FEATURE:
One for the Record Collection!
IN THIS PHOTO: Jenny Lewis
Essential June Releases
_________
FLIPPING ahead to June…
IN THIS PHOTO: Foo Fighters (including their late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, far left)/PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch
and I can see a lot of terrific albums approaching on the horizon. I wanted to bring them up so that people can pre-order and look forward. There are a fair few to get through, so I shall start with great albums due on 2nd June. This week and the next (9th June) are especially packed. Starting with 2nd June, and there are a few albums that you will want to pre-order. The first is from Baxter Dury, in the form of I Thought I Was Better Than You. A masterful and poetic lyricist with a truly distinct voice, go and get your copy of this gem:
“Musician, writer and Renaissance man Baxter Dury returns with a brand new album, I Thought I Was Better Than You, his seventh studio album and is produced by Paul White, celebrated for his work in Golden Rules and with the likes of Charlie XCX and Danny Brown. Hotly-tipped new singer-songwriters Eska and JGrrey feature in addition to Baxter’s regular vocalist Madeline Hart.
I Thought I Was Better Than You marks a new era for Baxter, and with this new era comes a new character. “Faux- confrontational,” Baxter calls him. Here, not only is he recounting his childhood, but he’s also reckoning with it. Instead of just swinging at his past blindfolded with a baseball bat, he talks openly about the toxic cocktail of being born into unfortunately fortunate circumstances, with a persuasive surname but no structure or sense of responsibility with which reap the rewards of it. “Really, it’s about being trapped in an awkward place between something you’re actually quite good at, and somebody else’s success.” That ‘somebody else’ being his dad, Ian Dury. As one of the album centrepieces – Shadow – agonisingly puts it: “But no one will get over that you’re someone’s son/Even though you want to be like Frank Ocean/But you don’t sound like him, you sound just like Ian.”
The record also serves as a kind of extension to Baxter’s 2021 book, Chaise Lounge, in which he winningly recounted the story of his unique childhood. Not only does he expand the language of the book, using words to paint disconnected images rather than to string sentences (a kind of cockney hieroglyphics), but he often revisits moments within the book. Characters like ‘Tricksy’ re-appear in ‘Aylesbury Boy’ and ‘Pale White Nissan’, for example, but mainly it’s the abstracted tales of a young Baxter, troubled and in trouble, a victim of circumstance, straddling between a world of ‘Fuck you Leon…/ You stole the sunglasses and I got busted’ and a desire for ‘Porridge in the morning and be normal’”.
Another treat out on 2nd June is from Bully. The now-solo project of guitarist and singer Alicia Bognanno, this Nashville-born artist is someone everyone should look out for. Lucky for You is an album that you will want to pre-order. If you need some more information about an album I feel will sit alongside the very best of 2023, then Rough Trade have it covered:
“Lucky For You is Bully’s most close-to-the-bone album yet. It’s an album that’s searing and unmistakably marked by its creator’s experiences, while still retaining the massive sound that Alicia Bognanno has become known for over the last decade. Her fourth album draws from personal pain and the universal struggle that is existing, learning, and moving on - and it’s all soundtracked by Bognanno’s rock-solid melodic sensibilities and a widescreen sound that’s impossible to pin down when it comes to the textures explored. These ten songs are simply the most irresistible Bognanno’s put to tape yet, making Lucky For You her greatest triumph to date in a career already packed with them.
Work on Lucky For You began last year, when Bognanno brought some in-progress demos to producer J.T. Daly in his Nashville studio to see if they could strike creative kismet. “Authenticity is always on my mind, without even knowing it,” she explains while discussing their recording process together. “It was great with J.T., because I could tell he was a genuine fan who wanted to emphasize what’s actually good about my writing instead of changing it. I could tell how much he cared about the project, and it meant alot to me.” The album came together over the course of seven months, the longest gestation process for a Bully record to date, but that time allowed inspiration to emerge in new ways.
The result is a kaleidoscopic rock record spanning punk’s grit, the crunchy bliss of shoegaze, explosive Britpop, and the type of classic anthems Bully has been known for. Lucky For You’s thematic focus zooms in on grief and loss: The record is largely inspired by Bognanno’s dog and best friend Mezzi passing away, at a time when her life already felt as if in metamorphosis. The oceanic first single “Days Move Slow” was written shortly after Mezzi’s passing, reflecting the persistence of Bognanno’s incisive wit in the face of adversity. “There was nothing I could do except sit down and write it, and it felt so good.” And then there’s the passionate opening track “All I Do,” which kicks in the door with huge riffs atop her lyrical reflections on three years of sobriety. “Once I stopped drinking, I felt like I was still haunted by mistakes and things that had happened when I was drinking, and it’s still taking me a long time to forget about that while existing in this house. How do I shed the skin from a path I’ve moved on from?”
In that vein, Lucky For You is a document of perseverance in the face of the big and the small stuff. “I’m so overly emotional and sensitive, it’s a blessing and a curse” she says with a laugh, but there’s no downside to her expressions of vulnerability on this record; it’s the latest bit of evidence that nothing can hold Bognanno back”.
One of the most anticipated and emotional albums of the year is coming from Foo Fighters. Out on 2nd June, But Here We Are’s title says it all. Recovering and moving on following the death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins last year, there is going to be a mix of catharsis ands remembrance. Powerful, revealing and open, this is an album that you will want to pre-order if you can. The eleventh album from Foo Fighters is going to be their most important to date:
“But Here We Are is the new album from Foo Fighters, and marks the band's return after a year of staggering losses, personal introspection and bittersweet remembrances. A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters have endured recently, But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family. Courageous, damaged and unflinchingly authentic, the album opens with “Rescued,” the first of 10 songs that run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.
But Here We Are is in nearly equal measure the 11th Foo Fighters album and the first chapter of the band’s new life. Sonically channeling the naiveté of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut, informed by decades of maturity and depth, But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life”.
Go and pre-order Body Type’s upcoming album, Expired Candy. The Australian band are among my favourites, so this is going to be one that you will not want to miss out on. Some might not have heard the band, but I would urge you to pre-order their album and dive in:
“Your new favourite Australian underground gems, Body Type are back with their hotly anticipated second album Expired Candy via Poison City Records. Body Type assert there's no time like the present and reveal Expired Candy is filled with hope, love, and danger, dancing with delicious uncertainty. In pursuit of joy they dreamed up songs about mothers, sisters, dogs, nans; family tantrums, forward motion, falling in love, platonic or romantic, with someone or self.
Following recent national tours supporting Fontaines D.C and the Pixies, the first peek of Expired Candy arrived with ‘Miss The World’. Born out of their time during COVID, 'Miss the World' is a pummelling lament, concerned with citizens’ unquestioning compliance and the ascent of tyrants, told through pre-teen anarchists, bichon frises, and a drum beat based on a Gwen Stefani song. Acting less as a commentary on the pandemic but rather the realisations, both personal and collective that occurred during that time. ‘Miss The World’ is the first taste of new music from the band since the release of their independently released, Australian Music Prize-nominated debut album Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising. Featuring tracks like 'Buoyancy' ‘The Charm’ and 'Sex and Rage', the 11-track record is a sharp, and invigorating listen packed with gentle contemplation and righteous fury”.
There are a few more I want to come to before getting to 9th June. The first of the remaining three I will spotlight fully is from Lanterns on the Lake. Versions of Us is out on 2nd June. It is the fifth album from the Mercury-nominated band. You will definitely want to pre-order it:
“Tyneside’s Lanterns on the Lake release their much-anticipated album, Versions of Us. This self-produced fifth studio album follows 2020’s Mercury nominated Spook the Herd. Its nine songs are existential meditations examining life’s possibilities, facing the hand we’ve been dealt and the question of whether we can change our individual and collective destinies.
Singer and songwriter Hazel Wilde has no doubt that motherhood fundamentally shifted her perspective. “Writing songs requires a certain level of self-indulgence, and songwriters can be prone to dwelling on themselves,” she says. “Motherhood made me aware at having a different stake in the world. I’ve got to believe that there’s a better way and an alternative future to the one we’ve been hurtling towards. I’ve also got to believe that I could be better as a person, too.”
Mixed by the band’s guitarist Paul Gregory, in the bedroom of his home in North Shields, there is a sense of time and place that runs deep throughout this record.
Given some of its themes, a biting irony is found in an entire previous version of the record being discarded. Mental health struggles and personal problems in the band had a big impact on how the initial version took shape. “Despite trying everything we could to make it work we reached the point where we just had to stop” Wilde explains. Drummer Ol Ketteringham parted ways with the band, something Wilde says was “heartbreakingly difficult as we were and still are extremely close”. The band scrapped nearly a year’s worth of work, regressing to song demos with just Wilde performing with a single instrument as they began again with Radiohead’s Philip Selway joining the album sessions on drums. “Philip brought an energy to the songs that reignited our belief in them,” says Wilde. “Within a few weeks we had a whole other version of the album and things felt very different,” Wilde continues. “We had changed the destiny of the record.”
It’s a heartening idea. Despite the difficulties in its genesis, Versions of Us is the most empowering album yet from the band. In exploring whether we can change fate or are doomed to repeat the same mistakes in life, this powerful collection of songs ultimately alights on hope”.
Also well worth investigation is Sophie Ellis-Bextor’ HANA. The legendary artist – who has brought to much joy with her Kitchen Discos - is going to deliver a stunning album. there is not a great deal of information online about the album yet. It is bound to be terrific and full of life, so do make sure you pre-order a copy. Ellis-Bextor is one of our very best artists, and I feel that HANA is going to be among her best releases. She always brings something very special indeed.
“Sophie Ellis-Bextor releases her seventh studio album Hana via Cooking Vinyl.
A pensive and spirited track with a euphoric chorus, ‘Breaking The Circle’ is the first introduction to Sophie’s new album She says; “Breaking The Circle is inspired by those late-night moments you have, where you question everything and feel a buzz of adrenaline about what tomorrow might bring. It’s urgent and dramatic and optimistic… the perfect introduction to the new album”.
The final album that I want to expand upon is The Aces’ I’ve Loved You For So Long. I think The Aces are one of the most underrated bands out there. The American outfit release their latest album on 2nd June, and I would encourage everyone to grab a copy. Go and pre-order an album that is going to be among the most essential of the year:
“Provo Utah's The Aces release their latest studio album I've Loved You For So Long via Red Bull Records. The 11-track album produced by Keith Varon. In the years since The Aces released their Billboard& MRc/Luminate Top 10 charting, and acclaimed second album, Under My Influence, in 2020, the band has been on a journey of self-discovery. Faced with the realities of a global pandemic, sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez (lead vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), Katie Henderson (lead guitar/vocals), and McKenna Petty (bass) used quarantine as a time to reflect, confronting personal mental health issues as well as processing experiences they’d had growing up together in Provo, Utah, as part of the Mormon church. When The Aces returned to the studio, their vision — and the honesty and trust between them — felt stronger than ever. The result of this growth period is I’ve Loved You For So Long, the band’s third studio album - a sparkling indie-rock record that’s by far their most personal and self-assured work to date. Written and executive-produced by the group (along with Keith Varon, the sole producer / collaborator on the project), the album is like time-traveling through their most intimate moments. From tracks that ruminate on mental health and self-sabotage to searing anthems about love, longing, and heartbreak, I’ve Love You For So Long is a record that’ll work its way into your head and heart — and will have you singing along all the way through”.
Let’s move to 9th June, as there are a few that I want to cover off. One of this year’s absolutely best and most anticipated comes out this week. I think that Janelle Monáe’s The Age of Pleasure is one that you will want to pre-order. I was going to embed the video for its second single, Lipstick Love (following Float), here, but it is age restricted by YouTube (I have included the Spotify version). The always remarkable Monáe is preparing her fourth studio album. It is just over five years since Computer Blues came out, so it is nice to have another album on the horizon. Here is a quote about the album:
“As we enter into The Age Of Pleasure, “Lipstick Lover” is our freeassmothafucka anthem inspired by f.a.m. for f.a.m. This is our oasis made with love, rooted in self acceptance, throbbing in self discovery, and signed with cherry red kisses from me to you. ”- Janelle Monáe”.
Before moving onto the next album from 9th June that you need to have in your sights, therfe is some further information and insight about The Age of Pleasure from Wikipedia. I am really looking forward to seeing what comes from a new and exciting Janelle Monáe:
“In an interview with Zane Lowe, Monáe explained that the songs "were written from such an honest space" and she hoped listeners "feel that when they listen to the music", as she feels she has "had an opportunity to evolve and grow and to tap into the things that bring [her] pleasure". Monáe worked on the songs and played them at parties, including her Met Gala after-party, to see how her friends would respond to the music, and told Lowe that her thought process was, "If the songs can't work at the party, they're not going on the album". She explained that she wanted the album to be "so specific to this Pan-African crowd who are my friends. I want it to be a love letter to the diaspora. And if they fuck with it, it's good. I'm great”.
The next is Christine and the Queens’ PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE. This is one that you will definitely want to pre-order. Rough Trade provide us with details of a jewel that you need to add to your collection. I am definitely going to add this to my collection:
“PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE is written, performed and produced by Christine and the Queens, with co-production by Mike Dean (Lana Del Rey, Beyonce) and guest appearances from 070 Shake and Madonna. Chris explains: “This new record is the second part of an operatic gesture that also encompassed 2022’s Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles. Taking inspiration from the glorious dramaturgy of Tony Kushner’s iconic play, Angels in America, Redcar felt colourful and absurd like Prior sent to his insane dream-space. The follow-up PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE is a key towards heart-opening transformation, a prayer towards the self - the one that breathes through all the loves it is made of. Prior’s real agony in 'Angels in America' is a deep, painful becoming, a shedding of all waters and memories, that then allows angels to immerse deep too, and offer back profound, narrative-altering love - a rest in true love”.
There are some other great albums out on 9th June you can check out, but the next one I want to spotlight is Dream Wife’s Social Lubrication. In a busy month for great music, the new release from the London trio is one to get excited about. Go and pre-order an album that is sure to deliver gold:
“The return of Dream Wife is a moment worth savouring, with the band in electrifying form with an entirely self-written and self-produced third album. The only outside influence being the heavyweight mixing duo of Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Depeche Mode) and Caesar Edmunds (Wet Leg, Beach House). The incendiary and riotous record finds the trio once again tackling big subjects in their trademark unapologetic manner where, with the band being adept at merging the political with the playful, vital statements are hidden within hot and heavy anthems about making out, having fun and staying curious.
Social Lubrication, in the bands words, is “Hyper lusty rock and roll with a political punch, exploring the alchemy of attraction, the lust for life, embracing community and calling out the patriarchy. With a heathy dose of playfulness and fun thrown in”.
There are four more due on 9th June that I want to shout out. Jayda G’s Guy is released through Nina Tune. Go and pre-order this album. There is so much to admire about Jayda G as an artist and human being. She is another artist that everyone should have in their sights. Such a wonderous and spellbinding talent, this will all come to the fore through Guy:
“Jayda G, the Grammy-nominated writer, producer, DJ, environmental toxicologist, campaigner and broadcaster, returns with her new full length album Guy. Co-produced with Jack Peñate (who has previously worked with the likes of Sault, David Byrne and Adele), with contributions from Lisa-Kaindé Diaz (of Ibeyi), Ed Thomas (Stormzy, Nia Archives, Jorja Smith) and more.
Guy brings Jayda’s own voice and words more prominently into focus than ever before, across 13 tracks that draw on her House, Disco, RnB and Soul roots while emphasizing her pop songwriting sensibilities, interspersed with archival recordings of her late father, the eponymous William Richard Guy”.
An album you will definitely need to check out is Jenny Lewis’ Joy'All. Boasting a magnificent cover, go and pre-order your copy of an album that has an interesting backstory. Lewis is another one of these artists that everyone needs to know about and follow. Her upcoming release is set to be among her very best. Here are some more details:
“Joy’All, the fifth solo album from Jenny Lewis and follow up to 2019’s critically acclaimed On The Line (Warner Records) finds the singer-songwriter embarking on a new era in a new town—and on a new label, as she joins the iconic roster of Blue Note / Capitol Records.
“I started writing some of these songs on the road, pre-pandemic... and then put them aside as the world shut down, and then from my home in Nashville in early 2021, I joined a week-long virtual songwriting workshop with a handful of amazing artists, hosted by Beck. The challenge was to write one song every day for seven days, with guidelines from Beck. The guidelines would be prompts like ‘write a song with 1-4-5 chord progression,’ ‘write a song with only cliches,’ or ‘write in free form style.’ The first song I submitted to the group was ‘Puppy and a Truck.’” As the days progressed, the assignments kept coming in and Jenny ended up writing a good portion of Joy’All.
While Joy’All pulls from a bounty of sonic inspiration–from soul to 90’s R&B, as well as country and classic singer-songwriter records the album’s rich and intimate, live sound is the hallmark of eight-time Grammy winning producer Dave Cobb (John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), whom Jenny met by chance while visiting Lucius at the Historic RCA Studio A in Nashville. A natural kinship developed between the two, and with her arsenal of songs that she had demoed on her iPhone ready to roll, Jenny texted Dave and asked him to produce her new album.
Joy’All is a beacon of enlightenment that could only come from embracing life, taking the good with the bad; it’s a ten-song overture that invites the listener to find their own path to joy”.
The penultimate album due on 9th June is Jonny Greenwood & Dudu Tassa’s Jarak Qaribak. This is another album where there is not a great deal of background information or any real insight, but I confident about recommending it. It is going to be an engrossing and beautiful album that you will want to pre-order. You will know Jonny Greenwood through Radiohead, but many might not know about Dudu Tassa. Their partnership is a magnificent one. Greenwood is an exceptional and innovative composer. Tassa is a brilliant producer that deserves a lot of investigation and fondness:
“Celebrated singer, musician and producer Dudu Tassa teams up with award-winning composer and guitarist Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile) for a new album Jarak Qaribak (Arabic for ‘Your Friend Is Your Neighbour’), bringing together vocalists and musicians from throughout the Middle East for a very special album of cross-border collaborations”.
With another four or five albums I need to highlight that arrive in June, I will get there after This Is the Kit’s Careful of Your Keepers. One that you need to pre-order, this is going to be another one of the must-hears of the year. I love This Is the Kit, and I am really looking forwarding to discovering what Careful of Your Keepers has to offer up:
“This Is The Kit, the group led by Paris-based bandleader Kate Stables, today announced the band’s new album Careful of Your Keepers –produced by Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals)–will be released on June 9th, 2023, via Rough Trade Records. The album’s propulsive yet introspective lead single “Inside Outside” finds Stables as magnetic as ever, joined once again by her stalwart band of Rozi Plain(bass/vocals), Neil Smith (guitar), and Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums), and accented by a cascading horn quartet arrangement by Jesse Vernon.
Careful Of Your Keepers is daring and soft, cutting and warm–a wild feat of complexity and combined dispositions. There’s a shared language of the band’s family experience that is as audible as ever in these recordings, which boast beautiful instrumental performances that still leave the nuanced space required for Stables’ vocals to live at the forefront. “The album was nearly called Goodbye Bite. And in a way it still is,” says Stables. “I went for Careful of Your Keepers in the end. It’s one of my favourite songs on the album, a song that for me holds the general feeling of the album as a whole. The fragility of things. Of situations. Of relationships. Of humans. What we do to look after each other and ourselves. The passing of time and what that does to us, and how we live our lives going forward.”
Guiding the ship through changing seas is producer Rhys. Stables described his role as being a “tonesetter,” watchful and attentive to the band dynamics while making sure to always follow a hunch for where a new sound could find its place in the recording. “I’ve always loved the idea of working with him somehow, and when this album started getting planned, I realized that maybe this was my chance to reach out and see if he was up for working together,” Stables explains. “And he was! As if that wasn’t enough, he was also up for doing a bit of singing on the record, which totally blew my mind and made my year. His way with harmony and melody and the tone and quality of his voice is a totally killer combo.”
“They are so ridiculously talented–and every member is a great producer in their own right–so it was just a matter of trying to capture the magic they make when playing live together,” Rhys says of the recording process. “Their playing is by default so thoughtful and complimentary in terms of respect to each other’s parts and to the integrity of the songs themselves that it creates a beautiful foundation of often cosmic interplay that’s always in aid of Kate’s voice and vision as a songwriter”.
There are two albums from 16th June that I want to mention. The first is Django Django’s Off Planet. A remarkable band, this is going to be an expansive album that you will want to pre-order. The twenty-one-track release is shaping up to be one that you will not want to miss out on. Rough Trade provide a little bit of background when it comes to Django Django’s forthcoming album:
“Entitled Off Planet, the 5th studio album from Django Django is a 21 track album. Originally destined to be four experimental EPs but quickly transformed into an album proper when they realised the potential of the recording session, Off Planet features some of the most exciting and dynamic music Django Django have ever produced. Harking back to their more experimental and electronic roots, the album also features exciting guest appearances from Self Esteem, Jack Penate, Toya Delazy and others”.
The second 16th June-due album for you is Maisie Peters’ The Good Witch. One of our most impressive rising artists, Peter is someone who will have a very long career ahead. Set to be a truly terrific and fascinating album, make sure that you pre-order your copy. I wonder whether The Good Witch will also come out on cassette:
“After a year of scheming and crafting, building and destroying, Maisie Peters releases her brand new album The Good Witch, arriving via Gingerbread Man Records / Asylum. Recently heralded by vulnerable lead single, ‘Body Better’, Maisie’s second studio album The Good Witch, is the official follow-up to her No. 2 BRIT Breakthrough certified debut, ‘You Signed Up For This’, and in many ways the older, wise and scorned counterpart.
Exhibiting a newfound confidence, sharper storytelling and greater artistic ambition, Maisie created The Good Witch across London, Suffolk, Stockholm, Bergen and LA, alongside the likes of, Oscar Görres (Taylor Swift, Troye Sivan), Two Inch Punch (Sam Smith, Jessie Ware), Matias Tellez (girl in red), Brad Ellis (Jorja Smith, Little Mix), Joe Rubel (Ed Sheeran, Tom Grennan) and Elvira Anderfjärd (Tove Lo, Katy Perry)”.
Actually, before going on, one of the year’s biggest comes out on 16th June. Queens of the Stone Age’s In Times New Roman… is their eighth. They have shared the lead single, Emotion Sickness, and it seems like this is going to be among their best work. Make sure you pre-order this album:
“Queens of the Stone Age release their long-awaited 8th studio album, In Times New Roman... on Matador.
In Times New Roman... is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.
Feeling a bit out of place, and having difficulty finding music they could relate to, the members of QOTSA did as they are wont to do: In Times New Roman… is the sound of a band creating the music its own members want to hear, while giving the rest of us a sonic forum in which to congregate. “The world’s gonna end in a month or two," sings Homme, begging the question: What do you want to do to with the time you’ve got left? Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Dean Fertita, Michael Shuman and Jon Theodore may not be able to save us, but they’re giving us a place to ride it out.
In Times New Roman… was recorded and mixed at Homme’s own Pink Duck (RIP), with additional recording at Shangri-La. The album was produced by Queens of the Stone Age and mixed by Mark Rankin. Artwork and double LP gatefold packaging designed by long time collaborator Boneface”.
Moving ahead, and I think I will end with a couple of albums from 20th June. I am writing this on 3rd May so, between now and June, other albums might be announced. Something could come out of the blue, so keep your eyes peeled! I want to suggest people pre-order. The Japanese House’s In the End It Always Does. Here is what you need to know:
“The Japanese House releases her second studio album In the End It Always Does. Featuring recent single ‘Boyhood’, much of the album lives in the contradictory: beginnings and endings, obsession and mundanity, falling in love and falling apart. Another standout is ‘Sad to Breathe’, an upbeat sounding heartbreaker co-produced by TJH’s Amber Bain with The 1975’s George Daniel and Chloe Kraemer accompanied by a beautiful live alternate version of the track directed by Sheila Johansson which sees Amber and her extended live band strip the track back to its bare bones. “I wrote Sad To Breathe some time ago, it’s one of the oldest songs on the record.” tells Amber. “It was very different back then; it’s gone from being solely electronic to what it is now, mostly live/ acoustic instrumentation. It’s about that desperate feeling when someone leaves you and the disbelief that they could. It’s funny you could have those kind of insane dramatic thoughts, that feel so real at the time, but can by some miracle look back in fondness to your entire life being ruined. It all circles back around.” Four years after her widely celebrated debut Good at Falling, this album sees Bain lean even further into the pop realm–with help from Matty Healy and George Daniel from The 1975, Katie Gavin from Muna and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon among others. Bain credits Gavin especially with injecting her with creative energy and inspiration throughout. The album also sees Bain work alongside producer and engineer Chloe Kraemer (Rex Orange County, Lava La Rue, Glass Animals), an experience she describes as “life changing” due to the unspoken, shared understanding between marginalised genders in a creative space. “I’d never worked with a woman or queer person [in that way] before,” Bain says. “It’s nice to have someone who completely understands your standpoint and shared experience. Also, I say ‘she’ in every song... so it’s important that someone understands that”.
I am going to end with is Olivia Dean and Messy. Rough Trade says it is out on 23rd June, but Dean’s official website says 30th. In any case, you will want to pre-order this album, as Olivia Dean is an amazing artist. Someone who is also going to enjoy many more years in the industry:
“Fast rising UK soul-pop star Olivia Dean releases her long-awaited debut album Messy. Featuring the singles ‘Danger’ and ‘UFO’, Messy cements Dean as one of the most original and versatile voices in UK pop. Crafting classic yet conversational hooks with genre-fluid tinges, she’s honed a way of exploring universal themes of love, loss and everything in between with razor-sharp but open-hearted storytelling. Of her debut album, Olivia shares, “Going into making the record, I'd just done this ‘Growth’ project. And for ages, I was like, well, my debut album needs to be what I've grown into, I need to have the answer. And that really confused me for a while. Then I realised, I'm always going to be growing. So this doesn't have to be a destination, it's just where I’m at now”.
There is bound to be another few albums announced for June before the month arrives, but those above I would recommend to everyone. From Sophie Ellis-Bextor to Foo Fighters, right the way along to The Japanese House, there is an array of interesting album that should suit any taste. If you are looking for suggestions for which June albums are worth saving up for, then I hope that the above…
HAS been of some assistance.