Letter 1 - Indietronica is Back Baby
A few recently released album recommendations, and some films for Spooktober
Hi,
I'm not entirely sure what the point of this newsletter is, or in what direction it might go. My idea is that instead of showering friends in a scattergun fashion in a shower of word vomit on whatever music listened, film watched or gig attended since we last spoke, to adopt a one-to-many approach. This allows me to adopt ruthless corporate-style efficiency to my friendships, but also allows you to safely ignore my ramblings without worrying about leaving me on read.
I figure this will be a bi-weekly thing, and I’ll probably play around with the format a bit, as I work out what works best.
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Much love, Odhran
Music – Recent Releases
After a bizarrely weak late-Winter/Spring and a patchy Summer, quality (or at least notable) releases have been coming thick and fast in Autumn, so I’ll keep this relatively brief with a few recommendations.
For each one I've called out some relevant genres, similar acts, and a couple of tracks which should give you a good idea of what the record is like. I'm only discussing recent releases in this edition, but I’ll cover older records I'm listening to in later editions.
I've included a longer review of Ezra Collective's latest album at the bottom of this newsletter.
To make it more likely you give the music discussed below a listen, I’ve created Spotify & Apple Music playlists for all the songs I recommend across these letters - but I will say that I’m intentionally recommending entire records that should be listened to as single piece, and not shuffled and subject to dodgy algorithms, so please do consider listening that way instead - Apple - Spotify.
HousePlants – Half Known Things
Genre(s): Electronica, House, Indie
For fans of: LCD Soundsystem, Caribou & Metronomy
Songs to check out: Swimming Pool, No Pushover
HousePlants is an Irish group consisting of Paul Noonan (of Bell X1) and electronic producer Daithí, who releases quite floaty techno and house music with a distinct Irish inflection.
Noonan is representative of a section of 2000s/2010s "indietronica" which doesn't seem quite as primed for a comeback as that of some of his (slightly younger) contemporaries in Bonobo, Four Tet, Caribou, etc, (however maybe the success of that terrible The Dare record says otherwise), but Daithí's top quality electronic producing combined with Noonan's musical style, songwriting and vocals creates a lovely dovetail between a previous and present-day eras of Irish electronic music in a way that doesn’t sound dated or overplayed.
This is a breezy 9 track release, with an uplifting, euphoric singalong vibe reminiscent of early LCD Soundsystem. Definitely one to check out and high on my list to catch a festival this Summer.
Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
Genre(s): Indie Singer-Songwriter, Country Folk, Soft Rock
For fans of: Waxahatchee, Daniel Johnston, Phoebe Bridgers
Songs to check out: Manning Fireworks, She's Leaving you
MJ has a warming brand of americana songwriting, built upon repeated throwaway phases that feel abstract at first listen, but when layered together throughout each song form half-metaphors displaying a cohesive message, or at least, a consistent vibe. The record sounds exactly like it was written in a bible-belt highway diner, by a somewhat depressed 20-something year old, on 40mg of Adderall and his 3rd coffee of the day – I love it.
Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp
Midland – Fragments of Us
Genre(s): Ambient Techno, Progressive House, Dub-Techno
For fans of: Floating Points, Four Tet, Leon Vynehall
Songs to check out: David’s Dream, Chapter 10
Very different from Midland's peak popularity with Final Credits, his Dua Lipa and Caribou remixes, and his DJ sets. Fragments of Us gives a voice to the challenges faced, and progress made, by certain queer communities in the anglosphere. Musically, the features are woven into ambient and dubby productions, sitting amongst, or partially muffled by synths and (mostly) light drum beats.
Underground dance music, politics and queer communities are intrinsically linked, and whilst raves are often arranged around political issues, queer parties are the foundation of the clubbing scene and queerness is apparent in many mainstream releases, its relatively rare for electronic productions to feature politics and queerness together in such an obvious way. The juxtaposition of synthy beats and Margaret Thatcher's voice discussing Section 28 on In My Head, artist David Wojnarowicz discussing the AIDs crisis, it killing his friends, and the prospect of his own death (David died of AIDs in 1992) on David's Dream, and similar of Sydney promoter Johnny Seymour discussing its impact on the Sydney scene on 1983-1996, feels novel. Personally I also loved the uplifting nature of Luke Howard of Horse Meat Disco discussing Glastonbury's gay club NYC Downlow on NYCDL.
Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp
Some other recent releases I've enjoyed:
Kelly Lee Owens – Dreamstate: a much poppier release than I wanted or expected by Kelly, more Jamie xx than Daniel Avery, but enjoyable nonetheless. Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp (DH2).
Orla Gartland – Everybody Needs a Hero: far superior record than her first album, a real cross-genre record from the electro-pop Backseat Driver (which I particularly like) to the indie-pop The Hit, to the rockier Late To The Party with Declan McKenna . Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp (The Orchard).
Floating Points – Cascade: Sam Shepard at his raviest - I can't express my enthusiasm for this record as I would like to because the first 4 of 9 tracks were released as singles over the last 2 and a half years - an increasingly common and frustrating release strategy, however Birth4000 is an all time dancefloor filler. Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp (Ninja Tune).
TV & Film
Loads of good stuff on at the minute, and not enough time to watch it all. As it's Spooktober I've focussed on horror, but been so busy I've only managed a handful. The ratings I’ve included below are representative of my subject enjoyment of the film, not any kind of objective quality standard.
The Substance (2024) – very entertaining, outrageous body horror with Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, examining body image and the entertainment industry. I loved the performances, sound design, photography and body horror. I also loved how the early scenes with Qualley at the start are so sexually charged and framed around her attractiveness, but at the same time devoid of eroticism and to some extent repulsive. It's not all rosy, the dialogue is often poor, there's too many concepts and references to older (better) horror movies, and it's discussion of those key themes is pretty surface level (don't look to modern French filmmakers for ahead of the curve thinking on feminist topics), but a great time at the movies – 3.5 stars.
I Saw The Tv Glow (2024) – Jane Schoenbrun's second feature, an allegory for the horror of suppressing ones true self, particularly when that identity is a gender you were not assigned at birth. Am important film, and loved the schlocky TV horror/Buffy clone, if a bit boring at times – 3.5 stars.
Talk To Me (2022) – only now catching up on this 2022 hyped Australian release which features teenagers hosting parties around using a mummified hand to play games with demons who temporarily possess them. Found this unbearably horrific at times, I think due to some of the self-inflicted nature of the horror. Some strong performances from freshman actors, even if the script follows very well-worn paths – 3.5 stars.
In the Mouth of Madness (1994) – ticking off the last few John Carpenter movies I've not seen. Like all of Carpenter's horror releases I absolutely adored this story of a horror writer's novel series seeping over into real life. Sam Neil is brilliant as the straight man insurance investigator. Top tier Carpenter, a future annual Halloween watch for me – 4.5 stars.
Alien: Romulus (2024) – this rocks. Although I adore Alien it never really frightened me, nor did I ever find it particularly horrifying. I suspect this is because of how pervasive its biggest scares are in popular culture – it's not horrifying seeing a xenomorph brutally kill a solider when I've seen Peter Griffin suffer the same fate. Romulus however, had me covering my eyes at multiple points, and they really go for it in the last 20 minutes. Yeah it’s a straightforward rehash of Alien, and there is a particularly egregious CGI appearance from a dead actor, but from my perspective this is a strong sci-fi horror – 4 stars.
Music - Gigs & Parties
After a bit of a break recently I've been at a few things worth mentioning:
Jordan Rakei in the Royal Albert Hall was a brilliant experience. My first time in that venue and it truly is magisterial. A beautiful sound and Rakei is a virtuoso. The highlight was the surprise appearance of Eliza Oakes and the "Mediterranean medieval choir" Idrisi Ensemble she is in – the most breath-taking vocal performance I've ever witnessed.
Went to a Rhythm Section night in Carpet Shop with Bradley Zero. First time in that venue, which I loved as a lover of tiny clubs. Although I'm a big fan of Bradley I’ve never seen in him in the flesh as I pick other options over him at festivals as he's firmly in the "he's always about", but that's not a mistake I'll make anymore – a proper master.
Also went to Fabric the following day for 4 hours of their 30+ hour, 25th birthday. The new soundsystem in room 1 is seriously impressive, and probably the nicest (and oldest) dancefloor crowd I've experienced. Wonderful time its won me back after a few less than enjoyable experiences previously – Quest was a particular highlight.
Music - Album Review
Ezra Collective – Dance, No One's Watching
My most anticipated 2024 release, with lofty expectations following their preceding albums (You Cant Steak My Joy (2019) & Mercury Prize winning Where I'm Meant To Be (2022). Initially I considered this release a bit inferior to those previous releases, but as I've gone back to it regularly in the two months since its release, it's become my clear favourite of their albums.
It’s a concept album structured around the four acts of a night on the dancefloor ("cloakroom link up. (Act 1), in the dance (Act 2), our element (Act 3) and lights on. (Act 4). Generally I loved this concept, with its initial anticipation-build across the opening tracks The Herald and Palm Wine and the slow start to the dance with God Gave Me Feet For Dancing (featuring the wonderful Yazmin Lacey). But the record explodes into life when we reach the 155 bpm Ajala, which opens with front-man and drummer Femi Koleoso verbally stopping his band from playing and firmly instructing his live audience to clap along to the song. Such is the intensity of Ajala, the dancers need a break, so the band takes it down-tempo to allow a sit down with a beer, or a jaunt to the smokey (unless Starmer has his way). This gentler section continues to Oliva Dean's on No One's Watching Me, where she sings about escapism found on the dancefloor - a great feature from a young singer destined for greatness.
Femi's identity as a football fan (he’s a massive fan of the Arsenal) clearly comes through first on Hear My Cry, and then is hammered home by uncle Ian Wright declaring "still here bro, dancing bro, loving it" on the subsequent and similarly terrace-inspired Shaking Body, where the album explodes into life again and continues until Act 4. Both tracks are reminiscent of Samba de Janiero and Carnival de Paris (with a bit of tongue in cheek). The final track on the album, Everybody is a perfect album (and dancefloor) closer, and contains these repeated emotive crescendo-building segments, as the dancer looks back on the night that's been.
My only substantive negative thoughts on the record are that I think some of the "Acts" could have better ordered – e.g. I'm not clear why Ajala is in Act 1 and not Act 2; and that N29, Why I Smile and Have Patience, whilst each lovely tracks in their own right, feel out of place as temporary momentum killers, both in the record and in the conceptual night out.
All in all, this is probably Ezra Collective's most commercial and accessible record, but I think that's no bad thing, and hope it exposes one of the UK’s most exciting bands to wider audience, and gives Femi and his crew a stronger platform to continue their community and youth focussed work. I'll be coming back to this record t again and again, cant eagerly await catching them at a festival this Summer, and as an aside, Ajala is unquestionably my song of the year so far.
Paul Noonan! Who knew. A fixture in my teenage years. We still have a signed BellX1 CD lying around the house.