New music: Lorde, Garbage, Ches Smith and Jordi Savll
Virgin (Universal)
Fans of the New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde have long commended the artist for her visceral pop craft. Her music, to certain ears, sounds like freedom. On her new album, it is as though Lorde is able to hear it, too.
On Virgin, the singer born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor's fourth studio album and first in four years, pop hits are devoid of any anxious filtering. She is raw.
When Lorde first emerged as a gothic popstar — with Royals, and its critique of celebrity culture and consumerism — she did so with prescience. Her sparse production style and cursive-singing had come from the future, and its influence would be felt for many years to follow. Her debut, 2013's Pure Heroine, suggested that she possessed something her contemporaries did not; the synesthesia synth-pop Melodrama in 2017 all but confirmed her greatness.
She took a step back from all that for the sleepy sunshine of 2021's Solar Power, and then took another — veering away from the spotlight all together.
Musically, Virgin threads the needle from Melodrama to the current moment. The lead single, the synthpop What Was That is a reserved derivation of her previous work but no doubt a banger; on the syncopated rhythms of Hammer, she's matured her racecar-fast pop.
An album standout, the metamorphic Shapeshifter, possesses a tension between organic and electronic sounds that continue onto Man of the Year, with its bass and cello contributions from frequent collaborator Dev Hynes.
For a singer who has always performed physical pop songs, Virgin is her most bodily work to date as well. This is a new Lorde — a more self-assured artist, warts and all — but one that recognizes and evolves her sonic signatures. Now, like in the early days of her career, Virgin is both avant-garde and pop-radio ready, a confluence of unlike features that mirror its messaging. Only now, she sounds unshackled. ★★★★ out of five
Stream: Shapeshifter; Hammer
— Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
ROCK
Garbage
Let All That We Imagine Be the Light (BMG)
Buzz-saw guitars, dense synthesizers and throbbing percussion can sometimes brighten the mood.
That's the goal of the new album from the American rock band Garbage. It's the sound of frontwoman Shirley Manson pushed to the brink by health issues and the fury of our times.
The band's familiar sonic mix provides a pathway out of the darkness, with heavy riffing and dramatic atmospherics accompanying Manson's alluring alto.
The album is Garbage's eighth and the first since 2021's No Gods No Masters. The genesis came last August, when Manson aggravated an old hip injury, abruptly ending the band's world tour.
The other members of the group – Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker – retreated to the studio and began work on new music. Manson added lyrics that lament fatalism, ageism and sexism, acknowledge vulnerability and mortality, and seek to embrace joy, love and empowerment.
That's a lot, which may be why there's a song titled Sisyphus. The sonics are formidable, too. A mix that echoes the Shangri-Las,
Most of the material is less New Age-y, and there's a fascinating desperation in Manson's positivity. Chinese Fire Horse, for example, becomes a punky, Gen X, age-defying fist-pumper.
Manson sounds just as defiant singing about a love triangle on Have We Met (The Void), or mourning in America on There's No Future in Optimism. The album peaks on the backside with the back-to-back cuts Get Out My Face AKA Bad Kitty, a battle cry in the gender war, and R U Happy Now, a ferocious post-election rant.
Then comes the closer, The Day That I Met God, a weird and whimsical benedictory mix of horns, strings, faith, pain management and more. Hope and uplift can sound good loud. ★★★★1/2
Stream: Chinese Fire Horse; R U Happy Now
— Steven Wine, The Associated Press
Ches Smith
Clone Row (Otherly Love)
It can be argued that if one jazz guitar is a good thing then two must be even better. If the two guitarists are among the best contemporary adventurous musicians in jazz, it should lead to some pretty interesting music.
This album is by leader Ches Smith, drummer and composer, joined by guitarists Mary Halvorson and Liberty Ellman, and bassist Nick Dunston.
Describing this as 'interesting music' is an understatement.
From the opening track with its scrawling riff to later more melodic grooves, there is much to enjoy here. Both Halvorson and Ellman are noted for sound clusters and wild flights, but they work with wonderful unison and duet moments that are surprising and unpredictable. Smith's writing gives all members freedom within the 'lines' without committing them to stay between them.
Tracks such as Town Down display a driving rhythm with a challenging time signature. Electronic effects are added in many tracks, giving an often otherworldly mood. Heart Breakthrough has the guitarists spinning around each other in delightful patterns. Guessing the time signature is often just a fun game.
This is unquestionably challenging music. Dissonance rules throughout, though it is not necessarily jarring or out of place. Smith's leadership and compositions are increasingly impressive as the album proceeds. Sustained Nightmare is perhaps well named as it is absolutely on the non-melodic side of the bell curve. And on the topic, the last track, Play Bell (For Nick) gives the bass player front and centre acknowledgement.
One of the exciting things about contemporary jazz is the increasing range of new ways of expressing emotion through adventurous music. Not for everyone perhaps, but albums like this are the new moves in the always shifting world of the genre. It is well worth a listen.
★★★★ 1/2 out of five
Stream: Abrade Wirth Me; Town Down
— Keith Black
CLASSICAL
Forgotten Symphonies
Jordi Savll, Le Concert Des Nations (Alia Vox)
In this followup to his prior successful Beethoven and Schubert recordings, Jordi Savall leads his Le Concert Des Nations in two 'forgotten' romantic symphonies, both composed in the wake of Beethoven's death and relegated to the margins of music history.
The first of those, Schumann's Symphony in G minor, Wo029, or the Zwickau, roils with the passion of youth, its two shorter movements earning the work's title as the 'Unfinished Symphony.' Savall leads the period orchestra through its opening movement with finesse while navigating its resolutely motivic nature.
The second movement recalling Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, is infused with greater drama, from its initial chordal outbursts leading to the strings's more rhythmically active passagework before a fiery finish.
Bruckner's Symphony No. 2 in D Minor, WAB 100, described by the overly self-critical composer as 'gilt nicht' ('does not count') even saw him re-naming his sweeping work penned in 1872 as Symphony No. Zero.
Of its four movements, the Andante is a particular standout with the players instilling gravitas into its slowly measured meditation based on a chorale theme, as is the Finale, capped by a powerful coda attesting to the German composer's arresting voice on full display in this now 'remembered' work that should be heard again – and often.
★★★★ 1/2 out of five
Stream: Symphony in G minor, Wo029; Symphony No. 2 in D minor, WAB 100, Andante
— Holly Harris
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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
New music: Lorde, Garbage, Ches Smith and Jordi Savll
Lorde Virgin (Universal) Fans of the New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde have long commended the artist for her visceral pop craft. Her music, to certain ears, sounds like freedom. On her new album, it is as though Lorde is able to hear it, too. On Virgin, the singer born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor's fourth studio album and first in four years, pop hits are devoid of any anxious filtering. She is raw. When Lorde first emerged as a gothic popstar — with Royals, and its critique of celebrity culture and consumerism — she did so with prescience. Her sparse production style and cursive-singing had come from the future, and its influence would be felt for many years to follow. Her debut, 2013's Pure Heroine, suggested that she possessed something her contemporaries did not; the synesthesia synth-pop Melodrama in 2017 all but confirmed her greatness. She took a step back from all that for the sleepy sunshine of 2021's Solar Power, and then took another — veering away from the spotlight all together. Musically, Virgin threads the needle from Melodrama to the current moment. The lead single, the synthpop What Was That is a reserved derivation of her previous work but no doubt a banger; on the syncopated rhythms of Hammer, she's matured her racecar-fast pop. An album standout, the metamorphic Shapeshifter, possesses a tension between organic and electronic sounds that continue onto Man of the Year, with its bass and cello contributions from frequent collaborator Dev Hynes. For a singer who has always performed physical pop songs, Virgin is her most bodily work to date as well. This is a new Lorde — a more self-assured artist, warts and all — but one that recognizes and evolves her sonic signatures. Now, like in the early days of her career, Virgin is both avant-garde and pop-radio ready, a confluence of unlike features that mirror its messaging. Only now, she sounds unshackled. ★★★★ out of five Stream: Shapeshifter; Hammer — Maria Sherman, The Associated Press ROCK Garbage Let All That We Imagine Be the Light (BMG) Buzz-saw guitars, dense synthesizers and throbbing percussion can sometimes brighten the mood. That's the goal of the new album from the American rock band Garbage. It's the sound of frontwoman Shirley Manson pushed to the brink by health issues and the fury of our times. The band's familiar sonic mix provides a pathway out of the darkness, with heavy riffing and dramatic atmospherics accompanying Manson's alluring alto. The album is Garbage's eighth and the first since 2021's No Gods No Masters. The genesis came last August, when Manson aggravated an old hip injury, abruptly ending the band's world tour. The other members of the group – Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker – retreated to the studio and began work on new music. Manson added lyrics that lament fatalism, ageism and sexism, acknowledge vulnerability and mortality, and seek to embrace joy, love and empowerment. That's a lot, which may be why there's a song titled Sisyphus. The sonics are formidable, too. A mix that echoes the Shangri-Las, Most of the material is less New Age-y, and there's a fascinating desperation in Manson's positivity. Chinese Fire Horse, for example, becomes a punky, Gen X, age-defying fist-pumper. Manson sounds just as defiant singing about a love triangle on Have We Met (The Void), or mourning in America on There's No Future in Optimism. The album peaks on the backside with the back-to-back cuts Get Out My Face AKA Bad Kitty, a battle cry in the gender war, and R U Happy Now, a ferocious post-election rant. Then comes the closer, The Day That I Met God, a weird and whimsical benedictory mix of horns, strings, faith, pain management and more. Hope and uplift can sound good loud. ★★★★1/2 Stream: Chinese Fire Horse; R U Happy Now — Steven Wine, The Associated Press Ches Smith Clone Row (Otherly Love) It can be argued that if one jazz guitar is a good thing then two must be even better. If the two guitarists are among the best contemporary adventurous musicians in jazz, it should lead to some pretty interesting music. This album is by leader Ches Smith, drummer and composer, joined by guitarists Mary Halvorson and Liberty Ellman, and bassist Nick Dunston. Describing this as 'interesting music' is an understatement. From the opening track with its scrawling riff to later more melodic grooves, there is much to enjoy here. Both Halvorson and Ellman are noted for sound clusters and wild flights, but they work with wonderful unison and duet moments that are surprising and unpredictable. Smith's writing gives all members freedom within the 'lines' without committing them to stay between them. Tracks such as Town Down display a driving rhythm with a challenging time signature. Electronic effects are added in many tracks, giving an often otherworldly mood. Heart Breakthrough has the guitarists spinning around each other in delightful patterns. Guessing the time signature is often just a fun game. This is unquestionably challenging music. Dissonance rules throughout, though it is not necessarily jarring or out of place. Smith's leadership and compositions are increasingly impressive as the album proceeds. Sustained Nightmare is perhaps well named as it is absolutely on the non-melodic side of the bell curve. And on the topic, the last track, Play Bell (For Nick) gives the bass player front and centre acknowledgement. One of the exciting things about contemporary jazz is the increasing range of new ways of expressing emotion through adventurous music. Not for everyone perhaps, but albums like this are the new moves in the always shifting world of the genre. It is well worth a listen. ★★★★ 1/2 out of five Stream: Abrade Wirth Me; Town Down — Keith Black CLASSICAL Forgotten Symphonies Jordi Savll, Le Concert Des Nations (Alia Vox) In this followup to his prior successful Beethoven and Schubert recordings, Jordi Savall leads his Le Concert Des Nations in two 'forgotten' romantic symphonies, both composed in the wake of Beethoven's death and relegated to the margins of music history. The first of those, Schumann's Symphony in G minor, Wo029, or the Zwickau, roils with the passion of youth, its two shorter movements earning the work's title as the 'Unfinished Symphony.' Savall leads the period orchestra through its opening movement with finesse while navigating its resolutely motivic nature. The second movement recalling Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, is infused with greater drama, from its initial chordal outbursts leading to the strings's more rhythmically active passagework before a fiery finish. Bruckner's Symphony No. 2 in D Minor, WAB 100, described by the overly self-critical composer as 'gilt nicht' ('does not count') even saw him re-naming his sweeping work penned in 1872 as Symphony No. Zero. Of its four movements, the Andante is a particular standout with the players instilling gravitas into its slowly measured meditation based on a chorale theme, as is the Finale, capped by a powerful coda attesting to the German composer's arresting voice on full display in this now 'remembered' work that should be heard again – and often. ★★★★ 1/2 out of five Stream: Symphony in G minor, Wo029; Symphony No. 2 in D minor, WAB 100, Andante — Holly Harris
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rebirth of franchise more like a retread
As the Jurassic Park franchise has devolved from awesome to awful, it's often pointed out that the movies themselves seem to follow the doomed paths of their characters. Like the scientists so preoccupied with what they can do they don't stop to think if they should, the studio keeps creating unnecessary sequels to Steven Spielberg's 1993 original. Like the corporate owners of the dinosaur parks trying to lure back jaded audiences with larger, toothier, genetically engineered monsters, the writers and directors keep making the action pointlessly bigger and noisier. Like the experts who ought to know better but return to the island because they can't resist that InGen money, the stars keep reprising their roles purely for the paycheques. With the word 'rebirth' right there in the title, this seventh Jurassic movie feels like a conscious self-correction after some really dire entries. And, thankfully, the charisma-free pairing of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard has disappeared and the convoluted dinosaurs-among-us plots have gone extinct. Universal Pictures photos Jonathan Bailey, as pharmaceutical exec Martin Krebs, extracts dinosaur blood samples as mercenary Scarlett Johansson observes in the seventh Jurassic Park movie. Director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, the 2014 Godzilla) is new, and he's a confident craftsman who knows how to execute big — like, really big — set pieces. The dinosaur sequences are always competent and occasionally thrilling. Fans of the original novel will be happy to finally get a well-constructed T-Rex river-raft scene. The human beings, unfortunately, fare less well. Jurassic World: Rebirth Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey and Rupert Friend ● Garden City, Grant Park, Kildonan, McGillivray, Polo Park, St. Vital ● 134 minutes, PG ★★½ out of five Scripter David Koepp, who co-wrote the first film with author Michael Crichton, is back, but he's not exactly on form, and the characters and their emotional backstories are flat, predictable and perfunctory. By the end, Jurassic World Rebirth feels like a barely fleshed-out Universal theme-park ride — sort of fun and completely forgettable. The story opens by making it clear that the dinosaurs that have made their way into our world are mostly dying out, unsuited to our 21st-century environmental conditions. Humans are now so blasé about the creatures that a sickly brachiosaurus that's somehow got loose in downtown Manhattan is just another reason for New Yorkers to complain about the traffic. Dinosaurs in the wild survive only in a band of islands around the equator where people are forbidden to travel. Pharmaceutical exec Martin Krebs (The Phoenician Scheme's Rupert Friend) doesn't care about the rules, though: he's planning an illegal but lucrative expedition to Ile Saint-Hubert, home to the dinosaur mutations that were too hideous or dangerous to make it to the Isla Nubar park. Krebs wants blood samples from a Titanosaurus, a Mosasaurus and a Quetzalcoatl (and, yes, as junior dinosaur scientists will point out, technically these last two are not dinosaurs but dino-adjacent prehistoric animals). Their genetic material will be used to make a drug that prevents heart disease. Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures Philippine Velge narrowly avoids being eaten in a scene from Jurassic World: Rebirth. Krebs hires Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson, also recently seen in The Phoenician Scheme), who is said to be 'untroubled by legal or ethical complications.' Basically, she's a mercenary, though she prefers the term 'situational security reaction' specialist. Zora teams with an old colleague, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali of Moonlight). Krebs also brings on a mission scientist, Dr. Henry Loomis (Wicked's Jonathan Bailey), who's running a dinosaur museum that has just been mothballed because of lack of public interest. He wears glasses and says things like 'intelligence is overrated as an adaptive trait.' It's always astonishing to think that these beasts did once roam the Earth and it was this thought that stopped me slipping into sleep. — Deborah Ross, the Spectator It's always astonishing to think that these beasts did once roam the Earth and it was this thought that stopped me slipping into sleep. — Deborah Ross, the Spectator Rebirth's dinosaurs are everywhere, but the more you see, the less it means. They're good for a scare now and then, but the sense of awe is long since gone — Sam Adams, Slate In a franchise built on the thrill of discovery, this latest entry offers only the comfort of the all-too-familiar, and the sinking feeling that some cinematic wonders are best left extinct. — Peter Howell, Toronto Star The effects are uniformly effective — we believe these dinosaurs, even as we don't believe that any humans could be quite this clueless — and it all goes down perfectly nicely with popcorn, which is all you can ask of a Jurassic movie. — Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times Finally, there's a separate group. Loving father Reuben Delgado (The Lincoln Lawyer's Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is inexplicably taking daughters Teresa and Isabella (Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda), along with Teresa's slacker boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono), on a small boat through seas known to teem with Mosasaurs, just to fulfil the Jurassic franchise requirement for a child-in-jeopardy subplot. They all end up on the island together and while these characters aren't actively offputting, they don't make much of an impression. This is a talented cast with nothing much to do except run and shout. Zora is dealing with PTSD from a mission gone wrong and guilt about her mother, who died of heart disease. Duncan is haunted by a personal tragedy. The Delgado family is working through some stuff — dad needs to loosen up and Xavier needs to man up. These motivations are outlined in a box-ticking kind of way but barely followed through. Meanwhile, there's the assignment to collect samples from one flying, one swimming and one land-based creature, which gives a Pokémon-like simplicity to the action-adventure plot. After some needlessly complicated Jurassic storylines, this may be refreshing, but it rarely feels original. Koepp makes an early reference to the 'Objects in mirror are closer than they appear' joke from Jurassic Park, but ensuing echoes are not so much clever callbacks as tired retreads. There are mutated dinos hunting humans in a big room with rows of metal shelving. There is a large scary dinosaur about to eat someone and then at the last moment being itself eaten by a larger, scarier dinosaur. Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures From left: Bechir Sylvain, Jonathan Bailey, and Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World: Rebirth. In Jurassic terms, Krebs has total 'lawyer on the toilet' vibes. Henry, who has studied under the original movie's Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), is given a moment of pure wonder at the sight of a dinosaur herd that is nicely acted but still feels like a pale reiteration of his mentor's. Jurassic World Rebirth isn't egregiously awful, then, but it is creatively underwhelming. It seems to be roaring at the box office, though, meaning that this instalment's cautionary tale warning, which warns that people should matter more than profits, probably isn't going to reach studio executives any more than the franchise's earlier lessons. Alison GillmorWriter Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto's York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Slander or ‘trash-talking'? Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud has a day in court
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge is pondering the nature of rap battles and the cutting wordplay in Kendrick Lamar 's 'Not Like Us,' the megahit diss track that spurred a defamation lawsuit from his fellow superstar Drake. Drake sued Universal Music Group — both his and Lamar's record label — over 'Not Like Us,' saying the company published and promoted a song he deems slanderous. Universal says the lyrics are just hyperbole in the tradition of rap beefing, and the label is trying to get the case dismissed. Judge Jeannette Vargas didn't immediately decide after a lively hearing Monday, when the raw creativity of hip-hop brushed up against the staid confines of federal court. 'Who is the ordinary listener? Is it someone who's going to catch all those references?' Vargas wondered aloud, addressing a legal standard that concerns how an average, reasonable person would understand a statement. 'There's so much specialized and nuanced to these lyrics.' Neither artist attended the hearing. The case stems from an epic feud between two of hip-hop's biggest stars over one of 2024 biggest songs — the one that won the record of the year and song of the year Grammys, got the most Apple Music streams worldwide and helped make this winter's Super Bowl halftime show the most watched ever. Released as the two artists were trading a flurry of insult tracks, Lamar's song calls out the Canadian-born Drake by name and impugns his authenticity, branding him 'a colonizer' of rap culture who's 'not like us' in Lamar's home turf of Compton, California, and, more broadly, West Coast rap. 'Not Like Us' also makes insinuations about Drake's sex life, including 'I hear you like 'em young' — implications that he rejects. Drake's suit says that the song amounts to 'falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts' and more. Contending that the track endangered him by fanning notions of vigilante justice, the suit blames 'Not Like Us' not only for harming Drake's image but for attempted break-ins and the shooting of a security guard at his Toronto home. The mansion was depicted in an aerial photo in the song's cover art. 'This song achieved a cultural ubiquity unlike any other rap song in history,' Drake lawyer Michael Gottlieb said. He argued that Universal had campaigned and contrived to make it 'a de facto national anthem' that didn't just address hip-hop fans who knew the backstory and were accustomed to over-the-top lyrical battling. The average listener could be 'a 13-year-old who's dancing to the song at a bar mitzvah,' Gottlieb suggested. 'That would be a very interesting bar mitzvah,' the judge opined. (The song has indeed been played at some such celebrations.) Universal, meanwhile, has emphasized that 'Not Like Us' was part of an exchange of barbs between Drake and Lamar. 'Context is key,' label lawyer Rollin Ransom argued Monday, at one point apologizing for having to use profanity while reciting some of the lyrics Drake aimed at Lamar in a track called 'Taylor Made Freestyle.' 'What you hear in these rap battles is trash-talking in the extreme, and it is not, and should not be treated as, statements of fact,' the attorney said. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Drake also went after iHeartMedia, claiming in a Texas legal petition that the radio giant got illegal payments from Universal to boost airplay for 'Not Like Us.' IHeartMedia has denied any wrongdoing. That dispute was resolved in March. Drake hasn't sued Lamar himself.
