With its cover in the colors of another era, on first listen this album can leave the listener dubious as the styles that follow one another and intermingle seem so far apart. The sound of the heaviest metal rubs shoulders with an acoustic guitar ballad or power pop with hearts worthy of campus radio. In the words of its main author, the lead singer of Slipknot (the famous metal band whose members are dressed up like horror movie characters): “there’s something for everyone”. Indeed, as long as you like rhythmic, energetic music and, above all, metal doesn’t put you off, you’ll never get bored listening to this album, on which the band has set itself no limits. Corey Taylor’s ability to demonstrate the full range of his vocal palette is evident on this album. Most of the tracks are fast-paced, and augur well for concerts where seat reservations will be futile because the action will be so intense.
Singer and novelist Clara Ysé began playing the violin at the age of 4 and singing at 8. Her first compositions, on guitar, saw the light of day during her teenage years. The death of her mother, philosopher Anne Dufourmantelle, was the dramatic event around which her first EP, “Le Monde S’Est Dédoublé”, was built. Her new album is just as beautiful and moving, only more appeased. Her voice oscillates between two Barbara’s (the tall brunette lady and Carlotti) with the beautiful foundation of her classical training still present. The accompaniment gives pride of place to strings and piano, with the cello on some tracks reminiscent of Jorane productions; on other, more spirited passages, electronics come to the fore. This album achieves the difficult alchemy of linking almost intimate tracks with acoustic instrumentation, and others with a more pronounced rhythm and electro sounds, with great naturalness. The lyrics are not to be outdone, speaking of loved ones and loss while calling for life. A young artist who holds the French chanson standard high.
Ásgeir Trausti Einarson was born in Iceland, where his father is a well-known poet. As a child, he lived on an island, then in a sparsely populated village. He left them at the age of sixteen to move to Reykjavik. During his childhood, he practiced music relentlessly. He released his first album in 2012. Most of the lyrics were written by his father, and the album was a great success in Iceland, so much so that he released an English version the following year. His style is driven by his high-pitched voice, which, while securely posed, brings a sense of lightness, almost fragility. He mixes a folk foundation with electronic elements. With a little less lushness in the arrangements, one is reminded of certain Sufjan Stevens recordings. The lo-fi version of his fifth album is a stripped-down reworking of the tracks on the 2022 album. The clean, uncluttered production makes it impossible to classify this album with those of Pavement. By concentrating on his voice and melodies, accompanied by strings, he shows us with this version that beauty doesn’t need artifice to be bewitching. When can we expect a vinyl version?
Vanessa Wagner is a pianist renowned in the world of classical music. Part of her training took place at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, where she won first prize, and was nominated for the “Victoires de la Musique Classique” in the “Instrumental Soloist of the Year” category in 1999. She has a keen interest in modern and contemporary composers. Alongside this, she remains open to other musical trends, as evidenced by her work with artists such as Murcof and Rone. For this short collection of six tracks, entirely recorded at the “Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers”, she chose composers who are already part of her repertoire, such as Philip Glass, Brice Dessner and Meredith Monk, or others whose works she has never recorded, such as Kate Moore and Laurel Halo. She performs them alone at the piano, with great sensitivity. At times, the notes flow like the colors of an impressionist painter, while further on, the partially repetitive motifs of Philip Glass are always subtle. An opus that lives up to its name, offering us a veritable parenthesis out of time.
The eighteenth release from the Jazz Is Dead label is dedicated to Tony Allen. This Nigerian drummer was one of the artists behind Afrobeat. His influence on African music, but also on all those who work with rhythm, is considerable. His discography is plethoric, notably with his musical alter ego Fela Kuti, and his career as a leader is not to be outdone. His work with artists as varied as Sebastien Tellier, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Damon Albarn has taken him into many different styles. Some consider him the best drummer in the world. The sessions for this album were recorded in 2018, two years before his death. It is therefore possible to listen to this album with a certain emotion. Yet there’s no room for contemplation in these 27 minutes of music. It’s all pulse and groove, funk and Afrobeat, relentless and driving. I don’t know if jazz is dead, but Tony Allen proves that true talent doesn’t suffer from the passing years.
