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Cory Hanson – Pale Horse Rider

Peter Watts
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Cory Hanson – Pale Horse Rider
Over the course of five albums with LA-based psych five-piece Wand, frontman Cory Hanson has charted a trajectory from the Ty Segall-approved 2014 garage-rock debut, Ganglion Reef, to 2019’s artier and more thoughtful Laughing Matter. The sense of change and development has been palpable, but even...

Over the course of five albums with LA-based psych five-piece Wand, frontman Cory Hanson has charted a trajectory from the Ty Segall-approved 2014 garage-rock debut, Ganglion Reef, to 2019’s artier and more thoughtful Laughing Matter. The sense of change and development has been palpable, but even so nothing quite prepares you for the sumptuous beauty of Pale Horse Rider, his second solo album.

Recorded with a three-piece in December 2019 at a home studio in Joshua Tree and then refined and enhanced by Hanson through January and February 2020, it’s an album that offers epic sound on an intimate scale, with country-influenced songs awash with steel guitar and spotted by delicate ambient textures that maintain a sense of sonic drama and defy genre. If Wand feel like a band on an endless, exciting and unpredictable journey, Pale Horse Rider offers the completeness, consistency and confidence that comes from arrival.

Hanson had originally tried to bend the songs for Pale Horse Rider into shape with Wand, but when that didn’t work decided to use them for a solo record. Wand had formed as a trio who mainly played songs written by Hanson, but by 2017’s Plum they had developed into a more collaborative vehicle. That gave Hanson space to branch into solo albums, the first of which appeared in 2016.

The freaky, string-laden folk of The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo was a clear departure from Wand and a fine record in its own right, but one that still paid service to psych stylings as if Hanson couldn’t quite abandon the Wand universe entirely. Pale Horse Rider sees him travel a lot further down this new road and with much more conviction. You can hear that self-assurance in the arrangements, the production and the lyrics but most clearly in the vocals, Hanson’s best singing to date. While on Unborn Capitalist he seemed to affect a voice, on Pale Horse Rider there’s a natural and unselfconscious vulnerability to tracks like “Angelesâ€, a hymn to his hometown of LA, and the sparkling “Bird Of Paradiseâ€. Other songs – including the powerful trinity of “Pale Horse Riderâ€, “Another Story From The Center Of The Earth†and “Pigs†– require a more forceful but still moderated delivery that’s typical of the control Hanson demonstrates over all aspects of the record for its duration.

A sense of place has always been important to Hanson’s music. Pale Horse Rider was recorded in the desert, surrounded by cacti, and the songs have an epic and uncluttered quality, stretched out and flecked with tiny detail like the gorgeous pedal steel of “Another Story…†that comes in like a sharp intake of breath, or the clip-clop rhythm that opens “Paper Fogâ€. Even the urban-set songs have this panoramic quality. On “Angelesâ€, Hanson wanted to celebrate LA but he wrote from the perspective of a drone, hovering over the city, studying it from afar rather than amid the bustle of the streets. Several songs were written in the ultimate desert city, Las Vegas, including the most populated track, “Vegas Knightsâ€, a gentle lilt with strings and sly references to cards, slots, blackjack and whiskey.

“Angeles†contains the single most memorable lyric: “Your mama, she was a psychoanalyst/Until she egged my car; and then she was my nemesisâ€. It’s something that could have come from the pen of David Berman, Hanson’s Drag City labelmate. Berman’s spirit hovers over Pale Horse Rider – the album is literally dedicated “to David, for the good hauntingâ€. That’s a reference to the fact Berman sought out Hanson in summer 2019 to offer support and advice, telling him to write 20 lines every day. This process would hone his lyrical instincts and give him a bank of material to draw on when he was making a record. Hanson dutifully followed that advice for Pale Horse Rider.

Hanson was on holiday when he learnt of Berman’s death and spent a couple of weeks driving round Greece listening exclusively to Silver Jews. That inevitably feeds into the sound of the record. Like Silver Jews or Matthew Houck of Phosphorescent, Hanson borrows affectionately from country music without ever putting himself dangerously in debt to genre tropes. No songs here could be described outright as country, but the sounds, rhythms, shades and themes of country & western are ever present, shadows against which Hanson has etched a more personal and distinctive vision.

Those country flavours come through most clearly with the pedal and lap steel played expertly by Tyler Nuffer, but it’s present too in Heather Lockie’s string arrangements and the backing vocals, multi-tracked to create what Hanson describes as the “Nashville choirâ€. There’s a countrypolitan element to the fluidity of the playing, with Hanson, Nuffer and Evan Backer tracking the album live in their isolated home-studio – and that band element is crucial to Pale Horse Rider’s success, giving it a more expansive and fuller sound than Unborn Capitalist…. Hanson then added texture after the rest of his band had departed, taking time and working alone to hone, file, edit and improve the songs using pedals, effects, found sounds and even a dog’s pig-shaped squeeze toy.

He draws on country for his lyrical themes, focusing on amoral “losers and suckers†and “rambling gambling lowlifes†and then creating non-narratives featuring drifters, riders and runners who flit through “Paper Fogâ€, the title track, “Limited Hangout†and “Another Story…â€. From these four songs emerge fragments and shards of images featuring horses, ghosts, dust and sunsets. Hanson refuses to corral these into anything resembling a coherent story, and the elusive qualities are further enhanced by Hanson’s use of effects pedals. In the single most Wand-like moment on the record, “Another Story…†soars into a distorted, crunchy Crazy Horse desert jam, while effects are prominent in the two non-vocal tracks, “Necklace†and “Surface To Airâ€, which act as extended intros, setting the scene for the songs that follow. Hanson names Brian Eno as one influence on the ambient texture of the album, and “Surface To Air†and “Necklace†both have an Eno-esque quality – these are moments of sound and atmosphere rather than conventional instrumentals.

Animals are another recurring motif. From his desert location, Hanson was inspired by the Native American folklore featuring humans turning into animals as well as the way the desert wasteland can teem with life despite its inhospitable appearance. As a result, there are horses, dogs, birds of prey and “Birds Of Paradiseâ€, while the superb closer, “Pigsâ€, plays with the idea of pigs as policemen and children dressing as pigs for Halloween, but with the feeling there’s a lot more happening beneath the surface as the narrator sings, “I’m high on codeine/And digging up shadows in the backyard/Setting fire to their gravesâ€. It’s not entirely clear what’s taking place, but Hanson is confident enough to know that it doesn’t really matter as long as the music sustains and the images are arresting.

It’s that confidence that makes Pale Horse Rider such an impressive record. While Wand can be defined by their playful experimentation, veering wildly and thrillingly between genres from track to track, Hanson has imbued this LP with a thematic and musical cohesiveness that makes it the finest record of his career to date. Given his nature, it’s unlikely that he will make a record quite like this again, but its timeless qualities make it one to savour.

Laurie Anderson – Big Science

Laura Barton
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Laurie Anderson – Big Science
United States, an eight-hour orchestral and multimedia performance piece by the artist Laurie Anderson, was first performed in its entirety over two nights at Brooklyn Academy Of Music, in the February of 1983. It was an examination of the American Utopia, a collage of spoken word, technology, music...

United States, an eight-hour orchestral and multimedia performance piece by the artist Laurie Anderson, was first performed in its entirety over two nights at Brooklyn Academy Of Music, in the February of 1983. It was an examination of the American Utopia, a collage of spoken word, technology, music and film, divided into four sections: transportation, politics, money and love, and 78 separately titled segments. There were shadow puppets, a miniature speaker she placed in her mouth, a drum solo performed on her own skull; the Statue Of Liberty and the Stars And Stripes.

The show that February was not entirely new material. For some while, Anderson had been performing segments of United States at smaller venues, including at the Nova Convention, held in New York City in 1978, where the audience had included William S Burroughs, Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg and Frank Zappa.

Anderson had also distilled and studio-recorded several sections of the work for her 1982 album Big Science, released in haste after the unexpected success of her 1981 single “O Supermanâ€, which reached No 2 in the UK charts (having been championed by John Peel) and led to a seven-album deal with Warner Brothers.

If Anderson seemed to land at that moment out of nowhere, it’s worth remembering that in 1979 the New York Times called her “the best and most popular performance artist of her ageâ€. That she was already the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the San Francisco Art Institute, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Above all, that the 10 songs of Big Science (including the bonus B-side “Walk The Dogâ€) are intricately linked to an artistic movement and an era, to the time of the Iran hostage crisis, the emergence of Reaganism, the burgeoning technological age. That Anderson was more, much more, than just a novelty hit or a quirk.

But it’s also worth considering how readily Big Science stands alone, untethered from time and place. And how, over the course of its near-40-year existence, it has been a record that has come to acquire new resonance with each generation, now standing as one of the most influential albums of the past four decades – its effect tangible in recent work by the likes of Cassandra Jenkins, St Vincent, Perfume Genius and more.

Still suffering the effects of the 9/11 attacks, listeners duly pointed to the record’s eerie prescience, to its talk of buildings on fire, the tale of a pilotless aeroplane crash-landing in its opening track, “From The Airâ€, and “O Supermanâ€â€™s calm advisory: “Here come the planes/They’re American planes/Made in America…†Beneath Anderson’s mellifluously disembodied voice, a saxophone jabbed and juddered. Listening again, it was hard not to recall a description from the New York Times review of the United States performance, painting Anderson as “a mad empress overlooking a radioactive cityscape, her music evoking the whines of sirens and the sobs of the peopleâ€.

And it seemed right to remember in that moment that “O Supermanâ€â€™s full title included the tribute “For Massenet†– a thank you to the French composer whose 1885 opera Le Cid included the aria “O Souverainâ€, which inspired Anderson’s song, and which served as something of a prayer to a higher power.

This latest reissue comes at a time of new crisis, when science has never seemed bigger or more urgent, and the American Utopia more tarnished. Today, in an age of near-Trump, and civil rights uprisings, and riots at the US Capitol, the lyrics to “O Supermanâ€, that oddity of sublimely  vocodered voice and electronic tenderness, have acquired new weight: “’Cause when love is gone there’s always justiceâ€, Anderson notes. “And when justice is gone, there’s always forceâ€.

This year, Big Science’s emotional heart seems to lie towards the close of the record, in the sweet medley of “Let X=X†and “It Tangoâ€. In the first, warm synths and xylophone carry Anderson’s jumbled world of hat check guys and burning buildings, sky-blue skies and Swiss Army knives, of writing a book “thick enough to stun an oxâ€. In the latter, there is brass, electronic huffs and handclaps, hiccoughs of Dylan lyrics, trails of associated meaning, a song that bobs and weaves and pushes forward. Together, they suit these strange days of disorientation, false starts and momentum.

Anderson’s early studies were in violin and sculpture, and often her artworks have combined sound and temporary structure – Automotive, for instance, which conducted car horns at a drive-in bandshell in Rochester, Vermont, or Duets On Ice, in which she wore ice skates to stand atop blocks of ice and perform cowboy songs on a “self-playing violin†until the blocks of ice melted.

To listen to the songs of Big Science is to feel something of this state of perpetual transience, as if it is not quite the same album you listened to 10 years ago, nor even this morning. This is testament to both its sense of free-floating disembodiment and its sheer variation of sound – the steady drip of “Walking And Fallingâ€; the bagpiped punkish discomfort of “Sweatersâ€; the joyously unexpected twists and turns of “Example #22â€, in which snippets of German, a telephone, a saxophone, a sultry chorus, a pitter-pattering drumline, synths and vocal distortion gather and gather, growing ever more frenzied and zig-zagged. It is also a tribute to Anderson’s manipulation of language – a phrase that might seem harmless one moment, can easily glower the next. So the lyrics of, say, “Born, Never Askedâ€, about a room full of people all arriving at the same time, all free, and all wondering what’s behind the curtain, quickly feels like a curdled portrait of America.

Despite the juggernauting eight minutes of “O Supermanâ€, this is a strikingly short album, made up of mostly short songs. And yet Big Science carries the sense that what you are listening to holds great breadth and depth. As if it contains not only 9 songs, and one chart hit, but something more profound: ideas of America, thoughts on transportation, politics, money and love. As if, should you listen hard enough, you might just hear 78 separately named segments, shadow puppets, and the Stars And Stripes; all the richness and wonder of an eight-hour performance spread out over 44 minutes.

Encounters with Bob Dylan: “He was a real hotbed of songs”

Uncut
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Encounters with Bob Dylan: “He was a real hotbed of songs”
To complement the astonishing Bob Dylan covers CD that comes free with the new issue of Uncut – which is in shops now and available to buy online by clicking here – the magazine itself includes a unique celebration of Bob Dylan at 80. We’ve asked friends, collaborators and admirers – includi...

To complement the astonishing Bob Dylan covers CD that comes free with the new issue of Uncut – which is in shops now and available to buy online by clicking here – the magazine itself includes a unique celebration of Bob Dylan at 80. We’ve asked friends, collaborators and admirers – including Paul McCartney, Robbie Robertson, Jackson Browne, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, Van Morrison, Graham Nash, Kris Kristofferson, Elton John, Peggy Seeger, Roger Daltrey and Richard Thompson – to share their most memorable Dylan encounter with us.

Spanning six decades, from 1960 to 2020, these remarkable stories shed new light on rock’s most capricious and elusive genius, whose startling transformations from folk hero to electrified renegade and beyond continue to captivate us all. To begin, then, let us return to Minnesota, Dylan’s home state, where an earnest young admirer awaits the arrival of folk royalty…

PEGGY SEEGER: Bob was always around whenever Ewan [MacColl] and I played in Minneapolis, where he was a student at the university. He’d ask us for our autographs. He was always very neat and carried a little briefcase. Two years later, when we went back to Minneapolis, the organiser said, “Remember that little fella who was always attached to you? You know that’s Bob Dylan, right?†You’d be astounded at how far away from the pop scene Ewan and I were, so when Robert Zimmerman became Bob Dylan it didn’t mean anything to us.

Not long after, he came to the UK and performed at the Singers Club [December 1962]. But nobody could hear him because we didn’t have microphones and his voice wasn’t loud enough. Some peple have since said that he was given the cold shoulder, but I don’t think that’s true. It was just that at that time we were singing pretty much folk songs or highly political songs in our club. Bob Dylan’s songs fell halfway in between. It was a new kind of song.

RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT: In late 1961, I took a bus out to New Jersey to visit Woody Guthrie in hospital. This kid was there, quite an engaging guy – kinda pudgy and funny-looking, but nice. He told me he had all my recordings. It was Bob. Back in New York City, he’d ask me all about Woody, who I’d known since 1951. I was some years older than Bob and got him into the musicians’ union. At his first paid performance at Gerde’s Folk City, they put up a cardboard sign written in ballpoint pen: “Appearing tonight: Son of Jack Elliottâ€. So there was some sort of parental relationship going on there, you might say. I used to play harmonica with my guitar, just like Woody did. Bob did the same thing. People used to poke me and say, “He’s imitating you, Jack.†I couldn’t see the resemblance myself, but I suppose his playing was reminiscent of my crazy, whooped-up, distorted blues-style harp.

CAROLYN HESTER: I was playing at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village one night in 1961 and introduced “Lonesome Tears†by saying, “This one’s by Buddy Holly, who taught it to me.†Before you know it, somebody in this little hat pulled his chair up to almost beside me. He said, Is that true about Buddy Holly? I just think the world of him. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Bob Dylan.â€

Six months later, Bob hitchhiked to a club in Boston where I was playing and talked the manager into letting him open for me. He said afterwards, “I’ve been living with Dave Van Ronk and he’s been helping me get gigs, but they’re so few and far between. I can play guitar and harmonica. Where are you going to be next?†I said that I was about to make an album for John Hammond. I already had a guitar player, Bruce Langhorne, so I asked Bob, “Would you mind playing harmonica?†He said: “I’m there!†Back in New York, in September, John gathered the band in a borrowed apartment in the Village. We sat at a picnic table in the dining area – Dylan’s across from me, Bruce is next to me, across from John Hammond, Bill Lee is standing with his double bass. John was absolutely fascinated by Bob, who ended up playing on three songs on the album [1961’s Carolyn Hester]. I’m so proud when I think that’s where Bob started.

JOHN SEBASTIAN: I spent most of my time with Bob in the basement of Gerde’s Folk City. We ended up playing harmonica together down there. We used to entertain ourselves by trying to outdo each other with dumb songs we knew – really stupid, ’50s rock’n’roll stuff. He loved it.

Bob was a real hotbed of songs, very charismatic. He was never in one place too long, always moving on. Then when he started gaining fame at a much higher rate than me, our criss-crossing became less frequent. One night at the Gaslight, he uncorked “Chimes Of Freedom†for the first time. I stood at the back thinking, ‘What the hell happened to this guy since I last looked? Who gave him the Ten Commandments?’ It was borderline comical, because he’d always had this real kinda scufflin’ aspect to him, a real ragamuffin character. Then all of a sudden here he was with the strength of a Greek play every time he opened his mouth.

You can read many more fascinating encounters with Bob Dylan, going right up to Rough And Rowdy Ways, in the June 2021 issue of Uncut – on sale now!

Hear Low’s version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” from our exclusive Bob Dylan covers CD

Michael Bonner
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Hear Low’s version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” from our exclusive Bob Dylan covers CD
The June 2021 issue of Uncut comes with a free, 15-track CD, Dylan Revisited - a new compilation featuring exclusive covers of Bob Dylan songs by The Flaming Lips, Weyes Blood, The Weather Station, Cowboy Junkies, Richard Thompson and many others as well as a previously unreleased Dylan track. As...

The June 2021 issue of Uncut comes with a free, 15-track CD, Dylan Revisited – a new compilation featuring exclusive covers of Bob Dylan songs by The Flaming Lips, Weyes Blood, The Weather Station, Cowboy Junkies, Richard Thompson and many others as well as a previously unreleased Dylan track.

As a taster for Dylan Revisited, we’re delighted to present Low’s cover of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door†below.

Dylan Revisited is only available, free, with the June 2021 issue of Uncut, on sale today, April 15, in UK shops and online.

Uncut presents Dylan Revisited – tracklisting

Bob Dylan – Too Late (Acoustic Version)
Richard Thompson – This Wheel’s On Fire
Courtney Marie Andrews – To Ramona
The Flaming Lips – Lay Lady Lay
The Weather Station – Precious Angel
Cowboy Junkies – I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You
Thurston Moore – Buckets Of Rain
Fatoumata Diawara – Blowin’ In The Wind
Brigid Mae Power – One More Cup Of Coffee
Low – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Joan Shelley & Nathan Salsburg – Dark Eyes
Patterson Hood & Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers – Blind Willie McTell
Frazey Ford – The Times They Are a-Changin’
Jason Lytle – Most Of The Time
Weyes Blood – Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands

For this special issue of Uncut, the magazine is celebrating Dylan’s 80th birthday by asking friends, collaborators and admirers – including Paul McCartney, Robbie Robertson, Jackson Browne, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, Van Morrison, Graham Nash, Kris Kristofferson, Elton John, Peggy Seeger and Roger Daltrey – to share their most memorable Dylan encounter.

Spanning six decades, from 1960 to 2020, these remarkable stories shed new light on rock’s most capricious and elusive genius, whose startling transformations from folk hero to electrified renegade and beyond continue to captivate us all.

HAVE A COPY SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR HOME

David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World celebrated with new companion piece, The Width Of A Circle

Michael Bonner
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David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World celebrated with new companion piece, The Width Of A Circle
To mark the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World album, a new companion-piece has been unveiled. The Width Of A Circle feature non-album singles, a BBC In Concert l session, music for a TV play and Tony Visconti remixes which complete Bowie's recordings from 1970. It co...

To mark the 50th anniversary of David Bowie‘s The Man Who Sold The World album, a new companion-piece has been unveiled.

The Width Of A Circle feature non-album singles, a BBC In Concert l session, music for a TV play and Tony Visconti remixes which complete Bowie’s recordings from 1970.

It complements the 2020 edition of The Man Who Sold The World, reissued under its original title Metrobolist, while featuring a new mix by Visconti.

The Width Of A Circle is due for release on May 28 on Parlophone as a 2CD set.

The tracklisting is:

CD 1:
THE SUNDAY SHOW INTRODUCED BY JOHN PEEL
Recorded on 5th February, 1970 and broadcast on 8th February, 1970

Amsterdam *
God Knows I’m Good *
Buzz The Fuzz
Karma Man
London Bye, Ta-Ta
An Occasional Dream
The Width Of A Circle*
Janine
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed*
Fill Your Heart
The Prettiest Star
Cygnet Committee*
Memory Of A Free Festival*

Performed by David Bowie and The Tony Visconti Trio (a.k.a. The Hype)

CD 2:
THE LOOKING GLASS MURDERS AKA PIERROT IN TURQUOISE:
When I Live My Dream
Columbine
The Mirror
Threepenny Pierrot
When I Live My Dream (Reprise)

SINGLES

The Prettiest Star (Alternative Mix)
Single mix released on 6th March, 1970 on Mercury Records MF 1135. This is the unreleased alternative mix created for promotion in the US market.

London Bye, Ta-Ta*
Originally recorded and rejected as the follow up single to ‘Space Oddity’. This mono mix was finally released on the Sound & Vision box set in 1989.

London Bye, Ta-Ta (1970 Stereo Mix)*
This stereo mix of the above remained unreleased until the reformatted reissue of the Sound & Vision box set in 2003, replacing the mono mix.

Memory Of A Free Festival (Single Version Part 1)*
Memory Of A Free Festival (Single Version Part 2)*

The re-recorded electric version of the closing track from the David Bowie (aka Space Oddity) album released as a single on Mercury Records 6052 026 on 26th June, 1970.

Holy Holy*
This non-album single A side, backed by the album version of ‘Black Country Rock’ from The Man Who Sold The World album, was released on Mercury Records 6052 049 on 15th January, 1971.

SOUNDS OF THE 70’S: ANDY FERRIS SHOW
Recorded on 25th March, 1970 and broadcast on the 6th April, 1970

Waiting For The Man
The Width Of A Circle
The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud*
The Supermen (Bowie At The Beeb vinyl only)*
Performed by David Bowie and The Hype

2020 MIXES
The Prettiest Star (2020 Mix)
London Bye, Ta-Ta (2020 Mix)
Memory Of A Free Festival (Single Version – 2020 Mix)
All The Madmen (Single Edit 2020 Mix)
Holy Holy (2020 Mix)

(*denotes previously released)

A 10″ single and digital EP, available only from the official David Bowie store, will include:

Side 1
1. The Prettiest Star (2020 Mix)
2. London Bye, Ta-Ta (2020 Mix)

Side 2
1. Memory Of A Free Festival (2020 Mix)
2. Holy Holy (2020 Mix)

Hear “Spanish Doors” from Liz Phair’s new album, Soberish

Michael Bonner
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Hear “Spanish Doors” from Liz Phair’s new album, Soberish
Liz Phair has shared a new track, "Spanish Doors" - you can hear it below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-qtKWXGaec The track is taken from her upcoming new album, Soberish - Phair's first collection of original material in eleven years. Soberish will be released on June 4, 2021 via Chry...

Liz Phair has shared a new track, “Spanish Doors” – you can hear it below.

The track is taken from her upcoming new album, Soberish – Phair’s first collection of original material in eleven years.

Soberish will be released on June 4, 2021 via Chrysalis Records and can be pre-ordered here.

The tracklisting for Soberish is:

Spanish Doors
The Game
Hey Lou
In There
Good Side
Sheridan Side
Ba Ba Ba
Soberish
Soul Sucker
Lonely Street
Dosage
Bad Kitty
Rain Scene

Phair has also announced a slew of tour dates with Alanis Morissette, including four UK dates:

31st July Portland, OR @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater

3rd August Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion

5th August Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion

6th August Las Vegas, NV @ USANA Amphitheater

12th August Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater

13th August Dallas, TX @ Dos Esquis Pavilion

14th August Rogers, AR @ Walmart Amp

17th August Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater

18th August West Palm Beach, FL @ ITHINK Financial Amphitheater

20th August Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheater

21st August Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion

22nd August Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park

25th August Virginia Beach, CA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater

26th August Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion

28th August Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre

29th August Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Amphitheater

31st August Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion

1st September Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center

3rd September Gilford, NJ @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion

4th September Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center

5th September Saratoga, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts

8th September Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center

10th September Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center

11th September Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino

12th September Clarkson, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre

15th September Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center

17th September Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

18th September St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Ampitheatre

18th October Birmingham, England @ Utilita Arena

20th October London, England @ The O2 Arena

22nd October Manchester, England @ AO Arena

25th October Dubin, Ireland @ 3Arena

28th October Hamburg, Germany @ Barclaycard Arena

29th October Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena

31st October Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome

3rd November Budapest, Hungary @ Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena

6th November Warsaw, Poland @ Expo XXI

8th November Milan, Italy @ Mediolanum Forum

10th November Barcelona, Spain @ Palau Sant Jordi

11th November Madrid, Spain @ WiZink Center

13th November Paris, France @ Acoor Arena

Hear new Teenage Fanclub track, “In Our Dreams”

Michael Bonner
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Hear new Teenage Fanclub track, “In Our Dreams”
Teenage Fanclub have released a new song from their upcoming album, Endless Arcade. You can watch a video for the song, "In Our Dreams", below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRh4Gm2clwk The clip was filmed at Motherwell Concert Hall. Talking about the song, Raymond McGinley says: “To...

Teenage Fanclub have released a new song from their upcoming album, Endless Arcade.

You can watch a video for the song, “In Our Dreams“, below.

The clip was filmed at Motherwell Concert Hall.

Talking about the song, Raymond McGinley says: “To rephrase an aphorism most famously used by John Lennon, existence is what happens while the human race is busy making other plans. This song is kinda about that, but like all our songs, we write them intuitively and only think about what to say about them afterwards.â€

Endless Arcade is released on April 30 by PeMa.

The band’s UK, Ireland and European tour dates are:

2021
7th September 2021 – Manchester – Academy 2
8th September 2021 – London – Forum
14th September 2021 – Edinburgh – Usher Hall
15th September 2021 – Aberdeen – Music Hall
16th September 2021 – Glasgow – Barrowland

2022
8th April 2022- Sheffield – Leadmill
9th April 2022 – Leeds – Beckett’s
10th April 2022 – Nottingham – Rock City
12th April 2022 – Birmingham – Institute
13th April 2022 – Norwich – Waterfront
14th April 2022 – Bath – Komedia
16th April 2022 – Brighton – Chalk
17th April 2022 – Portsmouth – Wedgewood Rooms
20th April 2022 – Belfast – Empire Music Hall
21st April 2022 – Dublin – Academy
23rd April 2022 – Gothenburg, SE – Pustervik
24th April 2022 – Oslo, NO – Vulkan
25th April 2022 – Copenhagen, DK – Pumpehuset
27th April 2022 – Hamburg, DE – Knust
28th April 2022 – Berlin, DE – Columbia Theater
29th April 2022 – Dusseldorf, DE – Zakk

1st May 2022 – Munich, DE – Strom
2nd May 2022 – Mannheim, DE – Alte Feuerwache
4th May 2022 – Lyon, FR – Épicerie Moderne
5th May 2022 – Nantes, FR – Stereolux
6th May 2022 – Rouen, FR – Le 106
7th May 2022 – Paris, FR – La Gaîté Lyrique
8th May 2022 – Eindhoven, NL – Effenaar
9th May 2022 – Utrecht, NL – De Helling

Tickets for the ‘Endless Arcade’ tour are available here.

Watch footage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono rehearsing “Give Peace A Chanceâ€

Michael Bonner
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Watch footage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono rehearsing “Give Peace A Chanceâ€
The John Lennon Estate have released a clip of John Lennon and Yoko Ono rehearsed an early version of the song while at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in the Bahamas on May 25 - days before their Bed-In for Peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on May 31. The performance, which was captured ...

The John Lennon Estate have released a clip of John Lennon and Yoko Ono rehearsed an early version of the song while at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in the Bahamas on May 25 – days before their Bed-In for Peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on May 31.

The performance, which was captured by the Lennon’s film cameraman Nic Knowland and sound recordist Mike Lax, has never been released until now. It is the earliest known recording of the song.

This unearthed video comes in advance of the forthcoming box set, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band – The Ultimate Collection, which is due for release on April 23 via Capitol/UMC.

The track is included alongside demos for every song on the album as well as Lennon’s non-album singles.

Listen to Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl’s new track, “Eazy Sleazy”

Michael Bonner
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Listen to Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl’s new track, “Eazy Sleazy”
Mick Jagger unveiled a track titled "Eazy Sleazy". The song features Jagger on vocals and guitar in collaboration with Dave Grohl, who plays drums, guitar and bass. The song has been produced by Matt Clifford. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN9YLLQl7gE Says Jagger, “It’s a song that I ...

Mick Jagger unveiled a track titled “Eazy Sleazy“.

The song features Jagger on vocals and guitar in collaboration with Dave Grohl, who plays drums, guitar and bass. The song has been produced by Matt Clifford.

Says Jagger, “It’s a song that I wrote about coming out of lockdown, with some much needed optimism. Thanks to Dave Grohl for jumping on drums, bass and guitar, it was a lot of fun working with him. – hope you all enjoy Eazy Sleazyâ€

Adds Grohl, “It’s hard to put into words what recording this song with Sir Mick means to me. It’s beyond a dream come true. Just when I thought life couldn’t get any crazier……and it’s the song of the summer, without a doubt!!â€

The song, which includes the lines “Shooting the vaccine/Bill Gates is in my bloodstream/It’s mind controlâ€, continues Jagger’s current run of solo releases – including 2017’s “England Lost†and “Gotta Get A Gripâ€, which similarly addressed social and political themes.

Uncut – June 2021

Tom Pinnock
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Uncut – June 2021
CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR Bob Dylan (plus our exclusive Dylan covers CD), Paul Weller, Marianne Faithfull, Stephen Stills, Spiritualized, Can, The Strokes, Matt Sweeney & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, James, UB40, My Bloody Valentine, the Plastic Ono Band and ...

CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR

Bob Dylan (plus our exclusive Dylan covers CD), Paul Weller, Marianne Faithfull, Stephen Stills, Spiritualized, Can, The Strokes, Matt Sweeney & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, James, UB40, My Bloody Valentine, the Plastic Ono Band and Sun Ra all feature in the new Uncut, dated June 2021 and in UK shops from April 15 or available to buy online now. As always, the issue comes with a free CD, this time an exclusive album of all-new Dylan covers and a previously unreleased track by the man himself.

BOB DYLAN: To celebrate his upcoming 80th birthday, we’ve asked friends, collaborator and admirers – including Paul McCartney, Robbie Robertson, Jackson Browne, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, Van Morrison, Graham Nash, Kris Kristofferson, Elton John, Peggy Seeger, Roger Daltrey and Richard Thompson – to share their most memorable Dylan encounters with us. Spanning six decades, these remarkable stories shed new light on rock’s most capricious and elusive genius.

OUR FREE CD! DYLAN REVISITED: 14 incredible Bob Dylan covers recorded especially for Uncut by The Flaming Lips, Low, Richard Thompson, Courtney Marie Andrews, Cowboy Junkies, Weyes Blood, Jason Lytle, Fatoumata Diawara, The Weather Station and more, plus a previously unreleased track, “Too Late (Acoustic Version)”, from Dylan himself.

This issue of Uncut is available to buy by clicking here – with FREE delivery to the UK and reduced delivery charges for the rest of the world.

Inside the issue, you’ll find:

PAUL WELLER: His new record, Fat Pop (Volume 1), is our Album Of The Month, and the Modfather also chats to us at length about online opinions, nature in bloom and making music in lockdown. “I don’t overthink things…”

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: After being hospitalised with Covid-19, rock’s most regal survivor went on to finish She Walks With Beauty with Warren Ellis. Here, she tells Uncut about recovery, Romantic poetry and how, perhaps, the ’60s weren’t all they were cracked up to be. “I really wasn’t a good muse…”

STEPHEN STILLS: The guitarist and singer-songwriter updates us on his life now, future plans, the new CSNY Deja Vu reissue, and his long friendship with Neil Young. “He was pretty hard to catch, but he’s still my best mate.”

SPIRITUALIZED: Jason Pierce answers your questions on spacesuits, Spacemen 3, memoirs, hedonism and more

CAN: As a new series of live albums highlights the group’s wild, incantatory performances, Irmin Schmidt and other eyewitnesses chart Can’s progress from the Croydon Greyhound to balmy nights in Arles, via freak-noise meltdowns and the the right kind of “psychic environment”…

MATT SWEENEY & BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY: Reuniting after 16 years, these two old friends tell Uncut about their new album Superwolves, the impact of David Berman and David Blaine on their work, and the influence of The Wizard Of Oz. “That’s my working motto,” laughs Will Oldham, “‘Get comfortable with the apocalypse…'”

JAMES: As they prepare to release a new album, All The Colours Of You, after having weathered the pandemic and personal loss, Uncut finds Tim Booth and his cohorts “still yearning for answers”

UB40: The making of “Food For Thought”

ST VINCENT: New album Daddy’s Gone is reviewed at length, while Annie Clark sheds light on the making of the record and why “every Steely Dan record” is key to some of her cherished memories

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In our expansive reviews section, we take a look at new records from Paul Weller, Mdou Moctar, St Vincent, Tony Joe White, Sons Of Kemet, Gruff Rhys, The Black Keys, Van Morrison, Iceage, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Dorothea Paas and more, and archival releases from CSNY, Can, My Bloody Valentine, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Sun Ra, Sharon Van Etten, Cath & Phil Tyler, Chuck Berry and others. We catch Waxahatchee and Osees live online; among the films, DVDs and TV programmes reviewed are Black Bear, Creation Stories, Sisters With Transistors, New Order’s Education Entertainment Recreation and Madness’ Before We Was We; while in books there’s Tracy Thorn, Rickie Lee Jones and Joel Selvin.

Our front section, meanwhile, features The National, Karen Dalton, Damon Locks, Polly Paulusma and Magic Roundabout while, at the end of the magazine, Earl Slick reveals the records that have soundtracked his life.

You can pick up a copy of Uncut in the usual places, where open. But otherwise, readers all over the world can order a copy from here.

For more information on all the different ways to keep reading Uncut during lockdown, click here.

Introducing the new Uncut… Bob Dylan at 80 and our free 15-track Dylan CD!

Michael Bonner
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Introducing the new Uncut… Bob Dylan at 80 and our free 15-track Dylan CD!
Welcome to a very special issue of Uncut, as we celebrate Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday. As you might imagine, it’s an event that we’ve been working towards for some time. In fact, rummaging through my inbox, I’ve found an email exchange with Tom Pinnock from June last year, where we first discu...

Welcome to a very special issue of Uncut, as we celebrate Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday. As you might imagine, it’s an event that we’ve been working towards for some time. In fact, rummaging through my inbox, I’ve found an email exchange with Tom Pinnock from June last year, where we first discussed how we might mark this auspicious event. “Perhaps we should get to work now on a special Dylan CD,†we concluded. So approximately 10 months later, I’m thrilled to unveil Dylan Revisited – 14 covers of Dylan tracks recorded exclusively for Uncut alongside one previously unreleased gem from the man himself.

HAVE A COPY SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR HOME

If I’m honest, the period from January 7, when Thurston Moore sent us the first completed track, to February 26, when Frazey Ford emailed across the final track, has been one of the most exciting during my years at Uncut. Every couple of days, yet another amazing song arrived in our inboxes. I humbly think it is one of our best ever CDs – and hymns and hosannas to Tom for pulling it all together so brilliantly. Judging from the early response on our social channels from subscribers, you all seem to be enjoying it, too. Call it our birthday gift from Bob to you…

Our Bobfest continues, as you’ll have noticed, with the cover story. We asked Dylan’s old friends, colleagues and admirers to share with us a favourite Bob encounter. Some of these stories shed new light on lesser-told parts of Dylan’s career, some are plain funny and some reveal tantalising glimpses of the man behind the myths and fables. Cumulatively, though, these yarns remind us of Dylan’s enduring capacity for reinvention – as Elton John tells us, “He’s 80 years old and still as good as he was in the ’60s, but in a completely different way. I admire that. How could you not?â€

There’s more, of course. Paul Weller, Marianne Faithfull, Can, Spiritualized, Field Music, UB40, Stephen Stills, The Strokes, Will Oldham, James, The National and My Bloody Valentine for starters. It’s a busy month – let us know what you think, either at letters@www.uncut.co.uk or visit us at https://forum.www.uncut.co.uk/.

Take care, as ever.

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A new record pressing plant to open in Middlesborough

Michael Bonner
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A new record pressing plant to open in Middlesborough
A new record pressing plant in Middlesbrough is hoping to create 30 new jobs in the region by the end of the year. Danny Lowe, David Todd and David Hynes have announced Press On Vinyl, located at Middlesbrough's Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park (TeesAMP). The trio, who have employed a team of ...

A new record pressing plant in Middlesbrough is hoping to create 30 new jobs in the region by the end of the year.

Danny Lowe, David Todd and David Hynes have announced Press On Vinyl, located at Middlesbrough’s Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park (TeesAMP).

The trio, who have employed a team of 10 people so far, plan to make 100,000 records every month, with priority given to smaller independent labels, and hope to expand their team to 30 employees by the end of the year.

As Teesside Live reports, Lowe said, “As three local guys we’re really excited to set up this unique business at TeesAMP.”

He continued, “We’re combining our skills from our day jobs in engineering and business management with our extensive knowledge of the music industry to bring the first ever record pressing plant not only to the North, but specifically to Middlesbrough, and we’re really proud of that.”

Lowe added, “We hope our business can also help our fantastic local music scene, not many towns or cities across the world have access to their own local vinyl pressing plant, so it’s a real win for the area.”

Their website has a countdown clock ending in 49 days, which suggests that they will officially open for business on May 28.

AC/DC’s Brian Johnson announces new autobiography, The Lives of Brian

Michael Bonner
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AC/DC’s Brian Johnson announces new autobiography, The Lives of Brian
Brian Johnson, frontman of AC/DC, has announced a new autobiography called The Lives Of Brian. “I’ve had some long nights and some great nights, bad days and a lot of good ones,†Johnson said in a statement. ​“I’ve gone from choirboy to rock’n’roll singer, and now I’ve gone and ...

Brian Johnson, frontman of AC/DC, has announced a new autobiography called The Lives Of Brian.

“I’ve had some long nights and some great nights, bad days and a lot of good ones,†Johnson said in a statement. ​“I’ve gone from choirboy to rock’n’roll singer, and now I’ve gone and written a bloody book about it.â€

Billed as “one of the most cheering and entertaining stories in rock‘n’roll historyâ€, The Lives Of Brian will cover Johnson’s childhood growing up in Dunston where he went from “choirboy and cub scout to singer†after watching Little Richard perform on TV.

“For over a decade [Johnson] tried to make his mark with a succession of bands. He appeared on Top Of The Pops, toured Australia and yet the big time looked out of reach,†a synopsis explains.

“Then he was invited to London for an audition for one of the world’s biggest rock acts. AC/DC were a band in crisis following the tragic death of their lead singer, Bon Scott, but with Brian on board they would record their masterpiece: Back In Black. It became the biggest-selling rock album of all time. The tour that followed played to packed-out arenas. Quickly embraced by the band’s fans, the new boy had earned his spurs.

“But there was to be a twist in the tale. In 2016, Brian was forced to quit the band after being diagnosed with hearing loss, only to make a triumphant return to the band he loved with the release of 2020’s smash hit album Power Up.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a life, throughout which Brian’s kept his feet firmly on the ground, never losing touch with his roots.â€

The Lives Of Brian is available to pre-order here.

Record shops celebrate reopening as England lockdown restrictions ease

Michael Bonner
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Record shops celebrate reopening as England lockdown restrictions ease
Record shops across the UK have reopened for in-person trading yesterday (April 12) as a number of coronavirus-enforced restrictions were lifted. Non-essential businesses in England reopened yesterday as part of the third phase of easing lockdown restrictions, which came into force on January 6. ...

Record shops across the UK have reopened for in-person trading yesterday (April 12) as a number of coronavirus-enforced restrictions were lifted.

Non-essential businesses in England reopened yesterday as part of the third phase of easing lockdown restrictions, which came into force on January 6. In addition, Northern Ireland’s “stay-at-home†order has ended, while further measures have been relaxed in Scotland and Wales.

A number of record shops across England and the UK have resumed in-person trading today, with the likes of Leeds’ Crash Records, Manchester’s Piccadilly Records and London’s Sister Ray Records all celebrating the significant development on social media, reports our sister title NME.

Tim Burgess’ Twitter Listening Parties’ website has an interactive list of independent record stores in the UK which you can view here.

However, Banquet Records in Kingston confirmed yesterday (April 11) that they wouldn’t be reopening for in-person trading today.

“This week we’ve had 40% of our core customer-facing staff isolating, while none of our customer-facing staff have yet been offered a jab,†the store said in a statement on their Twitter account in regards to their decision not to reopen yet.

“Additionally, our physical site makes social distancing hard without turning into some form of record store Argos, which we don’t want to do.â€

Banquet confirmed that ‘Shop Step’ sales will recommence, while their online retail operation is continuing.

George Martin’s ‘Ray Cathode’ tracks to be reissued

Michael Bonner
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George Martin’s ‘Ray Cathode’ tracks to be reissued
Two electronic instrumental tracks from George Martin dating from the early Sixties are being reissued. A collaboration with BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Maddalena Fagandini, “Time Beat†and “Waltz in Orbit†were first released in April 1962 as a Parlophone single, shortly before Martin f...

Two electronic instrumental tracks from George Martin dating from the early Sixties are being reissued.

A collaboration with BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Maddalena Fagandini, “Time Beat†and “Waltz in Orbit†were first released in April 1962 as a Parlophone single, shortly before Martin first met The Beatles.

They are due to be reissued on May 1 as a limited run of 100 numbered, 12-inch vinyl EPs. The songs have been newly remastered by Craig Leon, with new remixes by SPARKLE DIVISION and Drum & Lace. They are sold exclusively by dublab, with all proceeds benefiting dublab’s nonprofit community radio programming and mission.

Pre-order copies have sold out online, but look for them when they’re released on May 1.

Watch the video for Lambchop’s new single “Fuku”

Michael Bonner
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Watch the video for Lambchop’s new single “Fuku”
Lambchop have unveiled a short film for "Fuku" - the second track track taken from their forthcoming Showtunes album. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP8SGpb0PTc The band had previous released "A Chef's Kiss" along with the Showtunes announcement; the new album is rele...

Lambchop have unveiled a short film for “Fuku” – the second track track taken from their forthcoming Showtunes album.

Watch the video here:

The band had previous released “A Chef’s Kiss” along with the Showtunes announcement; the new album is released on May 21 via City Slang.

Says Kurt Wagner, “There is a theatricality to the song ‘Fuku’ which is a thread that runs through the Showtunes idea. [Director] Doug Anderson responded to that like a cat to catnip. On first viewing, the visual might appear a bit unusual, foreign even, but trust me, it could have been a lot weirder.”

“I heard Kurt’s song and was absolutely in love,” continues Anderson. “‘Fuku’ evokes all of the things that the musical theater reaches for but is incapable of representing: the desire, longing, and impossibility of really falling in love. It reminded me of the truth in Walter Pater’s “All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.†Pure and abstract.

“The characters in the video try and fail to communicate their experience—they possess nothing and are incapable of giving that nothing to another. Attempting to evoke coherence from the inconsistent, disparate, and stupid. They persist.”

Neil Young to release Island In The Sun

Michael Bonner
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Neil Young to release Island In The Sun
Neil Young has confirmed he plans to release his 'lost' 1982 album, Island In The Sun. Renamed Johnny’s Island, the album “includes a majority of unrelated tracks including ‘Big Pearl’, ‘Island In The Sun,’ and ‘Love Hotel’, plus others you may have heard before,†Young wrote on...

Neil Young has confirmed he plans to release his ‘lost’ 1982 album, Island In The Sun.

Renamed Johnny’s Island, the album “includes a majority of unrelated tracks including ‘Big Pearl’, ‘Island In The Sun,’ and ‘Love Hotel’, plus others you may have heard before,†Young wrote on his official website. “It’s a beautiful record coming to you soon.â€

Island In The Sun is the latest in a slew of previously unreleased albums from Young’s capacious archives, including Hitchhiker, Homegrown and Odeon Budokan.

Young’s ‘lost’ Crazy Horse album, Toast, dating from the early aughts, is also due for release.

Meanwhile, you can buy Uncut’s updated deluxe Ultimate Music Guide by clicking here – the full story, from Buffalo Springfield to Colorado and Archives Vol 11.

Introducing Uncut’s amazing Bob Dylan covers CD

Michael Bonner
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Introducing Uncut’s amazing Bob Dylan covers CD
We are proud to announce that the June 2021 issue of Uncut – in UK shops from April 15 – comes with one of the best free, covermounted CDs we’ve ever given away: Dylan Revisited. To celebrate Bob Dylan's 80th birthday, 14 esteemed artists – including The Flaming Lips, Low, Richard Thompso...

We are proud to announce that the June 2021 issue of Uncut – in UK shops from April 15 – comes with one of the best free, covermounted CDs we’ve ever given away: Dylan Revisited.

To celebrate Bob Dylan‘s 80th birthday, 14 esteemed artists – including The Flaming Lips, Low, Richard Thompson, Courtney Marie Andrews, Cowboy Junkies and The Weather Station – have recorded brand new versions of classic Dylan songs exclusively for us.

What’s more, the CD also features a previously unreleased Dylan track!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER OUR DYLAN REVISITED CD

The full tracklisting for Dylan Revisited is:

Bob Dylan – Too Late (Acoustic Version)
Richard Thompson – This Wheel’s On Fire
Courtney Marie Andrews – To Ramona
The Flaming Lips – Lay Lady Lay
The Weather Station – Precious Angel
Cowboy Junkies – I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You
Thurston Moore – Buckets Of Rain
Fatoumata Diawara – Blowin’ In The Wind
Brigid Mae Power – One More Cup Of Coffee
Low – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Joan Shelley & Nathan Salsburg – Dark Eyes
Patterson Hood & Jay Gonzalez – Blind Willie McTell
Frazey Ford – The Times They Are a-Changin’
Jason Lytle – Most Of The Time
Weyes Blood – Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands

To reiterate – because we’re still amazed about this ourselves – all these covers were recorded specifically for Uncut and, along with the Dylan song, are currently unavailable anywhere else.

You can pre-order a copy of the June 2021 issue of Uncut and our Dylan Revisited CD here.

More details on the rest of the issue to follow soon…

Esther Rose – How Many Times

Rob Hughes
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Esther Rose – How Many Times
Esther Rose has been quietly building a reputation these past few years. Her assured 2017 debut, the self-released This Time Last Night, found its way to Jack White, who was so taken with her voice that he invited her to sing on his latest solo effort, Boarding House Reach. Since then the Detroit-bo...

Esther Rose has been quietly building a reputation these past few years. Her assured 2017 debut, the self-released This Time Last Night, found its way to Jack White, who was so taken with her voice that he invited her to sing on his latest solo effort, Boarding House Reach. Since then the Detroit-born songwriter (and Crescent City resident for the past decade) has found herself supporting Nick Lowe, Hurray For The Riff Raff and The Deslondes.

Released by the ever-discerning Full Time Hobby, How Many Times should go some way to spreading the word further. It’s a record that documents a particularly painful break-up, with Rose diarising the experience at the point where she’s caught between moving on and letting go. The lyrical tone of opening track “How Many Times†– “Thought I’d hit the bottom/But I’m falling fast/Tell me why is it so hard/To make a good thing last†– is at odds with the airy, almost carefree swoop of her voice. This very much sets the template for the rest of the album, as Rose channels longing and romantic despair via expansive songs that owe much to the feel of classic country from the ’60s and ’70s. “Keeps Me Running†is given light by Lyle Werner’s sunny fiddle; “My Bad Mood†is swept along by the two-step rhythm of an old-school dancehall; a deep, twangy guitar and slapping beat chase away the anguish of “Good Timeâ€, a song that aligns Rose to modern luminaries like Caitlin Rose or Margo Price.

With Rose on acoustic guitar, she’s ably assisted throughout by a terrific band that includes lap-steel player Matt Bell, upright bassist Dan Cutler (best known for Hurray For The Riff Raff) and The Deslondes’ drummer, Cameron Snyder. The ensemble is at its best on the high-spirited “Mountaintopâ€. Meanwhile, Rose herself seems finally to achieve a sense of acceptance on the reflective “Songs Remainâ€. “Letting go doesn’t mean to loseâ€, she concludes. “To know you is to be forever changedâ€.

Ballaké Sissoko – Djourou

Nigel Williamson
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Ballaké Sissoko – Djourou
Given he plays an instrument that makes such serene and tranquil music, Ballaké Sissoko has encountered an awful lot of people hellbent on smashing his kora. First, there were the Islamic terrorists who overran northern Mali and destroyed every musical instrument they could find. Happily, Sissokoâ€...

Given he plays an instrument that makes such serene and tranquil music, Ballaké Sissoko has encountered an awful lot of people hellbent on smashing his kora. First, there were the Islamic terrorists who overran northern Mali and destroyed every musical instrument they could find. Happily, Sissoko’s kora escaped this jihadist intolerance, but he was less fortunate at the end of his 2020 American tour, shortly before the world locked down.

After he had checked in for his homeward flight, customs officials decided to give his kora a brutal shakedown. On landing in Paris the instrument was returned to him in pieces with a note from the US Transportation Security Administration stating that it had been dismantled for “inspection purposesâ€. There was no apology and the note came on letter-headed paper bearing the ironic motto: “Intelligent security saves time.â€

Back in Mali he rebuilt the instrument and set about completing the recording of Djourou, a labour of collaborative love on which he had begun work in 2018. Oxmo Puccino, the French rapper who is one of the many guests on the album, offers a striking description of working with Sissoko. “When he plays it’s like a ballet of fingers on strings,†he says. “It’s as if he’s knitting the music together.†The analogy is a fitting one. Keith Richards likes to refer to his guitar duets with Ronnie Wood as “the ancient art of weavingâ€, and with 21 strings to his kora, Sissoko has more strands than most with which to weave his spells. On Djourou – a Bambara word meaning ‘string’ – he entwines musical threads with a diverse range of fellow travellers from a multitude of cultures and genres to crochet a sonic patchwork of vivid hues and exquisite patterns.

Sissoko ranks behind only his cousin Toumani Diabaté as the world’s pre-eminent kora player. Their respective fathers Djelimady Sissoko and Sidiki Diabaté were also the leading virtuosi of their generation and in 1970 recorded Cordes Anciennes together, the world’s first instrumental kora album. Twenty years later, Ballaké and Toumani combined their own prodigious talents on New Ancient Strings, a dazzling set of kora duets conceived as a homage to their fathers and which launched Sissoko’s international career.

Yet in addition to classical solo recordings, Sissoko has become an intrepid cross-cultural collaborator, insinuating the kora’s unique sorcery into new contexts. Over the past two decades he’s recorded with the US bluesman Taj Mahal and the Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, made a brace of deathless albums with the French cellist Vincent Segal and stitched together bespoke global fusion projects with traditional string musicians from Morocco, Madagascar, Greece, Afghanistan and India.

His last solo album, 2013’s At Peace, was a typically adventurous affair that featured duets with cello and guitar alongside gentle solo kora pieces and included Brazilian as well as African tunes. Recorded in half a dozen different locations, Djourou is even more expansive and was conceived as an album of unexpected collaborations, as Sissoko deliberately sought out partners who for the most part have little or nothing in common with the rich Malian griot heritage on which his music draws.

The opener, “Demba Kundeâ€, is one of just two solo kora pieces, full of stately elegance before it gives way to the rococo classicism of the title track, a duet with Gambia’s Sona Jobarteh, whose pioneering role as a rare female kora virtuoso joyously subverts the stifling hierarchy of African patriarchy. Tender yet majestic, “Guelen†is a sacred praise song, with Sissoko’s rippling kora exquisitely underpinning the soulful, soaring tones of the golden voice of Salif Keita. 

So far so traditional, but it’s on “Jeu Sur La Symphonie Fantastique†that things start to get really interesting, as Segal’s cello and Patrick Messina’s clarinet join Sissoko’s kora to take Berlioz’s romantic masterpiece on a dreamy voyage down Mali’s great Niger River. Yet the real surprises are held back for the album’s run-in. “Kora†is a sublimely haunting love letter to the beauty of Sissoko’s instrument featuring the breathy, sensuous voice of Nouvelle Vague chanteuse Camille.

Over Sissoko’s baroque kora curlicues, “Frotter Les Mainsâ€, recorded in a locked-down Paris in July last year, finds Puccino rapping in a deep and languorous voice about the lost pleasures of touching in a socially distanced world. Piers Faccini offers a more lyrical vocal style, poignant and full of nostalgic longing on the gentle ballad “Kadidja†before the album concludes with Arthur Teboul and French oddball experimentalists Feu! Chatterton adding some delightfully madcap psych-folk weirdness to Sissoko’s spritely playing on “Un Vêtement Pour La Luneâ€.

The result is an album of glorious hybridity, rooted in ancient griot tradition but serendipitously transformed into an audaciously cosmopolitan melting pot.

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