What’s new to listen to
Alex Behan rounds up what we’re tuning into in the world of music.
Lychee
These seven shiny new songs find our beloved Benee working again with long-time collaborator Josh Fountain, as well as a hand-picked list of impressive international producers, including Rostam Badmanglij (Vampire Weekend, Haim) and Greg Kurstin (Beck, Foo Fighters, Adele). Beach Boy begins with Benee’s hallmark emo strum and husky voice. She keeps communication chameleonic as auto-tune on Soft Side, giving a robotic, androgynous edge to her tone as a militant beat marches beneath her, and Never Ending features atmospheric guitars and another veiled Radiohead reference – a Creepesque crunch that continually looms like rainclouds threatening the horizon. Doesn’t Matter isa dreamy delineation into indifference, while Marry Myself is a flamenco on amphetamines. It paints an awkward picture of a hopeful suitor down on one knee ready to pop the question, before Benee gently breaks the news, ‘‘Give that ring to someone else, I wanna marry myself’’. Previously, Benee has subsisted as a social outlier under self-imposed isolation, using goofy antics to mask inner-apprehension and anxiety. But solo-gamy suits the rising star and symbolises well-deserved selfacceptance. Whether or not she struts her stuff on the international stage, she deserves every success and accolade and her continued brilliance, despite all the setbacks, is beautiful to see.
Bright November Morning
Don McGlashan’s latest album contains new views from the curious exBlam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn and The Mutton Birds journeyman, some with dark horizons, but mostly it’s light. A humble opening invocation, Lights Come On illuminates the holy act of appearing onstage to entertain – the ancient contract between audience and performer. Shackleton is subtle, surreptitious and ultimately stunning, with a sneaky solo that rises like the sun itself over a lonely ice shelf. Sunscreen throws as many Kiwi summer sights, sounds and smells in the mix as he can manage, but, where many others would have associated these iconic references with an upbeat accompaniment, he sets them in an oddly maudlin, minor key. It’s a classic McGlashan off-beat move. Whether it’s to keep listeners on our toes, or himself creatively sharp, it’s hard to know, but his perspective continues to open eyes and inspire.
Space Island
Broods have been living in Los Angeles following success here at home with Evergreen, Conscious and Don’t Feed The Pop Monster. Hailing from Nelson, The Nott siblings make stadium-sized synth pop and, on their latest offering, create a place for licking wounds following the breakdown of a marriage. While Georgia provides narrative fuel for the fire, Caleb provides the heat, with beats that complement his sister’s journey through grief. Depression (Days Are Passing), Distance and Drugs and Heartbreak are predictable stages of grief we pass along the way. Then there’s anger (Gaslight) and eventual empowerment on Like a Woman, which builds from breathy beginnings to a deeply cathartic climax at the 2.30 mark. I Keep utilises the peculiar perspective of Swedish singer Tove Lo, while Piece Of My Mind captures the desire to escape in times of turmoil and best encapsulates the emotional state of Space Island – let go and live.