ALT-COUNTRY Tori Forsyth
DAWN OF THE DARK (Universal)
Tori Forsyth: varied inspiration and impressive range.
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★★★★☆
It has only been two years since the release of her debut EP Blackbird, but here Tori Forsyth possesses the kind of world-weariness and brevity that belies her experience in the business and in life (she's still in her early 20s). On her first full album she lets her Stevie Nicks-inspired vocals take centre stage – something she hasn't always been quite so confident with doing – while staying true to her country roots. There's the stomping, rollicking jaunt of Redemption, the evocative, banjo-tinged Grave Robber's Daughter (which taps into the great country tradition of telling vivid, haunting tales) and the moody pop of In the Morning, all showing Forsyth's varied inspiration and impressive range. And although there's no doubt she can tell a great story, there's also an honesty here that makes you lean in close: Snow White, which touches on mental health issues, is just one of the stunning moments here that balances fiction with fact. So while the girl from country NSW – the Hunter via the Central Coast – may not have decades of life experience to borrow from yet, Dawn of the Dark shows that when you're a natural, you don't need it. BRONWYN THOMPSON
NEO FUSION Zack Teran
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PORTALIS (Orenda)
★★★½☆
As Orenda Records' catalogue expands, so does both the scope of its music and the significance of the LA-based label. This, the debut album by bassist/composer Zack Teran, interweaves jazzy threads with streams of electronica, bursts of rock and more. Groove and drama are often uneasy bedfellows, the one tending to undermine the other, but not in Teran's work, the drama facet culminating in a soaring piece called The Keyhole. This is music always on the move to new destinations via an improbable collection of reference points. With Teran are trumpeter Brandon Sherman (who sometimes reminds me of the late Kenny Wheeler), Chris Gillette's incandescent tenor saxophone playing and Miguel Jimenez-Cruz's crisp drumming. The immediate predecessor to this release on Orenda, Fine Dining, was also by a reeds/trumpet/bass/drums quartet. Called Quoan, the band has virtuoso clarinettist Brian Walsh, routinely brilliant trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom and the nimble rhythm section of Sam Minaie and Mark Ferber collaborating on a mix of jazz and free improvisations. Fans of the great clarinettist David Krakauer should definitely have a listen to Walsh's work. JOHN SHAND
BLUES Dave Hole
GOIN' BACK DOWN (Only Blues Music)
★★★½☆
Many people, at 69 years of age, may begin to slow down. Not so blues maestro Dave Hole. Here releasing his 10th album, the Perth-based Hole has actually turned up the wick, producing a record that is simultaneously sharp, smooth, tough and dangerous; blues with swagger and attitude that is powerful and muscular. Beginning with the driving Stompin' Ground, Hole immediately draws you into boogie blues reminiscent of RL Burnside in his later years; a real Fat Possum sound. Elsewhere are shades of Johnny Winter, along with a more modern twist: a nod to players like Joe Bonamassa, for example. Hole's voice is pure and strong, his lyrics simple (as befits the blues), and his guitar work (using his trademark over-the-top method of playing slide) is as good as it has ever been, if not better. Enlisting a band on only four of the album's 11 tracks, Hole plays the rest on his own, utilising loops and overdubs. Goin' Back Down has been three years in the making, and, with the exception of a couple of tracks that frustratingly drop the tempo, this is a blues-rock album that really rocks – hardly the sign of a man slowing down. SAMUEL J FELL
SPIRITUAL Ry Cooder
THE PRODIGAL SON (Fantasy)
★★★★½
Ry Cooder is a modern musical Odysseus. For five decades he has sailed the disparate seas of American music, from blues to the sounds of Spanish America (notably Cuba and Mexico), and now he turns to spirituals, which he calls "music that instils reverence". This album's 11 tracks (produced by Cooder and his son Joachim) range across this "spiritual" genre, from a beautifully sensitive reading of Carter Stanley's bluegrass-gospel Harbor of Love, through to Straight Street, written by James W Alexander, of the legendary Pilgrim Travelers gospel group. The three originals include Gentrification – a swingeing attack on the way the rich treat the poor – and Jesus and Woody, in which Jesus talks to Woody Guthrie about the social evils being unleashed in the time of Trump. Cooder is so deeply immersed in American traditions that on Shrinking Man you'll hear riffs from Chuck Berry's Johnny B Goode, while on the rollicking, driving gospel of the traditional The Prodigal Son he is backed by his sublime gospel-soul trio of Terry Evans, Arnold McCuller and Bobby King. This is Ry Cooder at his very best … and that is truly amazing. BRUCE ELDER
CROSS CULTURAL Elektra String Quartet
EBB & FLOW (crivici.com)
★★★½☆
Romano Crivici's Flat Earth reminds me of interminable trips across central Australia. The road is long and straight, parting a red, dry sea. At first it seems unchanging, repetitive, but as shapes and colours – or, in the case of Crivici's music, sounds and timbres – roll by, you tune in to the detail, gradually hearing more and more. A squeak here, a huff there, a quick glissando: sparks of colour in a fascinating sonic landscape. The Elektra String Quartet has been around since the early '90s, but its new album, Ebb & Flow, is something of a rebirth. It brings together seven seriously classy musicians who play across the spectrum of sound, from classical violin (Andrew Haveron) to percussion (Phil South and Jess Ciampa) to didjeridu (Mark Atkins). Crivici, composer and, here, violinist, operates simultaneously from within and without traditions, moving from intricate counterpoint to free-form improvisations. Of the three works his String Quartet No 5, Gregorian Funk, stands out as a real exploration, playful and dangerous, from the haunting cello solo of the Introitus to a funky, chugging Passacaglia to the string quartet screamo of Hymnos. HARRIET CUNNINGHAM
SYNTH-POP Chvrches
LOVE IS DEAD (Goodbye/Liberator)
★★½☆☆
There are two words in the credits of any album that indicate a band is trying to break big: Greg Kurstin. The US producer has pumped up and polished the work of Sia, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, Kelly Clarkson and more. Enter Glasgow trio Chvrches, who up until this point have fiercely guarded their status as a do-it-yourself outfit. But, hey, it's time to crack the US, so goodbye propulsive synth-pop and hello Mr. Kurstin. Although the basics are still here – Iain Cook and Martin Doherty's slithering keyboards; Lauren Mayberry's soaring vocals – the sound has gone gangbusters, and they cash in a wad of personality on the way. First single Get Out sounds like an identikit anthem you could give to Clarkson or Goulding with roughly the same results, while Heaven/Hell is a dramatic thumper that suggests they hit a button marked "Sia" in the studio. Mayberry can still hit the rafters with that voice, and on the beat-less Really Gone you can hear her digging deep to deliver, but too often here she's marshalled through overfamiliar modern pop tropes. Chvrches were anthem-ready when they debuted in 2013. They didn't need this makeover. BARRY DIVOLA
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