CDs + Vinyl:
Marc Almond / Soft Cell – Hits & Pieces: The Best Of Marc Almond and Soft Cell 2xCD (Mercury)
This compilation traces Almond’s singles career from Soft Cell through to his solo work and collaborations. Highlights include “Tainted Love,” “What!,” “Say Hello Wave Goodbye,” the Gene Pitney duet “Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart,” his interpretation of Scott Walker’s cover of Jacques Brel’s “Jacky” with its epic kitchen sink production from Trevor Horn, a cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” with Bronski Beat, “Melancholy Rose” and “Ruby Red” from the Mother Fist album, a Tony Visconti produced nugget “The Dancing Marquis,” last year’s “The Velvet Trail,” the glam stomper “Varieté” and a cover of “The Days Of Pearly Spencer.”
Laurie Altman – Sonic Migrations: Music Of Laurie Altman 2xCD (Neos)
Laurie Altman’s musical compositions on Sonic Migrations represent, in some way, a passage: A passage through places (globally), history and events, words, sonic environments, people’s lives and their mutual emotions. The pieces are the by-product of a time span of some 25 years, encompassing diverse ensembles and sonic frameworks, far-flung influences, textures, and feelings. Features: Clipper Erickson (piano), Manhattan String Quartet, and The Sensor Augmented Bass Clarinet (SABRE), a bass clarinet equipped with various sensors with which a computer can be controlled.
Bülent Arel – Electronic Music 1960-1973 CD/LP (Sub Rosa)
Bülent Arel’s (1919-1990) work occupies a special place in the history of electronic music, with one thing being certain: Arel’s work is still fresh, groundbreaking, and it always look outs for the next adventure in sound. Sub Rosa present a collection of his works here as part of their Early Electronic series.
Art Alfie – Reveries Of CD/LP (Studio Barnhus)
Art Alfie, aka Stockholm’s Oscar Wedrén, present an intricate and personal debut. Reveries Of begins with a simple electrical hum — a starting signal for the appearance of a vibrant array of sound, shifting before us in seemingly random motion. Before you know it, all those pulsating melodies, razor-cut hi-fi-house beats and drunken robot jazz ensembles start forming into patterns, secretly and perfectly designed.
Cameron Avery – Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams CD (ANTI-)
Cameron Avery has arrived as a new breed of nocturnal crooner, a train-wreck romantic creating timeless, ambitious music for the modern age. Utilizing his soulful wit, shrewd arrangements, and a deep, husky baritone, Avery harnesses the dark power and humor of artists like Nick Cave, Scott Walker, and Tindersticks to expertly walk the fine line between vulnerable and venerable. Melancholic machismo is written into the very DNA of Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams. From the classical, finger-picked guitar on the opener “A Time and Place” and the orchestral vamping of “Do You Know Me By Heart?” to the bombastic, self-assured swagger of “Dance with Me.” He takes an emotive page from the Leonard Cohen songbook-of-longing on “Big Town Girl” just as naturally as he thumbs an aggressive note of Bad Seed strut and Cramps rut on “Watch Me Take It Away.” And by the time he purrs that earnest refrain of “Baby, it’s you” on the album’s closer “C’est Toi,” Avery has surely mastered that drunken tightrope dance. Now a resident of New York City, Avery looks to continue his search for the ultimate sensations from a fresh vantage point. [Vinyl edition due March 24.]
