Category f) Tens [2010 – ]
SOUTH OF REALITY
Fun! Eccentricity! Experimentation! Swooshy noises! Unapologetic eclecticism! We could be talking about the wonder years of UK psychedelic pop, but we are not. Those descriptors, and more, belong to twenty-first century outfit The Claypool Lennon Delirium whose second album—South of Reality—was released in February 2019. And let it be known that this record is a […]
IMMUNOLOGY REPORT
Is a world of hardening national borders an expression of a global hardening of hearts? UK based multi-national group Vanishing Twin hope not, and on their 2019 album The Age of Immunology invite us to open our ears and minds to a vision of music sans frontières. Formed in Britain in 2015 around the talents […]
THE ROAD GOES EVER ON
Songs For Beginners Wild Tales Earth & Sky Innocent Eyes Songs For Survivors This Path Tonight Sipping black tea and staring at the pirouetting ghosts in a bush campfire are conducive to having a bit of a sing. I learned this when I participated in the Adventure Camping program of the Anglican Department of Christian […]
I’LL BE GONE (BUT NOT YET)
The silver-haired gentleman in the skull motif shirt may have had an iPad to remember the set list, but the singing was strong and the words tumbled out like freshly minted coins. The band were great—tight and energetic—and their fearless leader even managed a few quirky dance steps during an uptempo number. At a time […]
FROND FRIENDS: INTERVIEW WITH NICK SALOMAN
Coinciding with the recent-ish release of Bevis Frond’s latest album, We’re Your Friends, Man, Vinyl Connection was delighted to have the opportunity to chat with the band’s founder and well-spring, Nick Saloman. VC: Hello Nick. Thanks for talking to Vinyl Connection once again. NS: Always a pleasure, Bruce VC: Congratulations on the latest release. A […]
BEVIS IS BACK, MAN
As mentioned recently, Vinyl Connection was delighted to have a chance to meet and greet the latest Bevis Frond album. We’re Your Friends, Man was released late in 2018 and is a genuine old-fashioned double album containing 20 slabs of fresh Frondness spread across two CDs or four sides of vinyl. For those not familiar […]
FIRE DOWN BELOW
You know how in Facebook there are those little numbers in red squares that magically appear? What are they about? Some appear to be called ‘Notifications’ but often are just FB trying to sell marketing tools. Others seem to be congratulating me on someone liking something. It all seems so trivial and pointless I usually […]
TOMORROW AND TOMORROW
Prior to 2017’s Tomorrow Forever, the last Matthew Sweet album of original material was 2011’s Modern Art. In between was the third volume of Under The Covers, the charming series recorded by Sweet and ex-Bangle Susanna Hoffs. Matthew Sweet’s personal circumstances had changed considerably in the intervening years: he re-located away from Los Angeles to […]
STEVE REICH STILL HAS A PULSE
Minimalist composer Steve Reich turned 82 during 2018. (Interestingly, his musical peers Terry Riley, La Monte Young and Philip Glass all became octogenarians in the last couple of years too). So Reich has been pursuing his singular exploration of repetition and phase for a lifetime. Pulse/Quartet was released this year on the Nonesuch label. It […]
A WEEK OF ENO INSTALLATIONS — DAY 6
DAY SIX / DISC SIX Music For Future Installations I have an LP of compositions for glass harmonica. Mozart wrote several. “Unnoticed Planet”, the first piece on disc six, has clear, ringing notes hanging suspended in space. Plenty of thin air, enough to enjoy the decay of these glass-like notes. Listening to the final disc […]
