June 2019 Album of the month: Thom Yorke “Anima”

Another month with millions of records to listen to, having in mind July is traditionally the lowest month of the year in terms of releases. I once again had to do a few tough choices, which I guess is a good thing… However, I think I heard one of the worst records ever with the new Madonna LP so run away from that record.

Album of the month: Thom Yorke – “Anima” – Melancholia music. I can hear bitter comments, like ”this is not surprising for a Radiohead fan”, ”are you sure you are objective”, etc… First, I would say that Thom Yorke sometimes lost me on a few records which I found too cold. And then, what the hell! You will not find a most moving record this year done with such an economy of sounds. And still, you feel in a different landscape in every song and all of them are different and beautiful. Very cinematic music I must say and this is not surprise that the great American director Paul Thomas Anderson made a 15-minute movie on Netflix, especially for the release of the album. Listen to it now and wait for the 19th of July to get it in physical formats.

• Runner-up: black midi – “Schlagenheim” – Pop Rock – black midi (without capital letters) is a young London band who met at the prestigious Brit School, a music institution. In other words, they are all very young and gifted musicians and their main influence is…Public Image Ltd, probably the less traditional band of all times. Not an easy record but a real grower, making the top 2 selection of June of the greatest since I started this series. Discover them!

• Also recommended:
•  Bill Callahan – “Shepherd In A Sheepskin Jacket” – Pop Rock – First album since 2013 from the excellent Bill Callahan, in which he describes the joy of being married and a father… the Smog way of course.
• Bruce Springsteen – “Western Stars” – Pop Rock – His best without any doubt since the incredible ”The Rising” LP in 2002. A very different sound, with strings on many songs. A few of the latter will probably become classic in the years to come.
• Baroness – “Gold & Grey” –  Metal – This a very long album with progressive tracks, ballads, interludes and a few amazing rockers. Like Mastodon, a metal record for non-metal fans.
• Jane Weaver – “Loops In The Secret Society” – Repetitive Pop Rock – Jane Weaver is the best hidden secret of the UK and this is a pity as her music is beautiful and based on loops & moods. For this new one, she reworked her two previous records with new arrangements.
• The Raconteurs – “Help Us Stranger” – Pop Rock – Jack White and his ‘other’ band are back and with a revenge. As traditional as Thom Yorke’s record is adventurous but (almost) as good!
• Lest we forget: album of the previous month – The National – “I Am Easy To Find”