The final regular blog entry of the year – before the 2016 TOP 10 coming soon!! – includes classics from Bacharach, French chansons from Oregon, indie music from India and forbidden songs from across the globe. So get your ear plugs ready, read the tantalizing menu below and indulge!

Click to go to the updated playlist

The classics from Burt Bacharach and Hal David are performed by silky voice Rumer, the easy listening sensation from 2010. Her tribute to Burt and Hal is a bit too respectful and too true to original versions, but the album This Girl’s in Love is a reminder of how brilliant many of these songs are. The music fits Rumer’s voice like the silkiest of gloves.

Pink Martini from the unlikeliest of places, Oregon, is back with an album, Je dis oui!, that copies everything the band has given us before, international songs performed as one would on a Parisian cabaret stage. I wish the album had been a bit less more-of-the-same, but on the other hand, I do enjoy their shameless flirtation with music from other worlds and times.

Madeleine Peyroux is another artist looking back for inspiration, and perhaps the one that succeeds the best. Secular Hymns is an album that swings and finger snaps from first to last track, with jazz and blues of the uncomplicated kind on the menu, uncomplicated for the ear, but sophisticatedly performed by Peyroux and her able musicians.

Norah Jones’ newest album, Day Breaks, makes it plain where this versatile singer and pianist wants to belong. Pop is solidly left behind in favour of piano jazz, and it is a good choice, I believe. I do wish, though, that there were more tracks that stand out. It is intimate and sweet enough, but more variation would have strengthened the album. Still, I did not have any problems picking four varied and enjoyable tracks that on their own disprove all my criticism.

Billie Marten’s debut EP was in my list earlier this year, and I was really taken with both her vulnerable voice and the harrowing lyrics, revealing torment but also hope and beauty. I was a bit disappointed when her album, Writing of Blues and Yellows came out last month. Yes, some of her best songs till now are on it, including “Teeth”, maybe her most exposing song to date, but there are too many less significant tracks there, and I end up longing for more variation. The tracks I have picked will nevertheless leave you wanting more, I hope, so go back to the EP if you agree.

Moddi portrays a similar vulnerability on Unsongs, but not necessarily on his own behalf. This is a collection of censored and forbidden songs from all over the world, which I know sounds like a very politically correct project. The result, however, is lovely, if we can use such a word for music born out of so much pain. Moddi manages to make great music out of the songs, tie them all together, turning Unsongs into a complete and considerable piece of work.

Sometimes it helps to get a disruptive producer into the studio, when artists find themselves going on repeat for too long. Dawes did just that with We’re All Gonna Die. I have liked the band from North Hills, California, but must admit I found them a bit monotonous in the long run. Enter Blake Mills, and there is suddenly a lot of creativity and surprise around, and monotony is nowhere to be found.

Indian duo Parekh & Singh is one of this year’s surprises. I may be prejudiced, but I just didn’t expect anything like this from an indie band from Kolkata, India. This is a truly a varied and wide-ranging album, with true sophistication on every track. Musicians from every corner of the earth must have inspired Parekh & Singh, but as with Moddi’s album, it all comes together as one on Ocean.

Another album that truly stands out this week is Remember us to Life from Russian-born New Yorker Regina Spektor. Her piano ballads are better than ever before, with luscious orchestra arrangements enhancing her songwriting even further. Why we haven’t heard more of these brilliant songs in the public realm is beyond me. Perhaps it reveals the total lack of variation and dissimilarity in the majority of contemporary music that radio stations and audiences embrace these days. I hope you will recognize brilliant and important songwriting when you are introduced to it, as you are with this magnificent album. The underlying theme of my blog is that there is so much good music out there that you are rarely exposed to. I hope this proves my point.

Composer and pianist Yann Tiersen came into the limelight with the wonderful movie, Amélie from Montmatre, even though he did not compose all music for the film. He easily could have, for on EUSA he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt what a great composer he is. Some of the pieces on the album remind me of Erik Satie and Chopin, but with a modern feel to them.

Deacon Blue from Scotland has been at it since the early 1990s, existing on the outskirts of the world habited by bands like Coldplay, Keane and Travis, without really reaching international fame. They disbanded, then came together again, enjoyed successes along the way, hanging in there and never giving up. Their latest album, Believers, could be seen as a tribute to patience., and I am glad to have them back, because this is a rich and well-crafted collection of songs.

Beady Belle may also be seen as a study in patience. The band has produced smooth and refined jazz since the late 1990s, without really getting the attention the band deserves. Now Beate Lech goes alone but keeping the name. On the latest album, On My Own, she is contradicting the title, working with among others keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft and tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, and resurrecting Beady Belle as an even more interesting source of accessible jazz.

Allen Toussaint, Laura Mvula, Ronnie Spector, Brian Adams, Hollie Stephenson, Eric Clapton, ABC, Robert Ellis, Judith Owen, Paul Simon, Cat’s Eyes, Benjamin Clementine and Louse Le May leave us at the end of the year, refreshing the list for those of you who need a bit of new stuff to shuffle between.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you there’s a word for it? Euphony. The opposite is cacophony. Now, there’s may be lots of excitement to be found in cacophonic music, but when we’re busy, stressed, tired or in a bad mood, euphonic music might do the trick to change that. There’s a lot of euphony in my blog list already, and with the 83 new tracks introduced to you today, the level of what we Norwegians call “vellyd” is definitely going up.

Here is a link to the updated blog list.

We only have to go to neighbouring Denmark to find the first example. Yellowbellies normally refer to people from Lancashire in England, but Yellowbellies are definitely Danish, and have been at it since 1996, but it is with the two albums since 2013 they have been getting the attention they deserve. The Danes have an affinity for boy bands, or rather men bands, playing their very own brand of Danish melodic pop, and Yellowbellies is a fine example, with their new album “Anywhere but here”

Brad Mehldau and his trio have produced accessible jazz for a long time, with both newly written material and jazz standards on the rich and varied menu. Their new album, Blues and Ballads, is filled to the brim with lovely, lazy swing piano jazz, and Mehldau’s lean back piano playing can make you soar over the roof tops. Give it a try, it works. A instrumental version of one of my favourite tunes of all time, Little Person by Jon Brion, is the highlight for me.

And when you’re into the rhythm, let old favourite Club des Belugas take over. It has to be said that their new double album, Nine, is a bit disappointing overall, but in between the band soars to new, or at least to old, heights. It is hard to sit still when Club Des Belugas really start to swing. On Nine the band also experiments with lots of remixes of other artists’ music, and with some classical music, but it is the Latin rhythms that work best.

In the same vein as Club des Belugas we find Scotland’s Angela McCluskey’s music. She immigrated to California and performs there for the most part. The Roxy Sessions, her new album, offers a wide mixture of music, from music hall-inspired music to sultry Brazilian-inspired tunes.

 

 

Conor Oberst is recognized by his trembling voice and the solemnity of his lyrics and his performance. I loved his previous album, and was surprised to hear how stripped down and sad sounding Ruminations is. And somebody gave him a mouth harmonica for Christmas. BAD mistake! Still, the American singer offers indie pop well worth listening to, and I have picked six impressive tracks that I am sure will go down well with regular listeners to my blog.

Staying with instruments that should never ever be given away at Christmas, the bagpipe King Creosote is using on Astronauts meets Appleman is less obtrusive than Oberst’s mouth harmonica. The music on his new album is very difficult to pin down; the only ting tying the songs together is King Creosote’s constrained voice. He sounds as if he is suffering when singing, but it somehow creates an effect worth listening to. His last album was a homage to his home country, this time the lyrics are considerably more introvert.

On to an artist whose voice is everything but constrained: Leonard Cohen’s last album recorded before he sadly left us a few weeks ago, is without doubt among the best albums of the year. I started to listen to You want it Darker before Cohen died, and was mesmerized by both the lyrics from an old man at the end of his life, and the heart achingly beautiful songs, performed with a presence rarely found these days. Listening to the album again after Cohen died, added a different level for this listener – in just the same way David Bowie’s last album did earlier in the year.

But Cohen’s album isn’t the only truly great new release this autumn. Lady Gaga has grown up, just like Rihanna earlier this year, and released an album that has annoyed many reviewers who clearly wanted her to go along the pop path she was on. But the Lady is a brave artist, and recorded Joanne, transcending genres and re-inventing herself as an artist. I hope many of her avid fans stays on the new path with her, and others now come on board the Lady Gaga train. Because this train is worth travelling on. There is truth and compassion in every song and every performance, and it is bloody great pop music. Euphony!

  But Gaga isn’t the only lady in the bunch. Lady Nade is a British soul and jazz singer in the Nina Simone tradition. It takes time to get used to her dark and slightly shivering voice, but you cock your ears and listen, no doubt this is something out of the ordinary. Her new album, Hard to Forget, has the occasional forgettable song, but there’s a lot of gold here.

  Another female singer with a very special voice is Bess Atwell, one of the prettiest voices I have heard in a long time, tender and tough at the same time. The material on Hold your mind is also excellent, a mixture of pop and folk, terrific melodies performed in her inimitable style. This is clearly one of this year’s pleasant surprises.

The Canadian singer Alysha Brilla is obviously influenced by music from more than one continent. On her fourth album, Human, there is traces of her father’s Tanzania, but also of pop-rock from the 60s and a considerable amount of Indian influence. She turns it into a delicious stew, enriched by her interesting vocal performance that somehow fits any genre she pounces on. There is so much energy and playfulness on this album. Love it!

If Alysha Brilla could wake you up in the morning, Wilco could easily put you to sleep. I don’t necessarily mean to that in a derogative way (although let’s admit it, Wilco can be a bit boring at times). I am impressed with lead singer Jeff Tweedy’s ability to sing so laid back that you would expect him to fall over on his back at any time. The rest of the band slows down and stays as quiet as he. The result is mostly a relaxed country-induced indie music it is hard not to like. Their new album is called Schmilko.

And where Jeff Tweedy leans back, James Vincent McMurrow aims high, mostly into a controlled falsetto. I was a fan of his country folk style on his previous albums, but the R&B he does to perfection on his new album We Move, is equally worth listening to. I have said before that I am not too fond of male falsetto voices, but who would I be if I couldn’t make an exception for brilliant singer songwriters like McMurrow?

   Ian Shaw comes from a long line of musicians, with both his father and grand-father professional artists. That alone cannot explain the incredible musicality of Ian Shaw. He performs jazz with such an ease and lightness, and still with an intensity that makes him one of the most interesting jazz crooners in the world today. For those of you who are above average fond of jazz, go to both the whole album Theory of Joy; the rest of you will get you appetite wet by the selection of seven songs I have made for you.

With 83 new songs, 36 will have to go (don’t ask me to explain), and this time Tanita Tikaram, Mull Historical Society, Lucie Silvas, Jacob Bellens, Willie Nelson and Twin Danger bid farewell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only in my field of work, television, but also in music: without good content, talent goes to waste. I am surprised to see artists with great potential release new material, and so much of it is just not good enough, mediocre, uninteresting, uninspired. The result is that sometimes I have a hard time identifying enough tracks to justify a place in the blog list, and lots of albums with just one, two or three interesting pieces of music, end up being scrapped before I publish my updated list. Luckily, many albums offer more, and today I am introducing 14 albums with four or more terrific tracks for your enjoyment. Still, some of these artists are considerably better than the majority of their material.

HERE IS THE UPDATED BLOG LIST

The Northern Irish singer and composer Neil Hannon performs as The Divine Comedy. He is fond of music from yesteryear, and is a true magician with words. (And with melodies, for that matter) There is a lot of comedy and truth in his lyrics. Here are samples from the new album Foreverland.

A similar artist focusing on lyrics is Bob Lind, not as funny, but very personal, bordering on the private, lyrics written to wonderful melodies. The vocal is very intense, sometimes putting a smile on my face because it is a bit too much. Still, I love this quirky album, with an even quirkier name, Magellan was wrong.

Staying in the U.S., let’s move on to Max Jury from Des Moines, Idaho. His self-titled album, Max Jury, is a thorough piece of pop with roots, with lots of promise for the future for this young artist. “Great American Novel” is one of this year’s greatest songs, if you ask me.

I am similarly impressed with Dutch chanteuse Janne Schraa. She has a jazz background, but her album Ponzo Light is more country and pop than jazz. There really isn’t a single bad track on the mini-LP (or maxi-EP), and her silken voice turns this into a unique listening experience.

Norwegian Torun Eriksen’s voice has a similar effect on me, albeit a very different voice from Janne Schraa’s. Her background is also from jazz, and her Grand White Silk, leaves no doubt about her love of jazz. The album is nevertheless accessible for more than jazz fans, with obvious inspiration from soul, funk and pop. Sometimes that material is a bit too experimental for my taste, but I have picked four great tracks for your enjoyment and mine.

Gregory Porter is more true to jazz than the two preceding artists, but his new album Take Me to the Alley, offers fusion of jazz and pop as well. I fully understand Porter’s need to please a greater audience with his distinctive warm and rich voice. Still, he is never better than when he performs straight jazz numbers, like Fan the Flames.

Next week I’ll be attending a concert with Brian Wilson performing the whole of Pet Sounds. I can’t wait. I can shorten the wait by listening to The Explorers Club and their new album Together. These guys really know how to imitate the Beach Boys sound to perfection. However, this would not have been enough if the band didn’t write great, new songs to go with their harmonies. However, some of the tracks are too bland, but something would be very wrong if they managed to do Beach Boys as well as Beach Boys.

One of my favourites, Ed Harcourt, is out with a new album, considerably meaner and rougher than before. The album is amply called Furnaces, and all mildness of previous albums have sieved away. It is more a more demanding listen than I would have expected from him, but the more I listen, the more I forgive. If you like what you hear, go to the full album. If you feel it is a bit too rough, go to Harcourt’s amazing previous two albums.

Scott Hirsch is a true American artist, a man on the road, clearly inspired by both Americana and Dylan, still creating his own music without real borders. His instrument is the bass, and many of the tracks put more than usual emphasis on that particular instrument. Bassists are the seam in most modern music performances, and with the seam in place you can do almost anything. Just like Scott Hirsch does on Blue Rider Songs.

Similarly, Leyla McCalla, builds her musical universe around her principal instrument, the cello. Her Haitian background also influences the music, turning the album A Day for the Hunter A Day for the Prey into a folk album for the most part. The orchestration is nevertheless very different, with strings, banjo and Leyla’s Caribbean voice creating a unique sound.

On to another singing bassist, Britta Phillips from Pennsylvania, and her new album Luck or Magic. Phillips has been around a while, she knows how to accentuate, to hold back, to choose the right ingredients to lift both her own music and a number of covers. Her version of Drive by The Cars is perhaps the best track on the album.

Another singer looking back for inspiration is Lawrence Arabia (his real name is James Milne) from New Zealand. There is a lot of the 70s on Absolute Truth. Lawrence’s tenor voice fits the songs so well and turns them into chocolaty sweets, but with an edge. And yes, he is also originally a bassist, an obvious trend here, don’t you think?

I fell in love with Laleh’s voice the first time I heard it on a soundtrack for a Swedish TV series. Since then she has matured into one of Scandinavia’s most exciting and popular young artists. Her Iranian background is not particularly prevalent on her new album Kristaller (Crystals), and it is more r&b than before. But the lyrics, for those of you who can understand them, are still personal, uplifting and inspiring.

You may remember the lovely female voice on Damien Rice’s albums 0 and 9. It belongs to Lisa Hannigan, and now she is out with her own album, At Swim, her third in fact. He mild and airy voice fits the music as a glove, and the Irish influences help turning At Swim into a calming listening experience.

Rihanna, Johnny Borell, Bonnie Riatt, Loretta Lynn, George Harrison tributes, The 1975, KMF, Jamie Scott, Jonathan Jeremiah, Douwe Bob, Ezra Furman, Emitt Rhodes, Selena Gomez and Emmy the Great sadly leave us to make room for the artists above. Some of these I am pretty sure you’ll get reacquainted with when we sum up the year together in two months’ time.

 

 

 

Some musicians love being theatrical as performers and writers, others go to the full extent and write music directly for the stage. Among the new tracks in my blog list you will find both – and sometimes it is hard to distinguish which is which. Not that it matters, it is all great to listen to. I promise.

Here is the updated list, with 64 new tracks: And click on album title below to listen to full albums….

Singer and pianist Benjamin Clementine has been a previous guest in my list. Now the English singer with parents from Ghana is back with a full album, At Least For Now, with very personal songs, and not your average chorus and verse type of music. Each song is a journey, and the listener has now idea where it will all end. Clementine is not to everyone’s taste, he takes up a lot of space in his performance, but I think the album will fascinate most of you.

Waldeck is an Austrian music producer who you may have heard before in my list as well. He works with different singers, this time with Le Heidi, whoever she is, and he loves to turn the burlesque into catchy pop music, as here on Gran Paradiso.

 

 

On to real stage music, Hamilton is a new Broadway musical about one of the founding fathers of the U.S., Alexander Hamilton, written by rapper Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show was an immediate success on Broadway, and will now be staged both in Chicago and London, England. The music is a peculiar and fascinating mix of hip-hop inspired songs and music you would expect to find in a musical these days. The funny thing, it works.  I can’t wait to see it on stage.

Alan Price is another great storyteller, an artist who has been around since the 1960s, then as a member of The Animals. He made House of the Rising Sun famous, helping any beginning guitar player to sound like a professional after a few hours of practice. Price has written soundtracks to a couple of famous films, like “O Lucky Man”, but we haven’t heard from him for ages. Suddenly there’s a new album released, Savaloy Dip, but beware: it was recorded back in 1974 and released for the first time now. Still, it is worth listening to, I expect it would be how the 74 year old Alan Price would record today if he got the chance. On a personal note: I interviewed Alan Price at his home a few years after this recording. He gave me two things during that interview: the pleasure of hearing him play and sing A House of the Rising Sun for only me, and he gave me the cold he was struggling with. It wore that cold as a crown for a week afterwords.

Bob Dylan is about the same age as Alan Price.  He is a frequent guest in my list, prolific as he is, this time with his new album Shadows in the Night, where he sings old classics the only way he can, like Bob Dylan. It is not all beautiful, and it is a bit strange to listen to the King of three chords sing considerably more sophisticated music. Still, it works for me, there is a sincerity here that I feel in my gut. No doubt his relationship to these old songs are strong.

A band consisting of classically trained musicians from London, Left with Pictures, is back with a new album, Afterlife. I was charmed by their broad stroked music before I heard the new album, and am an even greater fan now. As with Clementine, you have no idea where a track will take you the first time you listen to it. I can’t say that about most music being made today, let’s agree on that much.

Michael Kiwanuka’s career took off with his previous album, Home Again. With Love & Hate he has taken a giant step into superstardom. The album is wonderful, but Kiwanuka has lost some of the insecurity and vulnerability from the first album, as he steps out into the limelight and to a greater audience. That does in no way mean that this album is weak, rather it is filled to the brim with tracks that will be with you for a long time. Kiwanuka is here to stay.

Heloise Letissier of Christine and the Queens is one the most successful exports from France the last couple of years. Heloise and her band are now touring the U.S., and their album Chaleur Humaine, shows that French music can indeed cross anglo-borders, particularly if there are English-language tracks on the albums released. As with television drama, perhaps we’ll see a wave of non-English music finding its rightful place in the international charts?

Ole & Silje Huleboer is a duo from Norway who writes and performs the sweetest and simplest of love songs, and makes no excuses for it. The fact that the songs on Sounds Good! are all in English, should open some doors outside of Norway as well. Lean back and enjoy. Yes, it sounds good.

We’ll end with two American acts, first Lake Street Dive, a group from Boston who seems to have fallen madly in love with old-fashioned funk. Side Pony could have been recorded decades ago, with a happy, unbothered sound of the greatest funk acts of yesteryear.

And finally, an album I promised to look into a few months ago, Ellen Jewell’s Sundown over Ghost Town. The singer from Idaho continues to record sophisticated country, and although not all tracks on the album is as memorable as on her previous album, I continue to enjoy both her voice and her song writing.

We say goodbye to Ellen Jewell’s last album , and to Aurora, Billie Marten, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Elton John, Frøkedal, Lissie, Rokia Traoré, Samantha Cain and Turin Brakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new Amy Winehouse and Kate Bush have been found, and the old Eric Clapton and Paul Simon have found themselves anew. True or not, I’ll let you decide after faving listened to exciting new tracks in my blog list. (Yes, this is the link directly to the list!)

David Stewart of Eurythmics fame found Hollie Stephenson, a London teenager who had fallen in love with the music of Billie Holiday when she was three. He met with her and her family and went on to produce her first album, simply titled Hollie Stephenson. (Yes, this is the link directly to the full album!) It didn’t take long before reviewers and listeners labelled the 18-year old the new Amy Winehouse. And yes, there are clearly similarities and unconcealed inspiration. Still, Hollie Stephenson is clearly a talent in her own right, both as a songwriter and as a vocalist. The album is at times a bit bland, too many songs sound the same, but no doubt this talent will bloom, and the seven tracks I have left you with are all highly enjoyable.

Louise Le May is similarly hailed as the new Kate Bush and this time I really must disagree. She does not have any of the theatrics of Ms Bush, and the honey sweetness of her voice reminds me of many other female singers before Kate Bush comes to mind. Her writing is more along the line of that we expect from Brian Wilson. It is also far more interesting that Louise Le May waited until her 40s to make her debut album, A Tale Untold. This might be too sweet for many of you, but give the six tracks a go, you might just be enthralled.

The list keeps growing of old guys still churning out music of the upmost quality. There was a time when any artist beyond thirty was a contradiction in terms. No more. Paul Simon does not give us the same brilliance as he did on Bridge over Troubled Water 46 years ago, but the sophistication of Stranger to Stranger, the beauty of the harmonies, the sheer rhythm of the words, are still better than what most other contemporary artists of any age can give us. It is just a different phase in an artist’s life we are listening to, not a burnt out genius.

The same goes for Eric Clapton. His new album, I Still Do, offers a politically incorrect mix of blues and sappy, lovely love songs inspired by Hollywood. It is if he is grinning at us, saying unapologetically: “This is what I am, this is what I do, this is what I like. And I do as I please.” Thank god for that; I enjoy his dirty blues riffs as much as his suave voice on the old Broadwat classic “I’ll be Seeing you”. What a joy.

Canadian Bryan Adams seems to be letting go, too, although his album Get Up sounds a lot like previous albums from the rusty-voiced singer. Still there is something reckless in his choices of tracks, a bit more playful, a bit less tailored to fit the playlists of AOR radio stations. We detected a similar heedlessness from Rihanna earlier this year, perhaps the genre police is slowly loosing their grip on some of the most talented artists of our time? Nothing could please me more.

71-year old  Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes fame, has recorded an album, English Heart, with cover songs of British 60s classics. Her voice is very distinctive, the roughness sometimes standing in the way of my enjoying her cover versions, but some of them are truly interesting to listen to, like The Beatles’ “I’ll Follow the Sun” and the Rolling Stones’ “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls”. On the latter song the rest of The Ronettes joins her.

Some of you may remember the 80s album The Lexicon of Love by British group ABC. Now they’re back with a follow-up, simply called The Lexicon of Love II. How impertinent is that? The production sounds like it was recorded the week after the original album, but that’s one of the reasons it is in fact working. The songs are as pompous and honey-dripping as on the original, with strings and 80s synths scattered on top, turning the album into a rich dessert to the 80s main meal.

Allen Toussaint, the legendary New Orleans producer, composer and pianist, died last November, and a posthumous album, American Tunes, is just out. Toussaint was involved in all kinds of music, but on this recording he is surprisingly mellow, with an almost classical touch both to song choices and the production in itself. He died suddenly while on tour in Spain, and should have been performing with Paul Simon a few days later. The title track is of course written by Simon, one of his best songs ever, and beautifully covered by Toussaint.

I was lucky to catch  Robert Ellis in concert in Oslo in 2014, right after the release of his first album. Now his second is out, simply called  Robert Ellis. This time he is even more adventurous, with sultry string arrangements and almost symphony-like arrangements to some of the songs. This is truly a self-confident album, and with good reason. Robert Ellis is clearly among the best new artists of his generation, a fine storyteller and, I dare to predict, a star on the rise.

Laura Mvula was labelled a star on the rise following her magnificent debut album. Now she is back with her second album, The Dreaming Room. Listen to any track and you will know instantly that this is Mvula, so distinct is her style; so recognizable are her harmonies and method of song writing, so difficult is the music to pigeonhole. Not all songs are brilliant, sometimes she sounds repetitive, but the ambition of this album is nevertheless to be admired and enjoyed. As with Ellis, we haven’t heard the last from Mvula yet.

The Canadian-English duo Cat’s Eyes, takes some time to comprehend. Treasure House is a strange mix, mirroring the equally strange mix of soprano singer Rachel Zeffira and British bad boy rocker Faris Badwan. Some of the songs are bordering on the indifferent and apathetic, others, particularly the ones I have picked for you, are soothingly beautiful and beautifully smooth. Cat’s Eyes is an acquired taste, no doubt, but I liked them better the second or third time than the first, so be patient.

There is opera lurking in the background of Judith Owen’s career, too, at least in her genes, as her mother is an opera singer. With Somebody’s Child we glide into the American Songbook tradition, although most songs are brand new. As with Ellis, Owen tells stories with her voice, and she gets you to listen to what she has to say. There is a bit of Judy Collins and Carole King in her vocals, but Judith Owen is clearly a genuine artist and doesn’t need to be compared.

As usual we have to kick out a few artists to make room for new talent. This time we say goodbye to David Bowie, Federico Albanese, The Anchoress, Erik Truffaz Quartet, No 4, Sivert Høyem, Marte Eberson, Eleanor Friedberger, Suede, Sia and Villagers. No doubt some of these will be back in the Best of the year list in December, don’t you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time, let me start on a personal note: I have lately been struggling with symptoms of Meniere’s Disease, a benign but very inhibiting illness that has given me days, even weeks, of hearing loss and hearing distortions – not something one would want to struggle with when you’re writing a music blog. That should explain why it has been months since my last blog update. On my good hearing days I have been listening to a lot of great, not so great and, frankly, bad music – so you don’t have to. The result is 36 new tracks in the great-category, more than two hours to be enjoyed with the rest of the tracks in my blog list. Hopefully I will be allowed to listen more consistently in the coming months, so you don’t have to wait this long between posts. Luckily the blog list offers hours upon hours of great listening, so you have very little chance of being too bored, hopefully.

And here is a direct link to the updated blog list at Spotify:

…and remember you can get straight to any album by clicking on the album title…

We start in the most unlikely of places, the Hebrides, yes a part of Scotland, but it’s more exotic to treat as a separate entity (Hebrides voted to remain in the EU three weeks ago – just saying). Mull Historical Society is a one-man band, Colin McIntyre, from the tiny island of Mull. He is a respected musician (and fiction writer!), and has opened for bands like Elbow. His 2001 album, Loss, has been performed in its entirety, just like more famous artists have done with their best albums. His new album is called Dear Satellite, with a number of well-crafted pop songs with deep roots in the eighties. I have picked five enjoyable tracks for you, including his minor hit, Build Another Brick.

A slightly bigger country – or entity if you like – Denmark, has produced a similar artist, Jacob Bellens. I am fascinated by his latest album, Polyester Skin, an intelligent and brilliant collection of pop songs, performed by a vocalist with a rare and moving voice. This album deserves to be wider known, so spread the word if you like the six tracks I have added. Start with Untouchable and listen to the eerie and haunting keyboard intro before we glide into Bellens’ equally haunting voice.

I am very fond of jazz, not all of it, but Ella Fitzgerald and her cocktail jazz contemporaries are among my life’s greatest joys. I have been reluctant, however, to add too much jazz to my list; this is a pop and rock list more than anything and I don’t want to put anyone off. But I can’t resist serving up the wonderful New York duo, Twin Danger and their album Twin Danger, for you. They want to sound as if Frank Sinatra was in The Clash, not sure if I agree, but hey, if it arouses your interest… Vocalist Vanessa Bley and saxophonist Stuart Matthewman write and perform as if all their songs are classics already. Perhaps that’s they way classics were made back when one made classics.

George Gershwin has always been a favourite of cocktail jazz artists. No wonder; his music is ingenious, some of the best tunes ever written by any composer in any time period. Now country singer Willie Nelson tries his best with Gershwin songs on the album Summertime. Many of his versions are too straight and right off the sheet for my taste, but Nelson’s twang, guitar playing and emotive voice give a different feel to a number of the songs, and I have added six that ought to create a sing-a-long around the bar-b-Que this summer.

Two English girls complete this week’s new blog songs, one you might very well remember with pleasure, the other a new voice, at least for me. Tanita Tikaram ought to have a number of flags representing her in my blog. She is born to a Fijian father and Malaysian mother, in Germany, but she grew up in Basingstoke, and you don’t get more English than that. Her debut album, Ancient Heart, from 1988, is one of the best folk rock albums of the 1980s. Her newest album, Closer to the People, four years in the making, is a truly pleasant surprise. She is still writing and performing innovative and pleasing songs, happier sounding than before, even though her alto voice adds a certain seriousness to everything she does. And I still don’t get the lyrics, which I love.

Lucie Silvas could have waved Scottish and New Zealander flags, but unlike her parents she was born and raised in Kingston-upon-Thames outside London. On her third album, Letters to Ghosts, she really shows off her craftsmanship both as a singer and songwriter, with a clever and varied mix of pop, rock and country. Her voice is not the easiest to distinguish from other singers, but the songs she performs are more easily recognizable, easily hummable and enjoyable. I have picked what I consider the best six tracks from a very good album.

I am waving goodbye to a number of artists this week, making room not only for these 36 great tracks, but for future tracks I hope I can find for you and can listen to without too much distortion. The following leave us: Sara Bareilles, Judy Collins, The Zombies, Kovacs, Sondre Justad, Ingbjørg Bratland, Danni Nicholls, Tom Jones, Chris Cornell, Giorigio Moroder, Melanie Gardot, Jesper Munk, Sarah Blasko, The Waniwright Sisters, Son Little, Senabo Sey, Yael Naim, Bill Wells, Mariza, Leah Nobel, Jools Holland and Ruby Turner, Electric Light Orchestra and Lana del Rey. Some of these I am positive will reappear in this year’s best of collection in December.

Do they have anything in common, artists from countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean? Possibly a common denominator of superior music centered in the Mid-Atlantic? Possibly a way of tying 14 highly wide-ranging and diverse albums together without string? After having listened to the 88 brand new songs in my blog list, you decide.

HERE IS THE UPDATED LIST:  PETTER WALLACE’s BLOG LIST

IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO AN INDIVIDUAL ALBUM, CLICK ON ALBUM TITLE

At least one artist is tied to the headline: Johnny Borell’s album is called just that, The Atlantic Culture, recorded with the jazz band Zazou. This is a strange album coming from an indie singer like Borell, highly varied music, from lounge music to folk pop. A lot of the tracks are too strange and varied for my taste, but I found seven songs that I listen to again and again. Hopefully you will, too.

I consider George Harrison the second most brilliant songwriter in The Beatles, following Paul, but sneaking ahead of John. Not being too fond of neither tribute albums nor live albums, I approached George Fest with deep scepticism. And I was mostly right, a number of the renditions were mere shadows of the originals, even from established artists that should have known and done better. Still, it is hard to do brilliant songs really badly, and some of the tracks are quite good, particularly Dhani Harrison’s versions of Savoy Truffle and Let It Down. I would leave the album alone, though, and go with my choice pieces – but first and foremost go back to the originals.

Douwe Bob is like the illegitimate son of Billy Joel and Paul McCartney, shamelessly mimicking the style of the 80s. He has been picked to sing the Dutch entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, and his fame in Holland seems to have no end. Perhaps Pass it On will introduce him to an even larger audience, deservedly so. The song he is entering the contest with, won’t.

 

Jonathan Jeremiah is mimicking the Doors in a similar way, but his deep voice is definitely not belonging to a resurrected Jim Morrison. Oh Desire is a wonderfully cool album, jazz, soul and soft rock in an enticing mix, all tied together by Jonathan Jeremiah’s voice. Why the single from the album, Arms, is not played to death on the radio is beyond me.

I am equally attracted to Jamie Scott’s My Hurricane. Unlike many other singer/songwriters with an acoustic guitar, Scott manages to create songs from a much wider palette than most of his peers. He has written a lot of the music for boy band One Direction, but is a substantially more interesting artist in his own right. We all need to make a living, I guess.

On to a couple of interesting bands: From the coastal city of Bergen, Norway comes Kakkmaddafakka, the name hinting about a slightly misguided coolness. Kakkmaddafakka is not a rap artist from the Bronx, but a polished indie band, with melodic songs performed with a live feel to them. The band has had considerably more success live than recorded, but perhaps that is about to change with KMF, a chirpy and happy collection that I hope you will enjoy.

The 1975 is now among the most popular bands in the UK at the moment, which is a bit of a surprise, actually, because their album, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (Sic), is way too sophisticated and ambitious to make it to the top of the charts. But it did. I find it very hard to pigeon-hole the music from The 1975, every new song is a new revelation, mostly a pleasant one. Give the whole album a try if you like the six tracks I have chosen.

Before we travel across the great Atlantic to the other side, let’s give Emmy the Great a listen. She is born in Hong Kong to an English father and Chinese mother, but grew up in England and there isn’t much Chinese influence in her music that I can hear. Her lyrics and song writing is poetic, sweet but perhaps a bit on the mysterious side. The new album is called Second Love.

It is pushing it a bit to say that Midwestern country queen Loretta Lynn is influenced by an Atlantic culture, but Country has taken the world by storm and is much more mainstream now than when Loretta started up six decades ago. Her new album, Full Circle, recorded at the age of 84, shows that age is irrelevant in popular music. As many of you have experienced following my blog list, mature artists don’t stop making fabulous music, even into their eighties. Full Circle offers a lot of traditional country, a bit tedious for my taste, but there are more general accessible songs in between. You find them in the list.

Bonnie Riatt is only 66 and could have been Loretta Lynn’s daughter. Just as Lynn has helped make country mainstream, Riatt has done her bit for the popularity of blues and roots music. She is doing her bit with her new album Dig in Deep, too. There is a lot of sorrow and regret in the lyrics, but she is at her best when she ties knots with her iconic Fender Stratocaster and plays good old rock’n’roll, as in Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes.

 

Rihanna could have been Bonnie Riatt’s grandchild, but she is already a classic recording artist in her own right and seems to have been around for a very long time. She started recording at 17, so that might explain it. Her newest album, ANTI, is a big surprise, she seems to have sent Swedish pop machine people on the first flight home, and have recorded a sophisticated, different, interesting album, with a soundscape that I am sure a lot of her advisors have warned her about. The way she takes her voice way out of her comfort zone in Higher, proves the point.

Selena Gomez is still stuck with the pop robots, but at least she was left with some of the better ones. I can’t help it, I really like part of her new album Revival, despite the fact that it has its big share of chewing gum music. It is produced with style and makes no apologies, even putting Selena Gomez naked on the cover. And if the singing career should go downhill, she still has an equally active acting career to lean towards.

I must admit reading about Ezra Furman introduced me for the first time to the term gender-fluidity. In my time we called it bisexuality, but I will roll with the times from now on. Furman is a playful and colourful American artist, hard to pin down musically, full of surprises and twists and turns. Some of it goes over my head, but it is hard not to find anything on his album Perpetual Motion People that you don’t like, and I have found five highly enjoyable tracks for you.

Emitt Rhodes has taken up a lot of positions in his musical career, singer/songwriter, yes, but also drummer, recording engineer, bass player and pianist. With his newest album, Rainbow Ends, he is firmly in the country pop landscape with his music, beautiful, hummable pop music, good for you hearing and your mood.

Lauren Housley, Nerina Pallot, Ben Folds, David Gilmour, Richard Hawley, John Mayall, Diane Coffee, Darwin Deez, Keith Richards, Squeeze and James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg leave us for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seven girls, two boys and a band are filling vacant spots in my Easter addition to Petter’s Blog List, probably the best playlist of new, mostly unknown tracks in the known musical universe (sorry, shameless bragging or not, it had to be said). Some of the girls are truly that, the youngest is only 16, which means we have a lot to look forward to of musical brilliance in the years to come. So why not start with her?

Billie Marten is from Ripon in Yorkshire, and had her own YouTube channel at the age of nine, doing covers and impressing enough people to build a steady following. She has issued two EPs, the latter, As Long As, is now in my blog list, for very good reasons. The music is silky smooth, as Billie’s wonderful, calming voice. She reminds me of Rumer that had a short career a couple of years back (she may return…), but with an even more distinct relaxed sound.

If Billie is the princess of the minor key, Eilen Jewell from Idaho, is the queen, at least according to her album cover. Queen of the Minor Key is an impressive collection of songs with deep roots in folk and country and old-fashioned rock’n’roll. The album was recorded in 2011, but the music is so timeless, I couldn’t resist putting in six of the tracks. She has since recorded three (sic) live albums, and a new album was released last year. I might come back to it.

When British department store John Lewis issued their new Christmas commercial, they used the Norwegian teenager Aurora to sing a cover of Oasis’ Half The World Away. By doing this John Lewis introduced Aurora to a wider international audience, and two weeks ago she released her first full-length album, All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend. I do hope this is a start of a tremendous career, for Aurora from Bergen, Norway, is truly a talent out of the ordinary. Her insistent voice is something I haven’t experienced before from any other artist, coupled with lyrics proving that  Aurora is wise beyond her years. I have added seven songs, but could easily have added the whole album.

At the same time as Aurora released her album, a much more experienced Norwegian artist released her first solo album. I have played Frøkedal before in my play list, as lead singer in I was a King, but it is as a solo artist she really impresses me. Hold On Dreamer is a peculiar album, folksy and melodic and dreamy at the same time. She uses many acoustic instruments to create her sound, and the song writing is confident and strong. The songs may not be immediately hummable, but they leave a lasting impression.

From the village of Etne in Norway to Mali in Africa, there we meet Rokia Traore, a world music singer with an international background. Her father was a diplomat, so she was exposed to music from all over the world at an early stage. On her new album, Ne So, she stays quite true to her origins, but she is at her best in my view when she add influences from jazz and more Western music. I tire a bit from the most local of world music, and Traore has added a fair share of the local on the album, but I think you will enjoy the four great tracks I have added. Feel free to try the whole album.

You may not have heard of Elisabeth Corrin Maurus, which may be a good reason to perform under the name of Lissie, less of a mouthful. Lissie doesn’t live the urban rock life; she lives on a remote farm in Iowa, if she is not touring and recording. Her new album, My Wild West, has many references to rural life, and leaving the city behind. She paints music with broad strokes, sometimes bordering the pompous, sometimes vulnerably simple.

Let’s remain in the American West, and visit Samantha Crain of Native American descent, living in Oklahoma. Her music is sweet and melodic, but the lyrics very often show us an opinionated artist in the Dylan tradition. She cares about the issues she is singing about, whether she deals with race, wealth or class. It wouldn’t hurt to have more songwriters like Samantha… Her newest album, released last year, is called Under Branch & Thorn & Tree, from which I have added six glorious tracks.

The English band Turin Brakes has been recording since 1999 and is still at it, a few months ago releasing its eighth studio album, Lost Property. There is a lot of the mellow side of Oasis in their music, but Turin Brakes is hard to pin down, which may be more of a curse than a blessing. I like what I hear and have added seven very different tracks to my list. If you, like me, use shuffle a lot, you may have a hard time tying the seven songs together when you hear them, but the tracks make me straighten up every time I hear them. Who is this? Oh, it’s Turin Brakes!

Irish violinist and folk musician Colm Mac Con Iomaire is next. His solo album And Now The Weather was brought to my attention through Spotify’s brilliant Discover Weekly algorithm personalized list. The all-instrumental album offer true Irish folk, but with a contemporary feel to the music, joyful and positive.

I was seriously in doubt whether I should add tracks from my old hero Elton John’ new album, because I was so disappointed after having played through the tracks once. I am not alone in longing for the old Goodbye Yellow Brick Road sound to return, but I expect he doesn’t have it in him any more, even though he gets help from musicians from that period of his life, and the ever brilliant T-Bone Burnett has produced. The problem is the song writing, much less sophisticated and ground breaking than before. Still, as with other former musical giants, we may expect too much. When I listened the second time, the songs weren’t half bad, some of them enjoyable and foot-stamping good. So I changed my mind and added five new Elton John songs from Wonderful Crazy Night after all. What the heck.

Lots of artists are being excused from service to make room for the 57 new tracks: Ane Brun, Yo La Tengo, Amason, Brian Wilson, The Unthanks, Ingrid Michaelson, Kitty, Daily & Lewis, Rayland Baxter, Beach House, Sweet Baboo, Lianne LaHavas and Chris Connolly. Many of them you will find in last year’s Best of List.

58 individually picked tunes from 11 artists from 8 different countries have cautiously been added to my blog list, found HERE, to be devoured alone, one following the other or shuffled for your perpetual amazement. Some of the artists you have never heard of, others have most likely been an integral part of your life.

Some of you may even remember the slogan I have used as a title of this week’s blog, for the audiocassette Memorex. I came to think of the  commercials  when I heard the new album from Irish supergroup Villagers, Where Have You Been All My Life?, because the album was recorded live, without an audience and with all kinds of electronic and acoustic instruments. The songs are all from previous albums, one of which has pleased you blog list listeners before. I consider live recordings a bit flat and uninteresting, but there is something immediate about this Villagers album and the performance of these superb songs. Lead singer Conor O’Brian’s voice sounds more vulnerable and powerful than ever before.

A short trip across the Irish Sea brings us to Wales and the The Anchoress. Catherine Ann Davies hides behind the name, a versatile lady who performs music, writes non-fiction, has a PhD in Literature, and has been artist-in-residence at South Bank Centre in London. The Confessions of a Romance Novelist is not really a debut album for her, but for her “band”. I found the album a bit incoherent, did not enjoy it all, but some of the tracks had a classic feel to them, with roots in music from Kate Bush and a sinister Lily Allen (if there is such a thing).

We might as well take it geographically this week and cross the border to England and two truly classic artists. I suspect most of you readers were deeply saddened by the news of the death of David Bowie, perhaps the most innovative and powerful solo artist in the history of pop music. David Bowie introduced me to rock, his Alladin Sane album is still among my favourite albums of all time. Bowie managed to record one last album before he died and while knowing he was dying. Blackstar is influenced by both rock, jazz and sophisticated pop, and some of the tracks are quite challenging for fans of his most melodic songs. Still, like with most other albums from the master, Blackstars grows on you with every listen, to the extent that you will find yourself humming some of the tracks. I don’t know whether that would have made David Bowie happy or not.

One reviewer said about Suede that they sometimes mistake bigness with greatness, and on their new album, Night Thoughts, that may very well be the case, but I do think that they touch greatness often enough for me to listen to them. Brett Anderson was a guest in Skavlan, a talkshow I am in charge of for my employer NRK, and he argued that an album should be listened to as a unit, not as individual songs. I defy him, and have added four tracks that I particularly enjoy.

I have added three new Norwegian releases, first a solo outing by Highasakite’s Marte Eberson, Mad Boy. Marte was also part of Polopoly together with my jazz singer daughter Karoline, so this is not the first time she experiments outside the highly successful Highasakite environment. Mad Boy proves what considerable influence Marte Eberson has on Highasakite’s universe, because it is hard to hear how the music differs much from their style – which is good news for fans, making Mad Boy a kind of an extra Highasakite album.

I apologize to my non-Norwegian readers, but I have to add a band that sings only in Norwegian, and with lyrics that are as important as the music, No 4. This all-girls group’s first album is a delight, though, and I suspect the harmonies and melodies can please non-Norwegian listeners as well. The jazzy, swing-infused, harmony-strong album, Henda I været (Hands in the air) is filled to the brim with sophisticated lyrics and melodies to go with it.

Sivert Høyem is considerably more accessible for an international audience. Høyem was the lead singer of Madrugada, one of the best rock bands ever to come out of Scandinavia. He went solo a few years back, and with Lioness I hope he will reach international prominence – in Norway he is already an artist filling stadiums. His voice is warm and deep, his music very much grandiose, but this is truly greatness before bigness.

Erik Truffaz was born in Switzerland but has lived and performed in France. His style of jazz is on the truly accessible side, and his Erik Truffaz Quartet is worth listening to even if you don’t feel jazz is your thing. Their latest album Doni Doni mixes world music with jazz, giving it a musical flavour that makes it even more interesting to listen to. Erik Truffaz is a true bridge builder between different musical genres.

n 2015 I claimed Chris Connolly’s solo piano album among the top 10 albums of the year. This year I follow up with Frederico Albanese’s similar album, The Blue Hour. Albanese is using a bit more orchestration, but the album has a solo piano feel to it, and a wonderful feel it is, very romantic, soulful and often mournful. Albanese lives and performs in Berlin.

Then a long journey both musically and geographically, to Sia and Australia. Sia belongs to a group of singer/songwriters that I normally don’t enjoy listening to, shallow and highly commercialized music. But I can’t help being impressed with her ability to create strong and hummable gems on her new album This Is Acting, , and I even forgive her pretentious seriousness, at least most of the time. Nobody can take away her talent both as a performer and as a composer, and her constant criticism of media’s focus on appearance is further softening my resistance.

Finally another album from Eleanor Friedberger, her third outing in my blog list, but the weakest till now. New View has a number of toffee tracks, soft in the middle and hard on the outside, but fewer than on her previous albums. As a blog listener you needen’t worry, though, I have picked what I consider the five best tracks, and if you follow the album link, you can hear the rest as well.

We say goodbye to Sharon Robinson , Pete Atkin, The Deslondes, Buffy Siante-Marie, Roddy Frame, Lenka, Magnus Berg, Eleni Mandell, Rikke Normann, Pink Martini, Club des Beluges, The Last Hurrah!, Hamilton De Holanda, Restore to Past, Jodi Marie and George Ezra. I hope you have enjoyed them while they were part of the list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am starting the year with an offering of music looking both forwards and backwards, to infancy and old age. There is so much great new music out there, but I know it is getting harder to find than ever, since both radio stations and streaming services alike are focusing on a very narrow choice of new music. I hope that’s why you come to my list, or maybe other similar lists, to find new music that deserves to be considerably more widespread than it is, but doesn’t reach you through regular channels.

You find the whole album if you click on the album titles in the reviews. For my updated list with all new songs reviewed, plus previous reviewed tracks, click here.

Let’s start with two of the oldest and wisest in the music business, first Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra. John Lennon said that ELO made music the way The Beatles would have done had they continued. Listening to Alone in the Universe, recorded in 2014 and 2015, one can easily sympathize with Lennon’s statement. There is a lot of The Beatles in here, although lyrics and some of the melody lines are not near being as sophisticated as the Fab Four. Still, this is a great album from 68-year-old Lynne. He shows off songwriting techniques of the highest quality and the greatest enjoyment. After having listened through the album once, I was already humming to some of the songs, as if I had owned the album since the 1970s.

The second old wise man is Jools Holland, although he is still to be considered young after 57 years on the planet. He has been around forever, though, as a pianist, one of the best television hosts in the UK, and as a successful big band leader. Most contemporary artists of peerage have performed with him. He started out as a pianist in Squeeze, one of my favourite bands of all time (and in this list at the moment with their newest album). Holland has recorded an album with Ruby Turner, in the vicinity of big band and gospel. It is unfortunately not his best, mostly because the range of music is limited and fast becomes repetitive. I have added enough to keep the interest up, and if you want more, go to the whole Ruby & Jools album.

One reviewer said about the new album from Mozambiquean born Mariza that it is only the Portuguese language that stands between her and worldwide fame. I still think that Fado-inspired music will appeal only to a minority of music lovers, but Mundo is an album that should bring the genre to a wider audience, despite the language barrier, Here are songs that are heartbreakingly beautiful, performed with a voice range and control that you seldom hear anywhere. Mariza is a true citizen of Alfama in Lisbon, where she grew up and learned to sing the Fado in the tiny cafes there. But Mundo is so much more than Fado.

Next up, two albums that focus on lullabies and nursery rhymes, not the most likely genres in pop and rock. Still, the two albums in question could prove otherwise. Bill Wells has joined forces with Yo LaTengo (another list regular), and made arrangements of famous children’s rhymes that deviate quite a bit from the original. Some of the songs on Nursery Rhymes don’t do much for me, but in between there are new and truly surprising and enjoyable takes on the familiar. Bill Wells has done the trick before with Christmas songs, so what’s next?

I am quite fond of the very musical Wainright family, many generations of musicians that have all been regulars in my blog. Now the two half sisters Martha and Lycy, Loundon Wainwright’s daughters, have recorded Songs in the Dark, mostly made up of nursery rhymes. The sisters are truer to the originals than Bill Wells, which make the album a bit unexciting at times, but again there are gems hidden in between, and all of them are now in my collection for you to enjoy.

I’ll continue for a bit longer presenting albums in pairs: now on to two Western European singers with backgrounds from Africa. Swedish Sinabo Sey, with a father from Gambia, got a monster hit two years back with Younger, particularly a remix version by Norwegian Kygo. Her long awaited album, Pretend, didn’t disappoint, and her soulful, deep voice has taken Sweden by storm, introducing her as a great songwriter as well.

From Younger to Older, if you have stuck with my list for a very long time, you will recall Yeael Naim as one of the earliest artists I introduced. She is of Tunisian Jewish descent, and as with Sinabo Sey, there is certain influence of the Middle East and Africa in her music, although it isn’t dominant in any way. Her new album Older (a bit cheeky when she is only 37) hasn’t reached the same success as her first album, that made her sworld famous for a limited time, basically because Apple used one of her songs in a commercial. The new album deserves better, because not only is Yeael an emotive singer, her songwriting skills are impressive, and this is good and original pop music.

American singer and model Leah Nobel sings and writes songs of a pop genre that at the outset doesn’t stick out, but is pretty and unpretentious. However, when I listen for a bit longer, there is no doubt she knows the craft of songwriting as well; most of her songs are little tales, and her voice is smooth and charming, winning me over. Her EP, Just Like Sunday, gives promises of maturity and more sweet, but poignant music coming in the future.

A young singer, who cites Ram by Paul McCartney as one of his inspirations, deserves to be listened to. His first album, simply called Son Little, Aaron Livingston’s artist name, offers a number of songs with an old-fashioned r&b feel to them. I am being taken back to Sam Cooke’s universe, which isn’t the worst world to delve back into.

Finally, and the third Californian in a row, Lana del Rey and her David Lynch-like musical universe. The mystique of her voice and the cold, distant arrangements make Honeymoon the most mature album from her yet. The album is already a chart topper all over the world, and ideally shouldn’t have been in my blog list, but I can’t resist playing her, mostly because her musical roots from the 70s and 80s are so evident.

Some artists have served the list long and well and retire from today: Billy Wyman, James Taylor, Simply Red, Gill Landry, Florence + The Machine, Kathryn Williams, Ash, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Kacey Musgreaves, Tennis, Simi Stone, Richard Thompson, Nev Cottee and Alpine.