Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet

Simon Hirst Arma Del Amor

Landfall (Warner)

★★★★★

Laurie Anderson is a free-spirited artist for whom music is a platform through which to express unique narratives. She came to prominence in 1981 with the leftfield hit O Superman (surprising only because it clocked in at more than eight minutes long) and has continued to steadfastly refuse to release music unless it serves her artistry. Landmark, with the equally exceptional Kronos Quartet, is a compellingly and poignantly realised series of works based on the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the west coast of the US in 2012, the same year Anderson’s rock star husband Lou Reed died. Only someone with Anderson’s sensibilities could draw so much beauty out of two tragic events. The tempos match the tempest – electronics, strings and vocal narratives (highlighted by the throbbing and gritty The Water Rises/ Our Street Is A Black River and the eerie Nothing Left But Their Names), sometimes lush and evocative at others wildly ebbing and flowing as Anderson pays homage to the power of nature and also the human spirit to find strength in adversity. – Mike Alexander

Feet Of God (Self-released)

★★★ 1⁄2 Released late last year, Simon Hirst’s Feet Of God, was lost in the maze of end-ofyear best-ofs and Christmas stocking fillers from mainstream artists. Hurst, who is from Hamilton, is a gifted songwriter. There are strong Biblical references throughout, where songs such as Signs And Wonders and Trees Stand Strong at times remind you of Bob Dylan’s trilogy of ‘‘born again’’ albums that kicked of with Slow Train Coming .If Hurst is a man of faith, he’s not an evangelist and that comes through in the gentle melodicisim of his compositions. There’s also some great, restrained guitar work and driving rhythms throughout that gives this album a pop-rock feel that makes it thoroughly worth checking out. – Mike Alexander

Onna Bugeisha (Self-released)

★★★★ 1⁄2

And then there were three. Wanaka electronica duo Martine Harding and Danny Fairley have been shape-shifting an impressive sound for almost five years and, with the addition of drummer Ricky Simmonds, have delivered one of the surprise debuts of this or any other year. It takes a while to absorb the full range of stylistic twists and turns, largely because its magnificent opener, the gorgeously stringed neo-classical Seppuku, suggests something other than the Chicane-like ambience that unfolds in tracks such as Undertow, featuring a powerful vocal by P Diggz and Diamond Mind Theory. Don’t be surprised if the music of Arma Del Amor pops up in your favourite cafe. – Mike Alexander