What are we to make of the world? In many ways, the title New Fragility perfectly sums up our collective state of unease and anxiety, but it's particularly apt for singer songwriter Alec Ounsworth.
Though Nick Murphy had retired his Chet Faker project, the new songs he was working on had an energy reminiscent of his earlier work. The result is Hotel Surrender, a radiant 10-track LP full of swaggering bass lines and electrifying melodies.
Hissing and seeping justifiable rage from every pore - yet not an unrelenting musical battering - the 14-track opus was recorded by Marc Obrist and Manuel Gagneux at Hutch Sounds and mixed/mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio.
A Place to Bury Strangers has no records that sound the same- their sound is constantly evolving and entering new realms. Specifically in See Through You, any listener can hear a whole new dimension of collaborate ideas being expressed.
Francoise Hardy was an innovator- one of the first to develop the vocal 'cool' used by others like Lou Reed down the road. Her voice is bell-like but never sweet and her strong lower register is a divine combination of authoritative and bored to tears.
The follow-up to 2016's Summer 08, Metronomy Forever features 17 tracks. It's length is born from a desire for breathing room, from not wanting to stuff the hits together like a bouquet of petrol station roses - a modern way of listening to music.
