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dustedmagazine · 4 months

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Jennifer Kelly’s 2023 in Review: Still Human FWIW

I finally saw Sun Ra Arkestra

I first heard about Chat GPT in January this year, and it sounded bad from the start. I make most of my living writing things for big faceless corporations who view me as a cost. Cut that cost to zero and I’m out of a job. But for the first five months of 2024, I continued to be busy and I thought, well maybe it’s nothing. Then in May, like a light switch, everything stopped. I had one regular client who continued to pay a monthly retainer. Nothing else. And the usual mailings, pleadings with old clients, etc. had no effect. I’m close to retirement age. This summer, I thought I had arrived early.

Things have picked up since then, and right now, I’m in a good place. People are starting to notice Chat GPT’s ignorance of anything post 2021, its refusal to factcheck or footnote and its relentless blandness. Clients are coming back, but the floor doesn’t feel very solid under my feet. It could all go away at any time. (This is the lesson we all learned from COVID-19…that you could fall into the pit any time.)

The one thing that didn’t stop was Dusted, and for that I am very grateful. As I’ll explain to anyone who asks, there’s never been any money in Dusted, so there can’t be any less. We are more or less immune to economic pressures. And as long as we’re here, there is lots and lots of good music to write about.

My year started with two records that blew me away in January (and maybe December 2022) and held #1 and #2 slots all year. They were Meg Baird’s Furling and Robert Forster’s the Candle and the Flame. Next, came an email from Rob from Sunburned with a link to Stella Kola’s extraordinary debut, and then gosh, Sub Pop still sends me promos and here’s one from Mudhoney! Every time 2024 succeeded in getting me down, I’d get music from someone.

Live music was another solace. Shows that made me happy this year included Warp Trio, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Dear Nora, Vieux Farka Toure, Bridget St. John with Stella Kola, Sun Ra Arkestra, Kid Millions with Sarah Bernstein, Faun Fables, Sweeping Promises, Daniel Higgs, Constant Smiles, Baba Commandant (RIP), Xylouris White, Joseph Allred with Ruth Garbus and Ryan Davis with his Roadhouse band. Special mention goes to the always astonishing Thing in the Spring with Editrix, Rough Francis, Thus Love, Gorilla Toss, Equipment Pointed Ankh. Susan Alcorn, Marisa Anderson and Jim White and Bill Callahan.

The best show of the year, however, came late in the summer with William Tyler and the Impossible Truth band, an unbelievably talented, seasoned crew with Luke Schneider on pedal steel, Third Man mainstay Jack Lawrence on bass and Brian Kotzgur on drums. The way they opened up and fired up Tyler’s songs was a revelation, even to someone, like me, who’s been a fan since Behold the Spirit. Garcia Peoples opened, and they were great, too.

I should mention that we have recently been blessed with a bunch of excellent music venues nearby—Nova Arts in Keene and Epsilon Spires and the Stone Church in Brattleboro. Going to music used to always mean driving back from at least Northampton, sometimes further, late at night, and, as I get older and my night vision fades, it has been really nice not to have to do that. (Also, to all my Dusted-reader-musician-friends, if you play one of these venues, thank you, and let me know when you’re coming.)

With that, it’s time to talk about 2023 favorites. I’ll write about the first ten and then just list the rest.

Meg Baird — Furling (Drag City)

Meg Baird’s gorgeous solo album alternates between ghostly, inward-looking piano songs and bright swirls of 1960s psychedelia. Her extraordinary voice, high, pure, and unearthly, joins lush, burnished guitar grooves. Sometimes I think I like the swaggering bounce of “Will You Follow Me Home,” the best, but other times, the disembodied otherness of “Ashes, Ashes” is the prettiest thing I know.

Robert Forster — The Candle and the Flame (Tapete)

Forster’s solo records are always good, wry and funny and stuttering with strummy punk energy, but this one, recorded with family while his wife battled cancer, is his best yet. “She’s a Fighter,” a group sing-along is prickly and defiant, the only song specifically written about Karin’s illness, but threads of enduring, life-long love run all through this album. “Tender Years” is especially moving, as Forster sings, “I’m in a story with her, I know I can’t live without her, I can’t imagine why,” in a voice cracked with sincerity and feeling. Very few albums make me cry, but this one does.

Anohni and the Johnsons—My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross (Secretly Canadian)

The sound on Anohni’s fifth album with the Johnsons smolders in the pocket, its textures a nod to Marvin Gaye’s classic What’s Going On? It’s velvety smooth but taut with urgency, as the artist contemplates climate disaster and personal struggles. “It Must Change,” trills with the coolest falsetto, while “Sliver of Ice” reverberates with a low, hushed passion. Every song lands a punch, soft when it happens but ringing for days in your ears.

The Drin — Today My Friend You Drunk the Venom (Feel It)

“Venom” lurches and blurts, bass thumping, drums clashing, monotone vocals drenched in menace. It’s a punk song distilled to essence, a world in itself, a short, brutal blast that is also somehow psychedelically expansive. The Fall, the Swell Maps and Adrian Sherwood haunt this disc in various places, but the Drin is its own mysterious thing.

Wreckless Eric — Leisureland (Tapete)

“Get yourself a one-way ticket for the merry-go-round,” sings the Bard of Hull on the last and most exhilarating song from his ninth full-length. That’s “Drag Time,” with its indelible hook, its enveloping harmonies, its hint of Amy Rigby in the chorus. Let’s just go way out on a limb here and say it’s as good, maybe better, than “Whole Wide World.”

En Attendant Ana — Principia (Trouble in Mind)

Good lord, was Trouble in Mind on a roll this year or what? I could put Melanas or Tubs here, with FACS not far behind, but instead, let us contemplate the light-and-dark wonder of “Black Morning,” with its giddy counterpoints, its bright, sustaining trumpet, its boppy beat and its underpinning, somehow, of shadowy melancholy. Or the skanky bass that kicks off “Same Old Story,” in a prickly way, the lone element of dissonance that gives a daydream teeth.

Stella Kola—S-T (Self-Release)

Everybody who’s anybody in W. Mass alt.folk does a turn on this magical LP—centered around Beverly Ketch and Rob Thomas but including PG Six, Wednesday Knudson, Jeremy Pisani, Willy Lane and Jen Gelineau. Despite the expansiveness of the ensemble, these songs are feather light and lucid, like Pentangle sprinkled with magic dust.

Mudhoney — Plastic Eternity (Sub Pop)

Psychedelic overload meets raw punk and potty humor in this 12th album from the grunge godfathers. I like the sheer rush and swirl of cuts like “Almost Everything” and “Souvenir of my Trip” best, but bare, belligerent “Flush the Fascists” is grade-A too, and how can anyone resist Mark Arm paying tribute to his best bud on “Little Dogs.”

Beirut — Hadsel (Pompeii)

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Hadsel is surprisingly cheery for an album recorded on a remote Norwegian island in the dead of winter, with swoony harmonies and counterpoints, intricate synthesized beats and blares of an antique pipe organ. “We had so many plans,” Zach Condon sings, both mourning and subtly sending up his cohort’s response to the COVID pandemic, but this remarkably pretty album seems more like a happy accident.

The Feelies—Some Kinda Love (Bar None)

What a total pleasure it is when one jangly, drone-y, indie rock phenomenon pays tribute to the wellspring. In this case, it’s the Feelies covering many of the Velvet Underground’s best known songs at a live show in 2018 where everyone had a blast. Now you can, too.

More albums that I loved in the order that I thought of them.

Iron & Wine—Who Can See Forever Soundtrack (Sub Pop)

Melanas—Ahora (Trouble in Mind)

Sleaford Mods — UK Grim (Domino)

The Tubs — Dead Meat (Trouble in Mind)

Sky Furrows—Reflect and Oppose (Feeding Tube/Cardinal Fuzz)

Lonnie Holley — Oh Me Oh My (Jagjaguwar)

Yo La Tengo—This Stupid World (Matador)

The Toads—In the Wilderness (Upset the Rhythm)

Dan Melchior—Welcome to Redacted City (Midnight Cruiser)

James and the Giants—S-T (Kill Rock Stars)

Ben Chasny and Rick Tomlinson—Waves (VOIX)

Bonnie Prince Billy—Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You (Drag City)

CLASS—If You’ve Got Nothing (Feel It)

The Clientele—I’m Not There Anymore (Merge)

Devendra Banhart—Flying Wig (Mexican Summer)

Kristin Hersh—Clear Pond Road (FIRE)

Sally Anne Morgan—Carrying (Thrill Jockey)

FACS—Still Life in Decay (Trouble in Mind)

Setting—Shone a Rainbow Light On (Paradise of Bachelors)

Airto Moreira & Flora Purim—A Celebration (BBE)

Sweeping Promises—Good Living Is Coming For You (Feel It)

James Waudby—On the Ballast Miles (East Riding Acoustic)

Emergency Group—Venal Twin (Centripetal Force)

Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band—Sing Dancing on the Edge (Sophomore Lounge)

Tyvek—Overground (Gingko)

Wurld Series—The Giant’s Lawn (Melted Ice Cream)

Various Artists—STOP MVP (War Hen)

#dusted magazine #yearend 2023 #jennifer kelly #sun ra arkestra #william tyler #meg baird #robert forster #the drin #anohni #wreckless eric #en attendant ana #stella kola #mudhoney #beirut #the feelies

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polaroidblog · 2 months

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“Memoria polaroid” – un blog alla radio S23E24

“It’s time to smile / To see the sun outside / Even when it’s covered by clouds”, canta il ritornello della canzone firmata da Marco W Lippini che apre la scaletta di questa sera. Ogni tanto fa bene ricordarselo, anche se tutto intorno sembra suggerire il contrario. Proprio per questo, tra le nuvole basse, arriva per voi questa ora di novità indiepop e indie rock, accompagnate dai necessari…

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manysmallhands · 4 months

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My Favourite Songs of 2023 part 1: 40 - 31

The route to this post has not been the smoothest. I've been working on this list since the end of November but I got Covid a few weeks ago and so writing became impossible for a while. Given the amount of time that's passed between then and now, it's become clear to me that some of my choices would be different if i did them over again. However, I am sticking to my original version of the list, a few ups and downs notwithstanding. This is because of one reason and one reason only: I am lazy and I don't want to do it again. My apologies to Troye Sivan and Baby Queen, who i'd probably have found places for amongst others. I can only imagine the streams these artists will lose by not being covered in my blog posts and I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

However! Every song here is still a banger and, even if I think there might be one or two that are better, surely that only adds to the fun of speculation: Which could it be? Which ones would I have left out? Don't imagine it's definitely the songs with the lowest numbers: my method of ranking is fairly haphazard and I might go so far as to say that these numbers are a load of old bollocks. Still, I've enjoyed myself writing this and, given the infinitesimal number of people who will read it, that is surely the thing that counts. I'm posting the songs in rounds of ten cos that's all that Tumblr will let me embed at a time. Let's go!

40. Girl Ray - Everybody’s Saying That

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Girl Ray’s disco turn has in all truth been a bit ropey but Everybody’s Saying That is the best exception, all Nile Rogers shimmer and effortless Studio 54 cool. Poppy Hankin chimes in with the self confidence of the misfit (“Everybody’s saying that you could’ve done better but I really wanna end up with you!”), striking out with winningly frank charm against a backdrop of glittery nightlife

39. En Attendant Ana - Fools And Kings

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En Attendant Ana’s third LP was a surprise critical hit but it was the more delicate songs which really stood out for me. Fools And Kings in particular ditches the jangly mathrock approach for a gentler, almost old style RnB feel, as Margaux moves to a more human level lyrically. I don’t think there’s another moment across the album nearly as touching as when she sings “Are you OK y’know?”, a question that we'd all benefit by hearing from time to time.

38. Cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada

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This thumping remix of DBE and RAYE’s Ferrari Horses takes the original understated vocal performances and hammers at them with a full range of doofs, bleeps, icy synths and the general sense of being in the middle of a cocaine heart attack. The result was wedged in the top 3 for weeks this autumn and, while doomed never to top the charts, it still feels as bracing as the first time I heard it.

37. Maple Glider - Dinah

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Maple Glider is one of the new breed of folky singer songwriters but Dinah in particular has the same light as air charm as the sweetest kind of indiepop. Lyrically though, the song tells a much darker story, a tale of sexual abuse in the church where the ingenuousness in her voice underlines the deeply uncomfortable places that it goes. There's an obvious sense of queasiness in that contrast but Dinah's tuneful charm manages to hold it all together.

36. Dimension - DJ Turn It Up

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I’ve spent a lot of the last 6 months listening to Radio 1 and this sort of 90s style rave banger is the kind of thing they play a lot. DJ Turn It Up has stuck with me more than most though: maybe that's cos it was the one of the first that I heard, or possibly because of the way the vocal is used as a kind of rhythm track rather than the focal point, relying on the song's musical hooks and twitchy energy to wind up the listener. Whatever it is, DJ Turn It Up slaps: do as the lady says.

35. Talib Kweli/Madlib - Marathon Thru Babylon

Following on from last year’s excellent Black Star reunion (also produced by Madlib), Kweli’s solo project was just as good, with Marathon Thru Babylon providing one of the highlights. Madlib’s signature of grainy old soul samples and booming beats underpins Talib and Mechell Ndegeocello as they trade verses on the nature of time and its malcontents and throw in some conspiracy theory for good measure too. Mechell’s wake up sheeple ending may prompt me to crack a smile but in truth it all just adds to the song’s murky charm.

34. Charli XCX - Speed Drive

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One could make the case that Speed Drive has been phoned in a bit - trashy lyrics, yet another interpolation - but every time Charli says “HOT!” it probably makes me happier than I’ve been during any other song this year. The general impression I get from Speed Drive is that, not only would Charli and Barbie be fantastic pals, but also that I will cheerfully listen to any old bollocks that she puts out these days.

33. Free Love - Open The Door

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The Glasgow duo probably have fewer listeners than anyone in this list but they sounded like the band who were enjoying themselves the most in 2023. While their Insides album was a more eclectic mix overall, Open the Door sticks close to a Jean Michel Jarre-like template of the future, all laser shots and weird analogue FX, while Suzi Cook’s smartly accented vocals managed to keep an indie vibe within its razor sharp pop hooks.

32. Miley Cyrus - Used To Be Young

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Miley doing this kind of “looking back at my misspent youth” song aged 30 feels enjoyably transgressive in its own right but Used To Be Young is so much more than just its brilliant concept. A melodramatic power ballad with some fine turns of phrase, Miley stick two fingers up at the finger waggers and nails some genuinely colossal moments (her yelling of the title at 2.37 must surely become a karaoke staple) as the idea of Miley as ageing rock legend comes off as a surprisingly viable concept.

31. Lana Del Rey - The Grants

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There’s a gospel feel to the opener on Lana’s excellent Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard album, switching between a gloomy tone and something more redemptive as she contemplates reaching across the great divide. The effect is as uplifting as anything she's ever done, capturing that classic Lana space between the heartfelt and theatrical to create a secret third emotion that intensifies the whole idea. It’s another variation on her standard trick but what can I say, I remain easily pleased.

More tomorrow, if i get my act together.

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futuresandpasts · 1 year

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Portland, OR, 05.11.23: En Attendant Ana / Collate / Mini Blinds

More information here.

(three-color risograph print on paper, by me.)

#portland shows #risograph #en attendant ana #collate #mini blinds

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iamthecrime · 9 months

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#en attendant ana #wonder #principia #music

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twinkandwink · 7 months

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Nowadays Sunday night gigs are a non-starter as I can't hack the fatigue at the start of a working week but I made an exception for Parisienne band En Attendant Ana. There's some good indiepop coming from Paris at the moment. Loved every song they played and I could have easily listened to more.

Track - Flesh & Blood

En Attendant Ana - The Lanes, Bristol 1st Oct 2023

#en attendant ana #gigs #band photography #bristol #bands #indie music #gig photography #music #indie pop #live gigs #twee pop #paris bands #french indie pop #french indie #french bands

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olaskoolkitchen · 8 months

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Ola's Kool Kitchen podcast 488 sunset on summer sounds from The Nude Party, En Attendant Ana, Tanukichan, Death And Vanilla, Iceblynk, Way Dynamic, Air Waves & Macie Stewart

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musicfrombeyond · 10 months

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En Attendant Ana - Wonder (2023)

#france #indie #indie rock #en attendant ana #wonder #music #video #music video #Youtube

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goodbysunball · 10 months

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Clearing the weeds

Your monthly four-pack is here. While irregular, I'm sure you'll find something delicious within. Expect more in a few days' time, or expect me to fail to deliver on that statement. In any case, let's dive into it; three rather bleak ones offset by a sunny one, because it's OK to let the light in when it's too oppressive to go outside.

CIA Debutante, Down, Willow (Siltbreeze)

Third, and best, LP from the duo of Nathan Roche and Paul Bonnet, further entrenched in the dystopian landscapes armed with a dead-eyed stare and dry wit. The duo sounds rejuvenated here; I liked Dust, but there were parts of that record that felt forced and awkward. Down, Willow doubles down on what they do best: Roche's bleak recitations matched by Bonnet's scraping, harsh floor shapeshifting beneath their feet. The drum machine seems to have gotten new batteries, as the rhythms and tempos often approach danceable on "The New Season" and "A Dove," and both tracks feature some pretty caustic ripping guitar, too. Compositionally, Down, Willow is a big step forward, sounds growing deliberately with subtle changes in tone, pieces added delicately until the music propagates on its own, fraying and sparking and eventually exterminating itself. The tracks here are brief, all but one below five minutes each, capable of maximizing impact in a short duration not unlike Jorge Luis Borges' short stories. Roche's writing isn't on Borges' level, but the comparison holds when one considers the ability of these tracks to effectively transport the listener into different environments. Take "Japanese Garden," where layers of guitar give the effect of bouyancy and danger, walking on liquid mercury, the feeling of levitation briefly disappearing at track's end but soon returning in a new form on the instrumental "The Air Loom." Only the slow start to "Cabinet Minister" allows reality to seep in, though the track gradually builds to again cloud (or is it enhance?) reality, once again pulled into Down, Willow's sandpaper embrace. CIA Debutante, the probing magnifying glass for our doomed reality, as good as ever. Now, how about some U.S. shows?

Joe Colley, Pleasure Pressure (New Forces)

A quick return from Joe Colley, following up last year's stunningly bleak Deformation of Tone with another round of existential dread in Pleasure Pressure. He's been at it for a long time now, and each subsequent release seems to hone in further on what sounds or compositional choices will pinpoint unspoken fears and anxieties. While the LP jacket design makes it easy to think of Pleasure Pressure and Deformation of Tone as a pair, the former feels more like something that would've appeared on Kye rather than venerated noise label New Forces. It often has the feel of pieced-together field recordings, sounds given added heft through isolation and placement in a compositional whole. A bulk of the first side sounds like recordings of a room with a malfunctioning steam heater, for instance, and there's lots of fumbling, hard-to-place noises, hands moving pieces without clear purpose. I don't think Colley makes music with field recordings, though it's impressive that he can conjure these feelings and visions through mechanical synthesis. Certain points, like the beginning of the second side, immediately grab my attention, all sheared metal and churning devices; other portions feel a bit listless. With infrequent loud sections and without the intermittent samples of people speaking included on Deformation of Tone to guide the listener a bit, the record can lose focus. I imagine it sounds like walking around a residential area just hit by a tornado, crackling wires and burst pipes interspersed with eerie stillness, but also walking around long enough to become inured to the bizarre landscape. That same sort of disconnect could be at play here: I like the corroded sounds on Pleasure Pressure, but they often feel too aloof. When a voice finally appears at the very end, positing that "being born is violence," it lands with a thud, having not been hoisted up by the preceding sounds. Instead, Pleasure Pressure is content to writhe in murky doubt and curdled anxiety, risk-averse though more than capable and committed.

En Attendant Ana, Principia (Trouble In Mind)

Trouble In Mind has been doing a pretty great job filling its roster with international talent, and Paris' En Attendant Ana are one of their longer-running acts, this being their third LP with the label. Their sound is a keyboard driven pop, not too far off from Slumberland's sound with a healthy dash of the Clean, but they sprinkle in enough magic to make the music stick. That magic can be brief appearances by Camille Frechou's saxophone or trumpet, or it can be Margaux Bouchaudon’s meandering vocals on "Fools & Kings," or it can just be the band transforming a Loaded-style track into their own sound ("Principia"). Principia is sorta billed as the band's grown-up record, and there are big swings here: "Same Old Story" channels Stereolab with success, and "Wonder" straps into a krautrock groove, hoping to outrun past mistakes. What appears to be gone is the youthful jitteriness or exuberance of a track like "Down the Hill" from previous album Juillet, replaced instead by a handful of so-so tracks that evade remembrance. "Black Morning," "Ada, Mary, Diane" and "The Cut Off" seem like afterthoughts compared to the title track or "Anita," pleasant enough but weighing down the album. "Anita," on the other hand, is the track here, as much as everyone will talk about "Wonder"; it's everything they do well in one track, a motorik beat and rubbery bass taking the reins and holding tight as the vocals sway and saxophone blares. There's good reason why "Anita" opened their set that I caught a few weeks ago. As far as their albums go, I think I still give the edge to Juillet, but the handful of tracks that connect on Principia make it more than worthwhile.

Leda, Neuter (Discreet Music)

Unexpected and wholly welcome new LP from Leda (née Sofie Herner, 1/2 of Neutral), a proper follow-up to 2017's Gitarrmusik III-X landing on the heels of a cassette released by a label that shall not be named. You can skip the tape anyway, 'cause Neuter is what you want: brittle, unadorned chords and loops; readings doubled as lyrics tucked in the background, cloaked in distortion; and a spare but effective presentation, as much about what is there as what isn't. Tracks 2 and 5 are probably the most approachable compositions, comparatively, King Blood-style riffs repeated ad nauseam, but all tension and no release. What Leda appears to reach for, and often achieves, is transcendence through repetition, a feat notable for the short length of the tracks. I'm reminded of Robert Turman's Spirals of Everlasting Change (tracks 3 and 7) and the longer recordings from Paul Bowles' recordings in Morocco (track 8, my favorite here) throughout Neuter, but Leda's work feels grittier, not offering an escape so much as a hard look at what's around. What can often sound like music on life support ends up slowly pulling the listener into its vortex, making it difficult to do anything else but turn up the volume. The artwork is quietly stunning, too, the harsh jacket flooded with what looks like a micrograph of etched metal or rock, offering no clues as to what's within. Plenty of copies of Neuter have been pressed, though I'd prioritize grabbing one - a top favorite of the year.

#CIA Debutante #Siltbreeze #Joe Colley #New Forces #En Attendant Ana #Trouble In Mind #Leda #Discreet Music

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