It seems I’ve not listened to a great deal of new music in June. I suspect that a month spent all over the country might play a part in that. And yet, it’s been another month of established artists making unexpectedly good records. Franz Ferdinand & Sparks is a combination I would never have though of, and yet FFS is a great record. I am also very impressed with the new Faith no More record, which manages to sound a bit like old Faith no More and a bit like everything else Mike Patton has made in the interim. After preparing to be disappointed I’ve actually found myself listening to it a great deal. There is also a new Sun Kil Moon record, which has soundtracked my walks to work, and which pretty much picks up where the last one left off. I love it, but I suspect a lot of that love comes from a combination nostalgia and being at a similar place in life, and it may be something of an acquired taste (I acquired the taste for Red House Painters when I was at University and have lapped up everything Mark Kozelek has made since).
So the list for June 2015 looks something like this:
Sun Kil Moon – Universal Themes
Faith No More – Sol Invictus
FFS (Franz Ferdinand & Sparks) – FFS
John Zorn – The Song Project Live at Le Poisson Rouge (not on Spotify playlist)
John Zorn/Mycale – Gomory : Book of Angels vol. 25 (not on Spotify playlist)
Algiers – Algiers
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love
Alden Penner – Canada in Space
Brontosaurus – Our Animal Ways