Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Fifteen
How do…
Am still hurtling through the release calendar with nary a minute to spare for other things such as food and stuff; but don’t worry, I’m sure that by the end of the year, all of this cataloguing will have been worth it, right??
Well, better not dwell on the potential dread of anti-climax, I’ve got albums to offer recommendations for!
Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Fifteen
Bee & Puppycat: Music From The Netflix Series, Vols. 1 + 2 – Will Wiesenfeld
An electronica musician more famous for releasing feelgood wares under his aliases, Baths and Geotic, Wiesenfeld’s brand of soothing melancholy punctuated regularly by shiny chaotic breaks is a perfect fit for Natasha Allegri’s beguiling animated series, the score now available in two volumes in its dreamy entirety.
Spotify (Part 1) / Spotify (Part 2) / Tidal (Part 1) / Tidal (Part 2) / Apple (Part 1) / Apple (Part 2)
Days In The Desert – High Pulp
Aided by a roster of guests that includes revered talents like harpist Brandee Younger and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, the Los Angeles-based contemporary jazz sextet deliver a third album that is agreeably big on genre-traversing experimentation, its constitution being of equal parts desert rock, jazz improvisation and spacey electronica.
I Am Not There Anymore – The Clientele
A sprawling record that goes hard in terms of ambition and scope, the British trio’s ninth LP in their three-decades-plus career has been heralded by many as their best yet, on account of it being chock full with some of the most rousing arrangements and quirky diversions you are likely to hear in any dream-pop campaign this year.
Infinity Club – BAMBII
Having already amassed a notable degree of hype via her ability to transcend myriad influences from across the world into encouragingly shape-throwing DJ sets, Canadian producer BAMBII’s brand of joyously inclusive global rave is exactly what the world needs, wants and deserves to hear right now.
Love Hallucination – Jessy Lanza
The land of Canadia strikes again for a spot on this list, this time courtesy of Jessy Lanza’s fourth album, wherein the stalwart singer/songwriter/producer crafts an unmistakably excellent collection of leftfield electro-pop bops that for all of their state-of-the-art flourishes and signatures are not able to disguise Lanza’s status as one of today’s best-kept-secret pop stars.
Love’s Holiday – Oxbow
Solidifying their reputation as a venerable institution of experimental alternative rock further since their debut album arrived back in 1989, the Californian four piece are on exceptionally arresting form for their eighth LP release, their brand of gothic hard noise rock even finding enough room on one track for the inimitable Lingua Ignota herself to feel right at home.
RPG – Me Lost Me
An English contemporary folk album concerned with making vivid parallels to the narrative structures and world-building ethos of computer games that is abetted appropriately with a diverting mix of electronic distortions and traditional instrumentations, Jayne Dent’s ode to life, art and science is one of 2023’s most compellingly curious releases so far.
supernatural thing – M. Ward
Matthew Stephen Ward’s career as one of the most quantitively prolific figures in American folk music continues apace with a thirteenth collection of typically bittersweet musings and ruminations in the sonic milieu of wistful Americana, finding time along the way to include swoonsome contributions from the likes of Neko Case and First Aid Kit.
The Loveliest Time – Carly Rae Jepsen
Continuing her welcome penchant for releasing companion albums less than a year after the most previous instalment in her discography, Jepsen follows 2022’s The Loneliest Time with another collection of irrisistible pop ditties little more than nine months later, the best moments being held together with leftfield genre elements most pop mavens would not even dare try.
The Ones Ahead – Beverly Glenn-Copeland
As moving a celebration of cultural heritage as you will ever hear this year, the almost-intimidatingly wonderful new album from the American folk/jazz treasure is one that collects sounds, chants and stories from across the seas of time, channelled via Glenn-Copeland’s unerringly true and soulful delivery that would melt any rational-minded person’s heart instantly.
And there we have it for albums 701-750; as of right now, there are only 50 albums left on the slate of listenings currently. Let’s see if I can get them out of the way sooner rather than later, but in the meantime…
xxxo
