2008: Hardkandy, The Ipanemas, James Carter, Avishai Cohen Trio, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Johnny M5
Hardkandy. Second to None.
England, May 19
Every band that has a first album also has a last album. This is Hardkandy’s last, and none of the band’s members proceeded onwards to other significant musical endeavors. While they lasted, Hardkandy recorded precise, driving, soul-inspired songs that practically demanded the falsetto vocals that lifted over the top. They sound a bit like Carlton, whose 1990 album The Call Is Strong came and went with little impact but which, listened to long after any reverberations would anyway have receded, sounds quite good. The music deserves to not be entirely forgotten.
The Ipanemas. Call of the Gods.
Brazil, May 19
These songs are driven by their devotion to developing and sustaining a groove. A groove is a powerful device for creating comfort and a sense of belonging in music, and a powerful part of what makes Brazilian music so inviting. The Ipanemas sound about as relaxed in their groove as you would hope a pair of lifetime musical innvators their seventies might. There’s not a single second of this album that sounds even a little bit stressed.
James Carter. Present Tense.
United States, May 20
This stands out among contemporary jazz albums for its ranginess among styles both old and new while maintaining an overall consistency of sound that eludes disruption. The variety makes the album fun to listen to (a problem many jazz combo albums can’t overcome) and the coherent arrangements and production make it a classy and elegant experience as well.
Avishai Cohen Trio. Gently Disturbed.
Israel, May 20
Driving the county roads and state highways, so many villages and towns seem alike. They’re made of the same three ingredients: river, road, and architecture. Passing through, heading somewhere else, a particular way of treating one ingredient or another catches your attention: a row of buildings painted only white and green; a series of decorated bridges; a river formed into a dammed channel and a flume. You pull to the side of the road and stop. With an hour or a day, you begin to perceive the intricacies and relationships that make one town, one village, distinct from all the others just like them.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Lie Down in the Light.
United States, May 20
In the world as told by Bonnie “Prince” Billy, nearly anything could be erotic, and much of it actually is. You get the impression that he is always arriving from some secretive tryst, still buckling his belt and rebuttoning his cuffs. You get the impression that the hills and dales of this rustic backwater are alive with hale and hearty peasant folk making love in the warmth of the afternoon sunshine. And if you’ll let him take you by the hand…
Johnny M5. Fantasy of Love.
Germany, May 23
First: this is 70 minutes of tremendous Eurodisco for those who have no interest in dancing in clubs but sometimes feel blue on a Friday night at home. But the most interesting thing about Johnny M5 is how he has thoroughly eluded the internet. It isn’t easy to put out an album, especially an album with the sonic pretensions to grandeur that this one has, in the internet age and yet to have no website, no social media accounts, and only a single song on Spotify. No reviews, no traces of what has happened in the fifteen years since the album and its remix disc emerged: nothing. Where did Johnny M5 go?