As it tends to happen our Records the Year list is published around the arrival of Spring. This year there are 19, as usual in alphabetical order.
Bernard Butler – People Move On – 2021 vocals (Demon Music) Black Toska – Dandelions (self-release) Garry Gray & Ed Clayton-Jones – We Mainline Dreamers (Spooky Records) Jeremy Rose & Earshift Orchestra – Disruption! The Voice of Drums (Earshift Music) José Tornada – Love, Hope, Desire and Fear (self-release) Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler – For All The Days That Tear The Heart (EMI) João Diogo Zagalo – The Lone Ranger (self-release) Nadine Khouri – Another Life (Talitres) Manuel Linhares – Suspenso (Porta-Jazz) Miguel Feraso Cabral – Indo Por Ali Longe (Rudimentol Records) Spiritualized – Everything Was Beautiful (Fat Possum Records) Steve Gunn – Nakama (Matador Records) The Bobby Lees – Bellevue (Ipecac) The Orchids – Dreaming Kind (Skep Wax) The Senior Service feat. Rachel Lowrie – A Little More Time With (Damage Goods) The Monochrome Set – Allhallowtide (Tapete Records) Various – Loiusville (Grémio/Tradisom) Víctor Herrero – Pajarito Negro (Trás-Os-Montes Records) Weezer – SZNZ Winter (Crush Music)
It took a while, but here is the records of the year list. I wanted to carefully listen to several records that were released late last years, several of which only reach me this year. There are 30 records in the list, ordered alphabetically.
Bill Rivers – my autumn is on its way (Self Release)
Bill Rivers – Sings the Words of Simon Hayward (Self Release)
Bill Stone – Stone (Drag City)
Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth – Utopian Ashes (Third Man Records)
Castle Theater – Characters (Self Release)
Dean Wareham I Have Nothing To Say to The Mayor of L.A. (Double Feature Records)
Ed Clayton-Jones – Jackdaw (Self-Release)
Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds – Swing From The Sean DeLear (In The Red Records)
J.P. Shilo – Jubjoté (Heavy Machinery Records)
James Johnston | Steve Gullick – We Travel Time (God Unknown Records)
Johanna Samuels – Excelsior! (Mama Bird Recording)
José Valente e Orquestra Filarmónica Gafanhense – Trégua (9 MUSAS)
Jonathan Richman – Want To Visit My Inner House? ((Reprise)
Marco Franco – Arcos (Revolve)
Marianne Faithfull w/ Warren Ellis – She Walks in Beauty (BMG)
Nick Walters & The Paradox Ensemble – Implicate Order (D.O.T. Records)
Old Jerusalem – Certain Rivers (Self Release/Sony)
New Bums – Last Time I Saw Grace (Drag City)
Raoul Vignal – Years in Marble (Talitres)
Robert Levon Been – The Card Counter OST (BMG)
Rui Gaio – 365 everydays (X.P.)
Sam Anning – Oaatchapai (Earshift Music)
Simon Linsteadt – Gualala (Stormy Deep Records)
Teenage Fanclub – Endless Arcade (Merge/PeMa)
Thalia Zedek Band – Perfect Vision (Thrill Jockey)
text: Neno Costa (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Telma Mota
After a fasting tour of the sun, Salgado’s party returned for its 9th edition at Maus Hábitos. As usual in previous editions the line-up presented an appealing variety of musical proposals, making for choices between the concerts that took place on the three stages of a sold out venue. As usual, the people turned out in droves, filling the night with a friendly atmosphere, tinged with reunions and …beer. The highlight goes to 10000 Russos, a band from Porto that opened the evening, with themes from their latest album Superiertia (2021) in a renewed psychedelic incursion, dense and rich in sound textures and healthy evocations. On the Stockahusen stage, the most breathable, the Gãrgoola were a good surprise, in a shamanic performance that left a taste for more. Salgado Stage crowded, suffocating. In the background, Samuel Úria (Um Gajo Com Pés De Roque Enrole) emerged from the human barrier that prevented progression, and the chords of a well-behaved punk set the audience on fire. Stage change. Inescapable for lovers of full-bodied rock with contagious psychedelia, Gator The Alligator electrified the Super Rock Stage before another good surprise, the creative and irreverent performance of Unsafe Space Garden. Return to Stockhausen stage for O Manipulador, where Manuel Molarinho orchestrated the pedal mattress that unfold and transfigured, with creative singularity, a well-manipulated bass guitar. With Salgado Stage overflowing with Pluto (Manuel Cruz and Peixe), Super Bock stage was an alternative for a dip in emotions unconfined by the punk energy of Galician Kings Of The Beach, closing the set of performances which program had to undergo some readjustments due to circumstances. A note of recognition is required for Maus Hábitos’ workers, for their professionalism and friendliness, on a laborious and particularly demanding night. Happy birthday to Salgado.
Depois de uma volta ao sol de jejum, a festa do Salgado regressou para a sua 9.ª edição nos Maus Hábitos. O programa, como tem sido usual nas edições anteriores, apresentou uma variedade apelativa de propostas musicais, obrigando a escolhas entre os concertos que se desenrolaram nos três palcos de uma casa esgotada dias atrás. Como tem sido hábito, o público acorreu em peso, tingindo a noite com um ambiente simpático, tingido de reencontros e…cerveja. Destaque para os portuenses 10000 russos com temas do seu último álbum, Superiertia (2021), numa incursão psicadélica renovada, densa e rica de texturas sonoras e saudáveis evocações a abrir a noite. No palco Stockahusen, o mais respirável, os Gãrgoola constituíram uma boa surpresa, numa performance xamânica que soube a pouco. O Palco Salgado apinhado, sufocante. Ao fundo, Samuel Úria (Um Gajo Com Pés De Roque Enrole) emergiu da barreira humana que impedia a progressão e os acordes de um punk bem comportando incendiou o público. Mudança de palco. Incontornáveis para os apreciadores de um rock encorpado de psicadelismo contagiante, os Gator The Alligator eletrificaram o Palco Super Rock antes de mais outra boa surpresa, com a atuação criativa e irreverente dos Unsafe Space Garden. Retornou-se ao palco Stockhausen para O Manipulador, onde Manuel Molarinho orquestrou o tapete de pedais que desmultiplicaram e transfiguraram, com singularidade criativa, um baixo bem manipulado. Com o Palco Salgado a transbordar com Pluto (Manuel Cruz e Peixe), o palco Super Bock foi alternativa para um mergulho nas emoções desconfinadas pela energia punk dos galegos Kings Of The Beach, fechando o périplo de atuações cujo programa teve que sofrer alguns reajustes por força das circunstâncias. Impõe-se uma nota de reconhecimento para os trabalhadores dos Maus Hábitos, pelo profissionalismo e simpatia, numa noite laboriosa e particularmente exigente. Parabéns ao Salgado.
Raquel Pinheiro’s 25 Albums of the Year in alphabetical order:
Alasdair Roberts – The Fiery Margin (Drag City Records)
Bill Pritchard – Midland Lullabies (Tapete Records)
Bobkat 65 – Back Off Me (Get Hip Recordings)
Calexico and Iron & Wine – Years To Burn (Sub Pop Records)
Damien Jurado – In The Shape of A Storm (Mama Bird Recording/Loose)
Edwin Collins – Badbea (Self-release)
Graham Day and The Forefathers – Good Things (Damaged Good Records)
Guitar Wolf – Love & Jett (Third Man Records)
Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch – An Attempt To Draw Aside The Veil (Sacred Bones Records)
Lightning Bolt – Sonic Citadel (Thrill Jockey Records)
Little Friend – A Substitute For Sadness (Planalto Records)
METZ – Automat (Sub Pop)
Neutrals – Kebab Disco (Emotional Response)
O Bom, O Mau E O Azevedo – O Bom, O Mau e O Azevedo (O Bom, O Mau e O Azevedo & Louie Louie-Loja de Discos)
Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains (Drag City Records)
Royal Trux – White Stuff (Fat Possum Records)
Sereias – País a Arder (Lovers & Lollypops)
Solar Corona – Lightning One (Lovers & Lollypops)
Steve Gunn – The Unseen In Between (Matador Records)
Swans – Leaving Meaning (Young God Records/Mute)
The Monochrome Set – Fabula Mendax (Tapete Records)
Townes Van Zandt – Sky Blue (Fat Possum Records)
Vetiver – Up On High (Mama Bird Recording/Loose)
Wilco – Ode To Joy (dBpm Records)
Wives – So Removed (City Slang)
It was long due, an albums of the year list. Here it is alphabetical order:
Alasdair Roberts, Amble Skuse, David McGuinness – What’s New (Drag City Records)
Cavalheiro – Falsa Fé (Leitura Tropical)
Corte – Trinta e Nove (EXPLX)
Damien Jurado – The Horizon Just Laughed (Secretly Canadian)
Dead Combo – Odeon Hotel (Sony Music Entertainment)
Father John Misty – God’s Favourite Costumer (Sub Pop Records)
Filho da Mãe – Água-Má (Lovers & Lollypops)
Francisco Oliveira – On The Art Of Reminding (Edições Fauve)
Grant-Lee Phillips – Widdershins (Yep Roc Records)
Iron & Wine – Weed Garden (Sub Pop Records)
J Mascis – Elastic Days (Sub Pop Records)
Jeff Tweedy – Warm (dBpm Records)
John Coltrane – Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album (Impulse! Records)
Liz Hogg – Liz Hogg (Mouca)
Marisa Anderson – Cloud Corner (Thrill Jockey Records)
Minami Deutsch – With Dim Light (Guruguru Brain)
Old Jerusalem – Chapels (Self-Release)
Palm Unit – Hommage à Jef Gilson (Super-Sonic Jazz Records)
Snakes – No More Songs About Wild Flowers (Grimoire Records)
Space Quartet (Rafael Toral, Hugo Antunes, João Pais Filipe, Ricardo Webbens) – Space Quartet (Clean Feed)
Tasos Stamou – Musique con Créte (Discrepant)
Thalia Zedek Band – Fighting Season (Thrill Jockey Records)
The Necks – Body (Northern Spy)
The Sea & Cake – Any Day (Thrill Jockey Records)
Wooden Shjips – V (Thrill Jockey Records)
words: Guilherme Lucas (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Raquel Pinheiro
Famous British composer, musician and producer John Parish was in Portugal, to present live, in two concerts – Porto and Lisboa – his film-concert, called Screenplay. Thursday he was at Hard Club in Porto and Friday at Culturgest in Lisboa, the last as part of IndieLisboa International Film Festival programme.
Screenplay, a Parish album released in 2013, made of soundtracks for a movie that does not really exist. The concept is based on the selection of several scenes from various films (nine altogether), of the musician ‘s taste, who decided to compose sequentially with the aim to produce soundtrack for all those excerpts, resulting in nineteen themes. The idea is curious, very valid and the proof is that, after being listened to, it works well in musical terms,.
John Parish performed on Hard Club’s stage accompanied by his private band made up of accomplices (I immediately recognized drummer and multi-instrumentalist Jean Marc Butty, who was part of Mick Harvey’s support band, since he played in Portugal, in 2015). Butty is the service drummer, along with Parish and Jeremy Hogg (another of the guitarists present) of PJ Harvey’s). Marta Collica (keys and vocals) and Giorgia Poli (bass and vocals), the other band members, also are usual musicians from John Parish Band.
In a conceptual and intimate concert, as was the, where fifteen of the nineteen songs were played (not on the album’s line-up), I have clearly and very objectively retained two points to comment:
– Although the projection of some of the film sequences is understandable, in order to provide the audience with more engagement and clarity about the music being played for that very footage, the fact is that in most cases it did not work effectively. If it is visually pleasing to see a band silhouetted in front of a film screen with films projection running, in this case there were many moments when the intensity of the music, and even its volume, could not harmoniously connect with the images, losing kinematic beam. Not always, but most times. Many of the band’s best musical moments happened when it played without the footage projection.
– The John Parish Band is a luxury band, made up of musicians that create excellent music, with extremely elegant and impeccable good taste. It is, therefore, always able to play variable quality material with the same commitment. All that to say that it was obvious to ascertainment that some of the album’s themes are quality rather inferior composition wise when compared to others that are simply excellent, of a touching melancholic beauty. It is, however, understandable that this oscillation (possibly caused by of Parish’s different moods during the creative act that brought them into being, certainly always variable and circumstantial), in the sense that there does not always have to be a perfect album with huge themes. The point is that Screenplay has excellent themes, but also offers so many that are only understood as Parish’s experimental approaches (or even reveries), possibly very valid for him … but that do not reach the greatness and depth of some of the others.
John Parish is a very friendly musician with the audience and was quite pleased with the warm reception he was receiving with clapping at the end of each theme. After the performance, the band returned once again to stage, as a farewell and encore, to play another composition called Buffalo.
In short, I will say that it was, without a doubt, a good concert, but with my best expectations were somewhat disappointed, because from John Parish I only expect nothing less than excellence.
O famoso compositor, músico e produtor britânico, John Parish está em Portugal, para apresentar ao vivo, em duas datas – Porto e Lisboa – o seu filme-concerto, de nome Screenplay. Ontem esteve no Hard Club, no Porto e hoje estará na Culturgest, em Lisboa, fazendo este último concerto parte da programação da IndieLisboa International Film Festival.
Screenplay é um álbum de Parish lançado em 2013, feito de bandas sonoras para um filme que não existe na realidade. O conceito parte da seleção de várias cenas de vários filmes (nove ao todo), da preferência do músico, que decidiu compor em forma sequencial com vista à realização de uma banda sonora totalizadora desses excertos, resultando em dezanove temas. A ideia é curiosa e muito válida e a prova é que resulta bem em termos musicais, após escuta.
John Parish apresentou-se no palco do Hard Club acompanhado da sua banda privativa feita de amizades cúmplices (reconheci de imediato o baterista e multinstrumentista Jean Marc Butty, que fez parte da banda de apoio de Mick Harvey, desde a última vez que este tocou no nosso país, em 2015). Butty é o baterista de serviço, conjuntamente com Parish e Jeremy Hogg (outro dos guitarristas presentes), de PJ Harvey). Marta Collica (teclas e voz) e Giorgia Poli (baixo e voz), os restantes elementos da banda, são também elas músicos habituais na John Parish Band.
Num concerto conceptual e de pendor intimista, como foi o caso deste, onde foram tocados quinze dos dezanove temas (fora do alinhamento do álbum), retive, clara e muito objetivamente, dois aspetos para comentar:
– Embora seja entendível a projeção de algumas das sequências dos filmes de forma a dar mais envolvência e esclarecimento ao público da música que era interpretada para essas mesmas cenas, o facto é que na maior parte das vezes não resultou de forma eficaz. Se visualmente é sempre agradável ver uma banda em silhueta à frente de um ecrã de cinema com projeção de filmes a decorrer, neste caso existiram muitos momentos em que a intensidade da música, e até o seu volume, não conseguiram ligar-se harmoniosamente com as imagens, perdendo fulgor cinemático. Não em todos os momentos, mas na maior parte deles. Muitos dos melhores registos musicais da banda, ocorreram quando a mesma atuava sem a projeção das cenas.
– A John Parish Band é uma banda de luxo, feita de instrumentistas que fazem excelente música, de forma extremamente elegante e de irrepreensível bom gosto. É, por isso, sempre capaz de interpretar material de qualidade variável com o mesmo empenho. Tudo isto para dizer que foi óbvia a constatação de que alguns dos temas do álbum são de qualidade composicional bastante inferior a outros que são simplesmente excelentes e de uma beleza melancólica tocante. Entende-se contudo esta oscilação (eventualmente por diferentes estados de espírito de Parish aquando do ato criativo que lhes deu origem, e que certamente são sempre variáveis e circunstanciais), no sentido de que não tem de haver sempre um álbum perfeito de enormes temas. A questão é que Screenplay tem excelentes temas, mas também oferece outros tantos que só se entendem como abordagens experimentais de Parish (ou até devaneios), eventualmente muito válidos para o músico… mas que não alcançam a grandeza e a profundidade de alguns outros.
John Parish é um músico muito simpático com o público e mostrou-se bastante contente com a receção calorosa que ia recebendo deste, em forma de aplausos no final de cada tema. Finalizada a atuação, a banda regressou mais uma vez a palco para, em jeito de despedida e de encore, interpretarem mais uma composição, Buffalo de seu nome.
Resumindo: direi que foi, sem sombra de dúvida, um bom concerto, mas com as minhas melhores expetativas algo defraudadas, pois de um John Parish só espero nada menos que a excelência.
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 