2023 – Myriad Voices

The Best Albums of 2023

For Scottish folk musician Juliette Lemoine, the cello is not just a background instrument, filling in colour and texture to the sonic tapestry, it’s a protagonist in its own right, leading the melody the way a fiddle normally would. Her debut album, Soaring, is something of a manifesto for the cello, setting it free fromContinue reading “The Best Albums of 2023”

The Best Songs of 2023

The general consensus seems to be that 2023 was a bit of an underrwhelming year for popular music. With no big, emerging new genres or breakthrough acts, few hits with much staying power, and the usual suspects topping the charts, a general sense of stagnation pervades. It’s surprising to me then that the majority ofContinue reading “The Best Songs of 2023”

Review: Luluc – Diamonds

Since 2008’s Dear Hamlyn New York-based Australian duo Luluc have been weaving mesmeric, gossamer arrangements from understated, organic instrumentation. The stripped-back LP Passerby in 2014 was followed by the warm, shoegazey gush of Sculptor in 2018 and then 2020’s entrancing Dreamboat with its unexpected, wonky little touches. The duo, comprising Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett,Continue reading “Review: Luluc – Diamonds”

Review: Gabriels – Angels and Queens

Gabriels are a rare phenomenon, residing in the overlap between passionate, larger-than-life showmanship and sincere, concentrated artistry. Their flamboyant frontman’s charisma has irresistible popular appeal, while their meticulous and earnest compositions, rooted in gospel and soul, endear them to the music nerds of the world. Consisting of vocalist Jacob Lusk, keyboardist Ryan Hope and violinistContinue reading “Review: Gabriels – Angels and Queens”

Review: U.S. Girls – Bless This Mess

Since releasing her first album as U.S. Girls in 2008, Meg Remy has been a prolific powerhouse of ideas, filling eight records with rich, vital and idiosyncratic pop music. Recent years have seen the Toronto musician leap deftly from the rough textures and patchwork grooves on 2015’s Half Free to dense, churning psychedelia on 2018’sContinue reading “Review: U.S. Girls – Bless This Mess”

Winter Highlights 2022-23

I’ve not been short of albums to review since I last posted. The last couple months of 2022 and the first few weeks of 2023 have seen some of the albums I’ve been anticipating for months, even years, released to great acclaim and excitement. But what I have been short of is time. And soContinue reading “Winter Highlights 2022-23”