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PEOPLE & ARTS A31
Tuesday 19 January 2016
Music Review:
Overlooked albums of 2015: Alex Isley, Four Tet, Anderson East
The Associated Press of techno, before shades
The new year has begun are lifted and stream-
and you’re already antici- ing synthesizers color the
pating upcoming albums sound. As layers of textured
from Bruno Mars, Rihanna drones unfold, an other-
and Kanye West. But hold worldly vocal sample from
your horses — here’s a look Indian playback singer
at worthy albums released Lata Mangeshkar enters,
in 2015 you probably over- exalting the track.
looked. “Evening” starts off with
more of a muted rhythm, as
MAT KEARNEY digital flares glow against
“Just Kids” (Republic Re- the dusk-tinged backdrop.
cords) The final ascension takes it
Music journalists around the down to a naked percus-
world know the anguish of sive stomp, as fidelity shifts,
coming up with year-end crumbles and refortifies.
lists: What did you love in It’s one of those cosmic re-
February? What about cords that you can just let
March? There is so much
music being released to- ride or obsess over every
day — and various ways
to consume it — that miss- detail. Four Tet makes elec-
ing or forgetting about an
album or song isn’t so hard tronic music feel organic.
to do.
That’s what happened with — Jake O’Connell
“Just Kids,” the fifth effort
from Oregon-born singer- KENNY WHEELER
songwriter Mat Kearney.
Released in February 2015, “Songs for Quintet” (ECM)
the album is a masterful
and honest adventure that Canadian-born Kenny
offers a mix of pop, alterna-
tive and hip-hop sounds. Wheeler, a mainstay of
Kearney’s voice isn’t heavy
or loud, but it is command- the British jazz scene for
ing, and his lyrics are both
relatable and powerful. 60-plus years, delivers an
The title track is reflective,
while “Heartbeat,” ‘’Billion” impassioned, emotionally
and “One Black Sheep” are
radio-ready anthems. And gripping performance on
the album’s opening track,
“Heartbreak Dreamer,” his last studio recording re-
closes with a moving two-
minute poem that sums up leased just months after his
the album’s greatness.
“Just Kids” is just amazing. This image shows album art from “Delilah,” by Anderson East. “Delilah” is one of those top-notch death at age 84.
— Mesfin Fekadu (twitter. retro albums that transports the listener back to another era with brassy horns, delicate organs
com/MusicMesfin) and funky beats. Grammy-nominated producer Dave Cobb, who knows how to bring out the Though unable to hit the
best in great talent like Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton, signed Anderson East to be the first artist
ALEX ISLEY signed to his record imprint, Low Country Sound. stratospheric high notes of
“Luxury” (Self-released)
Between her songbird vo- (Low Country Sound/Elektra Records via AP) his youth, Wheeler, switch-
cals and famous last name,
more people should be ing from trumpet to the
buzzing about singer Alex
Isley. Daughter of The Isley my hand.,” Isley sings over producer Dave Cobb, who com/KMHall) physically less demand-
Brothers’ Ernie Isley, Alex — the echoing “Grown (Inter- knows how to bring out the
who studied jazz at UCLA — lude).” best in great talent like Ja- FOUR TET ing flugelhorn, plays lyri-
is a serious artist in her own The airy “Loss for Words” son Isbell and Chris Staple- “Morning/Evening” (Text
right, writing and produc- is a melodic trip through ton, signed East as the first Records) cal solos with warmth and
ing her irresistible third set, the clouds, “It’s You” is an artist on his record imprint, In 2015 alone, prolific Lon-
“Luxury.” infectiously upbeat and Low Country Sound. doner Kieran Hebden, tenderness, underlined by
She does soul in her own funky gem, while “Inevi- The Athens, Alabama-na- known as Four Tet, did a
way, opening the album table” melds Isley’s vocals tive brought his songwriter mix with Jamie xx, dee- a pervading sense of mel-
with lush orchestral strings into a delicious harmony. lyrics, a gospel upbringing jayed with Skrillex and deft-
that set the tone for a col- From intro to outro, “Luxury” and a raspy wail to Cobb, ly touched up Eric Prydz’ ancholy. He’s supported by
lection of euphoric, spacey is as rich in sound and sub- who paired him up with “Opus.”
tracks that contrast and stance as the title implies. country and Southern blues But nothing came close a quartet of sympathetic
complement the singer’s — Melanie J. Sims (twitter. instrumentation. to his stunning two-track
warm vocals. “Nothing like com/MelanieJoySims) The album’s standout track “Morning/Evening” LP. Re- British colleagues, most
freedom, in the palm of is “Satisfy Me,” a Wilson leased through his Text Re-
ANDERSON EAST Pickett-inspired groove that cords imprint on Bandcamp notably tenor saxophonist
“Delilah” (Low Country burns up the record player (on a whim on summer sol-
Sound/Elektra Records) when he howls that he’s stice), the two 20-minute Stan Sulzmann and guitarist
2015 was a great year for “got a Ph.D. in T-L-C.” He sides are influenced by ra-
soul revivalists with break- growls out a great version gas used in Indian classical John Parricelli.
out albums from young mu- of “Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em and music.
sicians revitalizing the clas- Forget ‘Em,” a lost George The production was in- This album of mostly new
sic sounds that originated Jackson tune that he and spired by a collection of
from Memphis, Detroit and Cobb dug out of the ar- Hindu devotional and film tunes also showcases
Muscle Shoals, Alabama. chives at FAME studio. music inherited when Heb-
Anderson East’s “Delilah” But he really gets creative den was younger, that he Wheeler’s strong suit as an
is one of those top-notch when he slows down and dug into when his Indian
retro albums that transport minimizes the instruments grandmother passed away innovative composer able
the listener back to an- on “What a Woman Wants a few years ago.
other era with brassy horns, to Hear,” invoking the “Morning” takes shape in to combine compelling
delicate organs and funky sweet and tender. the form of a taut, minimal
beats. Grammy-nominated — Kristin M. Hall (twitter. drum pattern, in the realm melodies with unorthodox
structures.
His stylistic diversity is re-
flected in such tunes as
“Sly Eyes,” on which drum-
mer Martin France plays a
military-style snare drum
tattoo under a tango-like
melody; the meditative
“Pretty Liddle Waltz,” with
Wheeler and Sulzmann
engaging in some lovely
call-and-response pat-
terns; and the unstructured
“1076,” recalling Wheeler’s
past associations with free
jazz ensembles.q
