The magic must be in the unlikely combination of German restraint and Italian expression. It is hard to describe, but the whole thing sounds eerie and lush, detached and yet somehow strangely comforting. Blixa Bargeld recites his oblique yet memorable lines in German, Italian and English, while Teho Teardo's classical cello does dramatic runs that transition effortlessly from avant-garde to baroque prettiness. The result is beautiful, imaginative and deeply strange.
There is coldness to their music, but there is also playfulness. They inhabit these songs ever so comfortably. When Blixa half-whispers "Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao..." at some point in the bizarre and hilarious "Bisogna Morire" (which you will end up singing along to before the end of the first listen), you sense the absolute joy of the recording process.
There is great expression, but there is also restraint. In terms of individual songs, my favourites are the melodic 'chamber pop' of "Dear Carlo" and "I Shall Sleep Again" which are as good as anything on their masterpiece Still Smiling LP. There is nothing on Christian & Mauro (incidentally, Blixa's and Teho's Christian names) that touches the sheer otherworldliness of "Ulgae" off Nerissimo, but this is still very much a singular experience. It creates images in your head, and new sensations that you simply will not get anywhere else.
So much so that I'm willing to forgive the slightly weaker second half, which, nevertheless, features more originality than I have heard anywhere else this month. And all the while, there is a sense of uniqueness that permeates the whole album, this unforgettable interplay of words and music, strangeness and appeal, expression and restraint.
Black Francis keeps trying. He is trying really hard. Sadly, something essential just isn't there. Some vital chord, a subversive twist. These post-reunion albums (which already outnumber Pixies' classic four) bring no sense of resolution. The Night The Zombies Came, for instance, has the catchy melodies and the vocal hooks, but still comes off as a middling Frank Black solo album. "Chicken" is interesting and "Motoroller" is infectious, but much of it lands between the obvious and the vaguely intriguing.
Oddly, I enjoy these albums by The Smile a lot more than anything Thom Yorke-related since 2007. It is especially odd because they have now released three albums in three years (this is their second in 2024), and this sudden prolificacy is somewhat mystifying. But, and I'm as surprised as the next person, Cutouts could be the best of the three. It is loose but the inner dynamics pull you in. Not everything works equally well, but even something as flimsy and sparse as "Don't Get Me Started" lures me with its tasteful understatement. Plus, whatever the hell "Zero Sum" is, its funky urgency is absolutely delightful.
La Femme require their own article (coming soon), but for now let's just say that Rock Machine is a slight, if ever so slight, return to form. Tragically, they have made the full transition to the English language, and even recorded a song titled "Ciao Paris!" With the path now clear to a complete loss of identity, they are only saved by the increasingly erratic pop sensibilities that are not yet completely gone.
The first solo album by Geordie Greep is adventurous and inventive and fascinating and intense and everything else all at once, and while I admire the scope and the talent, I simply do not enjoy these songs all that much. The New Sound is a bit like black midi, Greep's previous band, only more unhinged and extremely Latin-flavoured. A little like Steely Dan on steroids (the man's voice resembles Donald Fagen's). I respect the hell out of this artsy and brainy record, it is just that I do not love any of it.
The Indelicates have returned after a seven-year hiatus with a satirical concept album titled Avenue QAnon. Show tunes, rockabilly, piano balladry, rock anthems, even a little reggae - it is all in here, in this cleverly constructed takedown of conspiracy theorists and 4chan pornographers (the lyrics are a little too on the nose sometimes, but they are still great fun). The melodies do not reach the heights of David Koresh Superstar and Songs For Swinging Lovers (both are near-classics in my eyes), and the piano ballad "A Song For Roseanne" is a little bland and "We Are The Carbon They Want To Reduce" survives on pretty much one groove, but Avenue QAnon is a great little LP that deserves to be heard by many people. The infectious melodic twists of "Hotwheels" are worth of the price of admission all on their own.
The Hard Quartet is something of a supergroup made up of Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly and Jim White, and if not for a cunning surprise by a certain German/Italian duo, their debut would be my album of the month. Quite simply, The Hard Quartet is the best Stephen Malkmus-related album since the days of Pavement. Fifteen songs of superior indie rock, sometimes informed by punk ("Chrome Mess", "Renegade") and sometimes alt country ("Our Hometown Boy", "Six Dead Rats"). Hooks, distortion, beauty. "Action For Military Boys" goes from Pavement-like slacker rock to Libertines-style anthemic glory in such an effortless manner that I just surrender in complete admiration.
Songs of the Month:
"Renegade" - The Hard Quartet
"Child of Mine" - Laura Marling
"Fountain of You" - Peter Perrett
"I Shall Sleep Again" - Blixa Bargeld & Teho Teardo
