Sometimes a time-out is just necessary. In the case of the Swedish retrorocker Graveyard, in conjunction with a personnel change, it has provided an enormous boost that the new studio work "Peace" has produced. A milestone in the band's history that delivers signature songs with tracks like "The Fox" and "It Ain't Over Yet" that are at least as good as the classic "Hisingen Blues".
The title of the fifth subsignal album "La Muerta" is somewhat misleading. The themes of sadness and loss that shaped the previous work have given way to a much more optimistic attitude, which is reflected in great choral movements and a stronger AOR heaviness. In addition, the Munich-based Progband, which was founded in 2007 by the Sieges-Even members Arno Menses (voc) and Markus Steffen (g), has dispensed with overcharged arrangements so that their songs can breathe better.
For a whole five years there was nothing more to be heard from Stephen Malkmus and his Jicks. Now the former Pavement frontman opens a new chapter in the history of his band with "Sparkle Hard". At first glance the album doesn't seem to follow any inner logic, the songs seem as spontaneous and jumpy as an early novel by Paul Auster. And yet there is a red thread hidden in all this.
It's been a good 20 years since Chicago was a Mecca of cross-genre metamusic. Bands and projects like Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day, Town & Country, Isotope 217, The Sea And Cake, Gastr del Sol, Red Red Meat or The Red Crayola always found new combinations of rock, jazz, new music, techno, free improvisation, country, blues and much more. Out of pure helplessness they invented the term "post-rock" for this mix. The singer, guitarist and songwriter Ryley Walker is a generation younger than the musicians of the mentioned projects, but he wants to follow exactly their aesthetics.
