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Desert Queen – Pearl Charles

Indie

LA singer Pearl Charles’ third album is out, and it is an eclectic collection of interesting tracks, at times sounding Fleetwood Mac’y and with a touch of Californian rock. This is her best work so far, lush and pleasant.

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Ella – April Varner

Vocal Jazz

April Varner has bravely called her album Ella, but I refuse to make a direct comparison with the great Fitzgerald, this is more like a salute. She is performing most songs – all rather familiar – in her own style, original arrangements combined with new takes on her own vocal performance. Varner won the International Ella Vocal Competition in 2023, and no doubt she has a well trained voice, bringing new life to old songs.

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Pick of the Month

Foreign Tongues – The Rolling Stones

Classic Rock

Critics don’t seem to agree whether they like the octogenarian version of Stones or not. I have never had a deep-founded love for the band, but to me this is an album very much to my liking. It offers blues, disco, hard and soft rock, even a touch of country, very varied and self-secured. It seems like they «boys» are having fun, relaxing and doing what they know and enjoy best. I wish I will be as vibrant if and when I turn 80…

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Healthcare – Healthcare

Folk

Healthcare is the project of songwriter Stephen Canfield, who returned to music after roughly 20 years away following a chronic-illness diagnosis and the financial pressures of securing health insurance, hence the name of both his band and the album. This is a soothing and intimate album, maybe too low-key, but with a sincerety in both the songwriting and performance.

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In the Hour of Chaos – Allison Russell

Folk/Americana

It’s not easy to categorize the music of Canadian artist Allison Russell, and this collection is special in many ways, covering many genres and with as many as 28 guest artists contributing to a cohesive album full of musical surprises. The chaos referred to is not in the music but rather political and social, even personal.

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Is This Heaven? – STELLA LEFTY

Contemporary Country

Chicago-born Stella Lefty takes us into a universe of up-to-date country music, sometimes run-of-the-mill country, but often interesting country-pop, well worth listening to. It is a sincere collection of tracks with both acoustic instruments like banjo and guitar, always with Lefty’s young voice dominating.

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Little Miss Twain – Shania Twain

Country Rock

Shania Twain has already had her major hits, and I was anticipating more of the same, middle-of-the-road country pop. And yes, the album has its share of that. Still, Little Miss Twain is a highly personal album, and the best songs are about her personal life and history, how she became an artist selling millons upon millions of records. The duet with Tanya Tucker is by far the best track on the album.

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Music, Fashion, Film – Charli XCX

Rock

I was a little reluctant adding this album to this month’s playlist, because some of the tracks are clearly outside of what you would normally find in my lists. But there is no doubt that she is a highl accomplished artist and increasingly unique in the musical direction she is choosing. This is a departure from the music that made her famous, hyperpop and club music, and leaning towards true and inventive rock’n’roll. If you are intrigued, listen to the whole album, if not, stick to the tracks I have picked, these are adventerous enough.

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ROSA NO CÉU – Maria Luiza Jobim

Nova Musica

Maria Luiza Jobim is a Brazilian singer-songwriter who recently moved to Portugal. The result is a mix of South American and Portugues influences that is truly enjoyable, blending Nova Musica and bossa-nova with contemporary pop and Latin, fresh and airy.

Serenity – Veronica Mortensen

Vocal Jazz

On to an album of great vocal jazz, mostly new material but with a sophisticated feel, with roots in the best of middle-of-the-road jazz traditions. Veronica Mortensen has been around for a long time; this is the seventh album from the accomplished singer with roots both from Greece and Denmark.

*

The Wow! Signal – Muse

Alternative Rock

The English band Muse is back, and very little has changed since their heydays in the 1990s. But it is a triumphant return, and if you enjoy their pompous, operatic rock, you will love The Wow! Signal. It gets to be a bit exhausting in one go, but listen to the picks I have made, you might like what you hear. As with the music, the themes and the scope of the album may also feel a bit over the top, about extraterrestial activity and the cosmos, but I forgive the pomposity of it all.

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There Goes Rhymin’ Simon – Paul Simon

Pop

We are back in 1973 and in my view on the most exciting albums every recorded. I am a great Paul Simon fan, but contrary to many critics, I admire his two first solo albums above what came later. There are so many excellent tracks on this album that I had an impossible task of choosing the best. In fact, the two greatest hits from the album, Kodachrome and Love Me Like a Rock, are my least favourites. American Tune has become a true classic, and St. Judith’s Comet is still moving like most other songs recorded. Something So Right also moves me to tears when I listen to it, from the beauty of both lyrics and music. And I could go on and on…

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Bee Gees

The seventh artist to enter my – very subjective – Hall of Fame is another great band, Bee Gees, but I add the band with some hesitation. I admire what the group accomplished in the disco era and beyond. Still, my admiration for them comes from the music they created before their falsetto period and superstardom following «Saturday Night Fever». Some of the best pop songs ever came with their first albums and I have added the greatest ones to the list, To Love Somebody,” “Massachusetts,” “Words,” “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You,” “First of May,” “Tomorrow Tomorrow” and “Melody Fair”. The Bee Gees began as three brothers—Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb- Today, sadly, only Barry Gibb is alive.