Album review overview: Li Rye, Dave Stewart and more

Dozens of new albums arrive at Maxazine’s editorial staff every week. There are too many to listen to, let alone review them. It ensures that too many albums are left behind. And that’s a shame. That is why today we post an overview of albums that arrive at the editors in short reviews.

Photo (c) Jorge Fakhouri Filho

The Swell Season – Forward

The Swell Season is a folk duo consisting of Irishman Glen Hansard and Czech Markéta Irglová. The idea behind the band name literally comes from Hansard’s favourite book, written by Josef Škvorecký in 1975. Most people, however, know Hansard from his band The Frames. They gained fame with The Swell Season through the film Once, which essentially told their story and in which they played the lead roles themselves. It’s been over 15 years since we’ve seen an album from the duo, but they seem to have found each other again. You can hear this reflected on the album, though the song titles already give away a lot. Songs begin stripped down before orchestral elements and choirs come in, which is characteristic of their sound and adds strength to the songs. It took a while, but the class is still audible. (Rik Moors) (7/10) (Masterkey)

Dave Stewart – Dave Does Dylan

Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart presents with “Dave Does Dylan” an intimate homage to his forty-year friendship with Bob Dylan. These fourteen Dylan covers emerged spontaneously – recorded on iPhone during studio shifts and hotel stays, which benefits the authenticity. The minimalist concept works wonderfully: just guitar and vocals, everything recorded in one take. Classics like “Lay, Lady, Lay” and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” gain new intimacy, while deeper cuts like “To Ramona” show Stewart’s love for Dylan’s catalogue. The emotional highlight is “Emotionally Yours,” for which Stewart once directed the music video. The raw production underscores the personal connection, but Stewart’s voice sometimes lacks the necessary roughness for Dylan’s complex lyrics. The album feels more like a diary than an artistic reinterpretation. For Dylan purists, a charming curiosity; for Stewart fans, a rare glimpse into his musical DNA. Like “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” this shows the power of sober authenticity. A tribute to Dylan, certainly. Also nice that you can make these kinds of recordings on an iPhone nowadays. Annoying? Also. Not very interesting. (Jan Vranken) (6/10) (Surfdog Records)

Raquel Marina – Kind Words

“Kind Words” is the first full album by this Canadian singer who brings a pleasantly listenable mix of jazz and folk. Also worth mentioning: Marina hasn’t recorded a single cover; all songs are original. Real songs, each with a story on a fine, infectious melody and beautiful arrangements of which the opening “All of It” is immediately a sample, as Marina duets with Kae Murphy’s trumpet. Marina gives plenty of space to the musicians surrounding her: listen, for example, to “May You Know,” with virtuoso guitar playing by Julien Bradley-Combs. It must be said that the solos lift this record to a higher level, because despite having her own vocal sound, it sometimes seems as if Marina doesn’t sing entirely in tune. Sometimes she scrapes against it… it sounds very fragile, uncertain, and sometimes tends toward simply off-key, as in “My Bohemian Hour” where she’s assisted by Alyssa Giammaria, who takes over vocally halfway through. A breath of fresh air. The closing track, “The Way You Look At Me” fortunately makes up for a lot: in about nine minutes, Marina shows here, including scat, that she’s an asset to easy listening jazz. Come on, let’s close with some kind words after all. (Jeroen Mulder) (7/10) (Raquel Marina Music)

Li Rye – Murder & Mardi Gras

Li Rye’s “Murder & Mardi Gras” shows the harsh reality of an artist whose ambitions exceed his technical skills. The album opens disappointingly with “School,” where the obligatory descending chord immediately exposes the musical limitations, a missed opportunity for a powerful statement. The production attempts to mask Li Rye’s shortcomings become painfully obvious on tracks like “Tell Me The Truth.” Despite shiny beats and extra layers, the superficial production cannot hide his limited melodic sense and weak timing. His lived-through stories about Mobile, Alabama, deserve better musical framing. Where Li Rye does score is in his authentic storytelling; the emotional charge of his lyrics truly hits. However, good intentions don’t compensate for the fundamental musical shortcomings that plague the album. The sequencing feels random, chord schemes remain predictably basic. For Gucci Mane’s The New 1017 label, a risky project that deserved more time and guidance. Like many Young Dolph imitators, Li Rye lacks the natural musicality that makes Southern rap truly swing. (Elodie Renard) (5/10) (26K)

AAPI Jazz Collective – Identity

This group couldn’t have chosen a better title for their debut. Regarding identity, the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Jazz Collective cannot be put in a box. The pivot of the group is trombonist Peter Lin, an American with Taiwanese roots. It will therefore be no surprise that AAPI’s music is continent-spanning: we hear American jazz and fusion with Asian influences. The result is an infectious mix with eleven original and very varied compositions; from the funky “Anh Dau Em Do” (Vietnamese for “I am your man”) to the polished “A Town With An Ocean View” which is mainly carried by trumpeter Brandon Choi’s delicate playing over drummer Wen-Tin Wu’s subtle brushwork. The highlight, however, is the bop of “Magpie’s New Years Day.” And then we have “Ringo Oiwake”: a title that refers to a Japanese, folkloric music style, but we hear an unmistakable, languid rumba that immediately brings us to Latin American spheres. Yet none of the pieces really “stick.” Nowhere are we surprised, though this is certainly not a bad album. But we hear eleven separate pieces without a connecting factor. Perhaps it’s precisely the absence of a clear identity that makes the whole sound too much like loose sand. (Jeroen Mulder) (7/10) (OA2 Records)