Album review overview: Hans Zimmer, Karla Harris and more

Dozens of new albums arrive at Maxazine’s editorial staff every week. There are too many to listen to, 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.

Lorentzen – Leave Nobody Behind

Progressive music lovers might know multi-instrumentalist Eivind Lorentzen from the Norwegian band Gentle Knife. This band has unfortunately disbanded, but Eivind continues to make music. His new album is called “Leave Nobody Behind.” It consists of five instrumental tracks, each followed by one or two poems. These are sometimes accompanied by a touch of music. During the instrumental numbers, quite a few instruments are used. The way they are played and combined creates a special blend. The mix between rhythm and melody is surprising. In “Dimensions of Hope 1,” you hear a blend of rock and jazz, among other things. In a single track, the sound of the lightly rocking elements is too flat, or the percussion is a bit too tinny. Otherwise, the sound is good and well distributed over the headset. Some repetitions feel somewhat unnatural/artificial. Furthermore, there are sometimes quite a lot of them, which means some details and changes in the instruments are less noticeable. Otherwise, the blend between the instruments and the way they are played is good. “Leave Nobody Behind” is a beautifully subdued album. (Esther Kessel-Tamerus) (7/10) (Apollon Records)

Rio Kosta – Unicorn

Mike Del Rio and Kosta Galanopoulos met each other at a festival and immediately knew they had something special. Their debut album “Unicorn” is proof of that. The two musicians made this album based on their motto, “don’t disturb nature”, and let their creativity flow as naturally as possible. It opens with “Mountain Top,” a song that sets the tone for what’s to come. And that’s a lot of beautiful things, but the real magic lies in the title track “Unicorn,” which they recorded during their very first session. You literally hear the moment when they found each other. Beautiful. “Ancients” also touches you, especially because it contains a sample of Kosta’s father, who played in a Greek folk band in the seventies. It brings the music back to a full circle. Their sound floats somewhere between Khruangbin and old soul, with influences from Jorge Ben to The Beatles. Some songs like “Follow The River” hypnotise you completely, while “Save My Soul” shows that they also dare to be vulnerable. Not everything is perfect. “Intermission” feels somewhat half-finished, as if they didn’t quite know what to do with it. But that doesn’t detract much from an album that mainly proves that the best music is created when you just follow your feelings. Fun detail: The album is released on the label that otherwise only released a single by Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc. (Elodie Renard) (8/10) (Verdigris)

Karla Harris – Merge

Merging: that’s the meaning of the word “merge.” The title covers the content of the record in this case: singer and composer Karla Harris brings together various styles on her new record. The listener is treated to a potpourri of American Songbook classics, pure jazz, and a hefty dose of R&B, in which Harris mainly showcases her versatility. Harris can sing, that’s beyond any doubt. But she suffers from an ailment that, more sorry, it’s often ladies, female singers who suffer from. Too much of everything, which makes many a song more of a masterclass in vocal control. Take Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me.” That song doesn’t need all those frills, delayed notes, ad libs, different melody line, on the contrary. Or “Almost Like Being In Love,” whose tempo has been considerably increased, compare it to Nat King Cole’s version, and it becomes a kind of vocal hurdle race. Why would you do this to yourself? Fortunately, the record also has small gems, like “Sugar”, which on “Merge” is provided with a deliciously languid, hip-hop-inspired groove, an excellent piece of drumwork by Chris Burroughs. The strongest track on the album is the title piece, an original composition with surprising hooks and a masterful solo by saxophonist Sam Skelton, who trades his sax for the flute for this. We would have liked to hear more of that. (7/10) (Jeroen Mulder) (Karla Harris)

Hans Zimmer – F1 The Movie (Original Score)

With his thirteenth collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Hans Zimmer returns to the race circuit. For Joseph Kosinski’s F1 film, the master composer has created a hybrid score that perfectly unites human emotion and technological power. Zimmer describes his approach as “a hybrid score between electronics and orchestra,” where the orchestra represents the human driver and the electronics represent the machine. The main theme combines nostalgic synthwave undertones with orchestral grandeur that unmistakably reminds one of “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, which for years was the well-known F1 theme of the BBC. Just like that legendary bass line, Zimmer finds the perfect balance between tension and melody. The opening number “F1” immediately shows Zimmer’s mastery with a stunningly captivating main theme. The collaboration with Lewis Hamilton as executive producer has paid off; the seven-time world champion helped Zimmer understand the authentic tension between man and machine. Highlights are the action sequences where guitarist Tim Henson and the “gunslinger motif” for Brad Pitt’s character add emotional depth. Critical note: During the longer sequences in the film music, the music also becomes lengthy and at times even tedious. Still, Zimmer manages to capture the spirit of Formula 1 musically. (Jan Vranken) (7/10) (Apple Video Programming)

Germana Stella La Sorsa and Tom Ollendorf – After Hours

Germana Stella La Sorsa is an Italian singer who has been making quite a name for herself since moving to England in 2017. On her debut album “Vapour” from 2021, she already worked with guitarist Tom Ollendorf, and that collaboration now gets a sequel with the EP “After Hours,” on which the duo presents six pieces. Four of them are covers, starting with “Because” that Paul McCartney wrote for “Abbey Road,” The Beatles’ swan song. Instead of the typical harpsichord intro and the harmony singing of the Fab Four, we now hear directly the voice of Stella La Sorsa. Initially, this version seems to stay close to the original, but halfway through, Ollendorf takes the initiative in a free interpretation, performed in truly brilliant guitar playing. It must be said that Ollendorf puts a strong stamp on the pieces, including the two original compositions “Procida” and “In Time and (S)Pace.” In both tracks, the guitarist plays the leading role, despite the crystal-clear and captivating vocals of the Italian. Her ‘finest moment’ is “Carinhoso”, which is sung by Stella La Sorsa in the original Portuguese, resulting in a version that can compete with the beautiful performance that Sara Vaughan recorded in 1951. The conclusion after 25 minutes is that the collaboration between Stella La Sorsa and Ollendorf leaves you wanting more. A full album, at the very least. (Jeroen Mulder) (8/10) (33 Jazz)