Unusual Norwegian music on Collage (HUBRO HUBROCD2655) – I think it’s mostly the Erlend Apneseth Trio, but they are joined by the wonderful Maja S.K. Ratkje, who adds her voice and some electronics too. Erlend Apneseth joins the growing ranks of Norwegian hard-core folkster acoustic types who clutch the Hardanger fiddle as an emblem of their authenticity. And yes, there’s probably some decent playing going down here on Collage, but it’s mainly a stratified wodge – a group compositional effort, which started life as a pure improvisation on stage at a festival in 2022, and grew organically in stages when they played back the tapes, and reworked their collective groinings. Stephan Meidell plays modular synth, Oyvind Hegg-Lunde plays percussion. Now that I look at the short credit list, it’s impressive how a basic trio produces music with such depth and overlapping layers. Largely a bit murkoid and meandery for me, but I like the gallloping hoofbeats on ‘Ein Annan Himmel’ and the alien-swamp birdsong tones which appear for a few moments on ‘Fuglane II’. The soothing chords of closing track ‘Atterklang’ ought to arrive to soothe the listener after an event-filled album of turmoil and change, but somehow I feel I missed the main event, or it flew right past me. It’s some way from the “sonic odyssey” we are promised. Still, some unusual textures and shapes to chew on. Cover art stops short of being a pastiche of Joseph Cornell. (15/09/2023)
Puzzled by Arthur Clees from Luxembourg and his Stay, Temporary Home (MACRO M73) – an uneasy mix of soul-R&B lite all tangled up with layers of glitch which distort the sound, fragment the flow, and frustrate the listener. Minimalist beats, stretched vocals, and sketchy piano are a mildly diverting way of delivering these half-finished ideas of his, but the combined effect is just too distant and ironic for me; he doesn’t seem to mean anything he says, and he fails to make any real emotional connection. Clees was just 21 at time of release, and is mostly a percussionist and vocalist, but on the strength of this tepid release he has no gift for working a memorable melody or even a basic pop hook. (15/09/2023)
Curio from Italy – trio of Stefano Calderano, Francesco Panconesi and Nicholas Remondino, calling themselves McCorman. Much diversity on these 17 instrumentals as they find new ways to combine and recombine electric guitar, saxophones, voices, synths and percussion; some of this material reflects their jazz-ish backgrounds, some of it seems more like avant-chamber music played with delicacy and poise, and some is much harder to tag with its strange gaps, its unexpected stops and starts, and unclear motivations. They do manage to suggest a sense of intrigue, like detectives hiding behind a column wearing dark glasses, but much of their music feels very forced and mannered. This vinyl LP is called A Page is Turned / A Mountain Collapses / A Guy Leaves (KOHLHAAS KHS029). Before you buy, ask yourself if you’d go and see a movie with a title like that. (15/09/2023)