The Alternative Album Chart: The best new indie albums this week
We didn’t start the fire, but it seems this sanguine week as though some of the flames were quelled. With the sun arriving and a splattering of news stories that seem to hint at brighter horizons, Peter One is chief among the musicians who have delivered a fittingly refreshing assortment of albums this week.
With the festival season and summer holidays fast approaching, we are soon set to enter the rush of sunny releases. For now, the quieter weeks offer a chance to peruse some new names and debut releases. With the likes of Island of Love and Overmono offering solid first releases, the future of music seems as colourful as ever as the impact of the pandemic seems to be shaping music now more than ever.
In the offing this week, we’ve got journeys through the rubble of Yorkshire’s past, lusciously lilting tones from Cote d’Ivoire, and another set of campfire tales from Brian Christinzio. Despite this eclectic mix, the overarching feel of the sounds on offer this week is springlike as artists are seemingly looking to shine a light towards happier times amid the apparent bleakness that the media drum up.
On that celebratory note, we’ve picked out the best new music alongside the occasional dud (just to keep you informed) for your consideration below in this week’s Far Out Albums Chart. Enjoy…
The best new indie albums this week:
Come Back To Me – Peter One – 4.5/5
Growing up in Bonoua, Cote d’Ivoire, Peter One wasn’t presented with a guitar until he was 17. However, he soon became enamoured with the instrument and looked to emulate his heroes like the Cameroonian troubadour Eboa Lotin. Quickly, he learnt that there was an interesting marriage to be made between the folk sounds of his homeland and his Western favourites like Simon & Garfunkel. Soon he produced a very singular sound akin to a one-man Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on vacation composing lilting tales from a pillow-propped disposition.
Fame followed for Peter One, but amid the tempestuous political climate of Cote d’Ivoire in the 1990s, this wasn’t always welcome so he moved to the US and looked to further the horizons of his career. Come Back To Me sounds like he is finally sinking back into the core of his soulful sound. As he sings on the bluesy ‘Staring Into the Sun’, “It’s been 16 years a lot of changed since then, nobody is like you, nobody can really fill your shoes.” You can say that again, nobody makes singularity sound so seamless and nobody makes delicate tones hit so deep.
And I’ll be damned if he doesn’t sound like he’s saying “Howay” in the thickest Geordie accent throughout the astoundingly pretty ‘Cherie Vico’.
Wait Til I Get Over – Durand Jones – 4/5
Durand Jones’ solo outing, Wait Til I Get Over, makes soul & gospel sound as fresh as it has done for some time while ensuring it remains as timeless as it always will be at its best. Throughout the album he makes bold choices, braving spoken word segments, unabashedly offering up choral chants with modern flourishes, and getting discordant with the production on ‘See It Through’.
All these stark choices are galvanised to lofty heights thanks to a stunning performance brimming with sincerity and enthusiasm for the craft. Jones seems liberated in following his muse wherever it ventures without prejudice or prior intent and we are the benefactors of this musical voyage. The result is a luscious summer record that will sound gorgeous in any garden and not a single neighbour will be offended. Perhaps above all, it offers up bliss that is anything but ignorant.
The Last Rotation of Earth – BC Camplight – 4/5
Brian Christinzio returns under his BC Camplight alias for a sixth studio album, The Last Rotation of Earth. In keeping with the patently apocalyptic title, Christinzio takes the listener on yet another tour of the idiosyncrasies of his mind with a focus on the darker side of life. For Christinzio, conventional musical practice is never an option, and hence, he never fails to grip the audience with complex themes, juxtaposing tones and immersive textures.
The Last Rotation Of Earth shows BC Camplight at a new peak, both conceptually and compositionally. Though the album returns to dark humour in a new sonic setting, the themes and even the tone of his voice tell of newfound comfort in a kingdom of darkness and a deeper understanding of the human condition. (Words by Jordan Potter)
London Ko – Fatoumata Diawara – 4/5
Since Fatoumata Diawara began making music, the Malian musician has consistently bent the rules, refusing to be boxed into one genre through her blend of traditional and contemporary sounds. According to Diawara, she is “the first female solo electric guitar player in Mali.” Evidently, the musician is a pioneer, and her latest album, London Ko, is another reminder of her sheer brilliance.
Whether Diawara is championing feminist causes, such as addressing FGM on ‘Sete’ or celebrating tradition on ‘Dambe’, London Ko is defiant and carefully constructed. Diawara has designed an album that is not to be carelessly consumed. She explains, “For me, London Ko means opening your mind.” Indeed, the record is an expansive and eclectic selection of songs bound to delight listeners. (Words by Aimee Ferrier)
Standers – Craven Faults – 4/5
Craven Faults hold a near-mythic presence in music. The second effort by the enigmatic electronic experimenter only adds to that with Standers synopsis being: “Half-remembered journeys across post-industrial Yorkshire.” But this is no turgid Ken Loach film, no offence to the bloke, it is a weird and wonderful sonic journey that conjures a sort of Cormac McCarthy-like fractured landscape through a billowing analogue system.
Driven along on the low rumble of a techno engine, things might be sparse and sporadic on Standers, but they are never once stationary thanks to this grounding sense of energy. All in all, it sounds like an album from 1000 years in the future written using the same melodic principles of old chanted repetitions from trance-inducing Afrobeat tunes.
Island of Love – Island of Love – 3.5/5
The fuzziness of Island of Love’s sound seems less like the product of a distortion pedal and more like the sonic effect of frantic enthusiasm. With a garage rock ethos that takes you back to the days of Dinosaur Jr., this London band are happily ballistic with their scattergun sound. This results in a self-titled debut that is brimming with self-titled-debut-esque vitality. They aren’t overthinking this rock ‘n’ roll thing in the best possible way.
This upbeat offering is refreshingly fun. The band might have formed in the depths of dark lockdown, but rather than wallowing in that mire, they have chosen instead to focus on the exultant exodus from it. The album fittingly sounds like the happiness that has emanated from the return of live music, with a wry undertone that addresses the world it has returned to with slacker irony.
Good Lies – Overmono – 3/5
Welsh electronic duo Overmono finally release their long-awaited debut album, Good Lies. Comprised of brothers Tom and Ed Russell, they make good on the promise of their past efforts, fusing ethereal techno with grooving dubstep and backbeats into an eclectic palette that never loses sight of being Overmono. Made for the dancefloor and summer festivals, Good Lies is 12 tracks of electronic refinement, with flecks of pop twisted in that will no doubt appeal to the masses.
The highlights arrive when welding the brothers’ respective solo careers – Tom’s in techno and Ed’s in dubstep – into a pulsating mesh that whisks you away and makes you yearn for the dancefloor. It’s not too niche either; there’s still a broad appeal to the record due to the soulful slant of the vocals dropped in throughout and the uplifting 1990s-steeped melodies. It’s sure to be remixed a multitude of times following release, ensuring that Overmono are a new voice set to permeate dancefloors forevermore, despite this debut feeling like it could still offer more.
Tenkiller Motion Picture Soundtrack – Chat Pile – 3/5
Delving into the world of soundtracks is never easy, especially when you’re in your infancy like Chat Pile. Alas, the film and soundtrack alike are brimming with interest and nuance. Life in Oklahoma does not sound easy, and few reflect this as viscerally as Chat Pile. Mixing noise rock with an array of subverting melodies, they bring a weird underworld to life like Salvador Dalí’s clash between the subconscious and reality.
Tenkiller comes with the following synopsis: “One year after the tragic death of his best friend, an eighteen-year-old machinist struggles with the split of his parents and the violent way of life surrounding him.” And that fraught sense is captured in Chat Pile’s effort, even if it is just a touch too haywire with the genre meddling at times.
Love Invention – Alison Goldfrapp – 2.5/5
2000s electro-pop is unapologetically back with a bang. Alison Goldfrapp waves her glow stick aloft proudly on Love Invention, a glossy party album with a strong whiff of cheesiness. Obviously, that cheesiness is intentional but the album neither refines it into something fresh nor fully gives into it and goes full-on ‘hair-down fun’ to get away from the fact that it seems slightly dated.
Absolutely, slap this on for a throwback blast as you get ready for a holiday night out or fancy something groovy poolside – it’s great for that kind of thing, especially ‘The Beat Divine’ – but over the course of the songs you crave something more, something a bit more imaginative. Yes, to its credit, it might depart the dancefloor and dip into more serene waters throughout offering a sense of departure, but it always clutches its Ibiza boarding pass a bit too firmly.
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