The Fat Angel Sings

One of Mali’s most cherished and acclaimed bands, Songhoy Blues have today announced the release of their fourth album, “Héritage“. Released on Friday 17th January 2025, the 11-track album sees them reaching into the past to bring forward something more traditional, contemplative, soulful and unquestionably the band’s most transcendent release to date. It features some of Mali’s most renowned musicians & vocalists, including Afel Bocoum, Rokia Koné, Neba Solo, Madou Diabaté and more.

Talking about ‘Issa’, the first track to be taken from the album, Songhoy Blues shares:

“ISSA” means the river in the Songhoy language, to which we pay a vibrant tribute. This is why we are appealing for the river to be kept clean, for it to be known that it plays an important role in the lives of the people in the areas of fishing, agriculture and livestock farming. It is also used by living beings who also have the right to life, so let us avoid throwing toxic waste into the river because it covers a world for which we are the spokespeople. Water is the source of life for all species, so let’s keep our rivers clean. We are so thankful for the 2 rivers that flow through our country.

Thanks to you, Issa, for making many things in life possible.

“Héritage“, sees one of Mali’s most lauded groups move into a more acoustic & creative re-imagining of the “desert blues” style that has brought them global acclaim; it represents a marked contrast to the heavier sound of their prior album, and deeper exploration of their musical roots.

Charismatic, articulate and creative, the band burst onto the scene in 2013 with a powerful style and stage manner once described as “Timbuktu Punk”. Their music deals with issues of life and love in Mali, typically through the filter of five-note scales, rock rhythms, gritty vocals, and glittering guitar. While these elements remain present in their new album “Héritage“, they share the stage with more prominent & intimate grooves, sounds, instrumentation & vocal stylings from different ethnic traditions from around the country. 

The Songhoy are an ethnicity living along the bend of the Niger river in northern Mali (their language is Songhai, hence the two spellings that are often used interchangeably) and Songhoy music is one of the backbones of the “desert blues” sound. With “Héritage“, Songhoy Blues pay tribute to some of the great musicians of the past, whose work continues to inspire them, giving “a big thank you to the ancestors who bequeathed works of art so that future generations could orient themselves’. 

The experience of being in Bamako, an intensely musical city, with a melting pot of music, has led Songhoy Blues to rethink their own understanding of the concept of tradition. It does not come from one single source. “The mixing up of cultures didn’t begin today” comments lead guitarist Garba Touré. Migration and forced displacement also bring new perspectives to the notion of heritage in their music.

“Héritage” was recorded in the Remote Records Studio and Studio Moffou in Bamako, with co-producer Paul Chandler, and draws on the remarkable wealth of musical talent in the city. The album presents new compositions and reworkings of old classics. It is infused with the ethereal sounds of various traditional instruments, all in the hands of great Malian masters: kora (harp), soku (one-string fiddle), kamalengoni (8 string youth harp), flute, Senufo xylophone, and calabash percussion, plus guest vocalists. 

Floating in and out are traces of takamba, the wondrous dance of the Tuareg; plus wassoulou music, Mande griot music, Senufo dance and more. Unexpectedly, a steel guitar wanders in, sounding eerily like the voice of the desert. All these tone colours are brilliantly woven into a rich tapestry which is both familiar and unexpected. All their songs have some element of social critique.  “We are artists, we observe our society and we comment on it, giving advice and critiquing where necessary. This is our role.” says the guitarist Touré.

Nadia Reid returns with a new track, “Changed Unchained“, her first new music for four years and first for new label Chrysalis Records. Along with the track, Reid has announced details of a March 2025 headline tour of the UK and EU.

Joan Shelley returns with the “Mood Ring” EP is released by No Quarter on October 4th Shelley says the title track was inspired by: “the idea that heat and time are interlinked. That they tug and warp each other in space. I had read about block universe theory and it bothered me—if it were true, how do we really change anything? The song wove its own little message in response: this sense that all of us, our web of connections and the friction of our relationships, are the fuel that propels us through time… and that inevitably we are consumed by it. But what a spectacular thing to get a chance to ignite this vast, incomprehensible space with our lives. To have gotten an invitation to be here at all.” 

releases October 4th, 2024

James Elkington – percussion, keys, bass, vocal harmony
Nathan Salsburg – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Julia Purcell – harmonium
Lou Krippenstapel – violin
Jim Marlowe – Moog
Joan Shelley – acoustic and nylon string guitars, baritone ukulele, kalimba, piano, vocal harmony

Among many highlights, Laura Barton profiles the remarkable redemption story of Christopher Owens, the former frontman with indie-rock classicists Girls, and whose new album “I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair” is one of my favourite records of the year so far. Elsewhere, I’m very happy to have found time to write a feature on psychedelic drone outsiders Spacemen 3, who according to one admirer, were nothing less than “the greatest English band of the late ’80s”. There’s more, of course – Van Morrison, Michael Kiwanuka, Peter Perrett as well as Steve Cropper, Suede, the Lijadu Sisters, Chuck Prophet and a rare meeting of minds between Gruff Rhys and Bill Ryder-Jones.

“No Name” happens to be the most straightforward rock & roll album Jack White has delivered in some time, a set of 13 tough guitar-based tunes with an abundance of swagger and a kick that melds the punky minimalism of the White Stripes with his well-documented obsession with Led Zeppelin. An enthusiastic return to the familiar, though it doesn’t play like a regression so much as an artist embracing their strengths and having a good time doing so.

‘No Name’ is the sixth studio album from Jack White, founding member of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather. True to his DIY roots, this record was recorded at White’s Third Man Studio throughout 2023 and 2024, and released by Third Man Records. Following the surprise limited release on blue vinyl at the start of August, standard CD and vinyl formats are officially released this week.

Jack White has shared a music video for his latest single, “That’s How I’m Feeling,” which is featured on his recent released album “No Name” (despite it being called “No Name,” it has a name, which is “No Name“—heady stuff!). The deceptively simple new track is built around a melodic bass line and guitar parts that dance around its steady undercurrent. “When I’m in my home, I need the strength to be alone,” White sings before the track goes boom and turns into a thrashy blues-rock banger.

White and his band have a number of new pop-ups occurring across the UK to supplement their tour dates in the area. 

Moaning Lisa is composed of Charlie Versegi (singer/guitarist), Hayley Manwaring (singer/bassist) Ellen Chan (lead guitarist) and Hayden Fritzlaff (drummer). Renowned for creating an atmosphere entirely of their own, the band deftly combines a garage rock, grunge fantasy with ‘one massive, cosy,

Moaning Lisa’s sophomore album, ‘fainter’.

releases November 22nd, 2024

Of the track, the band shares, “We wrote ‘Old Tape’ while working on new music at Danny’s studio in LA; we were discussing the loops we get stuck in, the rabbit holes our minds go down, even getting nerdy on epigenetics—the voices in our heads that might not be our own, and ultimately, how to quiet that noise and let it all go. We wanted to make something that was both driving and uplifting and no one does it better than The War on Drugs … so after building a landscape, we called our dear friend, Adam, to see if he’d lend his beautiful vocals and guitar. He graciously and enthusiastically accepted and it really brought the track to life. Produced and mixed by our longtime bandmate Dan Molad.”

“Old Tape” is filled with Lucius’ signature dream-pop sound and enticing harmonies and is the first preview of their forthcoming new studio album—slated for release in 2025. The track’s musical line-up includes Wolfe (vocals), Laessig (vocals, Juno 106), Granduciel (electric guitar, vocals), Molad (drums, rubber bridge guitar, electric guitar, bass, drum programming, moog matriarch, Juno 106, vocals), Peter Lalish (acoustic guitar, electric guitar) and Oliver Hill (piano, prophet 6).

Known for their electric live performances, Lucius will join The National and The War on Drugs on the road this fall, making stops at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium, Philadelphia’s TD Pavilion at the Mann, Toronto’s Budweiser Stage, Chicago’s United Center, Denver’s Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Vancouver’s Rogers Arena and Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl among many others. See below for full tour itinerary.

The release of “Old Tape” adds to a notable series of years for Lucius following the release of 2022’s album, “Second Nature”. Produced by Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb, the record was released to overwhelming acclaim with the Los Angeles Times praising, “dazzling…“Second Nature” mines an ’80s-pop sound with lush synths and sleek disco grooves under the women’s laser-guided vocals,” while Variety declared, “with “Second Nature“…they’re no longer 20 feet or even a couple of yards from stardom, but re-claiming the spotlight for themselves” and Relix proclaimed, “stunning…a 10-song, smart-pop masterpiece.”

Most recently, Lucius celebrated the 10-year-anniversary of their debut album, “Wildewoman“, with the release of “Wildewoman (The New Recordings)“—an expanded version of the record that features new versions of the 12 original tracks, including collaborations with friends Carlile, Marcus Mumford and Devon Gilfillian. In addition to their work as Lucius, Wolfe and Laessig are among the most sought-after vocalists in popular music. The pair are members of Joni Mitchell’s famed “Joni Jam” and have graced songs by dozens of contemporary and legendary artists alike including Carlile (with whom they earned three Grammy nominations), The War on Drugs, John Legend, The Killers, Harry Styles, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Black Pumas, Jeff Tweedy, Ozzy Osbourne and more.

Joni Mitchell shares an unheard rarity from her vault with the release of “Traveling (Hejira),” a demo of the title track from her revolutionary eighth studio album. This early version stands in stark contrast to the soul-stirring original release, stripping Mitchell’s folk-fusion opus back to the artist and her guitar and introducing a bright and springing wide-eyed wisdom to the dusky highway meditation. The enlightening behind-the-scenes sample arrives as the second preview single for Joni Mitchell “Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980)“, the legendary musician’s 12th retrospective collection with Rhino Records.

Set to release on October 4th, Joni Mitchell “Archives, Vol. 4” continues the Grammy-winning reissue series with a sprawling compilation of early recordings, demos and alternate takes from this prolific period of Joni’s career. The digital and six-CD versions feature a staggering 98 previously unreleased recordings, while a four-LP vinyl pressing will comprise 40 highlights, all tailored by the artist’s own curational guidance. “Traveling (Hejira)” follows “Intro To Coyote / Coyote,” which she initially delivered at Montreal, Quebec’s The Forum on December 5th, 1975 and shared to streaming platforms last month.

The tracks on Mitchell’s fourth sprawling archival dispatch are sourced primarily from the four iconic albums she released in the five-year period: 1976’s “Hejira”, 1977’s “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter”, 1979’s “Mingus“–a collaboration with the legendary bassist that stands as his final project before his passing that year–and the 1980 live album “Shadows and Light”. Beyond the studio sessions that produced these entries and Mitchell’s live performances from the period, the compilation features selections from such memorable moments as the Bread & Roses Festival, Anti-Nuclear Rally and her stint with Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue.

“Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980)”.

Margo Price’s take on classic sounds is at once familiar and daring, an infectious blend of Nashville country, Memphis soul, and Texas twang. Following the success of her 2023 album “Strays”, Margo Price has returned with a new single featuring vocals and guitar from Billy Strings. Titled “Too Stoned to Cry,” the track leads with the gentle twang of pedal steel, which establishes an intended wave of pure vintage-drenched country, found not just in the instrumentals but also the tone of musicians’ timbre as they let their surroundings and experiences seep into their towering output–which might as well be considered another brawny chapter in country music’s 2024 resurgence. 

After months of country zeal, “Too Stoned to Cry” captures the organics of Price and Strings’ talents, the natural emergence of Southern experience culled through the  Andrew Combs-penned lyrics, which generate a 1960s dreamscape: the slow trot of a horseback journey, trailed by rising blooms of smoke circles. Reflective by nature, the track projects the feeling of a lonesome cowboy tune, lingering emotions that even a toked numbing effect can’t fix. 

Offering history on the single, Price said: “It was such a joy to work with Billy on this song. He really nailed the vocals and laid down a beautiful lead. I have wanted to record this song for years now, ever since I heard the writer Andrew Combs sing it. My buddy Beau Bedford and I had been in the studio together working on an Orville Peck track, and I asked him to produce this single for me. He put together a really great band – Beau and I, plus my husband Jeremy Ivey played acoustic, Aksel Coe on drums, Misa Arriaga on Bass, Russ Pahl on pedal steel, Joey McClellan on electric. Once we got Billy to add his guitar and singing, I knew this song was gonna be a special recording.”

“When I first came on the scene, I was a countryfied, hard headed, whiskey drinkin nobody who was pissed off at the establishment. All of that’s still true, except for the whiskey drinkin part.”  Price concluded, “If anything, now that I’ve lived for a while inside of the establishment, I’m even more pissed off. I’ve let some people go, I’m still fighting with others to let me be myself, but I know, I’m gonna make this next record the way I want to make it, no matter what it takes.” 

released September 12th, 2024

Critically acclaimed London trio Daughter will celebrate National Album Day 2024 with an exclusive yellow recycled vinyl repressing of their debut foray into soundtrack-making, “Music from Before the Storm”. With this release, fans of Daughter and the “Life Is Strange” universe can now revisit and physically own the understated yet elemental score in a new form, apart from its highly sought after yet scarcely available RSD 2017 vinyl variant.

“Music from Before the Storm’s” transportive yet vast and grounded yet ethereal sonic landscape resulted from the band having been tapped to helm an original musical score for Square Enix’s “Life Is Strange: Before The Storm”, the highly anticipated prequel to the award-winning 2015 first entry, “Life Is Strange”. With information from game-producers, the band crafted the score in London in 2017, referencing the game script and concept artwork as inspiration amidst their writing process.

As a result, the band’s meticulous, world-building instrumentation is a key factor in the game’s storytelling arch, with various elements of their compositions relaying different sides of the lead character’s emotive state during gameplay. As noted by Line of Best Fit upon its original release with the game: “‘Music from Before the Storm” is a soundtrack that succeeds in encapsulating a great vastness and emotional depth while retaining a clear sonic aesthetic. Daughter have created a work that is cinematic and captivating.”