It’s one thing to craft a great song, but its another skill to create a cohesive album that takes a listener on a journey.
Here’s four recently released albums that we’ve been playing at OUTinPerth HQ, new records from Snail Mail, Arlo Parks, Deary, and Nightmares on Wax vs Adrian Sherwood.
Snail Mail
Richochet
★ ★ ★ ½
Lindsey Jordan, aka Snail Mail, has released her third album, and it’s a collection of indie‑pop tunes with a ’90s vibe.
We dive straight in with Tractor Beam — jangling guitars, sweet vocals and uplifting strings. It’s a top tune that echoes ’90s indie classics. My Maker has a summery feel as Jordan sings about her desire to fly a plane to heaven. Light on My Feet brings the orchestral elements to the fore, and while Cruise is a darker‑sounding track, the recipe isn’t altered dramatically.
Agony Freak mixes things up, while single Dead End is a mid‑tempo rock number that quickly envelops the listener. The pace picks up on Butterfly, while Nowhere has a bluesy element. Across eleven tracks, Jordan keeps our attention, and while these aren’t the catchiest songs she’s ever delivered, it’s a consistent effort across the record.
Arlo Parks
Ambiguous Desire
★ ★ ★ ★
For her third album, acclaimed British singer‑songwriter Arlo Parks has taken a turn and headed straight to the dance floor. While the new album Ambiguous Desire is much more electronic in nature, Parks hasn’t left her signature songwriting or folky jazz influences behind.
After years of touring, Parks took a break and spent time in clubs in New York and Los Angeles, the city she moved to in 2022. The new sound reflects her change in surroundings. The result is twelve slices of smooth pop that, while filled with club textures, do not amount to a club record.
Blue Disco and Jetta begin the journey, and it’s at the end of the second track that the beats really drop and take us to the dance floor. By the time Get Go arrives, Parks has gracefully led us through the club and into its centre. Sampha guests on Senses, providing dubbed‑out vocals that sit in contrast to Parks’ warm tone; later in the track he takes over entirely, delivering an uplifting finish.
The danceable pop continues with Heaven, things get heavier with Beams, and then the vibe shifts with South Seconds, a tender guitar ballad. Nightswimming brings back the beats before lead single 2SIDED kicks in. The album finishes with a trio of mellower tunes — Luck of Life, What If I Say It and Floette.
This album reminds me of when Everything But the Girl met Todd Terry and dived into electronica for all their subsequent work. You’d think Parks’ record company would have commissioned some top DJs to take these sounds deeper into the dance world — maybe that’s still to come.
Deary
Birding
★ ★ ★ ★
South London three‑piece Deary has been compared to Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Rós and Slowdive, and it’s easy to see why. Their album is filled with layers of guitars, swelling melodies and ethereal vocals. That’s not a bad thing — it’s a great sound.
The album’s opener Smile quickly establishes their aesthetic with crisp, thumping drums, reverb‑drenched guitars and the stunning vocals of Dottie Cockram. The immersive sound continues on Seabird, one of the singles that preceded the album’s release.
Baby’s Breath takes us on an epic journey and leads into Gypsophila, the botanical name for the flower baby’s breath. What follows is a gorgeous ambient coda to the previous track, extending the piece for an additional two minutes.
The sonic journey continues through Blue Ribbon, while Garden of Eden features a rawer guitar sound and a stripped‑back ethos. The single Alma is faster‑paced, and Cockram’s vocals are surrounded by a wall of guitar, making her voice another instrument in the mix rather than the focal point. Alfie is the band’s opus, stretching out over seven and a half minutes, before the album closes with a short but poignant title track – an instrumental sign‑off of wind chimes and bliss.
Nightmares on Wax vs Adrian Sherwood
In a Space Outta Deb
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
British artist Nightmares on Wax has ten albums under his belt, and one of the most acclaimed was 2006’s In a Space Outta Sound. To mark the album’s 20th anniversary, a new dub version has been created by acclaimed producer Adrian Sherwood.
Sherwood’s reimagining of the much‑loved album rearranges the track order and delivers a captivating, chilled‑out take on the originals, filled with reverb and slowed‑down beats. It opens with You Bliss, a reworking of You Wish, which highlights the track’s earworm guitar line while adding brass flourishes. On Purpose is a new version of Soul Purpose, featuring dreamy vocals, drawn‑out saxophone breaks, tinkling piano and enchanting strings.
Single Flip Ya Lid is transformed into Flippin’ Eck, filled to the brim with reggae vibes. On the Seven Seas Dub takes African Pirates into a new space with deeper bass while retaining the catchy African vocal sample. Sweeter Still reworks The Sweetest, stripping the track back to its bare essentials.
Adrian Sherwood’s reworkings aren’t seismic departures from the original record, but they freshen the tracks enough to breathe new life into them. Dive in for the chill‑out album of the week.
