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Bill Callahan: My Days of 58
New album: His first since 2022’s REALITY, and one of his finest for several years since his many albums under the Smog moniker, the Texan, rich-voiced, witty, droll, singer-songwriter returns with lo-fi, resonant, frank reflections from his 58 years, on songwriting, family life, touring and death, with a free-flowing, sometimes improvised sound that refreshing, stripped back and direct
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Geologist: Can I Get A Pack Of Camel Lights?
New album: The hurdy-gurdy never quite sounded like this before. Animal Collective multi-instrumentalist Brian Weitz is the final member of that experimental collective to release a solo album, and it’s a bizarre journey of oddball sounds and instruments looped through guitar pedal effects krautrock repetitive, meditational exploratory spirit, inhaled through the titular reference to his past as a smoker
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Papa M: Ballads of Harry Houdini
New album: The alt-rock LA-based musician from Louisville, Kentucky, aka David Pajo, returns with six long-ish numbers, not necessarily themed around the famous escape artist, but packed with ear-catching, meaty, thrumming, sometimes looped, and always dynamic guitar work and rhythmic experimentation
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Faux Real: Faux Ever
New album: Oozing camp panache, and packed with some previously released singles and very entertaining videos, Franco-American brothers Virgile and Elliott Arndt’s debut LP captures their mesmeric moves and superbly fun, semi-ironic gloriously glossy synth-art-pop
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Wand: Vertigo
New album: Magic is waved indeed in this experimental psychedelic rock by the now Los Angeles quartet of Cory Hanson, Evan Burrows, Robert Cody and Evan Backer with great ghostly echoes of a British flavour, particularly Radiohead and Verve
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Dirty Three: Love Changes Everything
New album: A first LP for 12 years by the Australian experimental trio of Nick Cave right-hand man Warren Ellis, Mick Turner and Jim White with mesmeric distortions and synthesized loops of guitar, drums, piano, percussion and violin
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Meg Baird’s fourth solo album, Furling, and her first for nearly eight years
New album: A exquisitely beautiful return by the San Francisco-based Americana singer-songwriter with her first solo album since 2015’s Don’t Weigh Down the Light, offering a gorgeous set of stripped back songs of stillness and sensitivity
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Bill Callahan’s new album’s YTILAER plays mischief with search engines
New album: Dreams, horses, darkness and uplifting otherworldliness feature in this wonderful, mischievously mirror-titled ninth LP under the Smog artists’s own name, pouring out velvet voiced beauty, vivid lines, deadpan humour, acoustic intimacy and full band momentum
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Superwolves by Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
Album review: Gorgeously sensitive and emotional collaborative album between old friends, guitarist and singer-songwriter of folk, Nashville country, Appalachian and some Malian in the mix with guest players
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Another nine albums to explore …
Album reviews roundup: This week’s selection includes an exquisite gem from Bill Callahan, clever dance music from Disclosure, a stark reworking of her last album by Angel Olsen, and a second helping of a previous by My Morning Jacket
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The Strokes
Strong new LPs from The Strokes and Laura Marling reflect signs of the times, while eclectic records from Jackie Lynn and Pokey LaFarge, and excellent postpunk from Flat Worms and Irma Vep are also among this week’s 10 picks
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FKA twigs
The second part of this year’s LP favourites again includes several superb female artists. Also check out the first part published yesterday
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New art … Ty Segall
A bumper selection includes a lauded 13th album by the Californian rocker, Mancunian musician Francis Lung, Mabel the daughter of Neneh Cherry, and a project for a new electronica soundtrack to a Buster Keaton film
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From The Flaming Lip’s an immersive art exhibition to accompany their new album, King’s Mouth.
A catchup of recent releases includes The Flaming Lips going concept again with with their best for years, Silver Jews frontman David Berman’s new band, innovations from IDER, Blood Orange and Banks and an all-star Frightened Rabbit tribute
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Strong likeness: detail from the cover of Bill Callahan’s Shepherd In A Sheepskin
A mellowness touches the landscape of this week’s releases, with various artists taking a more reflective, gentler direction, with a beauty from Bill Callahan, a more personal Kate Tempest, a lusher Bruce Springsteen and more
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Fat White Family – seamless dipped in humorous wooziness
The Fat White Family return. leading a procession of wonderful musical mischief, while there’s a follow-up from rapper Loyle Carner, debuts from singer-songwriters Kelsey Lu and Lizzo and a whole lot more in this week’s selection
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Riding high: Mattiel
A selection of new releases from the past fortnight, including the Atlanta singer, the prolific Californian guitarists, a return to form for the Brooklyn band, and two bright debuts from Australia
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