Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Sixteen
Buongiorno!
Firstly, I have a new mix up on my Mixcloud page for you to have a listen to, in case you were missing the summer already or something…
And secondly, let’s get to the best of the rest of albums 751-800 of 2023…
Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Sixteen
Asleep In Their Myst – Ricardo Laine
First up, some imperious newbeat EBM from established techno-meister Andre E-R, whose new long-form release under the Ricardo Laine namesake finds the Toronto-based DJ and producer crafting a collection of thrillingly bedevilled dancefloor epics that does well to soundtrack only the most swoonsomely sinister of raves.
Chthonic – Lawrence English & Lea Bertucci
Making his second appearance in this year’s series, composer Lawrence English has released another joint venture courtesy of a partnership with multi-instrumentalist Lea Bertucci, conjuring between them an ambient dissonance that feels like listening in on the Earth’s secret movements as it plots to exact revenge on all who act against it.
Deliverance – Andrew Hung
Even after breaking the hearts of many electronic drone fans last year by finally confirming the demise of his revered partnership with Blanck Mass‘ Benjamin Power, Fuck Buttons, Andrew Hung did not need to go so hard for poignant alternative pop splendour on his third solo album, but it’s to our utmost benefit that he has done so anyway.
Eyeroll – Ziúr
Described as its creator’s “queerest” effort yet, producer/songwriter Ziúr’s latest LP finds her in a most deconstructively-dancey mood, syncopating her pants, rasps and groans with a roster of choice musicians and fellow vocalists to create an intoxicating miasma of propulsion that is by turns halting, playful and tortured.
Inflorescence EP – Rob Moose
And now the debut EP from the award-winning multi-instrumentalist that features previous collaborators Phoebe Bridgers and Justin Vernon as well as performances from Sara Bareilles and the incomparable Brittany Howard, Moose’s sublime arrangements and orchestrations here posit a potentially rapturous solo discography in the making.
Mozart: The Piano Quartets – Federico Colli, Francesca Dego, Timothy Ridout & Laura van der Heijden
Born from the encouraging reception of a live performance from last year that led to the foursome recording Mozart’s quartet pieces in the studio, the resulting recording is one that provides an ample showcase of light, grace and sensitivity from each of them, with Colli in particular providing a deftly superlative lead with his nimble ivory tinkling.
Passage – Johnathan Blake
Drummer and band leader Johnathan Blake continues apace with his output on venerable jazz label Blue Note with a moving tribute to his father, jazz violist John Blake Jr.; in equal measures uplifting and bittersweet, Blake utilises a mixture of original compositions and covers to help deliver a truly stirring paean to family, love and artistic endeavour.
Radio Red – Laura Groves
A follow-up that has been fourteen years in the making, Laura Groves’ second album is the kind of mature pop record that manages to tickle the more refined taste-buds of the more discerning listener whilst still retaining enough versatility, playfulness and song-writing smarts so as not to let the formula become too austere for more casual partakers.
SPELLING & The Mystery School – SPELLLING
Working as a halfway point between a retrospective of her first three albums and a live-but-not-really recording with her touring band, SPELLLING’s latest collection finds the singer/songwriter/producer concocting goosebump-inducing arrangements of career highlights that if nothing else provides another striking facet to her considerable production skills.
Sundial – Noname
It says something that despite the controversy surrounding its since-aborted lead single featuring a highly-questionable, vibe-deflating verse from Jay Electronica, Noname’s long-overdue follow-up to Room 25 still shines through with enough intelligence, wit and substance to herald a welcome return for the project’s main progenitor.
And there we have it, another module done and dusted for 2023, just in time for the new school year. Perfect time for a quick break, obviously… 😉
xxxo
