Of personal journeys and beyond

A strikingly brave, genre-blurring album

Robert Plant — Carry Fire (None Such) 

Having had a taste of being the front man of one of the greatest rock bands in history, it’s no surprise Robert Plant couldn’t stop making music. Plant’s 11th and newest solo album may not be a return to his classic rock roots as some fans may have hoped, but it is a record that solidifies the latter portion of his career as one of rock’s most contemporary artists. Possessing a folk vibe, with Plant’s hypnotic vocals and a mystical rhythm, the album creates a fascinating selection of instruments and sounds. Plant’s multi-instrumentalist backing quartet, The Sensational Space Shifters, shares writing credits on 10 of the 11 tracks, while the dreamy acoustic-electric world music approach remains integral. Albanian cellist Redi Hasa performs on three tracks, as does the celebrated Seth Lakeman on viola and fiddle. The opening track, The May Queen, has moody atmospherics that give it an otherworldly gloss. Album highlight, New World, looks at the effect of how unavoidable immigration means that our nations and identities are always in a state of instability. Driving up the tempo and lifting the mood, Carving Up The World Again…A Wall And Not A Fence is aimed at Brexit and Donald Trump. With a wicked sense of humor and some delectable guitar work, it also has a very southern feel to the music. A Way With Words is an incredible ballad, with perfect production that allows each delicate element to merge flawlessly, particularly the backing vocals and lasting piano line. On the title track, Carry Fire, he brings a simple Eastern style display that carries the sound across, while Heaven Sent combines it with electro obscure beats. Throughout, Plant is in fine vocal form as he wails through his lyrics and you get the sense from his delivery that he’s fully enjoying what he’s doing.

Essential tracks: The May Queen, New World, Heaven Sent, A Way With Words 

Rating ****

---

Artistic emotion, vulnerable spirit

Julien Baker — Turn Out The Lights (Matador)

On her second full-length, Julien Baker offers an outstanding collection of songs that manages to be deeply private, distinctly universal and infinitely confessional at the same time. While her 2015 debut, Sprained Ankle, focused mostly on Baker and her guitar, the 21-year-old reaches new liberal heights here. Baker has struggled with depression and addiction, and she finds poetry in the language of therapy and medications. Over, the opening track, sounds almost straight from a drama soundtrack. The gentle piano and tender strings weave their way into the first single from the album, Appointments. The track explores the struggle and loneliness and echoes some kind of hope amongst hopelessness; “Maybe it’s all gonna turn out all right, and I know that it’s not, but I have to believe that it is.” In Shadowboxing, we hear Baker at her most gentle so far, as her vocals are only accompanied by her guitar to start with and then later by tinkles of piano and some stunning orchestration. Everything That Helps You Sleep and Televangelist are two piano-driven ballads with touching lyrics and, in the latter, beautifully crafted string accompaniment. Baker clashes with herself throughout the album, most visibly on the title track when she sings: “When I turn out the lights/ there’s no one there/ between myself and me.” Every track covers an important topic, flowing into each other. In Happy To Be Here, Baker’s voice starts out quiet and gets louder and louder: “I heard there’s a fix for everyone else/ Then why, then why, then why, then whyyyyy not me?” The stunning finale track Claws in your Back, is a lyrical marvel: “I’m better off learning how to be living with demons mistaken for saints — if you keep it between us, I think they’re the same.” One of Baker’s many talents is the skill to create entire worlds out of the most cherished moments.

Essential tracks: Shadowboxing, Televangelist, Over, Happy To Be Here

Rating ***

---

When two creative minds jam 

Courtney Barnett — Lotta Sea Lice (Matador) 

Lotta Sea Lice brings together Melbourne-based indie garage guitarist Courtney Barnett and indie-rocker Kurt Vile. The former’s 2013 EP A Sea of Split Peas and 2015 debut studio album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit received critical praise. The latter is former War on Drugs lead guitarist whose six solo albums received similar acclaim. Right from the beginning, it’s clear that this pairing is perfect. The opener, Over Everything, a cheerful cut of easygoing alt-pop, is a fine example as the duo’s voices split and crack over a tumbling melody that sees them occasionally soaring over the top. The conversational style feels like listening in on a private conversation on the artist psyche, delving deep into the minds of both. The complex drums on Let It Go really take that song to another level, stealing attention from the vocals and guitar. The two sing in a hymn-like rhythm, with her eventually asking, “What comes first, the chorus or the verse?” The album sees Barnett and Vile push each other to new heights, challenging one another. Peepin’ Tom (a cover of a song by Vile) sees Barnett pondering on the inner emotions we feel on an everyday basis over a beautifully plucked guitar. On Script sees Barnett immaculately capturing the fatigue of having to spend every night like “a well-rehearsed stage show”. In Fear Is Like A Forest, arguably the highlight of Lotta Sea Lice, the duo covers Barnett’s partner Jen Cloher’s immensely underrated song from her 2009 album Hidden Hands. Another cover includes Vile’s take on Barnett’s Outta the Woodwork, which turns out to be stronger than the original.

Essential tracks: Fear Is Like A Forest, Over Everything, Continental Breakfast, On Script

Rating ***

---

Sense and sensibility

 

St Vincent — Masseduction (Loma Vista)

Annie Clark a.k.a. St Vincent’s fifth studio album Masseducation is easily her boldest record yet. Experimental electronics, rising beats and thriving bass are passionately packaged into vibrant arrangements that feature Clark’s wild guitar bursts and her distinctively graceful voice. Opening with the heavy Hang On Me, she sets the scene of catastrophe and uncertainty through vocal distortion and heartfelt lyrics. It goes: “Hang on me cause you and me we’re not meant for this world.” Los Ageless plays hide ’n’ seek before exploding into a gigantic chorus. On the outro, Clark whispers, “I try to write you a love song but it comes out a lament.” Happy Birthday Johnny serves as a sequel to her 2014 track Prince Johnny, but she mellows it completely down for this song with just a piano and her vulnerable vocals. There are certainly some hints scattered throughout about Clark’s relationship with model Delevingne. Young Lover being the most obvious of them. In Sugarboy, Clark declares, “Boys! I am a lot like you/ Girls! I am a lot like you,” keeping up with Prince’s promise that “I’m not a woman/ I’m not a man/ I am something that you’ll never comprehend.” “I have lost a hero, I have lost a friend,” she calls out while wandering the cold streets of album highlight New York. The string-fused Slow Dance takes on a person’s feeling at a party when he’s just not feeling it: “Am I thinking what everybody’s thinking?/ I’m so glad I came but I can’t wait to leave,” he confesses. In the closing track, Smoking Section, Clark opens up about her depression and ends with a glimmer of hope, as she longingly sings: “It’s not the end.”

Essential tracks: New York, Sugarboy, Happy Birthday Johnny, Los Ageless

 

Rating ****

---

Top 10 Singles

Rockstar Post Malone feat. 21 Savage (CU)

Havana Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug (CU)

Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) Cardi B (NM)

Feel It Still Portugal. The Man (CU)

Sorry Not Sorry Demi Lovato (FD)

Too Good At Goodbyes Sam Smith (CU)

Thunder Imagine Dragons (NM)

I Get The Bag Gucci Mane feat. Migos (CU)

Perfect Ed Sheeran (FD)

MotorSport Migos, Nicki Minaj & Cardi B (CU) 

Legend: (CU): Climbing Up (FD): Falling Down    

 

(NM): Non-Mover (NE): New Entry