Worried about high blood pressure? Or too little excitement in your life and your body? Music in general – and my blog in particular – may be the answer. A new study reported in Heart, a British Medical Journal publication, has shown that listening to fast music increases blood pressure, whereas listening to slower music has the opposite effect. Today’s new additions will certainly do both, but mostly I have picked artists performing the slower specimens this time. It is a busy time of year, so I’ve chosen to be gentle. You’ll thank me later.

Let’s start with mellow piano music from Chris Connoly, Sun Kil Moon’s pianist. Rock music is by definition repetitive, and Connoly brings the revolving themes into his piano pieces. I find it mostly comforting and heartbreakingly beautiful, although some of the tracks on the album Alameda may be a bit annoying when the themes are repeated over and over again. The four tracks I have chosen are safe, though, and well worth listening to.

The Unthanks from Northumberland in England will treat your heart well. Their new album offers true folk, but often with lavish pop arrangements, making them considerably more accessible than most folk. The sisters’ buttery voices with a bit of edge on top will sooth anyone. The Unthanks naturally reminds me of First Aid Kit, although the former is truer to folk roots. Mount the Air is just lovely, nothing more to say.

The American group Beach House is a pop duo from Baltimore, but the lead singer, Victoria Legrand has roots from France and from one of the greatest musical composers ever, Michel Legrand. Their latest album Depression Cherry shows off their unique and gracious dream pop style. There are more electric instruments here than you would think, given that it the sound is so cool and mellow, but the sound picture is clean and uncomplicated, letting Legrand’s voice tickle you.

I have added music from Yo La Tengo before, considerably less mellow than the new tracks you will find added to the list. The four-piece band from New Jersey is considered an indie band, but on their latest, Stuff Like That There, there isn’t much reminding me of mainstream indie. This is basically an acoustic album with folk undertows, sweet harmonies and lovely melodies, nothing like their previous, groundbreaking album Fade. Perhaps this is what pushing borders really mean. Yo La Tengo does what it likes. And I tag happily along, hoping you will do the same.

Brian Wilson hasn’t changed much, though, but the quality of the songwriting is still as exquisite as in the glory days of the Beach Boys. He keeps the surf beat going, repeating himself just enough to keep us hanging on and without tiring us out. The worst part of this album is the ridiculous pun in the title, No Pier Pressure, the rest of this latest delivery is bursting with sunshine and happiness. Some of the songs brings me back to less troubled days, to a quiet place in my soul. What more can I ask for in music? Bless you, Brian Wilson, may you live and compose and perform forever.

Considerably younger, the Durham family is also going back in time for inspiration. The siblings forming Kitty, Daisy and Lewis stay with their acoustic instruments to create their happy jazzy swing music, borrowing from folk and variety music. On Kitty, Daisy and Lewis The Third, the is a lot of fun and sweetness, all performed with originality in orchestrations and the vocals.

This week’s biggest surprise is Rayland Baxter and his second album Imaginary Man. His voice is so out-of-the-ordinary, touching and occasionally even intimidating , but never unexciting. Every time a track starts he grabs my attention even if have drifted away for a minute. The songwriting is equally good, songs that sticks with me. There is humour and grief perfectly mixed together on this amazing album.

Another brilliant new artist, Lianne La Havas, was introduced to me in 2012 when she released her first album. I added tracks back then, hopefully introducing you to a new talent. Now she has matured even further, and Blood is a great and musically wide-ranging album, introducing us to both soul and sophisticated pop. She worked for a while with Prince, and his influence can definitely be heard, particularly in the daring arrangements and self-confident use of her pleasing voice.

I must admit I have never subscribed to the bottomless praise of Norwegian singer Ane Brun. Of course I recognize the quality of the songwriting, the sorrow in her powerful voice, the daring changes in moods, but it has always been too dark for my taste. On her latest album, though, there are definitely tracks that are pleasing to my ears, as well as to everyone else’s, judging from its popularity . The orchestrations are richer , there is not only sadness in the songs, and I have seen an artist who moves, smiles and reassures. If you are not like me, listen to the whole album, When I’m Free, if you would like to be introduced gently to Ane Brunism, stick to my four selected tracks.

Avid fans of my bloglist (you MUST be out there somewhere calling yourself avid fans) may have noticed that I have added only the occasional Swedish artist, partly because I blame today’s Swedish composers and producers for having ruined much of today’s music scene with their bland and cynical music productions, churning out mostly totally uninteresting “songs” devoid of even the simplest level of sophistication. But enough ranting, I forgive the Swedes because they occasionally give us some of the best music in the world as well. I wouldn’t necessarily call Amason among the best in the world, but the band takes me back to soothing 80s pop, like Fleetwood Mac. The boys and girls in the band have been around for a while, and perform and write with a delicious self-confidence. Sky City is bursting with interesting pop.

On to a country that only has done good for world music, Wales, and to Stephen Black aka Sweet Baboo. He his already released four albums, and listening to his fifth, The Boombox Ballads, I realize I have to go back to listen to the previous ones. There is a bit of soul, a bit of playful pop and a lot of inventive songwriting, with amusing and pointed lyrics. Sweet Baboo’s voice sounds laid-back and like the man owning it having a lot of fun.

Our final artist this time around  is Ingrid Michaelson, the American pop singer with a big following already. Her fourth album went straight to #5 on Billboard, and I would be surprised if Lights Out wouldn’t do well, too. The music is a bit slick, polished and perhaps overproduced, but I guess that is what it takes to make it to the very top. Enough tracks are pleasant enough to enjoy over and over again, both the ballads and the straighter pop tracks.

With 64 new songs in the list, something has to give, and this week I am removing Madonna, Ringo Starr, Ron Sexsmith, Brandi Carlile, Fairport Convention, Keath Mead, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Rebecca Ferguson. These songs have been in the list since May.

 

 

 

Prepare yourself to restore to past – and still stay in the present. A bunch of old favourite artists (and a few notable new ones) let themselves be inspired by the past when creating new music. I am injecting the syringe filled with new tracks into an already strong playlist, so get your headphones out and enjoy! 

Many of the artists refreshing the list have contributed before, so many of you who have stuck with my playlists for many years will – hopefully- fondly recognize voices and beats.

Let me start with two of the strangest bands around, bands that defy any trend and play what they enjoy. Pink Martini is from Portland, Oregon, but sounds like they come from the heart of Europe, presenting song material from all over the world, completely without musical borders. Their new album, Dream a Little Dream, is a collaboration with the descendants of the Von Trapp family of Sound of Music fame. For you rockers out there, have patience with me, and sail away with the beautiful music of thes musical nonconformists.

An equally strange band is Club de Belugas, with their jazzy dance tracks and swinging ear drum teasers. The German band has been around for a number of years and has a loyal following of fans – and of vocalists. Some of the greatest are represented on their new album, Fishing for Zebras, my personal favourite being Veronika Harcsa, with one of the most distinguished and arousing voices around.

I am also mesmerized by Elani Mandell’s honeycoated voice reminiscent of Nancy Sinatra and Karen Carpenter, so no one should be surprised that she has sneaked into my list again with her new album Dark Lights Up. The album is kinder and softer than her previous albums, so expect no raising of blood pressure from Elani’s songs. Some of the tracks are too soft even for my taste, but the group of songs left in the list should be enough to wet softies’ appetites for more.

Welch singer Jodie Marie, is another list veteran, despite her young age. On her new album, Trouble in Mind, she delves into the blues and soul that got her into music in the first place. She makes no apologies for recreating the sound of soul of the 70s and 80s, in many ways like The Commitments did a decade or so ago. Some of the track choices are a bit unimaginative, though, but of course you won’t find them in the list.

Rikke Normann makes no apologies, either. The Norwegian singer, with the lovely alto voice and a great musical range, plays and writes the music she enjoys, and the result is sophisticated pop with enticing swing elements, creating a unique style of her own. Rikke has studied music in Leeds, England, and has been a collaborator with a number of Scandinavian artists. With Dig Deep she is out front alone, where she belongs.

Lenka was the vocalist in Decoder Ring in Australia, but it was when she left her home country for America that her career really took off. Her airy melodic voice and her knack for creating sweet and sultry pop songs, have been a great combination, proven by her latest album The Bright Side. And bright it is, so bright I should have added it to the list earlier this summer. I still think you can take the sugar shock even this late in the year. I find it impossible to not be charmed by one song in major after the other. Life is good.

If Lenka and the other happy artists above are a tad too much, her comes an antidote in the shape of Magnus Berg, a Norwegian blues artist that has taken the international blues world by storm. Blues Blast Magazine nominated him as Best New Album Debut for Cut Me Loose this year, and blues lovers will applaud the nomination. Magnus spends a lot of his time in the U.S. and there isn’t much Scandinavian influence in his music. I find it fresh and foot-stomping good.

The Last Hurrah! has also picked up a lot of inspiration and band members in the U.S., even though the band is clearly Norwegian-born. I was first impressed by them when the band contributed to the tribute to Pink Floyd last year, recreating part of Dark Side of the Moon in the most creative way. Their album Mudflowers should have had considerably more attention than it has received, despite rave reviews in Norway. But that goes for a lot of artists in my list, one of the principal reasons for me to publish.

I can say the same about the band that named this week’s blog entry, Restore to Past, a lot of fabulous reviews, equally much attention when they played Øyafestivalen in Oslo this summer, but no chart topper for the album Restore to Past. The two musicians behind the band, Kristian Romsøe and Leifson Persbraaten, are the only really stable elements in the band, the rest of the musicans on the album drift in and out of tracks. The result, however, is one of the most beautiful and memorable collections of 2015, from any country.

An artist that definitely has got a lot of attention this summer is George Ezra, and deservedly so. He made his debut with an EP in 2013, but his music bloomed with this year’s Wanted on Voyage. (The title refers to the sticker on Paddington Bear’s suitcase – but of course you knew that). It is beyond belief that Ezra is only 22 years old. His voice has the roughness and confindence of a much more mature artist, and the songwriter Ezra is equally sophisticated and surprising.

I’ll end by taking you to Brazil, to mandolin player Hamilton de Holandia. I haven’t introduced my listeners and readers to mandolin music before, possibly for good reasons, but de Holandia offers Latin American music of the highest quality and enjoyment, going out front only when necessary and letting his fellow musicians shine. O Baile do Almeidhinha is his 21^st album, so if you like what you hear, take a day off work and dive into music that will keep you moving. Who can sit still to this? Not me.

With as many as 70 new songs, a few artists will have to leave us, as usual. This time the following artists pay the price of a long list life: Angeleena Presley, Gretchen Peters, Father John Misty, Willie Nile, Damien Rice, Punch Brothers, Mark Ronson and Trevor Bretzer. As this week’s list shows, great artists are invited back.

 

 

A little intermezzo before the holiday – at least my holiday – ends, twenty-four songs from five albums by artists from four countries.

I know it is not completely PC to refer to Indians (probably not to cowboys either for that matter) any more, but I couldn’t resist the headline when the talented Buffy Sainte-Marie (who is a Cree, not an Indian; Ghandi is an Indian, in case you wondered) returns with a surprisingly good album in her 74^th year, Power in the Blood. It is ironic that a 74-year old is the artist with the most power in her voice, in her arrangements, and not the least in her convictions, in my list right now. She has had ample time for practise; her first record came in 1963, 53 years ago, and she hasn’t lost the touch. Her vibrato voice could earlier drive me to madness, but as with good old Ringo, the older they get, the better they sound.

A slightly younger man, Pete Atkin, used to be paired up with one of my TV presenter favourites, Clive James, but Clive is sadly ridden with leukaemia, and doesn’t record any more. Most of the songs on the album, The Colours of the Night,  are small recitations, in which the lyrics are at the forefront at the expense of the music, but I have picked three gems that moved me and that work well when you are paying attention. You should.

I was never particularly fond of Aztec Camera when they were around. I couldn’t nail why the band never turned me on, perhaps the music was too bland for me, I don’t know. However, I do like Scottish singer Roddy Frame’s album , Seven Dials, at least most of the songs. Here are clear references to 70s and 80s albums by Al Stewart and Billy Joel, and the production could have been done as many years ago – and that is a compliment.

Sharon Robinson has been Leonard Cohen’s backing singer, arranger and collaborator for decades, and co-wrote some of his songs, like Everybody Knows. She has just released her second album, and some of the tracks on Caffeine are just exquisite (of course you’ll find all of them in the list), so when you have played Cohen’s songs to death, put Sharon on instead. You blood pressure will stay down.

Then, finally, on to the cowboys. Yes, I know there is a lot of country in my list now, but you won’t mind The Deslondes, I promise, because this New Orleans band, doesn’t apologise for their old-time country style and they do it so damn well. There are songs on the The Deslondes album that push the limits of what I can take – I am after all only an immigrant country fan; I wasn’t born into it – but I have picked four great honky tonky howdydoody Midwestern songs, taking me back to my alma mater in Ohio and happy times.

The list is thus shortened; Darren Hayman, Ryan Bingham, Yo Zushi, Zaz, Grace Griffith, Maggie Björklund and Amira Medunjanin have served us really well and hopefully broadened our musical perspectives. Continue listening to them. I will.

Here us the updated Spotify list: https://open.spotify.com/user/pewalla/playlist/0IYuA8tJNdTAT8sc1E8dBk

I have given up on Apple Music for the time being. Many albums are just not there, and the manual way I have to update the list is driving me up the wall. As soon as Apple has got its act together, I promise I will make another attempt to give you my list there as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I know, there isn’t much left of the Empire politically, but in pop music the Brits still rule much of the world, and if we add the former Colonies, then at least this week’s blog list additions tell a story of total domination., as all 14 artists are from Britain, the US and Australia. As far as I remember, this is the first time it happens, but all 14 deserve to be there, to add pleasure to our lives at a time when pleasure rules over business.

Let’s start at “home”, in good old England and with an artist who has been around for quite a while, Bill Wyman, formerly of the Rolling Stones, but that’s hard to believe listening to Back to Basics. Wyman has also previously shown his affection for swing and rhythm & blues, but this time he goes further than ever and serves up a mid- to downtempo album, with lyrics bordering on the infantile. Still, in small doses, this is nice music accompanying your third glass of sangria, just wished he had left the singing to someone else, to be honest. (Not in the Apple Music Blog list)

Who would have thought that we’d hear more from Mick Hucknall and Simply Red? Well, guess what, he/they are back, with Big Love, an album that can make one fall in love with the band all over again, as he/they share with us how they fall in love all over again. It is the sweetest soul music, without any rough edges, songs that just takes you on a lovely ride through sweet lyrics and divine chords. Why be young again when you can be old with Mick?

A third old Englishman is also to be found in this week’s list. Richard Thompson is no longer part of Fairport Convention (who are still in the list from an entry earlier this year), but their heritage is still to be heard on his new album Still. Thompson is a bit angrier and sometimes funnier than he sounded before, with lyrics that demand you to listen. He is added a little mini-musical about his guitar heroes. I wish more musicians would want to do something so out-of-the-box-y like this, highly enjoyable.

One of Thompson’s guitar heroes could easily have been Larry Campbell, a studio musician and member of Bob Dylan’s previous band, who has just released an album with his wife Teresa Williams, backing and lead singer. At times their two voices are like honey together, in other songs on the Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams album, there is the annoying country twang that can drive me up a wall. It goes without saying that I have picked tracks with the honey kind. (Not in Aplle Music Bloglist)

Followers of my blog have come to learn of my growing infatuation with some country music, and one of my absolute favourites is Kacey Musgraves, so much that it borders on infatuation for her. Which isn’t so weird; she is breathtaking and in her lyrics are personal, funny, bittersweet and self-deprecating, inviting me as a listener in to what feels like a private world. The music on Pageant Material  is sometimes a bit bland, but the majority of songs are lovable. Her last album ended up on my top 10 list of that year; I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes it one more time. As if she cares. But what if she does? Sigh…

I could easily be infatuated with Simi Stone as well, at least with the collection of happy soul tracks on her debut album, Simi Stone. She has got a perky voice that can liven a funeral, and even though this is her first and is made in 2015, no doubt she knows her soul history. I have picked seven representative tracks of the album, feel free to listen to the whole collection.

Another magnificent voice, not perky at all, just with a lot of power, is Florence of Florence+ The Machine, out with a new album, How Big, How Blue How Beautiful. I have to sit up straight when I hear Florence’s insisting songs, but they do something for me and to me, even on this album when a lot of the elements that made the first albums so exhilarating are repeated, offering little new, just another angle on a by now familiar theme. Still, this is like a genre of its own, so as with classic rock’n’roll and blues, I can take a little repetition.

We have to go to Australia to find a band really pushing boundaries, Alpine. Their previous big hit, Hands, was one of the most original and surprising pop songs of 2012, with a fantastic video accompanying it. Their latest release, Yuck (they don’t mess with long titles) offers a lot of similar icy and crisp arrangements, sometimes a bit too much, but enough times successfully done. It is music I can listen to over and over, and find new interesting stuff for every listen. I didn’t dare adding more that three songs; you know where to find more if you want it.

I know I am pushing my own limits a bit when adding station rock band Ash from Northern Ireland. Still, their new album, Kablamoo!, their seventh, serves up at least five tracks that can be passed on to you uncensored. If you feel more adventurous, try the whole album. Their momentous new song, For Eternity, is among the very best tracks in this week’s list, so my conscience is clear.

To swing the pendulum all the way to the other side, let’s listen to the umpteenth album from singer/songwriter James Taylor. I have always loved the silky smooth voice of Taylor, and he has written some of the loveliest songs, not all of them well known. Still, a lot of his songs are forgettable, and his latest album, Before This World, has its fair share of these. But some are left when my butcher’s knife has been cutting away, fours tracks that show why James Taylor still is a musical force to be reckoned with in his 6^th decade as a musician and composer.

Gill Landry came into the music business the hardest way, through busking, and luck and perseverance played a great part in making him a recording artist. He is borderline country, sometimes too much country for my taste, but the quality of the songs and his powerful and self-confident, sad voice do it for me. There is also an element of Mexican in the orchestrations that I enjoy listening to. One of the songs is a duet with Laura Marling, “Take this Body”. And the album is simply called Gill Landry. (Not in the Apple Music Bloglist)

Nev Cottee hails from Manchester, England, and is instantly recognizable with his deep baritone voice, reminiscent of Lee Hazlewood. His new album, his second, is a bit weird, but in between inaccessible songs some real gems are found on Strange News From the Sun. There is a richness here, that lends itself to repeated listening, not your average four-piece band.

On to Denver, Colorado and husband-wife duo Tennis, made up of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore. They are on to their third album, Ritual is Repeat. Tennis reached a certain fame, like Brandi Carlile that was featured in this blog last time, when one of their songs was used on the soundtrack of Grey’s Anatomy. Ritual in Repeat has lovely harmonies and lush orchestrations, well worth listening to.

If you are a fan of the tragic author Sylvia Plath, you are in for a treat. I am not very familiar with Plath’s writing, but I am still excited about Kathryn Williams’ tribute to her, the concept album Hypoxia. The songs are dark, but eerily beautiful and one can sense the deep emotions behind them, particularly in “Tango with Marco”. Kathryn Williams has been around since the 1990s, as a folk singer, and Hypoxia is her 11^th album.

This week it is goodbye to The Decemberists, Antony and the Johnsons, Katzenjammer and Andreas Loven, Haerts, Belle & Sebastian and She & Him. I hope the 64 new songs are great replacements.

 

Again I have added both a Spotify and an Apple Music version, we’ll see after a while where you decide to listen from, too early to call a winner. : https://itunes.apple.com/no/playlist/petter-wallace-bloglist/idpl.8201d6af39254e54a713b6dbc7c6dbdb?l=nb 

and

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is the perfect time to push some musical boundaries. I have added both pure jazz, classical music, world and Europop to this week’s blog list, knowing that you are too sedated by sun and sea to protest. By then you may have fallen in love with new tracks you never would have considered if it hadn’t been for my blog list. To soften the blow – and to remain ahead of the game – you will find the music both in Spotify and in Apple Music! Some tracks are not yet available in Apple Music, but enough are there to give you a real choice. You’re welcome.

The most controversial trakcs added  are  of course songs from Eurovision Song Contest. It is easy to forget when being exposed to one crap song after another that every year a small number of countries come up with something different and worthwhile listening to. I added five of the 20+songs last year, and I do the same this year: the songs from Latvia, Belgium, Australia, Norway and Cyprus. Grit your teeth and give the songs a chance if you haven’t already done so.

And when you’re in a broadminded mode, lend your ear to Kyle Eastwood. Yes, he is the bass playing son of the great Clint. Like many sons of celebrities there has been advantages and disadvantages of being in the spotlight with your parent. The expectations are high, but at the same time exposure is easier to get. Kyle is, however, a true artist in his own right, a great jazz musician and film composer. His new Timepieces album is filled to the brim with classic jazz, perfect for summer listening.

If you haven’t given up on me by now, let me move swiftly to the wonderful voice of Angeliquie Kidjo, (the flag is from Benin, if you wondered) performing some of her best world songs with a symphony orchestra from Luxembourg, Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg True African beat fans might find this a bit too polished, but I think Sings is the perfect mix of Western and African influences, and if you are unfamiliar with African music, this might be your ticket into an exciting musical world.

Staying within the classical world, let’s move to James Horner and his collaboration with the Norwegian siblings Mari and Håkon Samuelsen. Their album, Pas de Deux, has been this spring’s surprise hit in Norway, where classical music doesn’t normally reach the hit lists. Reviewers haven’t all been kind to the album, classifying it as kitsch and not demanding enough, a criticism that has only heightened the interest. Tragically, James Horner was killed in an airplane accident shortly after the release only 61 years old. Pas de Deux consists of compositions clearly inspired by the great romantic masters and of Hollywood, but I find both the siblings’ violin performances and Horner’s compositions beautiful, haunting and tender.

Tenderness is at the centre of JD Souther’s new album called – naturally – Tenderness. Souther doesn’t even try to make music that sounds remotely modern, but for all of us missing Don Henley, Harry Nilsson and other 70s crooners find some consolation in JDs sweet, tender pop music. I have fallen in love with this album and will turn to it every time life runs off with me, reminding me of the wonderful first decades of my adult life.

I have also fallen in love with Canadian married couple duo Whitehorse and their album Leave No Bridge Unburned. The album came as a complete surprise to me. As I listened to it for the first time, I was completely taken aback by the quality and the smartness of the song writing. There is a freshness and cheekiness to the music that is quite rare these days.   This is Whitehorse’s second album, so hopefully we have years of wonderful music to look forward to. I have had a hard time cutting down the number of tracks, but if you want more, go to the whole album and also to their debut album. You will not be disappointed.

Chungking, a trio from Brighton, England, don’t flirt too much with Top 20 contemporary music, rather there are throwbacks to the disco age in their music with Jessie Banks’ sugary vocals at the front. The band was big in Japan already in the early 2000s, and now they hope to make it in Europe, too, with Defender  At least they made my blog list, so let’s see where that can lead Chunking.

American indie band My Morning Jacket, also has a background performing with symphony orchestras. The five-member band recorded and performed with The Boston Pops as far back as in 2006. Now they are out with a fresh new album, The Waterfall, their seventh to date, and definitely their most successful. I have added three tracks, but if you like it, go to the full album.

The last entry this week is also an American artist, country singer Shelby Lynne. I consider her 2003 album Identity Crisis, one of the best country albums ever. In my view she has never reached that level since, but her albums are always well crafted and unique. That goes for her latest as well, I Can’t Imagine, a truly inspired album.

We are saying goodbye to Matthew Edwards & The Unfortunates, Blake Mills, Paul McCartney, Saint Saviour, Moi, Anthony D’Amato, Mimmi Tamba, Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Elin Furubotn, who have all cuddled our eardrums since January.

 

Here is the music in Spotify:

 

 

 

And for you early adapters, here is my Apple Music playlist. It might not work everywhere and on every device yet. But believe me, the music is there: https://itunes.apple.com/no/playlist/petter-wallace-bloglist/idpl.8201d6af39254e54a713b6dbc7c6dbdb?l=nb

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what a reviewer called the latest album from Marina & The Diamonds (reviewed by me below), and I thought this was a great title for my blog list overall. Except you will also find Blues, Jazz, Folk, Country, World and Rock for Grownups in my list. It is the grownups part that is particularly fitting, not necessarily grownup in age (I appreciate the many younger readers/listeners) but grownup in taste. I imagine readers/listeners have listened to a lot of music before and like to be both challenged and gratified. Today I am publishing 74 tracks from 14 albums with artists from 7 countries, a new record I believe, but to get you to the music fast, let me be short about what they are and who are behind them.  https://open.spotify.com/user/pewalla/playlist/0IYuA8tJNdTAT8sc1E8dBk

 

Michael Bublé, P.J. Proby, Georgie Fame, Claire Teal, Natalie Cole, Chris Farlowe and Mark Knopfler are all helping Van Morrison out on his first duet album, Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue. . You should think this was an unbeatable collection, but although I have picked 7 tracks, I was disappointed, because Duets serves more as a sing-a-long album with Van. Very little new is added to the interpretations of his classic songs. But I thought: These are great songs however they are treated, so what the heck. Sing a long, you too, if you like.

Moving down to Ireland and to a promising, for me, new group, Villagers. Darling Arithmatic is their third album, and everything seems to be centred on Conor J. O’Brien,. The music is atmospheric and with lovely tunes and great, romantic lyrics.

I often hear music enthusiasts speak condescendingly about Danish pop music. I find this quite unfair, as the two artists I have added ought to prove. Mew has been around for a while and is big in their home country. Like Villagers the band offers atmospheric pop with beautiful harmonies. Not all tracks on +- is as brilliant as the four tracks I have added, though. But isnt’t that the point of this list, you get the best bits?

Oh Land, or Nanna Øland Fabricius as her real name is, has been in my list before. Her new album, Earthsick,  offers more of the same, but I like the variety in the songs and the grandness of the orchestrations. Nanna likes to pour it on and the result is well worth listening to.

While in Scandinavia, let’s listen to two Norwegian artists, very different from each other. Daniel Kvammen from Geilo comes from a singer/songwriter tradition, but his debut album Fremad i alle retninga (Forward in all directions)  offers great variety the transcends the genre.

 

Anneli Drecker is a seasoned artist, vocalist in arctic electronica band Bel Canto who has also recorded with Röyksopp. The tracks of her new album Rocks and Straws are all based on poems by Arvid Hanssen translated to English. There is not much electronica left in Anneli, but what remains warms the heart and massages your eardrums. This is really lovely.

I started quoting a review of Marina and the Diamonds’ new album FROOT. Although the terms used fit the overall description of this blog, the album at times becomes to bubblygummy for me. I loved their previous album and Marina Diamandis’ sultry voice, but on FROOT there are too many tracks leaving me with nothing. What is left, though, is great pop music, and you find those seven tracks in the list.

I am also a bit disappointed in The Leisure Society’s new album with the great title The Fine Art of Hanging On. Nick Hemming (who for the most part is The Leisure Society) has given us fabulous pop music before, and four of the tracks on the new album should give you reason enough to delve into their back catalogue. Long standing blog readers should remember many previous samples from the band.

Death Cab for Cutie’s new album offers a number of good songs, but again I had expected more. Lead singer Ben Gibbard realeased an excellent solo album last year, so perhaps most of the energy went into that one? Still, this is a brilliant band, so when the songs I didn’t appreciate were deleted, I was left with four enjoyable tracks from Kintsugi to wet your appetite for their back catalogue.

You might also remember Denai Moore. She is still a young, fairly unknown artist, 22 years of age, but her sound is remarkable, solemn and with an insisting voice that grabs me, reminding me of Adele and Laura Mvula. Enjoyr tracks from her new album Elsewhere.

There is not much fun around Bill Fay either, this is an introvert performer, but with a quiet intensity in the very low-intensity songs. Bill Fay seems to deal with the greater questions in life on his new album Who is the Sender? , and even about the art of song writing. Bill has been around since the 70s, but has always been an outsider in the business, which might explain the quality of his music…

London’s jazz/funk band Bassistry shows a lot of promise, but even though their latest album,What the Hell Do You Call This?  was a bit disappointing, I have added 3 tracks to the list. Let’s keep an eye (and two ears) on the band, great things may evolve later.

The Lilac Time also shows a lot of promise, with folksy pop music with a country twist, reminding me of Prefab Sprout, with beautiful, well-crafted songs, sweet melodies. Their album is called No Sad Songs, which is not entirely true.

Finally, something very different, Pokey LaFarge. This (Something in the Water) is a mixture of old styles of pop music, from ragtime to swing to music from down south. Some of it gets a bit too much and too rich, but in small doses (I have added four tracks) this is a lot of fun.

Like Sarah Brightman so poignantly proclaimed, it is time to say goodbye, this time to Gjermund Larsen, Sid Griffin, Deptford Goth, Adrian Crowley, Bell Gardens, Stars, Neil Diamond, Skinny Dipper, The New Basement Tapes, Jaymay, Pink Floyd, Woman’s Hour and Mark Nevin,

 

 

The major advantage of having someone else (me!) listen through the myriad of new music tracks out there, is that you don’t have to listen to songs with little merit, even from artists who mostly deliver. It surprises me to see how many great albums that I present in my blog also have a number of mediocre, weak or uninteresting tracks. That’s why I give you from three to seven tracks from each album, leaving out the not-necessarily-so-brilliant stuff. However, if you really like what you hear from an artist and/or an album, please test the whole album and even that artist’s back catalogue. I am sure you will find more that you like, but also be prepared to be disappointed at times. Some of the albums I add today fall into the category of “mixed bag”, but hopefully you will agree that the specific tracks I have picked offer some good music to brighten your May.

Let’s start with Mr Mixed Bag himself, Ringo Starr, in my view a fabulous drummer and an underestimated member of The Beatles. The world’s best pop group would not have been as great without him. Too few have taken Ringo seriously, and he seems to be among them himself, because most of the solo releases have been at best uninteresting and uninspired. I saw Ringo in concert a few years ago (my daughter’s band While You Slept opened for him, how proud am I of that?), and it hit me how much pure fun it was. This is a man who has put frivolity and happiness into music, and that’s what we should expect from the music, not art. On his latest album, Postcards from Paradise, he is better than ever (still a mixed bag), he even sings better than before, and a number of the tracks leave no doubt that this is an artist who has been around for a long time and brought with him good ingredients that make up excellent pop music. Few musicians seem to have more friends than Ringo, and he brings them to the studio to have fun with him. No man is an island.

Madonna is another classic pop artist relentlessly moving on. Madonna has tried to keep up with the times, but she is still at her best when she goes back to her own 80s roots. Some of the tracks on her new Rebel Heart have that feel to them, and the album is the most backwards looking album from the queen of pop for a very long time. Not that the sound is old fashioned; the production is in most ways 2015, but the writing is often reminiscent of the best songs from the first ten years of Madonna’s impressive career. I have added seven tracks; if you prefer to listen to a less old fashioned Madonna, listen to the whole album.

Another supergroup of rock music is Fairport Convention. They have been around since the 1960s and have spurned great solo artists and have inspired even more. Folk rock without Fairport Convention would have been a totally different matter altogether. They are still around, at least in name, but to a certain degree also in spirit. Their latest release, Myths and Heroes, are, dare I say it, a mixed bag, but the best tracks on the album are up there with the very best the group has produced before. There is very little keeping up with the times here, so if you like what you hear on the blog list, you most likely will enjoy their back catalogue as well.

Ron Sexsmith is now in his fifties, but there is something very boyish in his music, even though the lyrics signify that this is not his first album. I have listened to him for years, and if you have been a follower of my blog for some time, you have been exposed to Sexsmith many times. His newest album, Carousel One, is a bit of a disappointment, but still consists of a number of great tracks, all of them of course in the list. It is a bit mellower than the previous albums, but even a great composer as Sexsmith must be allowed to relax and just have fun.

Brandi Carlile reached super stardom through Grey’s Anatomy with the song The Story. Few artists manage to keep a career going with one single song, and Carlile hasn’t reached the same peaks as after that initial fame, but she has kept going, kept releasing, kept performing, and her intense, powerful voice is still intriguing to listen to. Her new album, The Firewatcher’s Daughter, offers some brilliant songs, albeit less intense than The Story, but still with power and sincerity. Four great tracks are now in the blog list.

Runner-up of the 2010 X Factor in the UK, Rebecca Ferguson, has also managed to keep a career going following the first burst of fame. She has an extraordinary voice, and as with the two previous artists, she has been in my list before. This year she has released a tribute album to Billie Holiday, and her voice fits the material like a glove. The album, Lady Sings the Blues, isn’t a copy of the famous album from one of the greatest voices ever, rather Ferguson has picked songs from Holiday’s whole career, and made them her own. So if you like this, you have two paths to go: back to the originals and back to Rebecca Ferguson’s small but beautiful catalogue. Either way you won’t be disappointed.

I end with two younger artists who haven’t really made it yet; both heavily influenced by our first artist today, Ringo Starr and The Beatles. Keith Mead doesn’t try very hard to be arty-farty, this is sunshine music, happy and chill, and Sunday Dinner may delight you and give promises of the summer to come. He brings memories of Paul McCartney in the late 60s, early 70s. And that’s not half bad.

Canadian Tobias Jesso Jr. also knows how to churn out McCartney-esque songs. He was discovered by Adele, who tweeted about him and got him a spot on Jimmy Fallon in the US. There is a lot of looking back on Goon, I hear Lennon, Billy Joel, and many other similar men in awe of women and love. Jesso’s craftsmanship is undisputed, and I dare predict this is not the last album from him.

Alvvays, Beck, Buika, Erlend Øye, The 2 Bears, Annie Lennox, Sofia Karlsson, Shaun Bartlett, Nina Pedersen and Marit Larsen graciously leave us to make room for the above 44 great tracks.

I know you faithful followers of my blog listen to the music I recommend in different ways. Some of you tell me you listen to the albums one by one, others start at the top and play till you get to the bottom. My own favourite method is the shuffle: I open the list in Spotify, put it on shuffle, and move from one track to another on an algorithmic day trip, being repeatedly surprised by how much good music there still is in the world –  even after The Beatles broke up. Whatever way you listen that’s up to you, but if you haven’t tried the shuffle yet, perhaps this Easter that’s how you are going to make a change in your life. To help you along I have added 45 new tracks to make the ride even more pleasant.

I have admitted it before, and here I go again: Country is the new rock’n’roll. As long as I can escape the most bland, old fashioned country, I take great pleasure in what comes out of Nashville and other country Meccas. One of the nu-country bands I haven’t listened to is Pistol Annies, but I will reconsider after having listened to band member Angaleena Presley and her American Middle Class album. This has been labelled sophisticated bluegrass, which sounds like a contradiction in terms, but I know exactly what is meant, and listening to the milky smooth voice of Angaleena will possibly give you a country epiphany as well.

It isn’t far from Angaleena Presley to Gretchen Peters. She is older, born in the Bronx, and occasionally strides away from pure country, but Peters’ new album Blackbirds, is unmistakably Nashville as well. She also reminds me of last year’s number one in my book, Roseanne Cash, with similar intelligent lyrics, catchy and well crafted tunes, performed with true conviction and more than a pinch of melancholy. My heart overflows.

Willie Nile is even older than Gretchen Peters, born in 1948 (she in 1957), he is labelled as a rock’n’roll singer, but his piano centred music has elements of country in it, if you ask me. He is from Buffalo, New York, but has travelled the world. A concert in Oslo, Norway with Eric Andersen in he late 1980s was videotaped and brought to the attention of a talent scout in Columbia Records, and Nile was given a second recording career after that. Listening to his latest album, If I was a River, gives me a feeling of being near a true classic. The songs are bordering on the pompous, but his insisting voice forces the listener to hear the words, filled with reminiscence, and the good in humankind, and I realize it isn’t pomposity at all, just truth.

There are quite a few albums among today’s additions to the blog list that permeate the mundane and bring us to music that may last longer than we do, the mark of true classics. I first heard Father John Misty’s voice as part of Fleet Foxes, the wonderful post-Beach Boys band that was the talk of the music industry four-five years back. I added his first solo album to the list, but it is with I Love You, Honeybear, that Father John Misty emerges as a truly great and perhaps lasting pop artist. Of course his name isn’t John Misty at all, but Josh Tillman. His lyrics come with a warning, not that I would think many would take harm from listening to his stories of doubt, sexual urges, of falling in love and of sticking to relationships. It is not necessary, however, to glue your ears to the speakers to grasp every word; the songs are small symphonies with a great value even without the lyrics.

Sticking to potential classics from established artists, the Head of Moaning is next. I have never been thrilled by Damien Rice’s whispering, ultra-thin falsetto voice before, and have never liked much his sad and introvert music. Then My Favourite Faded Fantasy comes along, and I am completely taken aback. I know I have used the word classic a lot today, but I have to use it again. Yes, the voice is still there, but it is put to use in a collection of songs that never stop growing on me. Many of the tracks start small and grow into wonderful landscapes of sound. It is hard to label the music, we used to say Damien Rice was a folk singer, but I don’t think so, not any more. This is the music of conviction. He is dethroned as Head of Moaning. I take it back.

Punch Brothers are even harder to label. Stephen Holden called it American country-classical chamber music, and perhaps this is the closest we’ll get to describe what this is. The mix of elements is sometimes bewildering, and I haven’t found more than four tracks that I dare add to the list, but if you like it, there is more of the same on The phosphorescent Blues album. Classic instruments abound on all tracks as well as Chris Thile’s boy band vocals. I like what I hear, it is different, it is surprising and it is fresh.

The most unknown artist in today’s blog is Canadian Travis Bretzer. His music roots, however, go way back, there is a lot of Beach Boys and surfers’ pop in here, reminding me of summer and sun and an uncomplicated life. He has named the debut album Waxing Romantic, a good description of the coating most of these songs have been given. And isn’t it about time to look forward to months with no r’s in the name?

To help develop a genuine summer feeling, I end with English Mark Ronson’s compilation album, Uptown Special. I know you have heard it a lot already if you have a radio, but I reserve the right to occasionally add tracks that followers have run into before, because they are so good, and ask forgiveness for that. This album is a true homage to old-fashioned funk and rhythm & blues. The most famous track, Uptown Funk, featuring Bruno Mars, is perhaps better than most songs it is inspired by. Funk just doesn’t get better than this.

Avi Buffalo, Yes, Larking Poe, Emilie Nicolas, Brian Setzer, Mark Fry, Shovels & Rope, Ally Kerr and Adam Cohen have all decided to leave us for the time being. So be it. Happy Easter, everyone!

The 30 plus songs I am adding this week, all have in common the passion of the chant, whether chanteuses or crooners perform them. The songs all deal with love for the common man – or woman – or a city. Either way, I am sure you will find a number of pleasant surprises among them.

English folk singer Darren Hayman discovered an old pamphlet from the 1880s with lyrics for songs to be sung by socialists. In only two cases did the writer, William Morris, specify a tune, so Darren made up the rest. The album, Chants for Socialists, open this week’s blog list, and even if you’re not a socialist yourself (I’m not), you might be moved by both the poignant, historical lyrics, but also of Hayman’s great new tunes and harmonies.

Ryan Bingham sounds like he has swallowed a broken bottle, and I yearn to give hum a dozen Fisherman’s Friend to alleviate the obvious pain in his throat. Still, it is fascinating to listen to him, there’s a lot of pain in his lyrics, too. No wonder, Bingham has had his share of tragedy: his mother drank herself to death and his father committed suicide. But from pain comes beauty, and his latest album, Fear and Saturday Night, contains a number of beautiful tracks. I have added four of them. Here’s a sneak preview:

More tragedy is at the base of Passing Through, performed by Grace Griffith. The American Celtic singer is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease in a bad way, and the recording of this album is nothing but a heroic endeavour. Most of the songs were recorded a cappella, with orchestration and harmonies added later, and the result is truly beautiful. It should not be a surprise to anyone that Griffith reminds us of Eva Cassidy, both in terms of her fate and in the quality of her voice. Although she has stated this is her very last album, we may all hope that she manages to tame this horrible disease and give us more music like this.

 

On to one of Eastern Europe’s finest voices, according to people who happen to know these things. I have very little experience with many Eastern European singers, but I am enthralled by the voice and music of Amira Medunjanin. Her third album is titled Silk and Stone, slightly misleading since all songs are sung in her mother tongue. Not that it matters; the passion and the emotions shine through the (at least to me) incomprehensible lyrics. Folk music, jazz and pop are all mixed together in this wide-ranging music landscape, very accessible even to Western European ears.

If Amira Medunjanin is a one of the most exciting new Eastern European artists, Maggie Björklund is certainly one of the most exciting Western European. I have listen to her new album, Shaken, more than any other album the last couple of weeks. The Danish chanteuse is also a credible steel guitar player, and the album’s most original and exciting track, Missing at Sea, is all instrumental. There is darkness in both her voice and her lyrics, but I nevertheless find listening to Björklund’s music strangely comforting.

French chanteuse Zaz is another guilty pleasure of mine. Even when she is bad she is good, and after her fabulous debut album she has underperformed. Now she has released a tribute album to the love of her life, the city of Paris. Most of the songs are well known, even slightly worn out, but Zaz manages to add energy to even old hits like Champs Elysées, and to duet partners like Charles Aznavour. Zaz, with her enticing raspy voice, gets my attention every time, and my feet are tapping frantically on all the tracks of Paris. Here’s a little taster to get you in a similar mood – hopefully:

If you’re an avid reader of eclectic magazine New Statesman you may already know that one of the editors is also a singer-songwriter. Yo Zushi is English, but with Japanese genes, not that youhear much of Asia, It Never Entered My Mind  is truly a European folk album. I am not thrilled by all tracks, but four of them stand out. Here is a taster of one of them:

 

The 36 new tracks force out favourites we have enjoyed since September last year: Bahamas, Team Me, Luke Sital-Singh, Sinead O’Connor, Bishop Allen, Parker Millsap, Thea & The Wild and Tina Dico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren’t these four great categories of music and not only descriptions of safe bridal wear? Today I am adding samples from seven albums, all recently released, all offering music most of you haven’t been exposed to yet, not because it isn’t great, but because.. well, lets not delve into this, for a broadcaster like me, touchy subject.

This is the third live album from Antony and his band, the Johnsons. I am not particularly fond of concert albums, but I’ll make an exception for Turning, it is touching and it is hard to notice an audience until the very end of each song, and Antony’s fragile, yet strong voice is definitely in the forefront. He toured with this material as far back as in 2006, and now he is reperforming the material with an accompanying film. We will have to do without the latter, but that is just fine.

The Decemberists are back with another album, What a Terrible World What a Beautiful World. The harshness of Colin Meloy’s voice is still there and not much new has happened since their latest great release, The King is Dead, except that all songs are new, some of the equally brilliant. Decemberists sound so folkmusicy and Irish/British, but they are all the way from Oregon. If you haven’t listened to them before, you’re in for a treat if you start going back into their catalogue.

Norwegian Katzenjammer has also released new material, Rockland. I have waited for the definitive album from this all-female group, and I hope and expect this is it, because Katzenjammer deserves an even larger following than they have today, with their foot stomping folkmusicy (I have to patent this word) and happy music. Regrettably I haven’t heard Katzenjammer live, but for my German and American readers there might be opportunities to experience one of the best reviewed live artists in Europe right now or soon. Look it up. In the mean time, listen to Rockland and to the well crafted songs offered.

For obvious reasons I have thought Belle & Sebastian was a Danish duo consisting of two overweight folk singers. This is what such a duo would have been called, believe me – and they would have performed the Danish entry to Eurovision Song Contest. Not so, this band is truly Scottish, and has been recording and performing since 1998. I have listened to them occasionally without really getting into their music, the variety in the genres has made their musical image a bit blurred for me. Their new album Girls in Peactime Want to Dance, is full of fun, irreverence, and looking back as much as forward, with both dance, disco and Abba lurking in the background. I love it, so now I promise to go to Belle & Sebastian’s back catalogue and listen properly, and never take them for Danes ever again.

The last album offering truly new music is the Brooklyn group HAERTS with their self titled debut album. The group met, of all improbable places, on Iceland, although none of the members are Icelandic, rather they carry US, English and German passports. HAERTS had a minor hit with Wings in the US, and the band has received decent reviews for their first album. There is something wonderfully old fashioned about their sound and orchestration, and the songs are good pop songs, with Nini Fabi’s lovely voice in the foreground.

On to the Borrowed category: The American duo She & Him, consisting of Zooey Dechanel and M. Ward, has just released their second album of classic songs, Classics. This is sweet bordering on nauseous, but never making me sick, because it is done with such sincerity and simplicity, and with respect for the songs and the previous performers. I am a great fan of the old masters like Gershwin and Porter, so this suits my taste just fine. I have added the less famous songs to the list, but please go the full album if you enjoy what you hear.

Finally, time to be blue. Pianist Anders Loven went to South Africa and joined forces with sax player Buddy Wells and vocalist Spha Mdlalose to make a beautiful, accessible and international jazz album, Nagijala. The album also includes the title song from Norway’s most popular movie ever, Flåklypa, and suddenly a song I have heard too many times, soars to the sky and gives me a completely new experience, particularly thanks to Wells’ sad and stunning sax.

Leaving us this week is Benjamin Clementine, Dan Clews, Girma Yfrashewa, Got a Girl, Jenny Lewis, John Hiatt, King Creosote, Kodaline, Loundon Wainwright III, Slow Club and Tiken Jah Fakoly. Some of them will be back, I predict.  Until then.. enjoy.