Recommended albums: The National, Mount Kimbie, Nosaj Thing, Hundred Waters & more
With so many releases flying at you, here are recommended vetted listens from Nialler9 for you this week, as collated in the Nialler9 New Releases Spotify playlist, updated weekly.
1.
The National – Sleep Well Beast
Two weeks since it’s release, Sleep Well Beast is developing into The National’s most interesting and rewarding album yet, with a sense of reinvigoration in their template and songcraft that embraces their core characteristics while adding new digital textures. Matt Berninger’s lyrics about his relationship with his wife (who co-wrote the words) goes deep and real, while musically, they do things with the indie-rock template that feels fresh (Bryan Devendorf’s drumming adds so much too).
2.
Mount Kimbie – Love What Survives
Moving away from post-dubstep sound that they made their name with, Mount Kimbie’s third album delves into electronic 80s-inspired post-punk territory, with guests Micachu, King Krule and James Blake adding new shades to an album that sounds inspired by Broadcast and krautrock. There are depths in these layered songs to revel in.
3.
Bicep – Bicep
A belated shout out for the Belfast house music duo’s debut full-length which after a series of regular dancefloor bangers that are starting to reach classic status, finds the pair creating 12 original tracks that pare back the bombast in favour of quietly-epic tightly-arranged dance music in the vein of Orbital updated for the 21st century.
4.
Hundred Waters – Communicating
No-one quite brings together acoustic sensibilities with electronic arrangements in as a delicate manner as Hundred Waters and their third album feels like they’ve scooped out the inside of a valley and cocooned themselves and their music into the landscape as the aura borealis shimmers above. I’m still in discovery mode with the album but there’s comfort in their music for sure.
5.
Nosaj Thing – Parallels
The fourth album from LA electronic producer Jason Chung is his most cohesive album thus far. Having provided beats for Chance The Rapper, Kid Cudi and Kendrick over the years, it’s great to hear Chung’s imaginative productions working so well with guest vocalists from Blonde Redhead and Steve Spacek adding focus to these ambient-infused electronic tracks.
6.
Indian Wells – Where The World Ends
Another career best, this time from Italian producer Pietro Iannuzzi on the LA Friends of Friends label. As is that label’s hallmark, this is considered and full-realised electronic music concerned less with sample ingenuity but with isolation and the borders that govern our globe informed by Iannuzzi’s existence near the Italian mountains. As such, the album has moments of glowing vistas and awe in its running time that stands on its own.
