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 Dua Saleh, Rostam, Web Web and Loose Fit.

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Dua Saleh
Of Earth & Wires
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This is the second album from Sudanese American Dua Saleh, who many people may know from her role in the third series of the British television show Sex Education. She has a unique sound that sits at the crossroads of R&B, folk, and pop.

The opening track, Five Days, features a plodding plucked guitar and a mix of background sounds, but at the forefront are rich, confessional vocals as Dua Saleh sings about being away from what we might assume is a lover, or at least a loved one. She references talking to therapists and crying a river, but around three quarters of the way through the song everything changes. Drums are pounded, more violent, shrieking vocals take over, and a sense of rage is released.

B r e a t h e is upbeat and pop-tinged. Flood is the first of several tracks featuring collaborator Bon Iver, who appears on three songs across the album. It is a fascinating piece that showcases the many different parts of Saleh’s voice, sometimes deep and soulful, at other times high-pitched and delightfully squeaky, while Bon Iver’s sound slips perfectly into the middle. Another track featuring Bon Iver is Glow, another captivating mix of hip-hop, R&B, and folk.

What makes this album so intriguing is its unexpected mix of sounds. It has many layers and demands deep listening.

Rostam
American Stories
★ ★ ★ ★

Since departing Vampire Weekend, Rostam Batmanglij has released solo material, produced well-received albums for other artists including Haim and Clairo, and collaborated with a diverse range of musicians such as Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen, Santigold, and G Flip. Now he is sharing his third solo album, and arguably his best work to date. It is a record that musically and lyrically draws on his background as an Iranian-American – a folk-drenched, sunshine-filled singer-songwriter collection that feels warm but also slightly uneasy.

Running at just over 30 minutes in length, it does not take long for Rostam to work his way through nine new songs. Like a Spark is a joyful, summery folk tune with strummed guitars and tinkling piano, but the inclusion of a Turkish lute gives it a unique sound. Back of Truck is shaped by pop sensibility, while Different Light leans into country vibes. Hardy, a collaboration with Clairo, is a heady mix of classical violins, thumping drums, and uplifting energy. Come Apart has a warm feel, with Americana-tinged guitars and organ mixed alongside Middle Eastern drum beats, melding together Rostam’s backgrounds.

American Stories is an album that carefully balances a wide range of sounds and musical styles without any jarring transitions, gently flowing from one song to the next. Rostam takes us on a rich and thoughtful journey.

Web Web and Roberto Di Gioia
Kover Kover
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The new album from Web Web, a German jazz outfit led by Robert Di Gioia that mixes jazz with electronic sounds and hip-hop influences, is their first collection of covers. They have picked a diverse range of songs and pose the question: what would these tunes have sounded like if they had started life as Web Web numbers? The result gives some much-loved songs a whole different sound.

The album opener Song of Dying, originally by 1970s German jazz fusion ensemble Passport, is not a song many of us will have heard before. Slave to the Rhythm, a signature tune for Grace Jones, is a more recognisable selection. Its distinctive melody is at first buried in a cluster of drumming, but suddenly it shines through. The band also works through the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Burning the Midnight Lamp with energetic electric organ, woodwind sounds, and more of those powerful drums.

There is great beauty in their rendition of Bloodflow, a song originally by Grandbrothers. This version is not as crisp as the original, and the muted electronic sounds add an interesting layer to the composition. Australia’s Empire of the Sun are also covered, with this version of We the People sounding like the soundtrack to a drug-induced trance in the Mojave Desert. The recognisable chorus feels like a warm hug when it arrives.

Things get trippy as the album moves into acid-jazz and trip hop territory with High Noon, the tune by Kruder and Dorfmeister which originally sampled Elvis Presley’s Blue Moon. Here, an ominous voice repetitively recites one line from the classic song’s lyric.

The diverse song selection continues with Nirvana’s Come as You Are, a divine rendition of Joe Jackson’s Steppin’ Out, and a space-age take on Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Things get very funky with Big Schlepp, originally by the Dave Pike Set. A take on Black Sabbath’s Planet Caravan is magical, and Talking Heads’ Once in a Lifetime gets a mystical sci-fi makeover. This is a intriguing and beautiful collection.

Loose Fit
Bittersweet Excess
★ ★ ★

Loose Fit have delivered this four-track EP, which evokes post-punk-dub sounds, and it is a delight to hear a return of this style with a modern twist. Jarring guitars, dub-heavy bass, and echoing vocals matched with blurry brass sounds fill the title track.

Cracked Up has a wilder vocal and leans more into the band’s punk influences. Diminishing Returns features an intriguing interplay between saxophones and percussion, but when the vocals come in, we are thrown into an off-kilter rollercoaster ride that builds to a climax. The fourth tune, Feel Ya Shiver, is another mutant dance-punk slice of excellence.

This new offering from the Sydney four-piece is much looser and more dub-influenced than their previous work, and it is sounding first rate. If you like this, check out their previous dub remixes of some of their earlier material.