KIRSTEN
KAY
THOEN,
FLORENTDRILLON
24 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
DEVENDRA BANHART
Ma
NONESUCH
8/10
Prolificmulti-hyphenatedelivers
pan-culturalgrooves
Mais analbumof
gentleprotest;an
arterycirculating
anarrayofglobal
influences,from
Japanesecitypopto
bossanovaandthesoundsandcolours
ofhisnativeVenezuela,ina displayof
pan-culturalcelebrationthatsubtly
defiesthexenophobiainfectingmany
a nation.Thealbum’sthesis,too,is
quietlyrevolutionary,celebratingthe
nurturingqualityoffemaleinstinct,
themaineveryculture.These
13 groovingandtexturalsong-poems
arehismostfocusedworktodateand,
althoughloadedwithmeaning,Ma
neverfeelsheavy or burdensome.
ERINOSMON
BATFORLASHES
LostGirls
AWAL RECORDINGS
8/10
Romanceis anythingbutdeadon
Natasha Khan’sfifthalbum
Onewouldhope
fewofBatFor
Lashes’songsare
autobiographical.
2016’sTheBridewas
sunginthepersona
ofa bereavedfiancée,butherethe
protagonistis unsettlinglyhungry
forloveagain.“KidsInTheDark”is
sweetlynostalgia-tingedandcould
soundtrackan’80sromanticthriller,
and“PeachSky”is decoratedwith
sparklingsonicspiralsasshevows,
“I knowit ain’tright...I wanta long
goodnight.” “SoGood”is vintagesynth
popoutlining“anaddiction” fora bad
boy,somaybeshe’snotgettingany
wiserwithage.Butwhoarewetojudge
whenthetunesare getting stronger?
JOHNNYSHARP
BELLEANDSEBASTIAN
DaysOfBagnold Summer
M ATA D O R
8/10
Scottish septet presents new
songsandre-recordedclassics
for forthcomingfilm
Whencreatingthe
soundtrackforthis
coming-of-agefilm,
indie-popoutfit
BelleAndSebastian
offereda troveof
newandclassicsongsfordirector
SimonBirdtochoosefrom,some
withlyrics,othersnot.Fanswillbe
keentoknowthat“SafetyValve”,a
25-year-olddeepcutthatpredatesthe
properband,waschosen.It recalls
thesardonic,plainspokenacoustic-
guitar-and-violin-fleckedpopthat
comprisedmuchoftheband’s’96to
2000 goldenera,a throwbackworthy
ofresuscitation.“Hey,I’vebeenhere
before/I’llsaveyou/It’sa seriousbore,”
StuartMurdochsings,a charming
reminderofa timewhenlamehouse
partiesandpubescentromancewere
theworstofourworries.A re-recorded
versionof“GetMeAwayFromHere
I’mDying”swapsacousticguitar
forelectric,andnewsongslike“Did
TheDayGoJustLikeYouWanted”
roundoutthepastoralsensibility.As
withanyenduringsoundtrack,this
collectionofsongs stands on its own.
ERINOSMON
BLACKBELT
EAGLESCOUT
AtThePartyWithMy
BrownFriends SADDLE CREEK
8/10
KatherinePaul’ssecondsterlingset
of quietly radicalsongs
Aself-described
radicalindigenous
queerfeministwho
grewuponthe
SwinomishIndian
Reservationinthe
stateofWashington,KatherinePaul
hasassumeda placealongsideTanya
TagaqandA TribeCalledRedina
thrillingvanguardofindigenous
musicactsintheUSandCanada.
Whereassomeofthosepeersprefer
boldermeansofmakingtheirvoices
heard,Paul’smusicasBlackBelt
EagleScouthasa quieterintensity,
onemoreakintotheCatPowersongs
thatpartiallyinspiredthemusical
directiononher 2018 debut,MotherOf
MyChildren, andthismoresubdued
yetequallycaptivatingfollow-up.The
gorgeousdream-popsettingsof“My
HeartDreams”and“RunIt ToYa”
proveequallywell-suitedtobothher
spikywitandexpressionsofopen-
heartedsincerity.JASON ANDERSON
BODEGA
ShinyNewModel
WHAT’SYOUR RUPTURE
8/10
NewYorkartpunksreturnwith
smart mini-album
Bodega’sEndless
Scrollwasa highlight
of2018,andthis
follow-upis another
delightfulexercise
inmusicalbrevity
and lyrical snark. Live, the band like
tostretchouta little,andhintsofa
moreexpansivedirectioncanbeheard
onthesemi-progoutroto“KnifeOn
ThePlatter”andtheextended(vinyl
version)oftheTelevision-esque“Truth
Is NotPunishment”,butotherwise
thesesongsareshort,sharpandvery
angular– theWire-like“Realism”
lastslessthana minute– withBen
HozieandoccasionallyNikkiBelfiglio
providingdeadpancommentaryon
modernlifeagainsta series of jabbing
melodies.P ETE RWATTS
BONIVER
i,iJAGJAGUWAR
9/10
BonIverpaintsonthelargest
canvas yet
BonIver’sfourth
albumopenswitha
lurchanda ragged
fragmentofchatter:
“Arewerecording,
Trever?”someone
asks,alertinglistenersthatthestudio
willbethemostprominentinstrument
ontheconfoundinglytitledi,i. Justin
Vernoncorralshislargestcastof
contributorstodate,andthemusic
percolateswithsoundsandideas:the
gentle“Salem”settlesintoa horizontal
krautrockrhythmonitscoda,while“U
(ManLike)”endswitha choirofsingers
(includingBruceHornsby)takingturns
encouraginglistenerstobetheirbest
selves.Asstylisticallyadventurous
andtechnologicallyinnovativeasthe
albumis,thiscommunityofmusicians
ensuresit remainsaccessible and
soulful.STEPHENDEUSNER
CARAVANPALACE
Chronologic MVKA
7/10
FourthalbumbyParisian
electro-swingcollective
Thecoverimageofa
robotmountedonan
ancientRomanplinth
neatlyencapsulates
CaravanPalace’s
joyousfusionof
classicalandmodern.Theopener,
“Miracle”,hasanexoticbossanova
swingfilteredthroughanelectro-
pophaze.TheEuro-housesynthson
“Melancolia”givewaytoChopin-style
pianoarpeggiosandthefruitysound
ofa tromboneortuba.“Leena”is a
delightfullybonkersballroomwaltz
withbreakbeats.On“Waterguns”,the
voiceofTomBaileyjoinstheice-cool
tonesofSoniaFernándezVelasco
overanarrangementthatsoundslike
a TootsThielemansjazztunegone
techno.ThinkAirmeetsPinkMartini
in hedonist heaven.NIGEL WILLIAMSON
NEW ALBUMS
“W
ewantedtoshowcase
a differentand
sweetersideof
Bodegathatpeoplemaynot
befamiliarwith,”saysBen
Hozieoftheband’ssecond
album,ShinyNewModel. “The
firsttwotracks,“ShinyNew
Model”and“TreasuresOfThe
AncientWorld”,werechosen
totripupthealgorithmsthat
insistweareonlya punkband.”
Theresultis a recordthatis
moretextural,producedand
considered.“EndlessScroll
[debutalbum] wasa set
up-and-play-the-songnofrills
LP,”hesays.“Forthisonewe
spentmoretimewiththe
guitararrangements.We
workedhardgetting
interesting sounds using
multipleamps,textural
overdubsandidiosyncratic
microphoneplacement– we
evenputonein theventilation
shaftoftheliveroom.”
Lyrically,it touchesupona
rangeofsubjects,suchasthe
multi-layered“KnifeOnThe
Platter”abouta fictitious
actresswhoturnsa generic
playintosomethingvitalwith
animpassionedperformance.
ForHozie,thisreflects
somethingheseesin thereal
world.“It’semblematicofa
needin ourmedia-saturated
time- tolookpastthestatus
quoandprojectourbestself
intothefuture.Everythought
andactioncountstowards the
creationofhistory.”
DANIEL DYLAN WRAY
BODEGA
Ben Hozie: “This record shows our sweeter side”
REVEL ATIONS
Caravan
Palace
