ELLEN ARKBRO
Sounds While Waiting
W.25TH
8/10
New hallucinatory organ works, deep and droning
The core factor that distinguishes the work of Swedish composer Ellen Arkbro from the softer, more poetic compositions of many of her peers, is steely-eyed focus: her music is almost brutal in its clarity and simplicity. So it is, again, with Sounds While Waiting, where she returns to the organ, and explores the possibilities of sustained chords on multiple organs, played in the resonant space of a church in Unnaryd, Sweden. Simple gestures, clearly explored, but what heaven is the outcome: the five pieces here are dense vibrations of spirit, the thrum and huff of organs divinely detailed. JON DALE
MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON
Les Jardins Mystiques Vol 1
BRAINFEEDER
8/10
Four-LP introduction to the magical world of Los Angeles composer
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is one of those figures who makes your favourite records tick, a sideman for Brainfeeder royalty such as Kamasi Washington and Thundercat, not to mention a collaborator with A-listers from Rihanna to Mary J Blige. This sprawling set is a testament to his talents not just as multi-instrumentalist but as bandleader, a rapturous unwind through sprightly bouzouki-powered jazz (“Tzedakah”), soulful strings (“Airavata”) and serene New Age (“Kiseki”, featuring bass clarinet from Bennie Maupin, best remembered for his work on Bitches Brew). The central thread here is a sensibility: a sort of celestial calm born from the confluence of Atwood-Ferguson’s Buddhist faith and his enviable chops. LOUIS PATTISON
BAS JAN
Back To The Swamp
FIRE
8/10
Post-punk Londoners get down and dirty on tuneful third
The “swamp” Bas Jan reference on their third album is both a sound and a state of mind: apposite single “No More Swamp” finds Serafina Steer reckoning with the responsibilities, therapy bills and clean eating that “take the fun right out of” adult life. While, lyrically, the post-punk quartet seem to yearn for a return to simpler times, a cleaned-up sound also does their wilder tendencies justice: there are skittish synths (“At The Counter”), airy string melancholia (the title track) and choral weirdness (“Ding Dong”). Steer’s lyrics, meanwhile, are among her strongest yet, with “Singing Bar”, set in a Hong Kong karaoke club, a particularly stunning piece of scene-setting. LISA-MARIE FERLA
BEIRUT
Hadsel
POMPEII
8/10
Beirut mastermind finds inspiration in remote Scandinavia
Hadsel, Zach Condon’s sixth album at the helm of Beirut, opens with a blast of sharp organ chords, immense and startling – a fresh twist on the subdued world-folk he’s been crafting since 2006. Condon discovered the instrument in an old wooden church on the Norwegian island of Hadseloya, where he retreated following a throat ailment and a cancelled tour in 2019. It’s the foundational instrument on these new songs, generating a rich thrum on “Spillhaugen” and a delicate burble on closer “Regulatory”. Hadsel sounds both ethereal and earthly, pitting percolating rhythms against an arctic done to evoke the fjords and northern lights around him. STEPHEN DEUSNER
ANDREW BIRD
Outside Problems
LORNA VISTA
5/10
Violinist and songwriter puts down the mic
After making one of his most confessional-sounding records to date in the shape of last year’s Inside Problems, this prolific Chicago-raised songwriter leaves his violin to do the talking on this sibling release. Without top-line melodies and Bird’s reliably ear-pricking lyrics to reel us in, Outside… takes a while to make its mark, even if the finger-clicking strut of “Mancey”, the pseudo-pagan jig of “Festivus” and the plucked strings of “Mormon House Party” create a likeably earthy groove. Likewise, there’s an alluringly atmospheric feel to the six-minute “Epilogue”, but these remain cute sketches in need of more colour to fully draw us in. JOHNNY SHARP
BLACK PUMAS
Chronicles Of A Diamond
ATO
6/10
Austin-based band stretches out on trippy second
Black Pumas guitarist-producer Adrian Quesada and frontman Eric Burton have responded to the challenge of following up their 2019 left-field breakthrough not by trying to replicate the sound of Black Pumas but by following their impulses wherever they lead, from the Santana-style sultry groove of “More Than A Love Song” and the Curtis Mayfield-inspired title track to the Portishead-like noir of “Sauvignon” and the lysergic sweep of “Rock And Roll”. Burton shows increased versatility, breaking into a helium falsetto on “Hello” and taking flight on the
