Album review overview: Max Case, Adrian Crowley and more
Dozens of new albums arrive at Maxazine’s editorial staff every week. There are way too many to listen to them all, let alone review them. It ensures that too many albums are left behind. And that’s a shame. That is why today we post an overview of albums that arrive at the editors in short reviews.
Max Case – More Than I Knew
‘This song is good and everybody plays good.’ That was the explanation young guitarist Max Case wrote on Instagram upon releasing his first single, “More Than I Knew”. And everybody in this case means Dylan Coleman and Tyler Cravines on bass and drums, as they are the only other musicians you hear on the eponymous album that’s now available. Case demonstrates that he is a versatile guitarist. From smooth jazz on a hollowbody in “L.B.”, to fully distorted electric in “Western” and solo, very intimate acoustic in the closing track “You Were There Too”. Case proves he’s a talent who masters many styles. Everybody plays good. Yes, that’s true. Is that enough to deliver an exciting album? It’s all very much within the lines. Technically perfect, but this is where students are separated from masters. Masters know how to touch the heart with a single strike, a single note, in exactly the right place and with precisely the right intention. Then it doesn’t need to be technically perfect. Quite the contrary. Case is a brilliant guitarist and the compositions are strong enough. This is a case of: let yourself go. In one piece we hear what can happen: in “Western” the overdrive kicks in and Case suddenly sounds like a cross between Gilmour and Hendrix. We want to hear more of that, especially because Case lets go of perfectionism here and lets the strings do the work. On his Instagram, there’s a video where his fingers turn blue practising the intro of “Church Street Blues” by Tony Rice. ‘I’ve learned it now and still can’t keep up with the tempo,’ Case writes. That’s the problem. It doesn’t have to. Let that go and play from the gut. Then something truly beautiful will emerge. (Jeroen Mulder) (6/10) (Redhill Records)
Adrian Crowley – Measure of Joy
As winter still clings to the evenings, Adrian Crowley’s new album “Measure of Joy” arrives right on time. With these eleven compositions, the Dublin-based songwriter delivers a collection of stories that sound like a midnight conversation by a smouldering fireplace. He again worked with producer John Parish, known for his work with PJ Harvey and recently Dry Cleaning’s “Stumpwork”, and that collaboration once again bears fruit. Crowley’s deep baritone, dark as oak and rich as aged whiskey, finds its way through intimate soundscapes. The comparisons to Leonard Cohen come naturally but feel earned – especially in the title track, where Nadine Khouri’s background vocals weave through Crowley’s words like cigarette smoke. This is storytelling in its purest form, music that demands your full attention. For those seeking shelter from the daily rush, “Measure of Joy” offers a welcome haven. With announced intimate European performances on the horizon, enthusiasts will get the chance to experience these stories as they were meant to be – in small venues where every word counts and every note resonates. (8/10) (Jan Vranken) (Valley of Eyes Records)
LA BOA meets Tony Allen
An unexpected encounter between two worlds, that’s what we hear on “La BOA Meets Tony Allen”. The new album by Colombian afrobeat formation La BOA, recorded with the late master Tony Allen who passed away in 2020, feels like a conversation that takes place just a bit too late. Allen’s characteristic drums, recorded in 2011 for Paris’ Comet Records, form the beating heart of this posthumous collaboration. From their home base Casa Mambo in Bogotá, La BOA has made the legacy of Allen and Fela Kuti their own. The band, led by producer Daniel Michel, translates the pulsating rhythms into their Colombian idiom. It results in a fascinating play of cultural echoes: Nigerian drums resonating with Caribbean percussion, horns floating between Lagos and Latin, and a production that both pays tribute to tradition and looks forward. The timing of this release is ironic – afrobeat seems more alive than ever currently, with new generations rediscovering and redefining the genre. La BOA proves itself here as a worthy heir, but still, a slightly melancholic feeling creeps up while listening. No matter how integrity and skillfully this posthumous dialogue is executed, you keep longing for what could have been: a real conversation between these musicians, with Allen still alive, responding to the fresh energy these Colombians add to his music. A deserved 7/10 for this release, which primarily shows how boundless the impact of Allen’s musical legacy is. But honestly: we would have preferred to see the maestro take his place behind his drum kit one more time. (7/10) (Jan Vranken) (Planet Woo/Comet Records)
Oklou – Choke Enough
Like a nocturnal road trip through electronic landscapes, Oklou presents her debut album “Choke Enough”. French producer and singer Marylou Mayniel has spent two and a half years polishing this record, which balances experimental art pop and accessible electronics. Together with producer Casey MQ and prominent guests like Danny L Harle and A.G. Cook, she creates a sonic universe reminiscent of Grimes’ early explorations, but with a more subdued, almost cinematic approach. The collaboration with Bladee on “Blade Bird” and Underscores adds interesting contrasts to her dreamy soundscape. With a running time of 35 minutes, “Choke Enough” is compact, but every moment is utilized. The album shows an artist who has found her voice in the overcrowded landscape of electronic pop music, even though that voice sometimes still sounds searching. A 7 out of 10 is an appropriate rating for this promising debut that shows just enough daring and identity to look forward to what’s yet to come. (7/10) (Elodie Renard) (Because Music)
Thundermother – Dirty & Divine
Thundermother’s road seems endless, a highway stretching from Stockholm to the horizon of hard rock. With “Dirty & Divine” they reach another gas station along that route, but the gasoline increasingly starts to taste like watered-down cola. Frontwoman Filippa Nässil’s story reads like a classic rock tale: the girl who moves to the big city with a guitar and a dream. After various line-up changes reminiscent of Spinal Tap, she’s still standing, like the Keith Richards of this Swedish AC/DC tribute act. But where Richards’ riffs wrote history, the guitar parts on “Dirty & Divine” sound like copies of copies, faxed from a forgotten rehearsal room in 1975. The production is tight, that’s true. Every chorus hits like a shot of Jack Daniels – predictably burning but without surprises. Guernica Mancini’s voice has the right raw energy but he sings lyrics that sound as if they were generated by an AI fed exclusively with Bon Scott lyrics and beer coasters. It’s all coloured so neatly within the lines that you almost forget rock ‘n’ roll was once dangerous. The guitar solos are like road markings on a highway: you know exactly when they’re coming and where they’re going. The drums thunder on like a well-maintained diesel engine – reliable, but without the wild heart that once gave birth to punk. Somewhere in a smoky bar, this album will sound perfect, tucked away between the clinking of glasses and late-night conversations. But in the cold sobriety of morning, little remains but a vague memory of something that was once rebellious. Thundermother isn’t bad – they’re just predictable like a cover band playing their songs. “Dirty & Divine” is like a hamburger at a roadside restaurant: it fills the stomach, but you won’t remember the taste. (5/10) (Anton Dupont) (AFM Records)
