Manafonistas

 

 
 
 
1) Bill Callahan: Dream River – *****

2) Arve Henriksen: Places of Worship – **** 1/2

3) Jan Bang: Narrative From The Subtropics – **** 1/2

4) Dysnomia: Dawn of Midi – ****1/2

6) Sleaford Mods: Austerity Dogs – **** 1/2

5) Carla Bley: Trios – **** 

7) Ralph Towner / Wolfgang Muthspiel / Slava Grigoryan: Travel Guide – ****

8) Stephan Mathieu: The Falling Rocket – ****

9) Townes Van Zandt: High, Low and In Between – **** (buried treasure back)

10) Califone: Stitches –  ****

11) S.O.S. (J. Surman, M. Osborne, A. Skidmore): Looking for the Next One – **** (buried treasure back)

12) Bob Dylan: Another Self Portrait – **** (buried treasure back) 
 
 

12 excellent albums, incl. Americana (Callahan, Califone, Van Zandt, Dylan), ECM at its most sublime, Norwegian Food (Bang, Henriksen) etc. Bang’s new release is out now on Jazzland Records (go there for orders!), Henriksen’s one available online via Rune Grammofon’s website), „Places of Worship“ will be in European shops at the end  of October. Both albums (cd- and vinyl-formats, thanks for that!) are melodic and experimental at the same time, repeated listening will reveal that the angel is in the details. The most surprising record here (in its post-punk-comedy stylings and its aggressive humour) comes from The Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods – beware of the dogs! The first albums of the unforgettable Townes van Zandt are now re-released on viny and real classics of their genre. I don’t like the word re-release so much and do replace it here with „buried treasure back“. Gregor is right in his comment, some of these records are so new they nearly still don’t exist. The good news: no one can yet bury them. Stephan Mathieu’s „The Falling Record“ is a real „burner“. Mathieu is part of Sylvian’s dark and strangely uplifting „The Kilowatt Hour“-Trio, and he wanted to give his vinyl edition to David, but missed his departure from the hotel, so, by chance, Mr. Sylvian’s copy – brilliant press quality – ended up in my bag.

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Bill Callahan: Dream River [Drag City]

River ain’t too much to love, I wish we were an eagle, and Apocalypse were three masterpieces. Under the name of Smog, Bill Callahan had released several very good works, the best were Red apple falls, and Knock knock. So, in a year, without new albums of The Mountain Goats, Robert Wyatt, Joanna Newsom, Brian Eno, Lambchop and David Sylvian, Bill Callahan might release the „killer album“. In the field of raw and intimate songs.

“My language came from watching Humphrey Bogart movies as a kid and wondering, Who is this Raymond Chandler guy? A lot of it just has to do with the metre, the way the sentences are put together. I outgrew Chandler once I discovered (US-hard boiled authors) Cain, Hammett and Woolrich. Some of the Hammett short stories are almost like Beckett, and Woolrich was kind of like Poe. Those writers speak to me in a way Shakespeare doesn´t.” (Mojo)