Uncut UK – October 2019

NEW ALBUMS

OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 27

BRUCECOCKBURN

Crowing Ignites TRUE NORTH

8/10

Prolificpoetoftheagesabandons
verse, embracescandour
With“BardoRush”,
theintroductory
cutonCrowing
Ignites, Bruce
Cockburn’ssecond
all-instrumental
outing,thewiry,exploratoryguitar
pathrevealsthismusic’scapacity:to
pulllistenersawayfromever-present
socialmadnessandintoanalternate
universe,withtime,spaceandroom
tothink.Moodsgalorefollow,from
pensive(“Easter”)tojoyous(the
fingerpickedbrillianceof“Sweetness
AndLight”),whileCockburn’sjazz,
folk,blues,improvandavant-garde
makefora musicalmenagerie.The
guitar-meets-dobrogem,“Blind
Willie”,a tributetoBlindWillie
Johnson,takesconventionalbluesinto
brightnewdimensions.Theseven-
minute“BellsOfGethsemane”,amid
Tibetancymbals,chimesandsinging
bowls,revealsastonishingprowess
andartisticscope.LUKETORN

SHERYLCROW
Threads BIG MACHINE

8/10

Emmylou,Willie,ChuckD andmore
show up forpossibleswansong
Dozensofluminaries
appearonSheryl
Crow’s10thLP,as
producerSteveJordan
(KeithRichards,
BozScaggs)deftly
weavestogetherthemyriadpartsinto
a remarkablycoherentwhole.Threads
convincinglyshowcasesCrow’schops
asa writer(on 13 ofthe 17 songs)and
singer,butit alsodemonstratesthe
respectshe’saccordedfrompeersand
youngerartistsalike.DuetpartnersJoe
Walsh,JasonIsbell(ona fiercecoverof
Dylan’s“EverythingIs Broken”)andSt
Vincentalsolaunchblisteringguitar
forays,while“Don’t”,a string-laden,
Bacharach-evokingcollaborationwith
Lucius,is a shimmeringsurprise.If
thisis indeedCrow’slastrecording,
asshe’sspeculated,thiscavalcadeof
hotwiredconnectionsis a splendid
waytocapoffhercareer.BUD SCOPPA

GARYDALY
GoneFrom Here MUSIC GLUE

8/10

A humble, unpretentioussolodebut
NowTerryHall’sback
withTheSpecials,
it falls,surprisingly,
toChinaCrisis’s
GaryDalytoprovide
crucial,heartfelt
sincerity.Admittedly,he’sblunton
thecharming“WriteYourWrongs”

• “Dowhatyouwant/Justdon’tbea
  cunt” – but“LowTide”recallsThe
  Colourfieldattheirmostcarefree,
  and“DeadOfNight”theirtender
  innocence.“InTheCloudyDomain”,
  furthermore, radiates The Blue Nile’s

intimatewarmth,whileJohnCampbell

eloquentlyteasesIt’sImmaterial’s

thirdalbumonthegentle“Carousel

OfStars”.Loyalfans,moreover,will

celebrate“AngerAnd/OrRage”’s

quietechoesofDaly’sband’s 1985 hit

“WishfulThinking”.WYNDHAM WALLACE

DIAGONAL

ArcCOBBLERS RECORDS

7/10

Belatedreturnforsix-piece

South Coastproggers

Diagonalaren’ta

bandthattendtodo

thingsquickly.It’s

takenthemseven

yearstorecorda

follow-uptotheir

self-titled 2012 debut,andmuchof

Arcitselfpassesinrelaxedfashion,

asthebandspreadtrackssuchasthe

eight-minutemood-altering“Citadal”

andthespooling“WarningFlare”into

extendedmeditationsthatoperate

onthelooserfringesofprogandjazz.

Thebandcanpulsatewhentheywant

to– “TheSpectrumExplodes”and

titletrackbothbrimwithenergy– but

aremorepowerfulwhentheyweave

slowerandmoreimmersivemagic,

aswithclosingduo“TheVital” and

“ C e le s t i a”.P ETE R WATTS

FRANKIECOSMOS

CloseIt Quietly SUB POP

7/10

Softlyspokenindierockersfind

a more roundedsound

Theopeningwords

ofFrankieCosmos’

fourthcouldbea

manifestoforour

times:“Theworld

is crumblingand

I don’thavemuchtosay,” singsGreta

Kline,aheadof 21 tracksofsugar-

sweetvocals,dreamysynthsand

choppydrumpatterns.Previouslya

soloprojectforKline,CloseIt Quietly

is billedasa collaborative,full-band

release– andwhilethesinger’s

distinctivevocalspreventtooradical

a departure,eventheminute-longcuts

heresoundsturdier,moreconfident.

“Windows”is asmuchaboutLuke

Pyenson’sdrumsasKline’ssinging,

whileprevioussolosong“Rings(On

A Tree)”getsa punked-up,irresistible

rearrangement.LISA-MARIE FERLA

ADAMGREEN

EngineOf Paradise 30TH CENTURY

7/10

Astandardanti-folkLPfrom

ex-Moldy Peach? No chance

Bynow,weknow

AdamGreen’s

imaginationis a

fantasticalplace.

Thisalbum,his10th,

comespartneredwith

a satiricalgraphicnovelaboutwarring

humansandmachinessetinside

themulti-colouredpapier-mâché

worldhecreatedforhissurreal 2016

movie,Aladdin. AllveryAdamGreen.

Musicallythisis arguablyhismost

touchingworksincetheearly2000s.

Evenwhenyouuncouplethegliding

stringsof“EscapeFromThisBrain”,

countrytwangof“GatherRound”

andScottWalkerwistfulgrandeurof

“CheatingOnA Stranger”(Florence

Welchonbackingvocals)fromtheir

visualcompanions,theystandtall

inhiscapaciousdiscography.

GREGCOCHRANE

ROLANDGUERIN

GrassRoots LOUISIANA RED HOT

8/10

DrJohn’sbassistandbandleader

strikes out onhisown

Afixtureonthe

NewOrleansmusic

scenefor 20 years,

RolandGuerinhas

playedbassbehind

someofthecity’s

biggestnames,includingAllen

ToussaintandMarcusRoberts.He

alsoservedasbandleaderforthe

lateDrJohn.Forhislatestrecord,

Guerinlookswaybeyondhisnative

Louisianaforinspiration.Anchored

bysinewybasslinesandhisnimble

vocals,GrassRootsdrawsfromthe

breezy,unclutteredsynthfunkof

’80sMinneapolis,inparticularearly

Prince.Thegroovesareingeniousand

low-key,butthere’sa palpabletension

underscoringthebouncy“Running

OnNightfumes”andtheruminative

“ O neSte p”.STEPHENDEUSNER

HISSGOLDEN

MESSENGER

TermsOf Surrender MERGE

8/10

Morebittersweetunburdening

from country-souldons

Thepainfulyet

rewardingbusiness

ofbeingalivehas

beenthesubjectof

MCTaylor’ssongs

fora decade,yethe

soundschargedafreshoneachnew

HGMrecord.Thelatest– withguest

AaronDessneronguitarsandpiano

• is aneloquentsetofgroove-driven,
  country-soulsongswithtracesof
  gospelandblues,plusa littlemore
  funkthanusual;“HappyBirthday,
  Baby”showshowwellTaylor’s
  warm,slightlycatarrhalvoicesuits
  thelatter.Otherhighlightsarethe
  expansive“MyWing”,thedesert-
  bluesstormof“Whip”and“Old
  EnoughToWonderWhy(East
  Side– WestSide)”,a winnowing,
  psych-edgedjam.Allup,an(other)
  apparentlyeffortlesshittingofthe
  sweet spot.SHARON O’CONNELL

T

heopeningtrackon

HGM’slatest,“I NeedA

Teacher”,is anopen,

unembarrassedcallfora

guidefromanemotionally

adriftMCTaylor,which

setsthealbum’stoneof

introspectionandvulnerability.

Headmitstherewerespecific

challengestobemetthistime

around.“Atfirst,I hada hard

timeaddressingthethings

thatI neededtoaddressto

starttogetmymindandsoul

clear.ThenI founda few

threadsthatI startedtopull

on,andthingsravelledout

fromthere.I dida lotofwriting

in a cottageupin Virginia,

which gave me the solitude

thatthesesongsfeltlikethey

needed.AndI lefta lotof

thingsin – wordsandphrases

• thatin thepastI mighthave
  workedtoobscurejusta little
  bit.Tome,there’sa lotof
  rawnessontherecord.I’m
  thankfulforthat.It’sa good
  reminderofa toughyear.”
  Astowhatkindof“teacher”
  Taylorhadin mind:“Aguide
  throughmattersoftheheart
  thatcan’treallybemapped.
  Thatkindofteacherdoesn’t
  exist,doesit?It takesa lotof
  fortitudeandself-confidence
  tostepintotheemotional
  unknowneveryday.I think
  that’swhychurches exist.”
  SHARON O’CONNELL

HISSGOLDENMESSENGER

MC Taylor steps into the “emotional unknown”

REVELATIONS

GRAHAM TOLBERT