The Sampler: What To Listen To This Week

Sunday, 13 October 2024, 7:26 pm
Article: RNZ

I Got Gold! By Recitals

The debut album by local outfit Recitals, Orbit I, came out a few years ago, prompting me to use words like "ethereal", "swaggering", and even "sexy" in my review.

A new EP called I Got Gold! just hit digital shelves, (as well as physical ones), and once again has me reaching for some wide-ranging adjectives.

'CGI Airport' feels a bit like running late for a flight, 'Sunflower' is led by Tharushi Bowatte's woozy trumpet and Xanthe Rook and Christian Dimick's increasingly athletic singing, and 'Wellington Song' feels urgent and angular in its first half, then tranquil in its second.

There's a strange kind of alchemy at work in Recitals, where its members seem to do whatever takes their fancy, and it all merges successfully.

That makes for particularly dynamic songs, where changes in tempo, time signature, and lead vocalist are common. Veering between passionate and placid, they're always fully invested, and never predictable.

Cascade by Floating Points

The most eye-widening entry in Sam Shepherd's CV is his PHD in neuroscience, not something you necessarily expect from a dance music producer. But Shepherd, who works as Floating Points, can be hard to pin down.

He's worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, late saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and leads the jazz-inflected sixteen-member Floating Points Ensemble.

He also recently composed the score for a ballet. But Cascade is a celebration of big, boisterous, dancefloor stompers.

Tracks that start in a mellower vein blossom into pummelling, ecstatic rhythms. Elements of different sub-genres, like breakbeats and acid synths, weave through single tracks.

London nightclub Plastic People closed in 2015, but prior to that had a reputation for fostering some of the UK's best DJs, including Sam Shepherd.

Cascade often feels like a celebration of that scene, as if he's revisiting past glories and supercharging them with modern production techniques.

My Method Actor by Nilüfer Yanya

If you've been following an artist's career for a while, there can come a moment when everything falls into place. It's indefinable, but audible, and such is the case with Nilüfer Yanya's third album, My Method Actor.

I loved her second, Painless, but this time everything seems effortless, like each song materialised fully formed. Her singing was always relaxed and breathy, and now the songs match it.

Most feature plaintive verses that unfurl into comforting choruses. They don't feel stitched together but a natural resolution of what's come before. In other words, well-written.

Yanya ploughs this particular mood for most of the album's runtime, without getting bogged down or repetitive. My Method Actor is almost always hushed, save for elements like the fuzz guitars on 'Like I Say', but they never threaten to overwhelm her voice.

The line "beautiful scars, that's all she's got", on 'Ready For Sun', might not be self-reflection, but it does line up with My Method Actor's expert balance of dour and delicate.

Tony Stamp reviews the latest album releases every week on The Sampler.

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