This week, London Calling: new releases of Celtic rock, indie pop from The Tubs, Afro-Latin jazz from Ezra Collective, and more from across the pond.
Shygirl Gets Lucky
Shygirl is the stage name of Blane Muise, a London-based singer, DJ, and rapper. She’ll be releasing her next album, Swallow!, on November 6, but this week we got the single called “Lucky (Hymn).” It’s a big, cinematic slice of indie pop set over an arrangement that reflects Shygirl’s background in electronica. The song has a definite romantic storyline, which makes the single-take video all the more disquieting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyLe3EyJutk
Are The Tubs “A Rip-Off Band”? Don’t Ask Them
The Tubs are a Welsh indie rock band based in London, whose approach to jangly guitar rock is distinguished by touches of Celtic fiddle and occasional keys that sound almost like bagpipes. Their new album, Hard Life, is full of songs that may remind you of lots of bands that have come before – The Replacements, The Pogues, the list is actually quite long – but there is a refreshing lack of artifice in the loosely-layered backing vocals, and frontman Owen Williams seems distinctly unimpressed with the band’s rapid ascent: in this song, “Heaven Or London,” he actually wonders if he’s the “singer of a rip-off band.” Meanwhile, the song’s guitars speed along like an over-caffeinated Interpol, and the ending recalls the swirls and skirls of the pipes. Rarely have songs about doubt and regret sounded like this much fun.
https://thetubs.bandcamp.com/album/hard-life
Ezra Collective Release “Here Because of Hope”
The London band called Ezra Collective came out of that city’s jazz scene with a distinctive blend of Nigerian-style Afrobeat, echoes of hip hop, and occasional detours into Latin music. Winners of the prestigious Mercury Prize, Ezra Collective have just released an LP called Here Because Of Hope. As the title indicates, this is a collection of songs about joy, as both an act of resistance and as an end in itself. Pulsing, pulsating, and imbued with a sense of communal music-making despite a relative lack of guests, the album moves through a number of moods, and in “El Corazon,” or “the heart,” the band hits the dance floor with sounds that echo the Cuban dance bands of the previous century.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JGO7rWm7ls&list=RD6JGO7rWm7ls&start_radio=1
Ibibio Sound Machine Return With Afro-Electronic Dance Music
The Nigerian-London connection reflected in Ezra Collective’s music is also at the heart of Ibibio Sound Machine, the dance band led by British-Nigerian singer Eno Williams. Although there are plenty of horns here too, Ibibio’s sound is much more rooted in electronic dance music. Their new album is Chopping Mountain, and is largely sung in English; the exception is this track, “Kukuru,” sung in Igbo. The rhythm section is built around the sounds of the balafon, the marimba-like instrument found in West Africa, as well as an electronic drone and small patterns of electric guitar. But as usual with this band, your focus will probably be on Williams’ vocals – especially when she sings the title word, soaring effortlessly over the rest of the band.
Meshell Ndegeocello Enlists Cat Power For New Duet
On October 2, singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Meshell Ndegeocello will release Synonym, an album of duets that will feature her teaming up with people like Brandi Carlile, Cynthia Erivo, and Chaka Khan on a series of covers. Those are all Americans, so you may be thinking, finally, we get away from Britain. Not so fast: this week, Ndegeocello put out a version of The Human League’s early 80s chart-topper “Don’t You Want Me,” featuring Cat Power in the role of the ingenue in the song’s A Star Is Born-inspired story. The original is a classic piece of British synthpop, but Ndegeocello reimagines it as a gently funky, Caribbean-tinged ballad, with the song’s memorable synth melody turned into a syncopated bass line. If you didn’t know what you were getting into, you almost certainly wouldn’t recognize the song – until she begins singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCqbBfI-l1I&list=RDmCqbBfI-l1I&start_radio=1