Reviews

The Bend: We Disappear

The Bend

We Disappear

Armchair Records

The Bend is one of the projects involving Fane Flaws, Tony Backhouse and Peter Dasent – the three musical friends have a 40+ year connection and have released music together as Spats, I Am Joe’s Music and most successfully in the collective consciousness as The Crocodiles. Under the name The Bend they made the music for the multimedia project The Underwatermelon Man & Other Unreasonable Rhymes (a book and video album for children) – and now, we have a new album by The Bend, a new album that was started in 1987, was lost for many years, never fully forgotten, now finally resurrected. Read More »

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May 31, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Chris Benstead: Wrath of Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Chris Benstead

Wrath of Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Sony Classical

I enjoyed the movie – I always feel like I should point that out, and acknowledge when reviewing a soundtrack whether I’ve actually seen the film or not. In fact I was viscerally charged by this score while watching the movie. I was convinced that I was listening to something by Hildur Guðnadóttir – her scores for Joker and also Chernobyl were brilliant as accompaniment to those moving images but also playable (and profound) in and of themselves. Same goes for her collaboration with Jóhann Jóhannsson on the score for Mary Magdalene. Read More »

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May 30, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Chrissie Hynde: Standing In The Doorway – Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan

Chrissie Hynde

Standing In The Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan

BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd

Recently I was at a local Bob Dylan tribute gig – a band that gets together and plays the songs. It was the eve of Bob’s 80^th and the show was sold out and the friends in attendance were happy. Someone texted me to say they thought the band was doing a great job and I replied something along the lines of, “the songs are all there – if you fuck this up, it’s on you”. Read More »

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May 28, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Tamil Rogeon: Son of Nyx

Tamil Rogeon

Son of Nyx

Soul Bank Music

Tamil Rogeon is a globetrotting Australian music and Son of Nyx is his latest – and it’s pretty cool all the way through; the composer and musician swapping his regular violin for the deeper tones of the viola, a far less obvious choice with regard to anything jazz-related, for there are certainly many classic jazz albums to feature a violin or made by leaders where that’s the main axe. But name me a viola jazz record? Thought so. Read More »

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May 27, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Stephanie Nilles: I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag – The White Flag

Stephanie Nilles

I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag – The White Flag

Sunnyside

To listen to the compositions of Charles Mingus is to hear aspects of classical, avant-garde, blues, gospel, poetry and soul all within the confines of jazz. Mingus pushed everything through that spectre, viewed everything through that lens. Maybe he was the great 20^th Century composer, certainly one of the most challenging, creative and arresting forces in music. Read More »

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May 27, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Chris Schlarb & Chad Taylor: Time No Changes

Chris Schlarb & Chad Taylor

Time No Changes

Joyful Noise Recordings & BIG EGO Records

Chris Schlarb is a guitarist – 6 and 12 strings, acoustic and electric – and Chad Taylor is a drummer, also adding marimba and a few other percussion instruments. This duo set sits right in the middle of the wild late-60s recordings between guitarist Sandy Bull with drummer Billy Higgins and the late-90s work that Buckethead did with drummer Brain. Read More »

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May 26, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Wrath of Man: Film

Wrath of Man

Director: Guy Ritchie

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Miramax/United Artists

It’s a Guy Ritchie film – and it’s being billed as his reunion with Jason Statham, their first film together in 15 years after making three movies in quick succession together and essentially make their names together. But Wrath of Man (based loosely on the 2004 French film Cash Truck) is really more of a Jason Statham film, in that we’ve seen the emotionless, cold, hard man Jase do this movie many times. And all of the Guy Ritchie dialogue and tropes crumble away after a fun scene-setting first 20 minutes.

This is not a bad thing by the way. Read More »

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May 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt: Made Out of Sound

Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt

Made Out of Sound

Palilalia

I love Bill Orcutt. He hits at the guitar in a way that makes me think of heroes like Marc Ribot and Sonny Sharrock. There’s wildness in his way – he tears at the strings and the ugly side of a beautiful melody is instantly revealed. You guessed it: It’s all the more beautiful for that. I love Chris Corsano too. He stirs at his drumkit like he’s baking and cooking and all at once too. His hands dance across cymbals, skins and rims and he is as much at home making psychedelic rock with guitarists like Sir Richard Bishop as he is creating a through-line of dark-walled groove for Bjork. Read More »

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May 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Ryan Adams: Wednesdays

Ryan Adams

Wednesdays

Pax Americana Rec

Ryan Adams was cancelled. And like Louis CK and cancelled men in general he went away for a while. But not that long. Wednesdays was dropped just before Christmas last year as a “surprise” album; no one was really waiting for any more surprises from Adams. The album was in the works just ahead of his cancellation (I can’t be bothered linking, if you’re reading this you surely know about Adams’ outing as a creep and controller – and if not you can find out easily enough). Read More »

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May 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Dan Wilson: Vessels of Wood and Earth

Dan Wilson

Vessels of Wood and Earth

Brother Mister Productions

Dan Wilson is firmly from the Grant Green/We Montgomery school of jazz guitar; if you loved the early years of George Benson cookin’ with gas in a post be-bop lighthouse then you’re welcome here. If you got what Ronny Jordan was about but wished he’d just played jazz then you’ll find plenty to like here. If you listened to Russel Malone – solo or as part of Diana Krall’s best band – then you’ll be at home with the sounds Wilson makes. Read More »

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May 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Weezer: Van Weezer

Weezer

Van Weezer

Crush Music/Atlantic

This is the fifteenth album by American band Weezer.
Here is a review of the album: Read More »

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May 22, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Garage A Trois: Calm Down Cologne

Garage A Trois

Calm Down Cologne

Royal Potato Family

Garage A Trois was formed by drummer Stanton Moore, guitarist Charlie Hunter and saxophonist Skerik in the late-90s. Since all three play in other bands, release solo records and contribute session work to all sorts of projects the original Garage trio was very quickly very fluid. Sometimes a quartet, and never ever quite a trio (since Hunter plays guitar and bass on one hybrid instrument and Skerik often plays sax one handed while adding synths and keys) the band has made a few records but this is only the second to feature the original trio. It’s also the band’s first album in pretty much a decade. Read More »