A look at some of the essential collections released in the past month, featuring Sam Akpro, YAANG, Clara Mann, YHWH Nailgun, Sinews, lilo and Big Oil.
Sam Akpro by Ethan and Tom | Words: Lloyd Bolton & Hazel Blacher
Sam Akpro – 'Evenfall'
Sam Akpro has established himself as a foremost poet of the alienation of urban life in the 21st Century. His music surges with an unstoppable industrial drive against which we hear snatches of lyrics about our struggle to keep up with the pace. 'Death By Entertainment' is a telling example, lurching bass forcing the song along as Akpro sings, "I'm burning out, still play the game". 'Evenfall' is packed with gritty detail, droning and groaning with the sounds Akpro hears when he sets his ear to the ground of the city. Though negativity does poke through, Akpro is never simply against urban life in its darkness and intensity, since it is these qualities that fuel his creativity. 'Cherry' is a more low-key highlight of the album, evocative of the space for transcendence and posthuman transformation found between the nights coasting those cold and thankless streets. (Lloyd Bolton)
Clara Mann – 'Rift'
'Rift' is the long-awaited debut album from Clara Mann and is as spellbinding a singer-with-guitar album as you will hear this year. Mann's vocals are gripping for the conviction of her delivery, which has a wonderful rawness to it that alternates between the austere and the sweet. The title track is a sure highlight, speaking of the minimalistic beauty that is to be found across the record in its simple arrangement, which is made to blossom by a sweet harmony line. In an intimidating world increasingly crowded by six/seven/eight-piece bands, Mann shows how much can be achieved by the humble lullaby, which needs only minimal adornment to make it shine. (Lloyd Bolton)
YHWH Nailgun – '45 Pounds'
Those who have witnessed the sweat-drenched, soul-dislocating spectacle of YHWH Nailgun's live performances can attest to the sheer galvanic legitimacy of their debut album '45 Pounds', released via the ever-dependable AD93 Records. Defined by its wholly unique and pivotally unsettling sound, the record sees the New York group open up a groundswell of flesh-eviscerating avant-punk mutiny over the course of a scant 21 minute runtime. If at first you are surprised by the album's brevity, rest assured that YHWH Nailgun manage to inflict ample sonic assaults on nearly every visceral minutiae in that time, and on tracks like 'Pain Fountain', deploy your senses into what feels and sounds like a literal war zone. Galvanised by the vigorous rhythmic propulsions that pound amidst lead vocalist Zack Borzone's guttural caterwauls, '45 Pounds' is without a doubt one of the most fascinating, horrible and thoroughly unprecedented new records emerging from the underground right now. A must listen! (Hazel Blacher)
YAANG – 'No'
On their debut EP 'No', Manchester's YAANG showcase a remarkable eclecticism and broadening of their sound since the heady, audacious days of their hurtlingly macho early singles. Released by Preston-based label Crackedankles and recorded with Formal Sppeedwear frontman Beck Clewlow, the trio traverse through a multitude of stylistic plains across four tracks whilst maintaining the rugged, lively sense of fun that has thus far given the group so much appeal as both a live and recorded act. From the epic, motorik freeway-cruise of opener 'Comfort' to the Talking Heads-esque art rock twist of focus track 'Speed McQueen', the EP is chock full of surprises. Lead single 'Til Morning Light' is evidence of incredibly nimble songwriting too, and its decidedly catchy synth-punk vocal hooks render the track destined for that sweet spot drive-time airplay. Overall, 'No' is a compelling and adept debut offering, marking YAANG as a group to keep your eye on. (Hazel Blacher)
Sinews – 'Choreography'
The new EP from Oxford post-hardcore group Sinews lives up to the group's fierce reputation. Churning in the jaws of mechanical riffs and pounding rhythms, the cathartic violence of the band's live shows is captured on tape in lurid fidelity. 'Prop Comic' revolves around the neatest lick of the bunch, around which are wound lyrics chronicling frustrated anxieties before erupting into a raging chorus. Filled with such rushes of seething energy, 'Choreography' is a high-impact rush of sublime musical violence, swarming closer 'The Steps' keeping the pedal to the metal right to the last. (Lloyd Bolton)
lilo – 'Blood Ties'
Picking up from the American indie folk canon that has built so strongly over the past couple of decades, lilo bring a charmingly individual perspective to the form, completed by a charming restraint and the duo's personal chemistry. Songs like 'Crash the Car' show their ability to hold on to the extremes of adolescent emotion that always make the best songs ("I hope he never gets to have another good time"). At the same time, a song like 'It's Not The Same In Winter' displays a guiding maturity, an unconventional breakup song made immersively beautiful by its subtle arrangement. As a whole, 'Blood Ties' has a humanly essential quality to it, lyrics filled with unexpected and idiosyncratic details and music grounding these expressions, with moments of excess coming as flights of passion, not pretension.(Lloyd Bolton)
Big Oil – 'Dweller of the Ditch'
'Dweller of the Ditch' is a pocket of blissed out instrumental music from Ben Wyborn (Baggio) working in collaboration with Ellis Jones (Trust Fund). Guitars intertwine like beams of sunlight leaking into an empty room, guiding the EP as tasteful contributions from other instruments, mostly played by Jones, colour the journey. An outsider folk aesthetic is anchored by the loose autobiographical inspiration for the songs, written largely at Wyborn's father's house in the West Country and inspired by the surrounding landscapes. Recorded over a weekend with a creative efficiency that allowed time in the evening to watch Match of the Day, 'Dweller of the Ditch' is a brief, easeful escape into a world that moves at walking pace and best experienced alongside the accompanying visualiser, which represents the landscapes that inspired it. (Lloyd Bolton)
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