Michael Sumsion

Veteran psych-rockers The Flaming Lips' hallucinogenic new opus documents lead singer Wayne Coyne’s adolescence via a tribute to Tom Petty’s pre-Heartbreakers outfit, garlanding its trippy reminiscences with lavish orchestrations and a dreamy haze. Arriving only a year after 2019’s sublime King’s Mouth, the brand new offering by Oklahoma’s premier purveyors of psych-pop … [Read more...] about The Flaming Lips: American Head – Review

Angel Olsen pursues a pared-down, LockDown style on her new release, ditching orchestral drama for icy, isolationist introspection and bare musical bones. Angel Olsen made something of a major break-through with last year’s All Mirrors album, an opulent production which draped her discomfiting tales of love and loss in richly cinematic arrangements and felt like the … [Read more...] about Angel Olsen: Whole New Mess – Review

Ambient master Brian Eno’s collaborative 1990’s albums with John Cale and Jah Wobble receive the vinyl reissue treatment with bonus tracks, transporting us back to the future. Back in the early 1990’s, Brian Eno’s star had faded to an extent; despite the populist kudos of producing U2 and a new generation of electronic progressives venerating his influence, his commercial … [Read more...] about Brian Eno: Wrong Way Up/Spinner – Review

Scandinavian art-pop singer-songwriter Susanna grows gothic wings and breathes new life into the poetry of Charles Baudelaire whilst exercising an unwavering devotion to sparse melancholy. Over the course of a thirteen-year career, the captivating, noir-infused music of the Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanna Wallumrod has consistently inhabited the darker corridors of life, … [Read more...] about Susanna: Baudelaire & Piano – Review

Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Ezra Feinberg tinkers with kosmische, minimalism, campfire folk and prog flavours to craft an enveloping, sun-baked soundscape, an electronic touchstone for years to come. Recumbent Speech is the latest offering by Ezra Feinberg, the former leader of San Franciscan torchbearers of psych, Citay. It’s a satisfying and pristine … [Read more...] about Ezra Feinberg: Recumbent Speech – Review

Discarded demos from Gillian Welch are exhumed as golden nuggets of buried treasure, re-affirming the reputation of the doyen of Americana and long-time foil David Rawlings as connoisseurs of old-time, Appalachian style American folk. The world has barely recovered its breath from a new Gillian Welch and David Rawlings release, last month’s covers disc, All The Good Times, … [Read more...] about Gillian Welch: Boots No.2: The Lost Songs, Vol 1 – Review