Hannah Lou Larson – Move Like Rivers

Danish born Oxford based Singer-Songwriter Hannah Lou Larsen says “The EP, Peach Pine Ocean is my offering of four deeply personal meditations on love, loss, and the shifting nature of human connection.” She goes onto to tell us, “The EP was written, recorded and mixed by yours truly in my home studio in Oxford.” Move Like Rivers is dedicated to “The people I love and the people I lost. To the ones I long to see again. May you live your life to the fullest. May you never lose hope.” I’ve played these four cuts repeatedly and keep discovering more reasons to appreciate this talented artist. Hannah (formerly known as Asthmatic Harp) credits herself for the striking artwork with an impressive photo by Phil Jones. 

Jackie West – All Falls Down

Oh my! This accomplished artist held my attention all the way through All Falls Down. I don’t look for mistakes or expect to hear them yet from experience I know all too well that to maintain an alluring hold on a listener is no easy task. Silent Century is an exceptional LP jam-packed with masterful songwriting and musicianship. Apparently, The bulk of the record was recorded live, with the band learning on the spot, including a 10-minute jaw-dropping closer, Other. Pay close attention to Jackie’s lyrics, “Now I am a woman, rooted to life like a kettle, a kettle rooted to the void. Be that as it may, everything that I touch blossoms.” New York City and Hudson Valley are mentioned as her home-base, not unlike the composition of her songs, at times urban and uncompromising while also serene and captivating. Ms. West makes the cryptic observation, “I’m surrendering to the loneliness of having a good time.” Tasteful sleeve art too. A winner!

Madame O und Gehirn – Autobahn Ins Gehirn (Düsseldorf Mix) 

What we have here with Autobahn Ins Gehirn EP, is a Darksynth-Krautwave-Dub extravaganza on the eccentric Fantasma Disques label out of Germany. You are advised to meander through their glorious catalogue. There are four versions of Autobahn Ins Gehirn, each one as compelling as the other. Violette de Lestrange on vocals and Cosmotropia de Xam are the culprits behind this audio adventure. Without a slight wink of the eye they tell us the EP is a tribute Cosmic Couriers and Bands like Cosmic Jokers, Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Düül, Agitation Free, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser, Gille Lettmann, Rosi, Ohr, Pilz, Berlin School Space Sounds. I’m quite convinced your Goth-leaning nephew or niece will love this one.

Shy One – Moonlight (feat. Private Joy)

What a treat this is. The second album from super-talented Mali Larrington-Nelson AKA Shy One together with a powerful cast of Black British collaborators. The London-based singer-songwriter and producer titled the long-player after her own name, Mali. It’s a glorious collection of songs crossing over a number of genres, with each cut masterfully crafted. Yes, there is something old school perhaps, but that is an often a well-kept secret ingredient of British soul/house/grime/electronica (I could add more, you get the idea. As I listen one more time to the whole album, I do wish I had more time and space to include at least three more cuts from Mali. Yes, it’s that good!

Baalti & Lapgan – Lime Tikka

OK, first up, you must check out the video for Lime Tikka. It’s almost nine minutes long, telling of why a mother named her daughter Satallite. The now teenage girl is taunted at school, she builds a machine to transport her to the heavens. Well at least that’s my interpretation, I’m sure you can watch and draw your own conclusion. The important fact is the movie is so well-produced, the direction is superb, the camera-work amazing and the acting is brilliant and poignant. Karanjit Singh and Rounak Maiti are credited as writer and directors – kudos to them. Now to the music…the album Threads is a collaborative release from Bay Area duo Baalti and Chicago beatmaker Lapgan. Baalti’s percussion-forward productions blend bassline, dub, and left-field electro with retro samples and South Asian club scenes. Lime Tikka is a cool, coiling dose of syncopated house. Built off a drum sample taken from late-’00s Bollywood film ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’, the track moves from hollow beats to metallic bass via the squeal of a nadhaswaram (a traditional reed instrument of South India). Despite a current push against sampling by some producers, Threads is an example of how the technique can be effective with diligent use. The artists say, “Thank you for listening. We put everything into this record.” And it shows! Plus, cool artwork by Somnath Bhatt.

Getdown Services – The Radiator

Ben Sadler and Josh Law describe the music they make as “disco and eighties and like seventies infused groove based music”, no argument with that. The story behind The Radiator goes like this, “It’s about only picking fights that you know you’ll win. It came about because the heating wouldn’t come on once and I thought about when we bang things to make them work. Ben once told me that he used to threaten his PlayStation 1 when games wouldn’t load quick enough. The sense of victory you get when you feel like you’ve physically intimidated an inanimate object into doing what you want is bizarre and pathetic and really funny.” The childhood friends also proclaim they are “Britains Best Band!” Of course, it should be noted Getdown Services excel in classic British delivery of social commentary with dry humor and astute observations of everyday life.

Chiens de Faïence – À l’eau

The literal translation of Chiens de Faïence is Earthenware Dogs. While the colloquial meaning is to eye one another silently with suspicion, hostility, or mistrust. This imagery originates from the 17th-to-19th-century fashion of placing two small earthenware dog figurines face-to-face on a mantelpiece. Meanwhile this delightful trio from Nanterre, France label their music as lofi-freak-folk. The five songs on Touché Coulé EP suggest a charming-naive mode except as you listen just a little more carefully their sardonic wit shines through. After all, when you title your EP, Battleship and show a fellow smothered in soap dude on the sleeve, it’s reasonable to believe that Harmonie Aupetit, Boris Cuisinier and Malo Vannet are intent on having a lot of fun.

Mclusky – As A Dad

With a possible tongue firmly planted in the cheek, Mclusky proudly admit, they were a band between 1999 and 2005 and now they are a band again. Plus they tell us, “Mclusky firmly believe that all djs should be French”. With the LP title, I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley and an ominous black and white sleeve photo of bloody bandaged hand, a kitchen knife and a mousetrap you can be sure this is not a platter full of sweet love songs. Roaring sound and mordant wit suggests one observer of the scrappy Welsh post-hardcore band. As A Dad is a blistering example of why we are pleased to learn these people are back in fine form again. Top notch!

Oklou – Unearth Me (King Tubby’s Version)

Two names here we are fond of: Max Morwell, British/ Croatian multi-instrumentalist & producer based in North East UK has been on our radar for some while. Marylou Vanina Mayniel AKA Oklou musician and producer hailing from Poitiers, France, now based in Paris caught our attention a few releases ago. For this LP, Remixes Vol 7 Morwell pays homage to his love of 90s dub, techno and sound system music. He gives us King Tubby’s version of Unearth Me and Oklou’s vocals to full effect. Don’t miss the rest of these super remixes including Luther Vandross, Willie Williams and even The Pixies. Play loud and often!

Parlor Walls – Drop The Curtain

Full marks for this one! Out of Brooklyn Alyse Lamb & Chris Mulligan perform as Parlor Walls. Drop The Curtain is from their latest LP, Big Crystal Dreams. Curiously, this one comes in a minimal designed sleeve compared to their past releases and I do recommend you investigate their back catalogue. Drop The Curtain happens to be my favorite cut on their new album, I love the production. And, how they craft their music cannot be overlooked, what arrives as relatively simple post-rock-industrial-melange is in fact cleverly orchestrated. Take the cut Simplicity, this is a perfect example of why you should invest in good speakers. In the age of built-in speakers on your iMac or extravagant EarPods, is hi-fidelity sound a concern anymore? Wonderful album!

Irou – Somebody To Kiss

Irou is a Taiwanese-American artist, producer, songwriter, and illustrator based in New York. Blue-Haired Girl is a 7-track EP documenting Irou’s 2023–2024 period through loneliness, heartbreak, and falling back in love she says. Do yourself a favor and head to Irou’s Tik Tok page where she not only explains so much, you also get a glimpse into the artist’s creative world. There is something delightfully charming about Irou and her music yet at the same time, I’m quite sure she could outwit me in any given topic – and that’s a good thing. When it comes to songwriting Irou has it down, don’t let her overt pop instincts lead you astray. I can easily hear a more world-weary voice carry one of her songs. In fact, I wonder if Irou has thought of exploiting her writing talent? Do not overlook this one.

Katie Alice Greer – Unglued

The album is titled, Perfect Woman Sound Machine, Vol 1, this is the LA-based artist’s sophomore long-player. With a positive history of fronting the post-punk band Priests, Katie has concentrated on her solo work since relocating to Los Angeles as COVID was challenging us all. As you may assume from her strident performance on Unglued, Ms. Greer has cultivated a reputation as a dynamic performer. If you described an album taking twists and turns then Perfect Woman Sound Machine, Vol 1 would qualify. All the songs are charged with Katie’s vibrant personality while  she adapts accordingly. Excellent videos using found footage accompany a couple of the cuts. Well done.

Calid – Deeshab

Khalid Wardak an Afghan singer and guitarist who goes simply by the name Calid. His work ives at the intersection of memory, exile, and rediscovery. His music draws from the golden era of Afghan folk and classical traditions, reinterpreted through a contemporary, minimalist lens shaped by distance and longing. Deeshab comes from a beautiful 3 track EP of reinterpretations of songs that emerged from one of the most culturally rich periods in Afghan history, before decades of war fractured its artistic continuity. Through stripped-down arrangements and an intimate vocal approach, Khalid reconstructs these works not as replicas, but as living memories. Each song carries themes of love shaped by impermanence, love interrupted by migration, war, distance, and time. These songs were never just entertainment; they were emotional documents of their time. “This EP is not nostalgic. It is an act of presence” says the artist. Essential!

Loraine James – In A Rut (ft. Sydney Spann)

Since their very first release, I have been an ardent fan of North Londoner, Loraine James, an exceptionally talented producer/artist. The new album, Detached From The Rest Of You features wonderful collaborations such as Sydney Spann on In A Rut. Yet here is Loraine singing alongside Sydney and explains, “I’m using my voice a lot more, and putting it higher in the mix than I usually would, I guess I’m growing some confidence.” Yes you are, Loraine. A blissful, intimate collection, certainly this should be in your collection.

Frenk Dublin – Epic Dub (Original Mix)

Another favorite producer with a four track EP courtesy of the very fine Echo Ltd imprint out of Rotterdam. In a truly splendid Dub style, Frenk Dublin does his thing with such ease. Do play all four cuts in succession, preferably late at night with company who savor the ambience. Exceptional!

The photograph is by Norman B who says, “This is my feral cat friend Young Bruiser posing reluctantly for his cover shot”, courtesy of Norman B’s collection.

LEM Vol 397