Album review overview: Billy Idol, Ndakhté Lo 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.
Agusa – Högtid
“Högtid” (2014) is the debut album by Swedish retro prog band Agusa, the re-release of which has just come out. With a mix of Scandinavian folk rock and psychedelic influences, they create their musical style. You immediately hear the retro in “Uti vår hage”. The music is fittingly cheerful in “Melodi från St. Knut”. In the remarkable epic “Östan om sol, västan om måne”, various musical influences (and special vocal sounds) from the East perfectly blend with Western prog. The melange of melody and rhythm is sublime. Only “Stigen genom skogen” has a few sung lines. The fairly short “Kärlek Från Agusa” is not on the vinyl release. Throughout, there is very good organ and guitar playing. The bass grooves are cool. The cymbals are beautifully played in detail. Occasionally, there is wordless singing, which is excellently added. The tracks are complex, there are various (unexpected) changes in style, tempo, volume and atmosphere. The few repetitions ensure a wonderful flow. Good news: four other old albums are also being re-released. (Esther Kessel-Tamerus) (8/10) (Karisma Records)
Scandinavian Art ensemble with Tomasz Stańko – Copenhagen Sessions Vol.1
Jazz wept on July 29, 2018, the day Tomasz Ludwik Stańko died, and a great gaping hole emerged where, to this day, no trumpeter has come forward to fill that void. Stańko was unique as the first European trumpeter who dared to play free jazz. Remarkably, the Pole was more popular in the US, where he was placed on par with Davis and Baker, than on his continent, although Stańko was regularly invited to festivals or as a mentor. In the latter capacity, the legendary trumpeter could be found in the Danish capital in the summer of 2016. There were supposed to be recordings of the sessions at The Village Recording, but until recently, those had proven untraceable. Fortunately, we now have those recordings and can determine for ourselves that the trumpeter must have been inspired, especially during these sessions. Stańko sounds freer than ever, although his playing style is recognisable from thousands. Few can make a trumpet sing so lyrically, as in the middle segment of “One O’clock Junk” or “The Dark Eyes of Martha Hirsch”. In the latter piece, his trumpet blends almost in unison with the voice of singer Johanna Elina Sulkunen, as an introduction to an improvisation where Stańko bundles all energy and seeks out the boundaries of the trumpet, stretches them and truly pulverises them. We hear an icon, nothing less. (Jeroen Mulder) (9/10) (April Records)
Billy Idol – Dream Into It
Although Idol brought an EP with new music in 2022, we still had to wait a long time for a full new studio album from the former Generation X singer. In the 80s, he scored big hits, in 2014 his last album came out, until recently, this “Dream Into It” appeared. According to himself, this album celebrates the life of Billy Idol. He has also indicated that on this album, he made the tracklist chronological so that the storyline is audible. Not like before, he says, where the first single also often had to be first on an album according to the record company. During the first listen, I was a bit afraid of the ultimate charm, but after a listen or three, the album does get a certain charm, but that’s where it stays. The duet with Avril Lavigne could have been left out. It’s anything but groundbreaking, nice for what it is. (Rik Moors) (5/10) (Dark Horse Records)
Phi-Psonics – Expanding to One
A spiritual experience, bassist Seth Ford-Young called the recordings of “Expanding to One”, with an audience that in beanbags, with closed eyes, let the music wash over them. That’s how these fourteen pieces were intended: meditative, almost healing. There had to be an audience during the six recording sessions: only then would Ford-Young know if the music had the desired effect. That music had to be a quiet beacon in ‘the dark times’ we live in, according to the driving force behind Phi-Psonics. To achieve that effect, the bassist worked with no fewer than eleven guest musicians. Besides the fixed values in the sound of Phi-Psonics, such as the always prominently present saxophones, we now also hear a Wurlitzer piano, harp and guitar in some pieces. Ford-Young has completely moved himself to the background, although his playing is still decisive for the pieces. We truly lose ourselves in the wonderfully beautiful sounds in “Healing Time”, in which harp, piano and flute seem to be in conversation with each other, fall in love with the saxophone solo in “Love Theme From Your Life” and marvel in “Discovery”, with the typical sound that Dylan Day conjures from his guitar and strongly reminds of the way guitarists in the fifties knew how to distort the sound of their solidbody: subtly. And that is the key word with this album. “Expanding to One” is subtle, although it tells a clear story; a story in which hope is central, in which the company shows us new paths, lets us discover and where we ultimately come together in the love for music. (Jeroen Mulder) (8/10) (Gondwana Records)
Ndakhté Lo – Live Performance
In the warm night of a Dakar studio, pure magic emerges. Ndakhté Lo’s debut—a live album recorded at Youssou Ndour’s Prince Arts—is no ordinary first record. This is a spiritual explosion of mbalax tradition that directly touches your soul. The choice for live recording shows courage. No studio tricks, only raw truth. Her voice dances through polyrhythmic percussion like water through rocks—natural, irresistible. The band, trained in Ndour’s legendary Thiossane, plays with the intimacy of brothers who read each other’s thoughts. “Glow Up” transforms from her first viral hit into an explosive live performance. Where the single charmed, the live version unfolds as a story that grows and breathes. “Xharit” lets the percussion section completely loose, a masterclass in rhythmic ecstasy. This is not nostalgia but living tradition. Lo builds bridges between generations, between Senegal and the world. Every note carries history but points to the future. For mbalax lovers, this is essential. For everyone who loves music that truly moves, you cannot miss this! (Jan Vranken) (9/10) (Prince Arts)
