High & Rising
15 tracks of the month’s best music
1 BOB DYLAN Drifter’s Escape (Take 1) Taken from Travelin’ Thru, 1967 – 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol 15, “Drifter’s Escape (Take 1)” jumps thrillingly into life, and clatters messily to a close – what happens in between is as magical as you might expect. Check out our cover feature on p58.
2 OMNI Courtesy Call Networker, the third album from this Atlanta post-punk trio, mixes the arch coolness of US garage with the off-kilter angularity of XTC; “Courtesy Call” is one of its finest tracks.
3 FENELLA Rotation Wells Jane Weaver’s newly formed trio with her live band members Peter Philipson and Raz Ullah have worked up a delightfully discreet soundtrack to Marcell Jankovics’ Fehérlófia, and “Rotation Wells” is one of its brooding highlights.
4 WARMDUSCHER Tainted Lunch From Brixton crawl this group, led by the wonderfully named Clams Baker, to crush together The Fall, Suicide and Alabama 3. This title track from their new album is a suitably wild example of their mucky majesty – find out more on p10.
5 ITASCA Only A Traveler Kayla Cohen has been recording and releasing music for a while, but her new LP, Spring, is a breakthrough. Written in seclusion in New Mexico, it’s a sensitive meditation on place and the self. Read our lead review on p24.
6 GENE CLARK No Other (Version 2) The late songwriter’s finest hour is receiving a deluxe reissue from 4AD (read our extensive write-up starting on p36), and here’s an excellent alternate version of the mercurial title track.
7 SESSA Grandeza Some new sounds from this young Brazilian “horndog” (see p34), resurrecting the feel and sensuality of Tropicália with his debut solo album. Those of a prudish disposition are advised not to learn Portuguese.
8 TINDERSTICKS The Amputees Now partly based in Ithaca, Stuart A Staples and the gang return with a new album, No Treasure But Hope, and first single, “The Amputees”. Staples takes us through the group’s work on p88.
9 ARP Autumn Piece (For Jiri Kovanda) For his new album, Ensemble – Live!, Alexis Georgopoulos has recast some of his old songs, and some new, as meandering mixes of spiritual jazz and ambient electronics. Here’s the gorgeous closer.
10 JIM SULLIVAN Lonesome Picker Light In The Attic is releasing two archival albums by the enigmatic singer-songwriter in late October, the stripped-down If The Evening Were Dawn and his self-titled second LP, which features the moody, dusty “Lonesome Picker”. They’re both reviewed on p44.
11 GIRL RAY Friend Like That This is a great example of the new sound from Poppy Hankin and friends. On their debut, Earl Grey, they sounded like Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; now they sound curiously, and brilliantly, like Scritti Politti at their pop peak. Head to p27 for more from the London group.
12 THE GOOD ONES A Long, Sad Journey Watching You Die (with Kevin Shields) Along with Nels Cline and Corin Tucker, Shields is an unexpected guest on Rwanda, You Should Be Loved, the latest album from this mainly acoustic trio. You can read more about the record on p27.
13 CHARLES RUMBACK & RYLEY WALKER Half Joking Ryley always seems to have something cooking – this month it’s a gorgeous instrumental album with Chicago jazz drummer Rumback, which drifts from gentle folk on “Half Joking” to experimental drone and drum machines on “Menebhi”.
14 SUDAN ARCHIVES Glorious Brittney Denise Parks’ debut album, Athena, is a lush, powerful record, mixing electronic beats with African-inspired fiddle. “Glorious” is the closest thing the record has to a conventional pop song, and it lives up to its name.
15 JR BOHANNON Saint Etienne Brooklyn’s JR Bohannon is a cut above most fingerstyle guitarists, mixing the moves of Fahey with shimmering minimalist repetitions and, on “Saint Etienne”, mournful Greek music.