Review: Aldous Harding, known to some as Hannah Sian Topp, might be New Zealand's answer to Cate le Bon, although we really don't like to draw reductive comparisons and consider everyone to be completely individual, even if they do both have a sweet and tender but unkept psychedelic atmosphere about their rock 'n' roll offerings. The kind of tracks that make you feel timeless, Harding is perhaps more gentile and less likely to explode into rugged riffs, but nevertheless the similarities in vocal tones are quite clear.
That's certainly no bad thing, as this single proves. Harding's voice is perfectly tempered, almost hushed, and yet only the strongest and most determined could even try to hear past it. Instrumentally, Old Peel is an infectious piece of work to say the least, the kind of thing you think you've heard before and yet are convinced you've actually heard very little like it.
Review: A reissue of 2022's covers single, Alvarius B's 'Karaoke' gets a second run via Unrock. A titan of the US underground singer-songwriter scene, Alan Bishop is best known as a co-founder of Sun City Girls and owner of the labels Abduction and Sublime Frequencies. His less-known alias Alvarius B has nonetheless seen an extended panhandle of releases at least since 1994, and plays host to a string of 'characters' and sub-pseudonyms. One such 'charakter', as he calls them, is Karaoke, whose forte is covers of noir cinematic rock classics. Here we've got two dark rundowns; on the A, a dark rundown of Ennie Morricone's 'Solo Nostalgia' from the film Comandamenti per un Gangster, and on the B, a version of Indonesia's finest Koes Plus' 'Tiba-Tiba Ku Menangis', whom Bishop had already interpreted as part of the band Koes Barat. Both detail Bishop's talent as a rarely-performed alter-ego, a cosmopolite solo-entertainer.
Review: Alzo's 1973 hit single 'Lover Man' is heard reissued by the amorous hommes over at Elznavour. Hailed by the label as two romantic bangers - selectly chosen from the American soft rock musician's second LP Takin' So Long - Elznavour are keen to highlight the songs' equally tragic pull, for Alzo sadly passed away in 2004. Echoing the muted hey-heys of Sixto Rodriguez on the A, before launching into a cinematic psyche-soul number predictive of much modern pop music , 'Come On, Come On', on the B, this is a premium slice of well-cured rock music on 7", recalling the music of an unforgettable musician.
Review: 'Kajyadhi-fu bushi' is actually a Japanese wedding song. It was first written and recorded in 1977 by Jazz man Jun Arasaki and his Nine Sheep collective. They did it in one take - which is the one you hear here - across an array of unusual (at least here in the west) instruments such as five sanshin, four winds, piano, bass, percussion and drums. It's a sombre, slow-motion lullaby that is imbued with subtle joy. Next to the original, a Visible Cloaks remix up the ambient beauty and makes it feel more cosmic and expansive.
Review: If you were to take one hundred imaginary Daft Punk fans, blindfolded them and played them 'Daaaaaali !' - a charming instrumental, founded on several simple, interwoven and decidedly acoustic guitar figures - you'd reckon none of them would be able identify that Thomas Bangalter was the man (behind the robot) behind the music. And they probably wouldn;t fare much better with the B-side of this 10" single, 'Age Reel'; a curious choice for inclusion, as it's essentially an elongated version of the same theme. Our fictitious friends might have surmised that 'Daaaaaali !' was related to the surrealist artist Salvador Dali; the title track from Quentin 'Mr Oizo' Dupieux' 2023 "real fake biopic" comedy.
Review: This EP is the first collaborative work by Andrea Belfi and Jules Reidy. Berlin-based and hailing from Italy and Australia respectively, the duo blends compositional precision with improvisational freedom. During a residency at Berlin's Callie's-a 19th-century factory turned arts space-they and engineer Marco Anulli crafted four expansive tracks in which Belfi's masterful drumming interlaces with Reidy's shimmering guitars and electronic textures. The opener layers just-intoned guitar figures over delicate brushwork and climaxes with a synthetic surge and tracks like 'Oben' and 'Alto' explore shifting grooves, propulsive rhythms and dynamic soundscapes.
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