Albums of the week: three new releases
This “high-class” recording by the Italian pianist Beatrice Rana pairs Robert Schumann’s A-minor concerto with his wife Clara’s concerto in the same key, said Richard Fairman in the FT. A child prodigy, Clara had written it aged just 14, and was 16 when she performed it at the premiere with Felix Mendelssohn conducting. As in many youthful works, there are “clumsy moments”, but there’s also “an aura to much of the music that is Clara’s own — dreamy, lyrical, even with unexpected echoes of Chopin”. Rana brings “strength and delicacy” in equal measure, and as a bonus, she adds Robert’s song Widmung, a “heartfelt and warmly lyrical” declaration of love to Clara in the year of their marriage.
Rana is “poetic and sprightly”, said Geoff Brown in The Times, and interacts nimbly with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. They highlight the “impulsive force” of Clara’s work; “but it’s the heartfelt performance of Robert’s grander, more mature concerto that remains the star attraction of this attractive, warm-hearted album”.
Following a five-year hiatus after her acclaimed de but Take Me Apart, Ethiopian Americana rt istK el el aMizanekr is tos has returned with a flat-out triumph, said Cat Woods in The Daily Telegraph. Raven is a “sexy, sultry masterclass in R’n’B” that’s in the same league as SZA’s SOS and Beyoncé’s Renaissance. Kelela is the “real deal” – and her album is a “whip-sharp” collection in which a “world of glitchy, lovelorn, tremulous beauty” is revealed over 15 “epic” tracks.
In the liner notes, said Ludovic HunterTilney in the FT, Kelela explains that her new songs stem from “the feeling of isolation and alienation I’ve always had as a Black femme in dance music, despite its black origins”. Collaborators were sent a reading list of texts about Afrofuturism, racial identities and forms of oppression such as “misogynoir” (misogyny plus racism). But if this all sounds rather “knotty and theoretical”, the results aren’t: Kelela’s music is romantic, melodic, immersive and bubbling with “rhythmic energy”. Welcome back: it’s been worth the wait.
Yo La Tengo, US “indie rock’s most unassuming institution”, have been serving a dedicated fanbase since 1984, said Grayson Haver Currin on Pitchfork. Their latest album is their best in at least a decade, and boasts their “most compelling rock songs” in years. As the title suggests, it’s not a cheery listen.This Stupid World is infused with feelings of resignation: “maybe the abyss isn’t yet in plain view, but reports from its depths are coming up more quickly now”. Yet at the same time, the album “exudes a lovable lightness” and sense of playful camaraderie. It represents a “new triumph of indie rock’s old guard”.
I would rateThis Stupid World as the New Jersey trio’s most engaging album since AndThen NothingTurned Itself Inside-Out, released back in 2000, said Phil Mongredien in The Observer. The collection has the “gentler, increasingly meditative” sound of their recent work. But it also, in something of a “handbrake turn”, sees the band regain “their edge of unpredictability”, with the use of “fuzzed delivery” and “ominous distortion”. Stars reflect the overall quality of reviews and our own independent assessment (5 stars=don’t miss; 1 star=don’t bother)