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Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Tom Dunne: My six favourite albums of 2025 so far
Glastonbury is but days away and if Glastonbury is in the air it means its late June, and if it's late June, then it's time for preliminary 'the year so far' lists. You can set your watch by it. BBC's epic coverage on TV, list making on the couch. You'll be buying schoolbooks next, laying in wool. As new music is my stock in trade I will of course argue that it's been a 'great year for music' so far. And it has, honestly, so let's do this. Stereolab, Instant Holograms on Metal Film The Anglo-French, avant-pop musings of Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier were the first things I thought of when the UK voted for Brexit. 'Oh, please don't let their pop/krautrock/surrealist/philosophical musings be an early casualty of UKIP' I cried. I needn't have worried. Classic music has survived short-sighted foolishness before, and it will again. I think part of the reason Stereolab albums age so well is that they always sound as if they are from the future. Bren Berry, In Hope our Stars Align A debut solo album at 61 is the kind of uplifting story we need in these times. To not only find your voice as a singer but to then write 12 songs of such charm, grace and style is truly inspirational. A celebration of life, love, family, Dublin and music itself. The first nervous, tentative steps have been made into the world of performance and you will be able to see Bren at the All Together Now festival over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. Bon Iver, Sable Fable The first Bon Iver album that has genuinely blown me away and the first 'happy' Bon Iver album too, coincidence? I think not! As per Stereolab, Justin Vernon has an incredibly distinctive voice and sound, and it lends itself beautifully to uplifting music. The standout is probably Everything is Peaceful, Love, but If Only I Could Wait, a duet with Danielle Haim is stunning too. The entire sound of the album reminds me of the theme to Hill Street Blues, but I find that a very, very good thing. 'I want to feel good and feel happy,' he has said in interviews, to which I can only say you and me both, Vernon, you and me both. Waterboys, Life, Death and Dennis Hopper What a blast, what an idea. An entire album inspired by the life and wild times of Denis Hopper, friend of James Dean, Elvis, and Andy Warhol, a star of era defining films, one of which Easy Rider (1968) made him the ultimate symbol of disillusionment with the American Dream. Around this tale, his foibles, his dreams and the wild times he lived in Mike Scott weaves a magic web of sixties innocence and optimism, melancholy and regret. Wonderful stuff, altogether. Elton John / Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels You can make a strong case that this is more a Brandi album than an Elton one but even that is just a tribute to his lack of ego in dealing with other people's talents and the time he spent as a session musician leaning to step aside and let others bloom. That said when Elton is Elton (The Rose of Laura Nyro, Never Too Late) it is classic Elton, and when Brandi shines – Swing for the Fences, The River Man - you can see why Elton is such a fan. Beautiful, beautiful album. Deep Sea Diver, Billboard Heart This Seattle band has been making music since 2009 but this is their first album for Sub Pop Records, a deal concluded after their last breakout album which saw them also tour with Pearl Jam. Singer Jessica Dobson is a gifted guitarist and has toured as such with The Shins and Beck. In interviews she has talked about this being a difficult album to make and how at one point she had to trust her gut and ditch the early recordings. Bloody good move. She has a great voice and the choruses are god like. If you like Alvvays or early Radiohead this is one for you. Surprised they aren't bigger here yet. And still to come: CMAT, the Seven Albums of Bruce, Lana del Rey, Barbra's Duets, Margo Price, Big Thief, Divine Comedy, The Lemonheads, Suede, Josh Ritter, Wet Leg, St. Etienne, Paul Weller and more. Some names, and this is the best bit, that we haven't even heard of yet!
Scotsman
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Album reviews: Stereolab Dr Robert & Matt Deighton
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Stereolab: Instant Holograms on Metal Film (Duophonic UHF Disks/Warp) ★★★★ Dr Robert & Matt Deighton: The Instant Garden (Last Night From Glasgow) ★★★★ Scott C Park: Crossing the Line (self-released) ★★★★ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Beloved analogue synth stylists Stereolab return with their first new album in 15 years and will spend most of the second half of 2025 touring this excellent comeback record. Instant Holograms on Metal Film is a mouthful of a title for an album that is easy to digest, from the glorious aqueous pop of Aerial Troubles, with its devotional intertwining voices, to the pastoral electronica of Immortal Hands, one of a number of tracks which unfolds over more than five minutes and several movements. They offer song titles to conjure with, too. Electrified Teenybop! is as fun as its name, all hectic bubblegum arpeggios with some disco kicks, while Esemplastic Creeping Eruption is not some death metal odyssey but a blithe pop number with shades of sci-fi shudder. Stereolab | Contributed Blow Monkeys frontman Dr Robert teams up with Matt Deighton of Nineties acid jazzers Mother Earth for a balmy album of gentle acoustics, beguiling pastoral pop and soothing harmonising vocals. Deighton calls their hippyish collaboration 'horticounterculture'. The Instant Garden is infused with the influence of Syd Barrett, Crosby Stills & Nash and George Harrison, while opening Bowiesque ballad Giving Up the Ghost also gives off distinct early Eighties Glasgow vibes. Gardening in the Mediterranean Way, meanwhile, is not a stray title from the Sparks album but a jumping off point for some mellow melancholia. Dr Robert & Matt Deighton | Contributed Hebridean singer/songwriter Scott C Park exhibits strong pop chops on his debut album, emerging as a Scottish Bright Eyes on the spindly, plaintive folk pop of Crossing the Line's title track. Several tracks are dappled with cosmic Americana brushstrokes while Park exudes Paolo Nutini-style Caledonia soul vibes on Slide. It's an easy listen on some difficult subject matter, from the bitter country waltz of Blind Eye to Come Back to Me Dead, a sad and angry confessional on loss of faith. CLASSICAL Schubert: Music for Violin and Piano (Delphian) ★★★★ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Did Schubert write Summertime? Of course not, Gershwin did. But there's a lovely touch at the end of this Schubert duo album by violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux and pianist Joseph Havlat where the two composers shake hands. This is Sommer-Abschied, a 'reimagining' by Halvat in the spirit of a Schubert Lied in which the harmonic framework of the Gershwin gives vent to a lyrical Schubertian fantasy by the violinist. It's a magical end – dissipating into the ether – to an already imaginative programme that intersperses major Schubert works with genuine transcriptions of his songs. The former range from a sparkling Rondo in B Minor to the eccentric Fantasy in C, via the adventurous Sonata in A, showcasing the expressive versatility and supple rapport between Saluste-Bridoux and Havlet. The incidental songs invoke rare intimacy, the arrangement of Sei Mir Gegrüsst – which the Fantasy uses for a variation set – an especial delight. Ken Walton JAZZ Janette Mason: ReWired (JM Music) ★★★★
