Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Thirteen
Salutations, fellow music fans…
Regretfully, I am still in something of a broad-stroke mode in terms of listening, compiling and writing about the better releases of 2023 so far, further compounded by the fact that, yes, we are already in August.
I’d lament how quickly the time seems to have evaporated before my eyes and ears, but I have listened and re-listened to 650 albums by this point so it seems pretty obvious where most of my time has been spent.
Speaking of which, let’s soundtrack our hurtling faster and faster towards climate catastrophe with some more tunes as a means of inappropriate distraction, shall we?
Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Thirteen
A Trip To Bolgatanga – African Head Charge
The forty-year-plus partnership of label-head and dub engineer Adrian Sherwood and percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah should be able to help those miffed by the lack of ideal summer weather here in the UK with their latest album of psychedelic dub-funk, this time taking cues from African musicians and performers for a beatifically transporting set.
Angels & Queens – Gabriels
Having gained their biggest publicity boom yet when frontman Jacob Lusk shared the stage with one Elton John at Glastonbury Festival this year, the transatlantic gospel-pop trio compile all of their work so far into their first full-length release, the stirring magic what is here more than making up for the absence of brand new material.
Black Duck – Black Duck
The bluesier and rootsier soul of American jazz finds an enchanting new vessel in the trio of Douglas McCombs, Bill MacKay and Charles Rumback, stalwarts of the Chicago music community who after years playing with one another in various outfits and projects finally come together to deliver a rough-and-ready rabble of fluid, soulful improvisation.
I Inside The Old Year Dying – PJ Harvey
How Polly Jean Harvey is still able to cultivate such a palpable sense of idiosyncratic mystery with her music over thirty years since her debut album is one of present-day rock music’s most enamouring constants, and she continues to forge that path masterfully on her tenth album, delving into neo-folk psychedelia with disturbingly lovely results, as ever.
Mantis 11 EP – Katatonic Silentio
Some ambient techno music from Milan now courtesy of DJ/engineer/recordist Mariachiara Troianiello, whose swoonsomely sinister vibes on their latest EP retain as much elegance as they do animosity, enveloping the listener with a sensuality that does well to keep you both on-guard and enthralled throughout.
My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross – ANOHNI And The Johnsons
Returning to the Johnsons music project that first found them international fame, ANOHNI’s latest album could not have come at a more prescient time for the global trans community, her inimitable voice still carrying that extraordinary angelic weight as it essays scorching laments and plaintive celebrations via protest songs that provide a valuable sense of solace and community.
Slugs Of Love – Little Dragon
After spending a good nine years chasing the highs of their masterpiece Nabuma Rubberband with more poppy, housier sounds, the Swedish R&B-pop quartet get a little bit more of an experimental, trip-hop vibe on their seventh long-form release, a method that ends up delivering one of their most invitingly playful collections in their discography.
Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart – Lucinda Williams
Being one of the Americana music genre’s most formidable talents since they debuted on the scene in the late 1970s, Williams’ unique blend of grit and fragility is still on fine form throughout her brand new album, each song a tale of bruising emotion redolent with the kind of swagger that is equal amounts boisterous, wounded and ultimately winning.
Swells – K-Lone
Brighton-based DJ and producer Joseph Gladwell’s second album under his K-Lone moniker does well to cement his standing as one of the more diverting beatsmiths currently working in the UK electronic music scene, each track here a percolating fusion of tripped-out R&B and minimal house that nestles right in the plaintive sweet-spot of your brain.
The Greater Wings – Julie Byrne
And to close this entry out, we have the one of the best reviewed albums of the year from singer-songwriter Julie Byrne, and to be perfectly honest there’s no disputing its reputation thanks to the sheer amount of ruminative beauty on display throughout, not least in Byrne’s emotionally-acute observational lyrics and her demure delivery.
And that’s it for right now; we may be over the summer’s hump but there’s still a fair bit to get through before we say goodbye to it completely for 2023, so still plenty of time to get swooning over tunes and such.
Until then…
xxxo
