Happy Possibly 100th Birthday, John Lee Hooker!

Torres - Three Futures

Torres doesn't seem interested in staying in one place musically for too long, and it was anyone's guess what her third album was going to sound like. A focus on synths (and guitars run through synth pedals among other things) most obviously delineates Three Futures from its predecessors, but what strikes me about that move even more than its seamless and non-perfunctory integration is how necessary an evolution it was in order to convey Scott's ideas. Even if she could have conceived of "Concrete Ganesha" before, there was no way to render such a textural, glitchy piece with her old palette. Recognisable guitar lines don't prop up any of the songs, but rather snake in and out.

Torres' self-titled debut established Mackenzie Scott as a talented songwriter straight out of the gate; Sprinter expanded her purview and gave her many places to go. Three Futures isn't a step forwards, backwards or laterally, but downwards; it drags you down and traps you in its world and doesn't let you come up for air until it's over.

Spotify Playlist: We Live in a World of Stuff

Spotify Playlist: I'm a Moose! *moose noises*

Slowdive - Slowdive

So there's a new Slowdive album in 2017; it almost seems too pure for this sinful Earth, but I'll take it.

Of course, you don't want a Slowdive album compromised by two decades of cynicism and the world generally going down the shitter, so it comes as a relief that Slowdive, though recorded last year, could have been from 1994, a missing link between Souvlaki and Pygmalion, perfectly preserved in amber and discovered just when we need it most. Slowdive shouldn't be penalised for sticking to what works, because it does work; there hasn't been a time between their formation and now when their simple yet layered and meticulous compositions wouldn't have seamlessly blended into the musical landscape aesthetically while standing out in quality. Though it's no mere nostalgia trip, Slowdive nonetheless serves as a reminder of a time when there was assumed to be preordained limits on human ego, hubris and stupidity - that if we weren't already as low as we could go, we'd at least know when we got there. It's the album we need right now, even if it's not the one we deserve.

Benjamin Booker - Witness

A recently posted Instagram photo of Benjamin Booker from Christmas 2005 shows Booker with a Stratocaster. "My first Fender! White for Jimi and Kurt. Smashed on stage at Lollapalooza in the summer of 2014." Booker believes music is eternal, but instruments are ephemeral. That, or he just likes smashing shit. In any case, Booker embodies Cobain's punk spirit while being a student of classic rock, soul and blues. The sound of his debut could be compared to that of Chuck Berry fronting Nirvana, although his voice defies easy comparison. On Witness, Booker tempers the garage-punk sound on which he built his name, favouring those older influences, especially on the gospel-infused title track.

On his debut, Booker sang that "the future is slow coming", which recalled "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke (who is evoked on Witness in the string intro to "Believe"). He wasn't contradicting Cooke's message, but adding "it's gonna take longer than we thought". Booker is the change he wishes to see in the world, and Witness is the sound of him settling in for the long haul.

Spotify Playlist: I Wish Chris Cornell Wasn't Dead

Related:

RIP Chris Cornell

5 Bands That Should Have Been Nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame This Year