Review: International Anthem continues to serve up inspired debuts from some of the more intriguing members of Chicago's jazz and experimental music communities. The latest comes from multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser Macie Stewart, who has delivered what's being dubbed "a companion piece for moving through life". At the heart of the album is Stewart's use of both piano and 'prepared piano' (a technique where various items such as coins and pieces of felt are attached to the instrument's strings). These picturesque and occasionally melancholic musical motifs come wrapped in atmospheric field recordings and sensitive string quartet arrangements. The results are rarely less than memorable, mesmerising and magnificent.
Review: Originally formed in 1977 in Belfast at the height of The Troubles, Stiff Little Fingers should require little to no introduction for any self-proclaimed punk aficionado, with the band credited as the first punk outfit to ever record and release output in Northern Ireland. The aptly titled The Singles 1978-1983 offers a double CD compilation collating all of their A and B-sides issued during their initial tenure, including the hit singles 'Straw Dogs', 'At The Edge', 'Nobody's Hero', and the haunting 'Bits Of Kids', as well as a bevvy of deeper, overlooked cuts. Complete with a booklet containing detailed liner notes on each single plus illustrations of all relevant sleeves, the collection serves as both a crash course for beginners and a triumphant nostalgia trip for lifer-listeners.
Review: It is still rather cold here at Juno HQ, but the days are starting to feel little longer and brighter, which means we're ever more open to Balearic reveries. Few are better than this one from Studio, the Swedish duo of Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hagg who created a sound bridging indie, electronic and psychedelic music. Their 2006 debut blended Balearic romanticism with Krautrock, disco, dub, afrobeat and pop lyricism influenced by new wave and has been hard to find in physical and even streaming formats over the years. Inspired by DJ Screw, J Dilla and European live DJ sets, Studio embraced an "anything-goes" ethos, unbound by musical borders, and the results have stood the test of time.
Review: In classic jazz style, this collaborative three-way debut album brings together three musicians at the top of their game: SML members Gregory Uhlman (guitar and effects) and Josh Johnson (saxophone and effects), and sometime Louis Cole, Sam Gendel and Chaka Khan collaborator Sam Wilkes (bass and effects). Musically, what the trio offers is undeniably unique, with International Anthem describing the album as "a jazz-informed take on progressive electro-acoustic chamber music". Certainly, there's much to enjoy, from the tracked bass, guitar and sax loops and subtle changes of 'Mavis' and the dreamlike ambient jazz of 'Arpy', to the bubbling cosmic jazz of 'Frica' and a stunning, off-kilter instrumental cover of Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles number 'The Fool On The Hill'.
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