From Kamasi Washington to Justice: these are this week’s pop and jazz albums

Kamasi returns with a bang

Kamasi Washington wrote the soundtrack for a documentary about Michelle Obama in 2020, and he collaborated with the group Dinner Party. But it has been since 2018 since the saxophonist from Los Angeles, since his triple album The Epic renamed jazz messiah from 2015, released new work. That’s here now and it’s a comeback that’s popping.

Washington has become a father, and daughter Asha is apparently already big enough to come up with a melody at the piano that forms the basis for ‘Asha the first’, a wonderfully bombastic song, in which not only does good friend Thundercat let loose on his bass guitar, but in which rappers Taj and Ras Austin also rage: never before has Washington so explicitly bridged the gap between jazz and hip-hop. There are more guests. The inevitable Andre 3000 plays flute on the dreamy ‘Dream State’, old funk great George Clinton keeps it surprisingly subdued in ‘Get Lit’, and ‘Together’ is great soul thanks to BJ the Chicago Kid. And Washington itself? He plays one impressive solo after another. When you think: it really can’t get any more intense, he still shifts up a gear. Delicious plate. That will be a nice concert on October 28, in Bozar. (pdb)

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Timeless appointment with Pet Shop Boys

In a way, the lockdown had to feel like home for Pet Shop Boys. The duo Neil Tennant – Chris Lowe has been treating us to a recognizable, sweet mix of euphoria and melancholy since 1981, and fit well with a time that kept many musicians frustrated inside. With his still perfect tenor, Tennant sings in ‘New London boy’ about his early days, when he came to reinvent himself in the gay scene in London. In ‘Love is the law’ he puts himself in the shoes of Oscar Wilde, who is released from prison. And ‘Dancing star’ is about ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev: “The world wanted you/ How bright you shine.” The album alternates with pounding dance hits such as ‘Loneliness’ with long, beautifully arranged ballads such as ‘The secret of happiness’, and Tennant occasionally raps something in between in that typical understated, sophisticated style that makes him almost timeless. Pet Shop Boys never outgrew the 80s, but it did make its sound timeless, and this album is strong proof of that. (corporate corporation)

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Anitta’s erotic cabinet

Larissa de Macedo Machado, aka Anitta (31), is one of the biggest stars in Brazil. She comes from Rio, is eager to learn and incredibly ambitious, free-spirited and bisexual. On her sixth album she shows who she really is. The fifteen tracks pass by in fits and starts: sometimes purely percussive, sometimes a bit melodic. The style is called “Carioca Funk”, the sound of the favelas around Rio, a mix of Brazilian and African sources with electro and rap. Anyone who doesn’t like it will go crazy over it, so the producers cut up and fragment the songs, which are usually composed by five to ten composers. But anyone who comes along ends up on a dance floor, where the hostess raves about sex and violence and power. ‘Love in common’ builds on reggae and ‘Ahi’ on R&B, but songs like ‘Savage funk’ and ‘Funk rave’ are minimalist, horny bursts of energy in an erotic cabaret. “To me this is sacred, to me this is a cult”, she moans in ‘Double team’, a duo with Bad Gyal. Not to be misunderstood. (corporate corporation)

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Justice hesitates between disco and rock ‘n’ roll

On their fourth album, Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé cross the hard rock aesthetic of their debut with the disco pop, pollinated by Giorgio Moroder, with which they used on their last album (the eight-year-old Woman) raved. This sometimes leads to a bizarre spread. Opener ‘Neverender’, for which Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker lends his sexiest falsetto, hoists the disco ball above the dance floor. After which ‘Generator’ smashes him to smithereens again.

The French blood brothers once again prove themselves to be masterful sound architects. Their 24-carat sound sometimes seems a bit too long, but it is often enjoyable. In ‘Incognito’ a funky seventies bass and electronics flow together with an eighties sheen. The soft ‘Moonlight rendezvous’ has gone out of date with the soundtracks of Vangelis. ‘Dear Alan’ looks like an outtake by Daft Punk, and thus exposes a sore point. While the other duo hid behind iconic masks, Justice remains somewhat faceless. (tzh)

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Iron & Wine puts a plaster on the wound

“Time likes pulling my teeth, I never knew how many teeth I would need”, sings Sam Beam on his seventh album as Iron & Wine. The affable songwriter looks at the world and its imperfections with the compassion of an almost fifty-year-old, but he sometimes slips frivolous Americana beneath his sometimes pale thoughts. Its subtlety is reminiscent of the delicate strumming of Paul Simon or James Taylor. It is probably no coincidence that Beam recorded his album in a studio in Laurel Canyon, the mecca of the seventies singer-songwriter.

A 24-piece orchestra gives Beam’s folky songs extra scope. ‘All in good time’, a warm duet with Fiona Apple, is given a sweet layer of veneer, but underneath lies a story of crime and doomed love. The orchestral pearls ‘Tears don’t matter’ and ‘Angels go home’ glide along the elegant country of Glen Campbell. “All our sparkles beg for a chance”, it sounds in a soft voice, while cinematic strings swell. Beam anoints where it hurts. (tzh)

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Ila gives the songs from her diary a grimy rocking sound

De Nieuwe Lichting winner Ila looks in the mirror with her debut album Ayna. “When you have to go on stage, sometimes it’s necessary to stick your chest out and just go.”

Read the interview here.