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Writeups for FBi radio
A compilation of writeups mainly dealing with album of the week / Independent artist of the week reviews
heartholder - Jazzclub (Independent Artist of the Week)
Picture a jazz club: filled with cigarette smoke and sweaty, buttoned down players, trying to outdo each other on a time signature that starts with a number that isn’t 4. On his debut EP Jazzclub, heartholder brings that idea into the current century; a drenched twenty something sneaking in a puff of icy strawberry against a backdrop of electronic textures.
Jazz has always been influenced by other genres, and Jazzclub continues that. It’s an amalgamation, not just a subtle reference, blending grime vocals and programmed trap drums against soothing saxophone licks and classic jazz motifs.
“I'm playing sax on my own terms now. I'm not being forced to play a jazz standard or anything like that.”
heartholder takes cues from modern jazz artists like Kamasi Washington and Takuya Nakamura, whilst moving beyond them. The iconic DnB amen break on ‘Silencer’ smoothly flows into a Yussef Dayes type of drumming, contrasting heartholder’s lustrous saxophone passages. ‘Overpass’ holds nothing back, with a grime vocal under a jazzy passage, interrupted by some deep 808s, sharp hi-hats and succinct claps. Finally, ‘Skim’ repositions influences as live drum samples, mimicking the progression of a midi hip-hop drum sequence.
“Making moments that feel a little bit out of time, or like they're pulling or dragging or bringing in sounds that you wouldn't expect to hear, or things that have a distinct groove, that you may perhaps wouldn't hear in electronic sounds, usually is what I've been trying to do.”
Mess Esque - Jay Marie, Comfort Me
My friend recently got an app that gives you a new word per day. One of the words they told me was “amble”, meaning “to walk or move at a slow, relaxed pace.” Everyone ambles, and if you don’t – you should.
Mess Esque wants you to drop everything and succumb to this notion of wandering. Their new album, Jay Marie, Comfort Me feels like a constant exploration of uncharted territory. It’s a rainy afternoon, drenched concrete sidewalks enveloping your feet, ambling towards a destination you don’t know, in a city you’ve never been in.
Helen Franzmann and Mick Turner are Mess Esque. The former also makes music as McKisko, the latter is guitarist of legendary band Dirty Three. Drawing on this lineage of meandering, DIY Aus indie/post rock, both show a comfort in straying from the beaten path. ‘Crow’s Ash Tree’ pulls you into a meditative state, violins and guitars keeping pace. ‘Liminal Space’s’ guitar feels like a song about to be born, trying out different licks and progression till one fits the part.
There’s also a touch of jazz improvisation throughout the album; each instrument building off each other, guiding itself towards an undecided end. When the songs on Jay Marie, Comfort Me end, they end unexpectedly; not abrupt, nor sudden, but natural.
aya - hexed!
Some music you feel, even before it hits your ears. aya's hexed! is like a big block of rusted steel; hitting, constantly pounding your chest.
aya is originally from Huddersfield, England: a small town that I imagine has a local pub with retirees sipping a pint, waiting for the inevitable Sunday bingo. But peace and tranquility is far from the listening experience of hexed!. It’s an escape from mundanity, not a quiet tip-toe but a burn everything in your way; till the ground itself is barren, pitch black. Sure you can relax — it’ll just have to be amongst dissonant screams and metallic scratches.
hexed! is a cold shower: startling, but refreshing too. Despite its gritty and aggressive textures, it's hypnotizing. Guttural sounds slither in and out, alongside stretched out synths and SOPHIE-esque metallic drums. Even the slower parts of the album, that don’t necessarily sonically hammer you, feel like an eerie soundtrack to a horror movie. ‘The Petard is my Hosier’ feels like a track off an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, where a leviathan stares at you from afar, and you don’t know whether to run or accept your fate. ‘peach’ utters witch-like chants over a layer of disgruntled drones, enchanting you to face this ugly reality.
That’s hexed!: an album that turns a mouthful of worms into a nice Sunday roast.