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AUDIO Zara Hedderman Joe Joyce Andrew Lambert Mic
hael McDermott Danny Wilson Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & London Symphony Orchestra Promises [Luaka Bop] Mdou Moctar Afrique Victime [Matador] As origin stories go, Promises has one that’s hard to beat. In 2015, mythical jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders became enamoured with the music of experimental electronica producer Floating Points (aka Sam Shepherd). The two met for lunch, talked about jazz, and decided to make an album. They recorded most of Promises together in 2019, and in 2020 Shepherd enlisted the London Symphony Orchestra to complete the album’s texture. The result is a triumph, and an entrancing argument for taking the time to listen to an album uninterrupted from start to finish. Promises is a 46-minute piece of music, divided into 9 movements that flow into each other, connected by a seven-note motif. Floating Points and the LSO are at two opposite ends of the album’s sonic spectrum. Shepherd’s synths provide the album’s most alien moments, while the LSO’s cinematic strings are lush and familiar. In the middle is Sanders, who is undoubtedly the album’s heart. He brings sixty years of jazz mastery to the collaboration, and every time he makes his saxophone speak, you’ll pay attention. In 2021, committing 46 minutes to sit down and give your undivided attention to some ambient/ psychedelic spiritual jazz may sound like a big ask (maybe even a bit pretentious), but you’ll get back what you put in to Promises many times over. I promise. JJ Like This? Try These... Journey in Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane Suddenly - Caribou The Common Task - Horse Lords Prodigious Tuareg guitar mage Mdou Moctar’s latest kaleidoscopic slab of galvanic wig-outs - his first at Matador - serves as further illustration that there is still life in the tones and tropes readily associated with dad-rocking traditionalism. Where the six-string histrionics of western wannabes eager to walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs are principally exhausting, Moctar and his band jive with a swagger more invigorating than anything else. Inventive, engaging and deeply groovy, Afrique Victim hums at a frequency of its own, all the more inviting for its peculiarities. DW Lambchop Showtunes [City Slang] Though some of his work operates in a register akin to whisper, it’s not like Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner is inclined to keeping too quiet for too long. That said, the rate of releases that has characterized Wagner’s recent past has been a boon for admirers, not just in the volume of work but also in the spirit of experimentation and risk-taking that has buoyed each release to unmissable status. True to that spirit, Showtunes is a wonky marvel; a unique concoction of skittering electronic sketches and great American songbook grandeur that would surely be mere curio in lesser hands. DW Dinosaur Jr Sweep It Into Space [Jagjaguwar] The Snuts W.L. [Parlophone] Alt rock legends Dinosaur Jr. are back after a fiveyear gap between records and it’s a great comfort to know that whatever’s going on in the world, J Mascis & co. are still rocking out in thunderous fashion. Ferociously energetic, feel-good and packed full of the usual quota of fuzzily distorted guitar riffs and face-melting solos, Sweep It Into Space is another triumph from one of the most dependably authentic rock bands in the game, almost forty years in. AL One of the most surprising success stories of 2021 came from Glasgow, as indie rockers The Snuts unbelievably beat off Demi Lovato to top the UK Albums Chart with debut W.L. this past month. It’s a rare form of commercial success for a young band these days, but it’s clear to see why Snuts have captured hearts and minds with their throwback guitar tunes transporting listeners back to the noughties heyday of post-Britpop with an undeniable collection of indie bangers made for the main stage. AL CLICK IT OUT… 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