Category Archives: Records of 2021

Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Night Beats – Outlaw R&B

Jump back five years and the Night Beats were one of the bands offering up authentic rough edged Garage Rock infused with roadrunner Rhythm & Blues. The bands 2016 album, their third LP release, ‘Who Sold My Generation’ was one of the standout records of that year and, after catching them on their UK tour, I felt certain that they were headed into the same space as occupied by Jack White and the Black Keys. The Night Beats, since their formation in 2009, have always been the musical vehicle for singer and songwriter Danny ‘Lee Blackwell’ Rajan Billingsley and he has been the only constant member in an ever-rotating line up. This can be problematic for bands with this kind of set up (the Waterboys are a good example who spring to mind) because the elevation of the music can be dependent on the central artist finding a similarly tuned in group of players to bring his vision to life and let it fly. With that 2016 album he had Black Rebel Motorcycle Club bassist Robert Levon Been playing and producing and that combination in particular lead to the Night Beats really locking into something. But Been was not a permanent member and these constant changes resulted in a drop in momentum after 2016.

All this made it even more of a welcome surprise and delight that, with ‘Outlaw R&B,’ the Night Beats appear to have spectacularly locked back into their mojo. Written and recorded in the aftermath of wildfires in Blackwell’s hometown of California and lockdown, the singer says of the release that it is aimed at “those whose minds aren’t sold by perfect pitch and clean fingernails.” If by that he means it is a step away from the 2019 Dan Auerbach produced ‘Myth Of A Man’, a record made with more senior session hands and with a rather more polished sheen, then he is bang on the money. ‘Outlaw R&B’ is a return to the very sound and groove that gave the Night Beats their stand-out edge in the first place; sixties garage echoes, pounding aggressive bluesy grooves and melodious songs that leave the listener wanting more. It revs its engines from the off, ‘Stuck In The Morning’ crashing in propelled by a marching beat and punctuated by resonant, dramatic swings on the chiming electric guitar. Album openers are, generally, positioned to tempt you to dive into a record, if this doesn’t do exactly that then my recommendations are not for you; there is simply nothing not to like here.

‘Revolution’ is the first of many sugarcoated hooks, its lyrics celebrating the action of turning your heals and pushing a rebellion of the mind into real motion, the whole tune is brilliantly shadowed by wild fuzz guitar lines. ‘New Day’ has a break of day freshness while ‘Hell In Texas’ is the sound of fuzztone rock ‘n’ rollers crawling through the hot desert; in fact, it’s rather like a distant cosmic cousin of ‘Ghost Riders In The Sky.’ ‘Thorns’ prods your ear lobes with its insistent hooks and sharp twangy edges while there is more than a tiny hint of the Velvets white light and heat with ‘Never Look Back’ (a track which features Robert Levon Been). Again though, it is those sixties primitive brush strokes that make the tune a welcome nugget, those jubilant backing vocals, and the pure pop punch of the top line. ‘Shadow’ has a spooky drone vibe then ‘Crypt’ demolishes brick walls to emphasize that, in essence, the Night Beats have a rock ‘n’ roll soul. ‘Cream Johnny’ indulges in spiraling psychedelics, falsetto vocals and deep space squelches that disappear into orbit and make way for an acoustic guitar fronted section. ‘Ticket’ drives us off a cliff into the darkness and closer ‘Holy Roller’ sends the album off in a puff of Stooges-like acoustic/electric riff-toting smoke planting a seed of lingering fuzz guitar spreading through your brain. This is 40 minutes and eleven songs worth of pure, wild, raw, thumping goodness.

Find a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/19066471-Night-Beats-Outlaw-RB

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days

Including an album like this in the Fruit Tree Records albums of the year feature is a little like picking a year from the sixties and praising a Beatles album as one of the best. It is rather stating the obvious with ‘In These Silent Days’ too because the acclaim showered upon it at the end of the year was plentiful. This is hardly a case of picking out a hidden gem that deserves a day in the sun. Well, what I would argue to that is twofold; firstly, there are many albums released on the major labels that receive accolades and high placements in end of year lists which are there more due to the strength of the marketing campaign rather than anything too remarkable in the actual music; secondly, I have a personal desire for all the records I rate strongly on a musical level to have a visible presence in the mainstream. Yes indeed, there is no old school style indie snobbery on display here, I really want great albums to top the charts every time.

‘In These Silent Days’ is an album born out of the early 2020 days of lockdown. As such, there is a heavy injection of introspection and open-hearted emotion. It just so happens though, that this is exactly where Brandi can massage your soul. She has been likened to many an early seventies singer-songwriter, but this is simply because she carries the flame for that era so well. Her sound is hand crafted and warm; her acoustic touch is sure and her lyrics have a directness to them that betray a deep understanding of the song writer’s craft. The opening trio of songs put all of these gifts in the front window display. ‘You And Me On The Rock’ (about Brandi and her wife, there’s a hint of CS&N’s ‘Our House’ in the breezy tone) and ‘This Time Tomorrow’ are superior ballads crying out for a writer to apply the word Americana to them (you’re welcome). However, it is opener ‘Right On Time’ that really grabs you by the collar. Referencing the album title, the way Brandi’s vocal takes off with the line “it wasn’t right, but it was right on time” letting loose a vibrato vocal to die for, this is clearly a performer putting everything she’s got into her song, listeners sit up and take notice at these moments.

It was with her second album, the 2007 release ‘The Story’, that Brandi Carlile showed a hint of a signature to her music. That was a volcano of power simmering inside her, a stunning strength in projection that she would allow to erupt exactly when a song demanded it. It is still there today and appears intermittently throughout ‘In These Silent Days.’ That vocal I referenced on track one certainly, but then ‘Broken Horses’ revs its engines in a similarly thrilling fashion as does ‘Sinners Saints And Fools,’ which explodes into a crescendo two thirds of the way through. But primarily for this release, it is the delicate touch and warm production undercoat that leave the strongest impression. ‘Letter To The Past’ has that rural ambience heard on the first McCartney solo album and ‘When You’re Wrong’ shows a little vulnerability mixed with grateful awareness in a gentle ode to “someone strong enough to love you when you’re wrong” (and it ends on a beautiful little chord change reminiscent of The Beatles ‘And I Love Her’). There are some great records that earn the acclaim thanks to the simple trick of presenting a great songwriter doing their thing and doing it extremely well. This is one such album, no gimmicks, no bullshit, just an amazing artist playing an incredible set of songs.

Get a vinyl pressing of the album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/20426491-Brandi-Carlile-In-These-Silent-Days

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

La Luz – La Luz

The sound of an eternal sunset, that great ball of fire slowly descending behind a baron mountainous landscape at the end of a winding, empty, open road. That is how I feel about the lush, aching sound made by the band La Luz, a sound that they seemed to refine and fully realize on this, their fourth album, without smoothing out the rough edges that make this music so raw and alive. It is a sound comprised of tried and tested classic garage rock elements; there’s the chiming electric guitar patterns, electric keys picking out the primary colours within the tunes, splashes of mellotron and kaleidoscopic effects, deep primal bass and best of all, you are never far away from a dreamy, harmonious female vocal that exhales pure honey-drop soulfulness over every bar. That is not just heard in the lead singing of Shana Cleveland, it is also there in the ever-present Lena Simon and Alice Sandahl backing, they have literally wrapped their heavenly oohs and aahs all over this record. By blending these touchstones over some beautifully written, melodic songs, they have captured and bottled that elusive mid-sixties hazy vibration. Check out the echoey opening of ‘Down The Street’ for further evidence, it is ambience that is captured as much as instruments, you can almost feel the air in the room touching the strings.

The album feels so good, but it aches; listen to ‘Watching Cartoons,’ in which they sing about doing just that “in my room” and manage to make the activity sound like the heaviest, most heart wrenching activity a young adult could engage in. The guitar solo in ‘Oh Blue’ is pure Duane Eddy, echo-drenched surf guitar tastiness but the garage band looseness still underpins these moments, as here electric piano behind the solo indelicately hammers out chords. The scene is set on ‘Goodbye Ghost’ by a minor key piano progression but again there is contrast, as the bass line is agitated and driven. These irresistible ying/yang motions pave the way for the tune to burst wide open into fireworks of widescreen sonic delight. I am writing this as the album plays, hoping to grab hold of the key moments that make the self-titled ‘La Luz’ record such an essential listen, but as I am speedily trying to nail down in writing what my ears are bathing in, it occurs to me that there are not a selection of highlights here, the whole album is a heart stirring blast from beginning to end.

The ”do what you gotta do” repeated chorus line in ‘Metal Man’ prove La Luz have an ear for a good pop hook. Do not underestimate the musical chops that are still required today to actually write twelve great new songs. If it was that easy everyone would be doing it and, believe me, many are not. Here, is a fine example of the reason crate diggers and music addicts like me continue to keep our ears out for new stuff, it is because there are artists in the world still working away at their craft, refining, evolving it and creating work as wonderous and head-spinning as this. The album closes with La Luz’s first up front gear shift of the whole record. ‘Spider House’ is a fuzzy guitar led instrumental with a huge nod to ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ which, positioned as it is in the running order, does suggest that La Luz are going to be progressing further on from here. I will certainly be paying attention to whatever they do next.

Find a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/20656315-La-Luz-La-Luz

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Billy Bragg – The Million Things That Never Happened

Billy Bragg arrived in the 1980s a fully realized, self contained, left-wing, protest singing iconic beast. He knew how to grab the attention with that thick Essex accent and his, almost sixties-like throwback topical songs of current social and political issues, were delivered in the unpolished manner of a man who had lived through and been fired up by the aggressive energy of the punk years. Much of the output Bragg released in the eighties is time stamped to the era, one of the indelible brick walls protest songs come up against, it is hard to be both topical and timeless. Bob Dylan managed it, Phil Ochs (one of Bragg’s great heroes) was less successful despite, at the time, being rated as one of Dylan’s greatest contemporaries. The thing that always marked Billy Bragg out for potential longevity was that he clearly had an ear for a great pop song. Just listen to ‘A New England’ or ‘Sexuality’ for evidence of this, Bragg understood that he was far less effective in the cultish margins and proved himself rather adept at projecting right into the mainstream on a platform of great songwriting.

The truth is that, at his core, Billy Bragg was a child of that open-minded musical sweet spot which blossomed in the late sixties, early seventies. That time when chart music really was a broad church, when amazing songs were raining down on impressionable young minds every week and folk, folk rock, rock, baroque-rock, psych-rock, psych-soul, soul, r&b, reggae, gospel, country as well as out-and-out pop all got stirred into the great big melting pot. Bragg wrote in his autobiography of having his soul touched and imagination ignited by the sounds of Simon & Garfunkel and, truth be told, that magical blend of rich, harmonic melody, warm analogue production and carefully composed lyric writing nourished his soul from that day on and never departed. However, that musical DNA took a while to really show itself in his own releases; Bragg seemed a little lost in the middle part of the nineties before joining forces with Americana gods Wilco on the Woody Guthrie series of albums, a union that seemed to unlock the door in Billy to let those childhood roots bleed into his own music. Further down the line, especially in the last ten years, Billy Bragg albums have been lush testaments of audio beauty, thoroughly draped in gorgeous only-living-boy-in-west-England tones and rich in sonic texture. Like so many 21st century releases by the likes of Paul McCartney or Neil Young, these LPs may never be the classics that the uninitiated investigate first, that the legends are built upon, but neither do they dilute the catalogue. They are exquisitely crafted pieces of work waiting to reward those who are prepared to dig deep and this Bragg album from 2021 is one of the finest.

Produced by members of the Magic Numbers, the record taps wholesale into the psych-folk vibes that Bragg has seemed to be edging closer to over the years. Mellotron sounds abound, as does soulful fiddle and keys that coat a sublime country-rock ambience. Coming out of the pandemic lockdown, social issues still appear, as do US politics in songs like ‘The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here No More,’ but these days he also explores the failings we all inhabit as human beings. The way we are riddled with inconsistencies as our actions, especially towards each other, are driven by emotion rather than considered, measured declarations. Bragg is also acknowledging, in a way that forthright political debate rarely allows, that there is room for two opposing views to be both right and wrong, certainly that there are sometimes no definitive answers and even if they exist, they can get lost in battle. ‘Mid-Century Modern’ explores this explicitly, as Billy sings “that old familiar argument blew up again last night, the one where one of us is wrong but both of us feel in the right. My indignation drove me to say things I might regret, I hurt the one that I love the most with my self-righteous temperament.” This is certainly not a finger pointing lyric, the song repeats its verses with the singer focusing in on “the gap between the man I am and the man I want to be.” Ultimately, as Billy Bragg matures and grows, so too does his music and by slowing down his output a little, he is ensuring that every release continues to be as vital a listen as the last; the man is still pushing for that great leap forward in both humanity and song, he remains one to cherish and his work deserves appreciation.

Find a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/22015117-Billy-Bragg-The-Million-Things-That-Never-Happened

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Cleo Sol – Mother

Cleo Sol kick started her music career early, from the age of sixteen she was writing, honing her craft in front of showcase and talent spotting audiences as well as posting her demo tracks on the internet. She had a drive and a sharp vision for where she was headed, even adopting the name Sol, albeit as a nod to the Spanish of her mother’s side of the family, offered a clue as to the sound that is the heartbeat of her music. Her first steps though were with Dance and Rap artists like Davinche and Tinie Tempah, who featured Cleo on tracks thus ushering her into collaboration situations and developing her style. Nothing that happened back then though gave much of a hint that a stunning, heavy hitting, Soul opera such as this LP, ‘Mother,’ would land further down the line. Talk about fully realizing an artist’s potential, this album is a monster of a statement. A modern Soul masterpiece that references many classic retro tropes, Donny Hathaway piano balladry, Aretha Franklin testimony and Gospel and yet it does not play like the repro work of a vintage obsessive for one second; no, this album sounds like it was made and absolutely belongs in 2021, a record for today.

As an artist Cleo is a brilliant fusion of the multicultural musical melting pot she grew up around in Ladbroke Grove. So much was written over the last five years about the London Jazz scene that it is easy to overlook that London is the epicenter of all music fusions, there is not one sound that defines the city. Cleo had genuinely eclectic records around her as a child thanks to her parents tastes in Soul, Reggae, Latin and Jazz; add to that her own affection for the Pop sounds around the Millennium and you have an idea where this young girl, with a karaoke machine to sing to her family, was heading musically. But then that in itself is maybe not unlike hundreds of other London kids with a taste for performing, perhaps the thing that pushes Cleo ahead of the pack is that ear for music she undoubtedly demonstrates on ‘Mother.’ A gift that as a youngster steered her towards a deep and fundamentally inspiring affection for Stevie Wonder’s ‘Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing,’ an appreciation revealing a maturity to her musical brain highlighting why an album length musical statement such as this was a likely part of her arsenal.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Stevie Wonder himself had released this album in the 21st century, critics would have been lining up to praise the LP as an astounding return to the rich vein of form he enjoyed in his early seventies’ heyday. Do I detect a nod to ‘He’s Misstra Know It All’ in the opening riff to ‘Music’? Well, if I do it is only a launchpad from which Cleo dives deep into her own wonderous world. It is not simply that ‘Mother’ maintains a thread throughout twelve strong tracks, or that there is pure soul in Cleo’s singing; the genius is in the tiny details weaved into this tapestry. The baby noises buried in the backdrop of ‘We Need You’ and the way that tune can melt through your skin like the golden dawn of your life, then judder your head with a brief bass led interval. The music flows track to track and the shifts in tempo sail naturally. But they are very real changes, the contrasts exist in each song. Listen to ‘23’, a tune with a real bass driven bounce and a breezy lightness in tone, but then the swirling voices in that chorus are singing “you nearly broke me down”. In nearly eight minutes, ‘Build Me Up’ progresses from tender reflection, gospel style elevation and vulnerable exaltation before literally speeding up as a deep bass groove leads us back to the sunshine, magical stuff. This album is an essential slice of young and modern Soul music; a raw yet gorgeous meditation on relationships, life and motherhood delivered straight from the heart of an artist with music in her DNA. I cannot overstate how great this is.

Get a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/20965663-Cleo-Sol-Mother

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Lady Blackbird – Black Acid Soul

This was arguably the most assured and fully realized breakthrough debut album of the year. Reminiscent of the way Norah Jones first landed with a classic showcase calling card record nearly two decades earlier, this does the exact same thing, firing straight out of the barrel and hitting the bullseye. Lady Blackbird, the performing name of Marley Munroe from Los Angeles, is the kind of jazz singer that infuses soul into her style the moment she steps in front of a microphone. And because she has such an incredible stimulating voice, her collaborators in producing this album (including heavy jazz hitters such as former Miles Davis pianist Deron Johnson) clearly knew that the main objective was to put that voice front and center. They pulled this task off so convincingly that any uninformed listener would be forgiven for assuming this to be cut in the classic late sixties, early seventies analogue era of recording, the work of some long-established legendary diva. The singing is all command, as the music warmly wraps itself around the vocals without ever hustling for the spotlight. At times it is quite bold in its gentle serenity, allowing the performance to breathe as an orchestral conductor would, the audio is absolutely alive with feeling.

‘Black Acid Soul’ is kind of a statement of content in itself, both as an album title and too in the wavy psychedelic lettering of the striking cover design, you are invited to expect a certain kind of content within. It is the sort of heading you could reasonably expect someone like Nina Simone to have her name associated with around the early seventies. Therefore, it is no surprise to find that there is a Simone connection in the name Lady Blackbird, paid homage to with the opening track, an arresting version of Nina’s ‘Blackbird.’ Much like the Norah Jones record I referred to, this collection to is a tastefully curated selection of song interpretations with a splattering of original material mixed in. One massive stand out number is a killer take on a little known 1967 track by Soul artist Reuben Bell called ‘It’s Not That Easy’. The piano is especially aching as it’s punctuation echoes to the sky, the organ notes tap tap tap a pensive backdrop, but the core of the performance is Munroe’s definitive delivery.

As any great singer should, Lady Blackbird makes the material she covers very much her own. When you consider that among these are selections like Tim Hardin’s ‘It’ll Never Happen Again’ and a tune best known by New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas, ‘Ruler Of My Heart,’ then to say she succeeds in putting her own stamp on them is a huge compliment. Her own creative muscles are flexed with a re-working of Bill Evans famous ‘Peace, Peace’ wherein Munroe and fellow collaborator Chris Seefried transform it into a lyrical work called ‘Fix It.’ Elsewhere, the same pair are responsible for ‘Five Feet Tall’ and, along with the superb ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’ by Seefried alone, the new stuff does not impose any dip in quality whatsoever. Therefore, the album does contain a sheen that is both classic and new all rolled into one. The record ends in a manner that should encourage listeners to watch keenly where Lady Blackbird could progress from here on in, for the title track is an ensemble collaboration that suggests in its sonic inflexions, that there is much to come from this artist, ‘Black Acid Soul’ is a mere launchpad and Lady Blackbird is certainly worthy of our continued enthused attention.

Find a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/20174482-Lady-Blackbird-Black-Acid-Soul

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Silver Synthetic – Silver Synthetic

Silver Synthetic are a New Orleans band born out of the punky fuzz excursions of that city’s Bottomfeeders. Around 2017 they found that amid the rough-edged garage creations they had built up there were other kinds of songs emerging. These tunes were crying out for a different sort of treatment, they didn’t seem to belong to the Bottomfeeders, sounding far more in need of a band with a facility for variation, refined flourishes with an ear for melody and texture. So it was that the creator of this tantalizing pile of songs, Chris Lyons, recruited long time musical cohorts and fellow Bottomfeeders to form Silver Synthetic. This self-titled debut album, the end result of their journey, is an artfully crafted jewel of Alt-Americana, timeless in its clarity and surely a record that will delight those who discover it for years to come.

Opener ‘In The Beginning’ sets its stall out with easy country-rock vibes, there is an unmistakable hint of Beachwood Sparks in the air and a curiously inviting tone to the expressive electric guitar playing. ‘Unchain Your Heart’ is pure acid-country gold, a momentum fueled rhythmic guitar chug that makes the simple plea to “unchain your heart, bring it back to me.” Its that classic killer number two album track that puts a record on the front foot with the listener, locking them in for the duration. You just cannot fail to get into this track, it is the very definition of infectious simplicity in terms of lyric and ear worm hooks but on top of that there’s still space for a burning, bending guitar solo that lifts the track even higher.

This happens again on ‘Around The Bend,’ in which the song hangs itself deliciously around lush guitar hooks, chiming folk-rock chord changes and yet another easy on the ear chorus. About two thirds of the way through there’s a gear change, everything speeds up and the track literally accelerates its way to a conclusion. Simple musical furnishings these may well be, but they are tried and tested movements that will always work when executed, as they are here, by a band that sound totally locked into each other.

The entire album is without fault, every song enhances the collective tone. ‘Chasm Killer’ is mellower but just when you think you are familiar with the formulae here, Silver Synthetic throw the heaviest of golden chord changes in the chorus and let rip more sumptuous melodic fuzz guitar ploughing. ‘Out Of The Darkness’ is appropriately urgent, reminding me a little of the way the Velvet Underground took a charge at a song like ‘Foggy Notion.’ ‘Unholy Love’ floats on a vacillating sea of summer harmonies, forlorn guitar strokes and a soft underpinning of organ; in other words, it is rather exquisite. ‘Some Of What You Want’ arrives with drive, this time the band show how seemingly straight forward arrangement ideas can result in head spinning excitement; they do this by opening with a guitar solo then breaking down to a middle-eight section that lands right before the final chorus. Finally, LP closer ‘On The Way Home’ sets the sun down on a song collection that has warmed the heart and mind of this listener and with just eight songs to thrill over, Silver Synthetic have definitely left me wanting more.

Get a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/18257998-Silver-Synthetic-Silver-Synthetic

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Esther Rose – How Many Times

Esther Rose proves on this stunner of an album that design classics never age if they are presented with sincerity and conviction. By that I mean, Esther’s sound is wholly classic country in its tone, it has acoustic guitar alongside tasteful electric and steel guitar textures, rolling fiddle, easy swinging drum strokes and is topped off with a voice that is achingly pure. The songs, especially on this collection, sing of heartbreak and relationship crisis points but they are varnished with hope, resolve and a lust to kick back from these bumps in the road. Above all though and the main reason why my opening sentence carries some weight, is that these are fantastic melodic songs that have insistent repeat-play worthy pleasures. This is great songwriting, and the album serves the songs so well, with simple vintage style production breathing life, heartbreak and soul into every tune.

It became an album of 2021 for me primarily because it delivered on that ingredient that all the essential albums should; every song was a winner and across the whole set the standard did not drop. OK, it is a shorter than average album clocking in at 35 minutes, but then there are classic Beatles albums that only run to the half hour mark and essentially, this is a record that does all it needs to do within its time. Esther did make some reference to a relationship break up at the time of the release, which maybe explains why there is so much feeling and belief injected into every performance. The tune ‘Songs Remain’ is a splendid example of this as it appears to fondly yet a little mournfully, recall music indelibly connected to a partner. She sings the heavily loaded line “I am glad it was you who broke my heart, because it had to be you who broke my heart” seeming to suggest that the hurting has only served to instill those songs with greater meaning. The fade is quite poignant too, as the sound of a rocking western style tune cuts through to the backdrop of pouring down rain, like a brief audio flashback.

Even though heartbreak is a recurring theme on the record, it doesn’t ever become a song cycle that brings the listener down. Quite the opposite, even on the title track opener Esther is asking “how many times will you break my heart?” while the music is somehow celebratory, as if already picturing the day she emerges from this ordeal a stronger person. ‘Are You Out There’ acknowledges that there is no one on a New Year’s Eve or Saturday night that the singer wants to kiss, but as she asks the question the song sets out by name, there is more certainty than doubt bleeding into the enquiry. All the way the singer is finding strength even as she stands alone. This is an album that anyone determined to pick themselves up after a fall should make part of their musical life. The poppier moments, such as ‘Keeps Me Running,’ slide and swing like audio medicine that can only be administered on a honky-tonk hardwood floor while the more reflective numbers, such as the beautiful ‘When You Go,’ massage the heart strings and shower this set with the many shades of emotion tied to a relationship ending. The ace in Esther Rose’s pack though is that you do not really have to get too deep and heavy into those details to enjoy the record, these songs are just so musically satisfying, like sweet vintage sonic honey.

Get a vinyl pressing of the album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/19987084-Esther-Rose-How-Many-Times

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

Chelsea Carmichael – The River Doesn’t Like Strangers

Chelsea Carmichael is a saxophonist, composer and arranger who released this, her solo debut, in 2021 and added more lush sparkle onto a music style that has been on fire for me in recent years. My journey into Jazz appreciation came at a late stage, at least compared to other genres that I remain heavily into. I began to soak up the classics as an entry point, the Miles Davis and John Coltrane’s that you always read about before branching out and often backwards to people like Sidney Bechet and Dave Brubeck, as well as digging into the groove of so much classic Blue Note material. There was new stuff on my radar too but nothing close to the explosion enjoyed for the last five years. It was roughly that long ago that the emphasis shifted and Jazz became a principal component to anything exciting and original I was hearing from the area marked ‘contemporary music.’ Yes, my imagination had been captured by the artists the press had herded together and labelled the ‘New London Jazz Scene.’

Now, even though that catch all title is still very much in use, I think there is a wider understanding by those in the know that it is a bit of a fiction. The artists at its core are UK wide and beyond and even though there is much cross pollination between performers, that in itself is hardly anything new in Jazz; they do though all share a visionary outlook that is far more panoramic than to be confined to the style and sound of just one city. That said, I believe the thing that did stimulate me was that, of all the new Jazz I ever listened to, this loose collective of people shares a sound that could only be generated in the modern world. I am talking about The Sons Of Kemet, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Seed Ensemble, Kokoroko, Ruby Rushton and Moses Boyd plus others. Theirs is Jazz played with a pulsating beating heart, a sharpened street wise city edge and wide-open ears that have absorbed everything from Hip-Hop to Be-Bop and have the chops to bring vibes that have gone before into a bubbling melting pot to serve up a banging, heavy brew.

Sons Of Kemet main man Shabaka Hutchings is a key figure in the whole scene and pretty damn important to the Chelsea Carmichael story too. It was his invite that led to Chelsea recording the first full length LP on his new label Native Rebel Records. Sure enough, the resulting record not only fizzled with the va-va-voom that typified so many of the ‘London Scene’ releases, but it also shone a light on Chelsea’s own emerging gift for composition, something which maybe had taken a back seat as she worked with, amongst others, the Seed Ensemble (whose ‘Driftglass’ was one of my albums of 2019) and Outlook Orchestra with Theon Cross. Now, with ‘The River Doesn’t Like Strangers,’ she has un-corked a forward-thinking musical grain of her own that appears to be spilling over with melodic and sonic progressions. Take that title track alone, it is propelled by deep, lolling bass lines but Carmichael’s saxophone progressions develop in a never-ending splintering of directions, each one as worthy and moreish as its predecessor.

And that only scratches the surface, the whole album is a nine-track blast rammed with ideas that are executed with class and style. ‘There Is You And You’ positively throbs, its joys are truly head spinning and by the time the piercing slashes of guitar enter the picture you really do feel like your mind could split open. That is where Jazz music is really doing its job, starting you out on a journey where, if you climb aboard and trust in the magic, you are going to be lifted to a better place. But it is not going to hold your hand and spoon feed you its sweet tastes, you have got to commit. Do that and you will surely enjoy the finest rewards in music. This stuff is important and what you listen to should not always be limited to the background or to enhance other activity, sometimes you need to give it your all. Just as Chelsea Carmichael did with the making of this album, the end result is a collection of music where the grooves are absolutely loaded with imaginative, soul cleansing, sonic pleasures and they come at you in an overwhelming abundance.

Get a vinyl pressing of the album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/22787624-Chelsea-Carmichael-The-River-Doesnt-Like-Strangers

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Fruit Tree Records Of The Year, Records of 2021

The Surfing Magazines – Badgers Of Wymeswold

I came to the Surfing Magazines in 2017 when they put out a brilliant, grungy eponymous debut album. It took me a little time that year to realize they were actually more than half a combination of one of my favorite bands of the decade. It took a YouTube video for me to click, the light suddenly coming on as I recognized “hang on a minute, that’s David Tattersall and Franic Rozycki out of the Wave Pictures.” Well of course… Wave Pictures / Surfing Magazines… it was all there staring me in the face. No wonder the sound of this apparently new band grabbed my attention so much. They also consist of half the members of Slow Club and so are a perfect amalgamation of the two bands; I received the news that a second album would land in 2021 with excitable anticipation.

There are a multitude of reasons I love the Wave Pictures, but one significant string to their indie-rock bow is the way they can inhale the grinding, pulsating essence of the Velvet Underground at their scuzzy, rocking peak and sprinkle this gold dust over their own music. When they hit the mark with this trick, which they do too often for it to be a fluke, the resulting music is truly special. I am aware this is a big statement so; I will present you with the track ‘The Woods’ from their 2013 album ‘City Forgiveness’ as exhibit A in my presentation. If we are in agreement, then read on because with this Surfing Magazines project David and Franic along with Charles Watson and Dominic Brider allow themselves free reign to drink copiously from that Velvets stream without inhibition.

That said, they are far from a one-trick guitar distortion beast, far from it. David Tattersall’s songwriting has always kept a keen eye on the pop world, in that sense these are like a slightly old-fashioned eighties indie band, before Britpop took the format overground, producing brilliant little vignettes that reference every strain of outsider pop, the kind that would treat troubling the lower reaches of the charts as a badge of honor. Take the slow, gangster strut of the title track ‘Badgers Of Wymewold;’ there are echoes of classic garage rock in that groove, a hint of shoegaze head grinding in the aggressive guitar punctuations and even a taste of experimental Jazz in the saxophone intervals. This is a musical project where everything is on the table.

I hear the Pixies too, especially from around the time they embraced surf-rock into their sound with ‘Bossanova.’ I could bring Jonathan Richman into the equation too, just listen to the child like vim the Surfing Magazines bring to the tune ‘Pink Ice Cream.’ That said, I only like to bring direct comparisons into a review if I believe the act I am writing about take those influences, develop them, toss them up in the air and construct something new and brilliant with them and that is exactly what the Surfing Magazines do. As such they are in themselves a band that deserve appreciation for being far more than a side project to the respective bands they come from. If anything, this is where David Tattersall has captured most effectively the full range of underground rock wonder and tender, bruised balladry that bleeds into all his best work. This album is worthy of the attention of anyone with ears that work properly.

Get a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/22554830-The-Surfing-Magazines-Badgers-of-Wymeswold

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