Album review overview: Pink Floyd, FIFTY FIFTY 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.
Alyn Cosker – Onta
Alyn Cosker, the drummer of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, delivers with “Onta” an album in which you keep discovering. Enchanting vocals and a vibraphone solo in the title track. An intriguing bass part in “Lullapalew”. The violin in the beautiful ballad “Cassillis”. Cosker doesn’t allow himself to be trapped in just one style, and with that, this tribute to his mother is a fusion album as fusion was originally intended: a perfect mix of genres because Cosker draws not only from jazz, but also from R&B, funk, folk, and rock. Rock? Certainly. Listen to the guitars, and try to follow the lyrics at the same time, in “Làrach Do Thacaidean”. Folk? Also. “Downtown a Y R (Lullaby for Finlay)” begins with a fiddle-like violin that sets a rhythmic, funky theme. Variation is the key concept on this album; not only variation in styles but also in the utilised instrumentation. Cosker surrounds himself with a solid band, including a violinist, a strong brass section, keyboardists, a vibraphone, and female vocalists. But naturally, the drums play a crucial role on the album, if only to keep everything on track, because the Scot has a predilection for special and therefore strongly deviating time signatures and tempos. Not surprising: besides his work for the national jazz orchestra, the man writes studies for special drum patterns. But “Onta” is not an album on which a drummer just flexes his muscles. Despite the complex rhythms, this is a wonderfully beautiful, musically complete album that truly excels in one aspect: the production. Tip: listen to the opening track through headphones and be amazed. (Jeroen Mulder) (8/10) (Calligram Records)
Satomimagae – Taba
With her new album “Taba”, Satomimagae once again proves that she is a master at blending electronic sounds and folk in an extremely refined manner. This fourth album by the Japanese artist shows an impressive musical development where she plays with form and sound in a way that is both intimate and surprising. The compositions on “Taba” unfold like a series of short musical stories. Instead of traditional song structures, Satomimagae opts for a more freely flowing approach, in which she interweaves her acoustic guitar and vocals with a rich range of sounds. The result is an album that exudes tranquillity but simultaneously holds your attention completely. A track like “Horo Horo” perfectly illustrates Satomimagae’s minimalist approach. Subtly, it leans against jazz, with unexpected turns through the introduction of muted brass instruments. Elsewhere on the album, we find moments where synthesisers and dreamy piano sounds harmoniously combine with her acoustic guitar work, giving the whole a rich and organic character. What makes “Taba” so special is the way Satomimagae allows different instruments to alternate in the lead role. Sometimes guitars dominate, then trumpets or drone-like sounds. She effortlessly balances between clarity and haziness, between structure and free expression. This music sounds like a perfect soundtrack for the Dutch polder landscape – carefully balanced with room for everyone. “Taba” shows an artist who effortlessly crosses the boundaries between different musical worlds and thereby creates something completely her own. A soothing and simultaneously fascinating listening experience that is without doubt one of the highlights in her oeuvre. (Jan Vranken) (7/10) (RVNG INTL)
Pink Floyd – at Pompeii MCMLXXII (2025 Mix)
It became a concert film unlike any made before. The world had just recovered from the film that reported on 400,000 people who, in August 1969, listened for three days to everything that pop and rock music had to offer at that moment on Max Yasgur’s farm. But in this film, no audience was visible. In the middle of an otherwise deserted amphitheatre stood four men, surrounded by their instruments, amplifiers, and other props. We now imagine the images while “Echoes” unfolds, crystal clear, with the depth in the sound that we had to miss in the original soundtrack. In that respect, this polished recording – a restoration for 4K – of “Pink Floyd at Pompeii” is already more than worth the effort. This mix is a small masterpiece, and you only hear that well in the vocals: ‘Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air….’ For a moment, you think you’re listening to the studio recording of “Meddle”. It’s all so perfectly balanced: the vocals, the way Gilmour makes the strings of his Stratocaster sing, Wright’s long, full organ chords, and for the first time we hear the individual notes that Waters strikes, we also hear what he whispers in “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”. Pink Floyd at Pompeii was always a special time document, but in this new mix, it’s a treasure chamber in which you now only discover how the band must have sounded during those four days in that deserted theatre, in October 1971, under the shadow of Vesuvius. A must-have for audiophile Pink Floyd fans. (Jeroen Mulder) (8/10) (Sony Music Entertainment)
FIFTY FIFTY – Day & Night
FIFTY FIFTY is back with their third mini-album “Day & Night”, and it’s an absolute triumph! This five-member girl group, consisting of Keena, Chanelle Moon, Yewon, Hana and Athena, proves that after their viral hit “Cupid” they are not a one-hit wonder. The double title tracks “Pookie” and “Midnight Special” perfectly show the versatility of the group. “Pookie”, despite the peculiar title, is an absolute banger that you can’t get out of your head – what a slay track! The production value is unprecedentedly high, with that characteristic overproduced poppy sound that pops like bubblegum from your speakers. After a turbulent period in 2023 with lawsuits and a complete restructuring of the group in 2024, FIFTY FIFTY shows that they have come back stronger than ever. The pre-released single “Perfect Crime” was already a harbinger of this impressive comeback. (Elodie Renard) (8/10) (ATTRAKT)
José Barranquero – Exosfera
The exosphere is the boundary between our atmosphere and the beginning of space. The title “Exosfera” is derived from that phenomenon, and with that, this album promises to be a spatial exercise. The title track sounds indeed ‘spacey’, partly due to excellent production, where guitar and the vocals of Inma Gomes engage in a duet. But after five minutes, you’ve heard this and hope that the Spanish guitarist José Barranquero has more to offer on this debut. The autodidact taught himself to play guitar at sixteen and subsequently worked his way up through rock, funk, and blues. Jazz came much later, among other things, by following master classes with Pat Metheny and John Scofield. On “Exosfera” we hear the various influences, albeit not all equally successful. “Skylanders”, for example, is an acoustic piece where simply too little happens to make it exciting. Additionally, it’s technically sometimes just a bit too sloppy, masked by an enormous amount of effects and guitar synths. The better tracks are “Un Murciégalo” and the funky “Totoro”, including a fantastic solo by saxophonist Melisa Bertossi. And then we still have “Opmeit Le”, which, like “Un Murciégolo” and “Totoro”, was already released earlier as an EP and at twelve minutes is the absolute salvation of “Exosfera”, albeit mainly due to the penetrating vocals of flamenco singer Ismael Tamayo. The aspirations reach beyond the atmosphere, but for now, the whole does not get off the ground properly. (Jeroen Mulder) (6/10) (Self-production)
