A to Z
DAVID ALLRED
The Cell ERASED TAPES
7/10
Second solo set from erstwhile Peter Broderick collaborator
The haunting, folk-infused harmonies of this Sacramento multi-instrumentalist’s debut, The Transition, were sometimes breathtaking, but on this mini-album follow-up, Allred’s creamy vocal tones hold their own. They’re offset by atmospheric midnight piano on the hymn-like “Nature’s Course” and the title track, and graceful cello on “Mandatory Soul”. Still, it’s slightly puzzling that he’s only released seven tracks now rather than waiting to build a full-length second LP. “Family” sounds more like a demo without the same evocative production and accompaniment, and a couple of other tracks resemble tantalising half-songs. Either way, he certainly leaves us wanting more. JOHNNY SHARP
ANATOLIAN WEAPONS FEAT. SEIRIOS SAVVAIDIS
To The Mother Of Gods BEATS IN SPACE
8/10
Hellenic heavyweights tussle
An unlikely but uplifting collaboration between two of Greece’s alternative treasures, the electronic producer Aggelos Baltas and the folk singer and guitarist Seirios Savvaidis. Both artists’ work veers towards the psychedelic – Baltas’ Anatolian Weapons deploy druggy chuggers, Savvaidis often spirals into lysergic incantation – and here, with Baltas sympathetically repurposing elements of Savvaidis’ songs, this inspired fusion results in the kind of whacked-out sunrise funk (“Tarachti Katarrachti”) and meditative grooves (“Ston Stavraito”) mainlined for decades by cosmic warlords on Mediterranean dancefloors. By preserving the material’s folkish integrity, Baltas presents a compelling blend of ancient and modern. PIERS MARTIN
ELLEN ARKBRO
Chords SUBTEXT
7/10
Investigations in drone by young Swedish composer
Stockholm is home to a thriving experimental composition scene, institutions like Elektronmusikstudion and Fylkingen training up a new generation of composers working in electroacoustic styles. Still in her twenties, Arkbro is already making thoughtful contributions to the field, working with intonation and synthesis to make rich and vibrant drone music. Chords comprises two extended tracks, linked but distinct. “Chords For Organ” weaves a dense, powerful tone from material recorded at Malmö’s St John’s Church, while “Chords For Guitar” uses digital synthesis to turn a strummed guitar into something of bright, magical intensity. Chords is a stark, minimal listen – but one that rewards patience. LOUIS PATTISON
BAMBOO
Daughters Of The Sky UPSET! THE RHYTHM
7/10
London duo’s alluringly off-centre synthpop third
With Bamboo, Rachel Horwood (also of Trash Kit and Bas Jan) and Nick Carlisle (Peepholes) have parked their post-punk in favour of hypnagogic pop. But there’s much more to them than the glow of collective memory: using vintage synths/drum machines plus digital technology, Daughters… mixes history, fable and philosophical thought, with vocalist Horwood switching between the giddily euphoric and mournfully reflective. There are echoes of David Sylvian (channelled via Tune-Yards on “Diamond Springs”) and even Thompson Twins (in “Memories All At Once”), but nostalgia barely figures. Most intriguing is “East Of The Sun/ West Of The Moon”, where Chinese pop, Stereolab’s artful shimmy and Celtic folk blend in an 11-minute raga. SHARON O’CONNELL
BITW
Bitw KLEP DIM TREP
8/10
Cate Le Bon-approved Super Furry analogue
Fortified by the homebrew pop of R Stevie Moore and the Cleaners From Venus, Gruff ab Arwel retreated to his Caernarfon living room to make his debut LP, inspired – at least in part – by his adventures in Gruff Rhys’ backing band, and with Match Of The Day-approved surf group Y Niwl. Forever Changes on a Crass Records budget, Bitw fizzes with wayward melody; “Diolch Am Eich Sylwadau, David” is a notable mashup of “Knights In White Satin” and “We Three Kings of Orient Are”, while XTC and Monochrome Set fetishists will swoon for “Honey Milk Salty Miracle” and the dot-matrix-printer psychedelia of “Poen Tyfiant”. A tiny triumph. JIM WIRTH
BLACK PUMAS
Black Pumas ATO
7/10
Austin duo set off a soul explosion
A mainstay of Austin’s music scene and co-founder of the much-treasured Latin rock-soul-funk ensemble Grupo Fantasma, guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada was searching for a vocalist who could do justice to some psychedelic-soul demos when a friend connected him with a Californian newcomer named Eric Burton. The Black Pumas’ debut proves just how fortuitous the pairing was. Quesada’s Norman Whitfield-via-Dap-Kings grooves are impeccably matched with Burton’s voice, which can go from buttery Al Green smooth to Wilson Pickett bluster in no time flat – just try “Black Moon Rising”, “You Know Better” and the wrenching “Oct 33” for vivid proof. The duo’s lesser songs may not stray from a familiar pocket of retro-soul, but it’s a very fine pocket nonetheless. JASON ANDERSON
PIP BLOM
Boat HEAVENLY
8/10
Dutch, sensitive: buzzsaw belter from C86 atavists
