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AUDIO Zara Hedderman Andrew Lambert Danny Wilson
Cate Le Bon Reward [Mexican Summer] Tyler the Creator IGOR [Columbia Records] Deftly balancing pastoral isolation with the mechanically hewn darts and jerks of post punk; Cate Le Bon’s latest and strongest release to date was penned during a spell studying furniture design in rural Cumbria – designing chairs by day and moonlighting at the piano. Since first announcing herself with a string of essential EPs and full lengths, Le Bon has established herself as one of the most consistently engaging figures in the artrock landscape. Her work’s inspired coalescence of absurd obfuscation and shit-hot choruses feels a worthy continuation to the monumental achievements of Wire, Television and even Swell Maps. One arc present in Le Bon’s output thus far is her deepening lack of concern with notions of immediacy. Where earlier records were chock full of spiky but hummable riffs – Le Bon has increasingly focused her attention on crafting songs that gradually reveal the depth of their nuance over time. Her evolving relationship to experimentation – exemplified in side projects like Drinks and Banana, as well as through her growing reputation as a producer of formidable grace, vision and nuance – has paid out like a slot machine. Where she previously elevated more stripped-back garage and folk-informed styles, Reward finds Le Bon operating in the rarefied air of Kate Bush or Robert Wyatt. When it comes to the grubby task of music criticism, only the finest records are this resistant to having the full breadth of their brilliance reduced to a few hundred words. DW Like this? Try these: Chris Cohen - Chris Cohen Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising Colleen - A Flame my Love, a Frequency Much like its career defining predecessor Flower Boy, IGOR is an album that lets Tyler’s masterful production shine brighter than ever before, as the enigmatic rapper hazily explores a mix of R&B, funk and soul within a genre busting 39 minutes. This is the sound of an artist with all shackles removed, fearlessly indulging his creative senses and thriving in his prime, in turn delivering a blissful hip-hop soundtrack for summer 2019. AL The National I Am Easy to Find [4AD] The National took a daring step forward on 2017’s Sleep Well Beast, a record seemingly designed for the band to break free of their consistent reputation. On IAETF they double down, enlisting an impressive cast of female vocalists to guide them through a set of lush, synth-laden symphonies on their longest and boldest LP to date. The results are transcendent – on their eighth album, The National are still evolving and playing anything but safe. AL Clinic Wheeltappers and Shunters [Domino] Holly Herndon Proto [4AD] In true Clinic form, the Liverpudlian psych-art-punk quartet giveth and swiftly taketh away on Wheeltappers and Shunters, their eighth album in a career spanning two decades. Heralding the vigour of Internal Wrangler (2000) and Walking With Thee (2002) with opener Laughing Cavalier, the band adeptly continue to broaden their off-kilter repertoire with the dreamy Be Yourself/ Year of The Sadist and unsettling Rejoice! These 12 songs – delivered in a snappy 26 minutes – present Clinic as a firework spitting out sparkling rich melodies. ZH On Proto, the third wonderfully dynamic album by Tennessee-born composer Holly Herndon, the listener becomes immersed in a spooky world governed by Spawn – an AI agent devised by the artist to improvise alongside arrangements – and populated by monastic-sounding vocal ensembles and snarling terrestrial creatures. It reads like a premise of a horror film so it’s fitting, then, for there to be a cinematic quality throughout the 13 tracks. It’s difficult to shake the vivid textures of these exceptionally crafted songs. ZH CLICK IT OUT… 82 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