“And we’ll never be Royals,
It don’t run
in our blood,
That kind of
lux just ain’t for us,
We crave a
different kind of buzz …”
“Royals” – Lorde (2013)
It was the biggest news out of Belgium since Plastic
Bertrand. In a week where Regal was bigger than Rock ‘n ’Roll, the ascension of
Phillippe as newly-crowned King of The Belgians was the big Royal story. For
almost 24 hours. But the Belgian fanfare had barely dimmed, when commoners were
again being drawn into the streets, to celebrate the birth of a future monarch
in a country a mere 300 kilometres away. In this edition of JR we acknowledge
the rise, and rise, of Lorde. The New Zealand singer/songwriter made her debut
in her homeland last year and is now finding a growing audience in Australia.
At the same time, her songs are attracting attention on radio stations in North
America. Achieving all that on her debut is commendable. Achieving it at the
age of 16 is a triumph. Lorde’s song “Royals” is our timely tribute to a week
of regal events.
As collaborators, David Lynch and Reality have shared
an uncomfortable past. Lynch’s film career is legendary. On his music career however,
the jury is still out. His just released 2nd album is ‘The Big
Dream’ and its every bit as spooky as its predecessor. It may be early days in
his solo career but Lynch’s ‘sound’ traces all the way back to the ‘90s, and a
town called ‘Twin Peaks’. Also arriving from somewhere left of centre is Moby
whose forthcoming album, ‘Innocents’ will feature collaborations with various
guests including Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. Our preview in this edition
features atmospheric vocals by Canadian singer/songwriter Cold Spex.
In a more acoustic realm, we preview the upcoming 9th
release by American Folk singer, Laura Viers and a 2nd album by the
small-‘S’-supergroup, Tired Pony (including former REM guitarist Peter Buck and
Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody in its lineup).
Beating up much of the dust on the Comeback Trail this
week was Wendy Matthews who is soon to release her first new album in more than
a decade. Noticeably undiminished in that time Wendy’s voice remains an
instrument, evoking her glory years of the early-‘90s. Serial collaborator,
Elvis Costello makes a return with veteran Philadelphia Hip-Hop/Soul collective
The Roots. Their album, ‘Wise Up Ghost’ is due in September. And Electronic duo
Goldfrapp is back with the first song from their album, ‘Tales Of Us’ due in
September ahead of their arrival in November for appearances at the Harvest
Festival.
The JR Radar also had a big week, with a couple of
album alerts of particular interest. In this edition we welcome the debut of
American singer/songwriter Valerie June. Her music is an acoustic fusion of
Blues and Gospel and Bluegrass and Soul - and a bunch of other styles. The
result defies all of those genres in a strong arrival with an album produced in
part by Black Keys’ frontman Dan Auerbach.
Another one on the Radar this week was the tribute to
Ska music from The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra. The band includes Lee Thompson
and Mike Barson, two founding members of Madness and their tribute is album-from-the-heart. Named
in honour of the woman who established and ran a Jamaican Boy’s School and
nurtured some of Ska music’s early Royalty, ‘The Benevolence of Sister Mary
Ignatius’ is, in every sense, a celebration.
Mmm.. Celebrating Royalty. Isn’t that how all this
began?
Lorde: “Royals” (from the ‘Love Club
EP’)
Laura Veirs: “Sun Song”
(preview from the album ‘Warp And Weft’)
Tired Pony: “All Things
At Once” (preview from the album, ‘The Ghost Of The Mountain’)
Wendy Matthews: ”Follow You
Down” (preview from the album, ‘The Welcome Fire’)
David Lynch: “Star Dream
Girl” (from the album, ‘The Big Dream’)
Moby: “A Case For Shame” (preview
from the album, ‘Innocents’)
Valerie June: “Workin’
Woman Blues”/”You Can’t Be Told” (preview from the album, ‘Pushin’ Against A
Stone’)
The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra:
“Fu Manchu” (preview from the album, ‘The Benevolence Of Sister Mary
Ignatius’)
Elvis Costello with The
Roots: “Walk Uptown” (preview from the album, ‘Wise Up Ghost’)
Goldfrapp: “Drew” (preview from the album,
‘Tales Of Us’)
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