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The Big Takeover Issue #95
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J. Peters Schwalm & Stephan Thelen - Transneptunian Planets (RareNoise)

2 June 2022

Though German composer, musician and sound designer J. Peter Schwalm and Swiss guitarist, composer and Sonar bandleader Stephan Thelen are well known for their consistent journeys into the outer limits, somehow the pair have not collaborated until now.

Revolution Above Disorder - Annihilator (Jacknife Sound)

1 June 2022

Revolution Above Disorder is the solo moniker of Vancouver*-based *Dubliner Stephen Nicholas White (The Orange Kyte, House of Dolls, Magic Shoppe), whose music is a melting pot of shoegaze, psychedelic rock and electronic-tinged post-punk. Droned-out while also melodic and sincere, White’s songs are augmented by synths, drum machines and heavily treated instrumentation with hypnotic reverb-soaked vocals.

The Clams - The Complete Clams/Cindy Lawson - New Tricks (Rum Bar)

1 June 2022

Considering the embarrassment of riches that was the Minneapolis alternative rock scene in the eighties and nineties, it was inevitable that some cool acts would get lost in the shuffle. Enter the Clams.

Bad Mary - The Floor Is Lava (self-released)

31 May 2022

Back for more fun, frolics and fantastic music, Bad Mary return to fashion a bonafide rock and roll anthem out of a harmless kids game, like only they could.

Will Bernard - Pond Life (Dreck to Disk)

31 May 2022

As Pond Life, his seventh album as a leader, proves, when given his head he’s very much a notable creative force.

Thomas Dollbaum - Wellwood (Big Legal Mess)

30 May 2022

A master carpenter with a master’s in poetry, singer/songwriter Thomas Dollbaum does indeed keep one foot in the real world and the other in the ephemeral on his debut Wellwood.

Reuben's Daughters - Mami Wata (Microcultures Records)

28 May 2022

With a string of well received singles already doing the rounds, a UK tour to support the new album and anything up to a six-piece band bringing it to life, Reuben’s Daughter’s Mami Wata is finally out and getting a cool vinyl run to. Time to tune in to the new sound of pop.

Nduduzo Makhathini - In the Spirit of Ntu (Blue Note Africa)

27 May 2022

A beloved icon at home, South African jazz pianist Nduduzo Makhathini made a big splash outside of his country last year with Modes of Communication: Letters From the Underworlds. He follows it up with the even stronger In the Spirit of Ntu, a record that’s one of the best blends of jazz and African music this side of Randy Weston.

Blue Heron - Ephemeral (Seeing Red/Kozmik Artifactz)

27 May 2022

Rumbling out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, stoner rockers Blue Heron makes a strong impression on their debut LP Ephemeral.

Monotronic - In Between (self-released)

27 May 2022

Following the release of their debut album in 2019 and a series of singles and videos that started in the summer of 2020 with “Kids of Summer” and “Buy Yourself A Dream, Monotronic have secured a place in the “one to watch” category and every release has further solidified Ramsey Elkholy’s reputation as a writer and artist with some serious creative chops.

David Virelles - Nuna (Pi Recordings)

26 May 2022

The songs on Nuna encompass a State of the Piano recital.

Martin Bejerano - #CubanAmerican (Figgland)

26 May 2022

For his fourth album #CubanAmerican, Miami pianist Martin Bejerano continues his quest to infuse his father’s Cuban heritage with North American jazz.

The Caughtery - Fragile (self-released)

26 May 2022

Cinematic rock duo The Caughtery (a duo of long-time Austin music veterans Lisa Tingle and David Gayler) has released their debut single ‘Fragile’, a stunning preview of their debut eponymous EP.

Circuit 3 - Future Radio (Analogue Trash)

26 May 2022

Dublin electronic artist Circuit3 has signed with Manchester’s AnalogueTrash label for the new album Technology For The Youth ahead of which comes the upbeat lead single ‘Future Radio’, along with two B-side tracks, including a remix by Ricardo Autobahn (AKA John Matthews), best known as one half of Spray.

Steve Davis - Bluesthetic (Smoke Sessions)

25 May 2022

For his latest album Bluesthetic, trombonist/composer Steve Davis recruits a gang of old friends, many of whom he’s been playing with for decades.

Sam Robbins - Reverence (self-released)

23 May 2022

Ahead of his new album Bigger ThanIn Between, Sam Robbins releases a stylishly simple take on early rock and roll meets modern indie-folk in the guise of “Reverence”. A sonic treatise to recognising the simple pleasures of life.

Afton Wolfe - Late Nite Radio (Grandiflora Records)

22 May 2022

Afton Wolfe is Mississippi. Born in McComb, and growing up in Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Greenville, Mississippi, the roots of American music are in his DNA. Mississippi is the birthplace of at least three American art forms: country music, blues music, and rock and roll, all of which run through his songs. He is back with a new single “Late Nite Radio,” and is sounding better than ever.

Weird Nightmare

Weird Nightmare – Weird Nightmare (Sub Pop)

20 May 2022

The fiery METZ frontman edges out of his comfort zone.

The Jazz All Stars - Vol. 2 (Le Coq)/Chicago Soul Jazz Collective - On the Way to Be Free (JMarq)

16 May 2022

In the jazz world, it’s not unusual for players of a certain caliber and renown to assemble for supersessions. Minus the hype it would bring in the rock and pop worlds, these kinds of sessions can often be relaxed affairs featuring old and new friends, united by love of the music and mutual respect.

Roxy Music - Stranded/Country Life vinyl reissues (Virgin)

13 May 2022

Roxy Music’s groundbreaking first two albums would be hard to follow up by anyone, let alone the band that created them.

Jacob Garchik - Assembly (Yestereve)

12 May 2022

Outside of some fusion groups, there aren’t that many jazz artists that use the studio and its gear as an instrument. On Assembly, his seventh album, trombonist Jacob Garchik and his band of trusty sidekicks aim to change that.

Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead - Poetic (self-released)

11 May 2022

A veteran of ensembles led by trombonist Steve Davis, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and saxophonists Julieta Eugenio and JD Allen, drummer Jonathan Barber also leads his own band, Vision Ahead.

Oded Tzur - Isabela (ECM)

11 May 2022

Born in Tel Aviv, reborn through the sonic mantra of Indian ragas, and born again in New York City, saxophonist Oded Tzur explores the cosmopolitan nature of spiritual jazz on his fourth album Isabela.

Eucalyptus - Moves (Telephone Explosion)

10 May 2022

Armed with eight players, a widescreen compositional vision and a propensity toward musical freedom, Toronto ensemble Eucalyptus gets busy the moment “Infinity Bananas,” the first track on the band’s sixth album Moves, begins its spin.

Chase Elodia - Portrait Imperfect (Biophilia)

10 May 2022

Drummer and composer Chase Elodia spent the pandemic reading books on media theory, which lead to his debut album Portrait Imperfect.

Chris Church - Darling Please (Big Stir)

9 May 2022

Church made Darling Please alone in his basement following the death of his beloved brother and bandmate Mike, a terrible occurrence that drenches the songs in bruised emotion, whether or not they directly address the situation.

Ches Smith - Interpret It Well (Pyroclastic)

6 May 2022
If COVID broke the eggs, Interpret It Well is the omelet made from the results.

Kalia Vandever - Regrowth (New Amsterdam)

5 May 2022

Joined by guitarist/producer Lee Meadvin, bassist Nick Dunston, pianist Paul Cornish and drummer Connor Parks, Vandever unfolds her pieces at a deliberate pace, never jumping straight in, but never letting lanquidity take over.

John Scofield - s/t (ECM)

4 May 2022

Though he’s been recording albums under his own name since 1978 (and as a sideman since 1974), guitarist John Scofield, astonishingly, has never recorded an album of unaccompanied guitar.

Whit Dickey Quartet - Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space (TAO Forms)

3 May 2022

The loosely linked quintet of songs explore space, as indicated by the title, but it’s not just the cosmic variety.

Bluedive - Kario Mart (self-released)

2 May 2022

Continuing their quest to re-imagine and re-brand classic pop-punk for a new generation, Bluedive drop the latest single “Kario Mart” which perfectly keeps the musical momentum flowing.

Benji Kaplan - Something Here Inside (Wise Cat)

2 May 2022

Something Here Inside is a warm love letter to the Great American Songbook.

Whitbeck - January 22 (Self-Released)

1 May 2022

January 22 has all of the theatrics of a U2 with more grit, and for an album self-recorded (at least partly on the artist’s sailboat), it is a stunningly ambitious achievement.

Rodney Cromwell - Opus Three (Happy Robots)

29 April 2022

Opus Three, the second single taken from the recently-released _Memory Box’_album by London’s Rodney Cromwell gets an enhanced version with a new 5-track maxi-single, released on April 20 via Happy Robots Records.

Miles Okazaki’s Trickster Quartet - Thisness (Pi Recordings)

29 April 2022

Faced with only the loosest of structures, the musicians used their improvisatory skills and deep understanding of their partnership to create songs that ebb and flow like water over the ocean bed, seemingly shifting at random, but in reality following an internal logic.

Othered - Othered Vol 1 (self-released)

28 April 2022

Oakland*-based duo *Othered present their hard-hitting debut album Othered Vol, 1 on limited edition vinyl and digitally, following up the single “Journey To The Edge”, a heavy rock / metal anthem replete with signs of our times.

Bill Evans - Morning Glory/Inner Spirit (Resonance)

28 April 2022

Presented in Resonance’s usual sterling packages, with extensively researched booklets in each, both Morning Glory and Inner Spirit are musts for any Bill Evans fan.

Detective - s/t (ORG Music)

28 April 2022

One of the many journeyman supergroups populating the arena rock circuit in the 1970s, Detective never quite found the success it deserved.

Yuval Ron feat Úyanga Bold - Sacred Spiral (Metta Mindfulness Music)

27 April 2022

What the artists attempt to achieve on Sacred Spiral is a lot, but listen to any of the songs and it’s clear they come extremely close to the sublime.

Friendmaker - Weird (House of Strange Vinyl)

27 April 2022

Irish indie alt-rock band Friendmaker presents “Weird”, the second single from their forthcoming debut album. Musically, this deliberately repetitive ear worm subtly changes on each refrain, reflecting the abstractions of dreamlike repetition. With audio samples of psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s dream theory bookending the piece, this is three minutes of rhythmic indie rock with hooky melodies and pounding choruses.

Erik Friedlander - A Queens' Firefly (Skipstone)

27 April 2022

Cellist Erik Friedlander has been out front of the vanguard of his instrument’s potential for decades.

Mental Fracture - Disaccord (Self-Released)

26 April 2022

Overall, the album leaves the listener with a sensation that can only be described as awestruck.

Westrock - Welcome to the River (Self-Released)

26 April 2022

The five-piece band puts their own spin on the Red Dirt country genre with a Heartland sensibility that focuses on honest vignettes of individual lives to which their audience can immediately relate.

Paris Music Corp. - Paris Music Corp. (Self Released)

26 April 2022

Texan electronic and ambient composer Paris Music Corp. a.k.a. John Andrew Paris a full-length self-titled album. With 14 tracks on offer, this is his first record in half a decade, the previous release being the Rewind LP in 2017.

Eri Yamamoto/William Parker/Steve Hirsh/Chad Fowler - Sparks (Mahakala Music)

26 April 2022

Pianist Eri Yamamoto, bassist William Parker, drummer Steve Hirsh and woodwindist Chad Fowler congregated to cut loose and see what happened, and what happened was remarkable.

Kaapstaad - Night (Filter Label)

25 April 2022

Kaapstaad presents a chill and immersive debut single, titled “Night”, bringing distinct lo-fi chamber beats from the Baltic and beyond, influenced by such notable artists as Neils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, Ludovico Enaudi, BVG, Agnes Obel and Grouper.

Kind Folk - Head Towards the Center (Fresh Sound New Talent)

25 April 2022

Named in tribute to late trumpeter Kenny Wheeler (after a Wheeler tune from the album Angel Song), Kind Folk has grown into a formidable force.