Who says avant-garde is always exhausting and dead since postmodernism anyway? All nonsense. Cate LeBon avant-garde, fluffy with songbird melodies in a lovely electro-acoustic magic garden. Better to beguile than disturb. The Welsh musician has previously worked with John Cale and was nominated for the Mercury Prize, so is a certified Highbrow artist. But as I said, nobody has to be afraid of brain torture. Which doesn’t mean there’s nothing to think about.
After all, the new album is called “Pompeii” (Mexican Summer/Membrane), so the end of the world cannot be ruled out. The reflection of our crises looms in the eyes of the other person: “Did you dream about Pompeii / Your eyes always give it away.” Every fear is then sent to the volcano-preserved city (“Every fear that I have / I send it to Pompeii”). In addition, quite friendly synthesizers howl. The drums trot stoically, a guitar chirps like a poetically tuned cicada, the reverb is wide and soft. And when two songs later it’s about running away (“Running Away”), the first lines read: “Take your gloves off / I’m not scared anymore.” “Pompeii” has become fear-relieving pop that intelligently twists the outside world. Neither protective gloves nor velvet gloves are necessary.
Once the panic has been shaken off, the desire to dance soon returns. If you want to take the magic garden to the dance floor, you can Gretas Insert “Forever We’ll Be Dancing” (WAS Entertainment) into the CD player. Yes, in a better world it should be a CD player, because the heart rate tracks of the Copenhagen-based Germans sound anything but nostalgic, but somehow material and digital at the same time – as if they wanted to scan their listeners with a dear laser. The somewhat stupid Anglicism “Copenhagen-based” is therefore also appropriate here, because one actually thinks one hears a good portion of Scandinavian disco music competence in Greta’s songs. That doesn’t rule out impacts from fairground techno. But they are adorned with artificial violins, the kind you usually only whisper in 80s chansons. Lyrically, this charming stomping music doesn’t quite reach the level of Cat Le Bon, but whoever sings “the heart grows soft, always beats the same” is of course right.
After the beat of wild life has danced back into the extremities and organs, a trip to the mind-expanding farm is on the agenda. That’s waiting there Animal Collective with pop that can be caressed and rocks the contemporaries through time on microdosed psychedelic boats. “Time Skiffs” (Domino Records) buzzes, jingles and thuds like only seasoned pop animals can. The group around Noah Benjamin Lennox aka Panda Bear, who is also a solo artist, has already released ten albums. Almost all were liked by journalists and the non-reviewing public alike. It’s hard not to like “Time Skiffs” either. The wealth of whimsical noises alone ensures this. And how should you be angry with someone who announces to a bunny beat: “I do believe there’s a conscious in things / Don’t believe in the time”, and then provides the song with choirs that are a cross between gospel and musical nor double underline the most grotesque lines of text. The animal collective save their paws for the groove from arbitrariness, for example in the tribute to the experimental hero Scott Walker, “Walker”, which is driven by a juicy bass accent. This lesson in applied open-mindedness lasts 47 and a half minutes. That’s enough. But it was nice, we don’t regret anything.
For dessert there is “Charmed Life” (Pias/Divine Comedy Records), a best-of The Divine Comedy. After all, they’ve been around since 1989, and they will probably still be around when the last upright musician has left Spotify and a new era is dawning. The songs that you love the most are often not included on best-of albums. But this selection isn’t just for old fans, it’s also for those new to the band’s complex, Scott Walker-esque world that want to plunge into a sofa-sized cake. Consolation with a good dose of meanness, strings, the right amount of pop and shine and lots and lots of sound calories. It’s just a shame that the stunning cover of “Party Fears Two” didn’t make it to the release, but you can’t have everything you want.