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AUDIO Zara Hedderman Danny Wilson Destroyer Have
We Met [Dead Oceans] Bill Fay Countless Branches [Dead Oceans] What began as an album centred around Y2K dissolved, leaving Dan Bejar with a blank page heading into Destroyer’s 13th album. The Canadian took this opportunity to revisit pieces he’d written for projects deemed “beyond music.” The recording of these sublime tracks took place at Bejar’s kitchen table with frequent collaborator John Collins adding a plethora of beguiling textures afterwards. Following exceptional recent output, from 2011’s Kaputt through to Ken which arrived six years later, Have We Met draws from the more striking sonic moments from that period, particularly its direct predecessor. The ‘80s and ‘90s serve a wealth of inspiration across the instrumentation with bright synths leading many of the songs, including The Raven. Elsewhere, John Hughes’ brat-pack classic, Pretty In Pink was cited as an influence to some of the arrangements as seen on It Just Doesn’t Happen. Lyrically, Bejar’s wit is as sharp as ever, striking harder with his captivating drawl delivery. His sophisticated timbre makes his stream-of-consciousness ramblings all the more amusing. Whether he’s recounting an insect infestation in his home amidst a clatter of Björk-like tinny percussion on Kinda Dark, introducing fake drums to the bombastically smooth Cue Synthesizer or comically remarking on the “clickety click click, the music makes a musical sound,” on the enthralling centrepiece, The Television Music Supervisor, it’s impossible to resist Bejar’s unassuming charm. ZH Like This? Try These: Destroyer - Ken Alex Cameron - Miami Memory John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves Bill Fay, the London-based outlier who became a cult singer-songwriter two decades after his career came to an unceremonious halt in the 1970s, returns with an extensive album featuring songs that he’s had in his arsenal for 40 years. A minimal approach to the arrangements – predominantly Fay singing at the piano, sometimes accompanied by guitar – allow for his words to take centrestage. His aged vocals bring forth an exceptionally endearing and very intimate quality across the LP, particularly on I Will Remain Here. ZH Robbie Stickland Warm Jeans in the Morning [Self Released] Dublin-based singer-songwriter Robbie Stickland retires his Spongebob Eyelashes moniker for the release of his woozy lo-fi debut, Warm Jeans… From the moment you press play, we’re teleported to Mac Demarco’s 2014 Salad Days period of croony vocal deliveries accompanied by glimmering guitar melodies. Sometimes, however, this influence overtakes the LP. Stickland’s wit shines through as he sings about his desire for a thicker moustache and navigating fraught relationships. Ultimately, Warm Jeans gifts us a summery collection of songs to radiate in the stillness of spring. ZH Aoife Nessa Frances Land of No Junction [Basin Rock] Sore Eros Sore Eros [Feeding Tube Records] The introductory long player from Dublin-based psychedelic chanteuse Aoife Nessa Frances is a debut of rare confidence. Frances has surrounded herself with an enviable coterie of players who furnish Land of No Junction with a lush, dually delicate and dynamic sonic palette that subtly shifts from moment to moment. As expansive and rich as the backing may be – calling to mind, as it does, some coalescence of Broadcast, Angel Olsen and even Serge Gainsbourg – the troupe never loses sight of their secret weapon, Frances own mesmerically dulcet vocals. DW The singularly louche vibe of Neil Young’s sad sack opus On The Beach is often credited to his band’s near constant consumption of a potent concoction known as ‘Honey Slides’, a sticky goop comprised of sautéed marijuana and honey described by Young and his cohort as “feeling like heroin”. Reader, if you don’t have the time, means or inclination to brew up your own honey slides, the latest double LP from amorphous psych think tank Sore Eros is probably the next best thing. That is to say, it’s very very good. DW CLICK IT OUT… 80 We know it and so should you food, fashion, photography, film, books, magazines, music, design, drink and a curated section of events for you to consider www.totallydublin.ie