Lost Girls - Selvutsletter
Norwegian duo Lost Girls, comprised of Jenny Hval and Håvard Volden, are back with another masterful LP, though it is quite the contrast to their debut. Exchanging a short track list full of 10-minute epics for a more conventionally organized album, the band displays their ability to elegantly balance their bold experimentality with a taste for catchy pop sentiments. Covering many genre bases from true synth-pop to new-wave, from post-punk to ambient, Lost Girls don't like to adhere to any modern tropes. Hval navigates with a Björkian style over the lush backdrop of instrumentals, oscillating between lyrical literalism and surreal motifs. Selvutsletter is a disorienting dream retold the next morning; one that doesn't demand your attention but rewards those that are patient enough to commit to it. Fans of contemporary IDM and avant-pop will connect quickly with this record, but its reach extends far beyond these labels, and any music enthusiast eager to traverse a foreign soundscape will find nothing if not intrigue.
Favorite Tracks: "With the Other Hand" ; "Re-entering the City" ; "June 1996"
- Will Lewis
Ana Frango Eléctrico – Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua
When I first heard that Ana Frango Eléctrico was releasing a new album, I was skeptical that it would live up to her 2019 Latin-Grammy-nominated album Little Electric Chicken Heart. I am happy to say that I was certainly proven wrong. Me Chama De Gate Que Eu Sou Sua is a maturation of everything there is to like about the jazz-pop artist from Rio de Janeiro: intimate vocals, superb production, beautiful arrangements, and, of course, the same bossa-nova/jazzy feel that has thus far defined Ana’s career. The vocals, sung in either her native Portuguese or English, glide over the careful arrangement of swelling strings, energetic brass, and driving percussion that takes many forms over this LP. It would take a whole essay to describe all the sounds and textures this album uses to craft one of the most unique and fun listens of the year. If you listen to any music at all, I guarantee you will find something you like on this album.
Favorite Tracks: "Electric Fish" ; "Coisa Maluca" ; "Camelo Azul" ; "Insista em Mim"
- Luke Allen
