Ismena: Please Don’t Ask Me How I’ve Been

photo: Maaike Ronhaar

Dutch folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Ismena shows strength by being fragile yet sturdy on her new album Please Don’t Ask Me How I’ve Been. Telling people to take a hike without raising your voice is a hard thing to do, but by pointing out her scars one by one, she makes a strong case for reaching closure, but holding out on forgiveness for now.

It is just her voice, guitar and piano mostly, which is the right amount when the focus is on her lyrics. She is her own backing vocalist as well, but she refrains from studio trickery. A bit of echo is in order, but that doesn't sweeten the hurt, but only enhances it even more. No catharsis just yet, but this self-styled of musical therapy will surely have helped her, plus it offers comfort to others who have been damaged as well.

M. Woodroe: The Treatment of Fractures

photo: Arune Daukantaite

Brighton indie band M. Woodroe are not afraid to speak up on their The Treatment of Fractures EP. Whether it is about people keeping mum in the midst of the rise of fascism (Carte Blanche) or the need for the Strut app for women to stay safe while they try to make it home safely (Statue), the quartet's knack for quiet intensity is always in full swing.

It might seem a bit weird to use the short instrumental Intro as the second track, but it sets the tone for the dark songs that follow, after the deceptively upbeat sounding opener Sweetness, Sweetness. Capturing pretty much all of the fears of puberty that keep lingering after reaching adulthood by means of skewed guitars and soft but powerful vocals, proves that politics can be inserted into interesting music, without resorting to tired slogans and simple chord progressions.

Words about music (855): Dave Edmunds

Rock 'n' roll will never die. There’ll always be some arrogant little brat who wants to make music with a guitar.

Dave Edmunds

Feutre: Les grands ensembles

French pop trio Feutre go for a smooth 80s poppy sound on their new album Les grands ensembles , combining the softer side of New Wave and jazz. Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Michaël Korchia is the sole band member who also played on the band's previous album Nos rencontres in 2021, but it is basically business as usual: stylish and melancholic songs about the passage of time. It seems like it was only yesterday that modernism was the next big thing, but now those buildings are being labelled as vintage architectural artefacts. Nice touch to film the video for the title track there.

New singer Elsa Leroyer brings a blend of baroque pop and yé-yé-tinged phrasing and guitarist Jérôme Excoffier holds back at first mostly, being content with giving an extra shine to the songs. When he makes himself heard - like he does in Adam and his fluid Tex-Mex showcase in Gold mine the trio comes close to indie rock and post-punk. The latter also has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Stranglers-inspired keyboards solo. With a running time of a little over 22 minutes a release on 33rpm 10" or 45rpm 12" vinyl would be most welcome.

In memoriam: Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix left the planet 56 years ago today. Are your neighbours aware of this? No? Turn it up! And then turn it up some more.