adam Miller (of Chromatics – Illusion Pool EP), Aesop Rock (Integrated Tech Solutions), Bear’s Den (White Magnolias EP) and Cat Power (Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert) all of which can be found below.

Album of the Week – Beirut – Handsel

Out November 10th on his own Pompeii Records, Hadselis a collection of 12 songs that find warmth and solace in the most extreme darkness, from the severe self-doubt that led to the LP’s creation, to the arctic conditions that kept Condon inspired: following the persistent throat issues that forced him to cancel the end of Beirut’s Gallipoli tour in 2019, and question whether he would ever be able to play a live show again, Zach Condon sought not only to recover, but to escape. He manifested a dream of retreating to a small cabin where the sun never rose above the horizon, and in the first days of 2020, he arrived on the island of Hadsel, far up the northern part of Norway in the middle of Vesterålen. There, Condon met a collector and fellow organ enthusiast named Oddvar, who gave him access to the local Hadselkirke. Dating back to the early 1800s, the wooden, octagonal structure housed the first church organ that Condon would ever play, and for two months he began to build the foundation of this album. Fully written, performed and recorded by Zach Condon, Hadsel brings Beirut back to its solitary yet self-assured roots, exploring new sounds and foreign settings while simultaneously proving to himself that he can once again manage on his own.

“During my time in Hadsel, I worked hard on the music, lost in a trance and stumbling blindly through my own mental collapse that I had been pushing aside since I was a teenager,”says Zach Condon. “It came and rang me like a bell. I was left agonising many things past and present while the beauty of the nature, the northern lightsand fearsome storms played an awesome show around me. The few hours of light would expose the unfathomable beauty of the mountains and the fjords, and the hours-long twilights would fill me with subdued excitement. I’d like to believe that scenery is somehow present in the music.”On “So Many Plans,”Zach Condon adds, “I liked that this song struck a balance between the feelings of acceptance, hope and giving up. The lyric came from a covid-times lament that rolled effortlessly into a kind of short lullaby. The instruments were somewhat unusual for me at the time, having dusted off a baritone uke I never used before to join the album‘s primary instruments of either pump or church organ and the modular synthesizer as percussion and bass.”

Albums of Note:

— Adam Miller (of Chromatics) – Illusion Pool EP

— Aesop Rock – Integrated Tech Solutions

— Bear’s Den – White Magnolias EP

— Cat Power – Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert

— Chris Stapleton – Higher

— The Twilight Singers – Black Out The Windows/Ladies and Gentlemen, The Twilight Singers

Albums Released – November 10th:

— 99LETTERS – Zigoku / 地獄

— Aaron Lee Tasjan – Naked Pop Songs Live!

— Adam Miller (of Chromatics) – Illusion Pool EP

— Adult Leisure – Present State of Joy and Grief EP

— Aesop Rock – Integrated Tech Solutions

— aespa – Drama EP

— Aïsha Devi – Death Is Home

— Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, and Virginia Bocelli – A Family Christmas (Deluxe Edition)

— Anthony Pirog – Nepenthe Series Vol. 1

— Art Feynman (Luke Temple) – Be Good the Crazy Boys

— AWOLNATION – Candy Pop EP

— Bear’s Den – White Magnolias EP

— The Beatles – 1962-1966 (2023 Edition)

— The Beatles – 1967-1970 (2023 Edition)

— Beirut – Handsel

— Big Time Rush – Another Life (Deluxe)

— Brandy – Christmas with Brandy

— Bre Kennedy – Scream Over Everything

— Broadside – Hotel Bleu

— Bruce Brubaker – Eno Piano

— Bush – Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023

— Calling Hours – Say Less

— Cannons – Heartbeat Highway

— Cat Power – Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert

— Chris Stapleton – Higher

— Coco & Clair Clair – SEXY (Deluxe Edition)

— The Clockworks – Exit Strategy

— Crush Club – The Sun EP

— Cuco – Hitchhiker EP

— Daneshevskaya – Long Is The Tunnel

— Daniel Donato – Reflector

— David Holmes – Blind on a Galloping Horse

— Delia Meshlir – Bring Back the Light

— DRAMA – Till We Die EP

— Fenne Lily – Big Picture (Expanded Edition)

— Fitz and the Tantrums – Perfect Holiday EP

— Foghat – Sonic Mojo

— François J. Bonnet & Stephen O’Malley – Cylene II

— Fresco Trey – Detour EP

— F.U.S.E. – Dimension Intrusion (Vinyl Reissue)

— George Riley – Un/limited Love EP

— Greg Lake – Magical (The Solo Years)

— Grouplove – Never Trust a Happy Song (Vinyl Reissue)

— HAAi – DJ​-​Kicks: HAAi

— Hinayana – Shatter and Fall

— Hit Bargain – A Dog A Deer A Seal

— J. Caesar – Another Day, Another World EP

— Jason Mraz – Love Is a Four Letter Word (Vinyl Reissue)

— Jean Ryden – Parallel Universe

— jess joy – SOURCEHEIRESS

— Jesse Kivel – Life and Death at Party Rock

— Jimi Hendrix Experience – Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hollywood Bowl August 18, 1967

— John Dee – Only Dead For A Little While

— John Francis Lynn – Look Over the Wall, See the Sky

— John Moreland – Live at Third Man Records

— June McDoom – With Strings

— Kabeaushé – HOLD ON TO DEER LIFE, THERE’S A BLCAK BOY BEHIND YOU!

— The Kid LAROI – The First Time

— King Louie Bankston (of The Exploding Hearts) – Harahan Fats

— KiNG MALA – Spilt Milk EP

— Kristen Ludwig – Sunbeam

— L.S. Dunes – Lost Songs: Lines and Shapes

— Last Dinosaurs – RYU

— Layperson – Massive Leaning

— Lazy Lester – All Over You (25th Anniversary Edition)

— Left Cross – Upon Desecrated Altars

— Lila Blue – Sweet Pea

— The Lives of Famous Men – Greener Pasture Blues

— Locket – Superluminal

— Lola Brooke – Dennis Daughter

— Lori McKenna – 1988 (Deluxe Edition)

— Måneskin – Rush! (Are U Coming?)

— Meagre Martin – Gut Punch

— Meshuggah – Chaosphere (20th Anniversary Edition)

— Mia Joy – Celestial Mirror EP

— Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1

— Mon Laferte – Autopoiética

— MTVoid (feat. Justin Chancellor of Tool) – Matter’s Knot, Pt. 1

— mxmtoon – plum blossom (revisited) EP

— Neil Young – Neil Young Archives Vol. I: 1963-1972 (Reissue)

— New Order – Substance 1987 (Reissue)

— Nick D’Virgilio, Neal Morse & Ross Jennings – Sophomore

— Ninajirachi – 4×4 EP

— Passenger – All The Little Lights (Anniversary Edition)

— Patrick Shiroishi (of The Armed) – I Was Too Young to Hear Silence

— Patsy Cline – Greatest Hits (Vinyl Reissue)

— Paulina Anna Strom – Echoes, Spaces, Line

— PinkPantheress – Heaven Knows

— Powerman 5000 – Mega!! Kung-Fu Radio (Vinyl Reissue)

— Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Vinyl Reissue)

— Pure Bathing Culture – Chalice

— Quantic – Dancing While Falling

— Rick Ross and Meek Mill – Too Good To Be True

— R.E.M. – Up (25th Anniversary Edition)

— The Rolling Stones – Through the Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (US Version) (Vinyl Reissue)

— Rosie Darling – Lanterns

— Searows – End of the World

— SHYLMAGOGHNAR – Convergence

— The Sleeping Souls – Just Before the World Starts Burning

— Social Distortion – Mommy’s Little Monster (Reissue)

— SODOM – 1982 EP

— Sophie Lloyd – Imposter Syndrome

— Special Interest – Endure Remixed

— Speedy J – Ginger (Vinyl Reissue)

— Sydney Rose – One Sided

— Tarja – Dark Christmas

— Tor Lundvall – Last Light (Vinyl Reissue)

— Trey Magnifique (Brian Wecht) – Mature Situations

— The Twilight Singers – Black Out The Windows/Ladies and Gentlemen, The Twilight Singers

— Vincent Neil Emerson – The Golden Crystal Kingdom

— Wayside – What Does Your Soul Look Like

— Wiki and Tony Seltzer – 14K Figaro

— Willie Nelson – It Always Will Be (Vinyl Reissue)

— Willie Nelson – Rainbow Connection (Vinyl Reissue)

— YoungBoy Never Broke Again – Decide 2