By Maxazine South Africa 
Dozens of new albums arrive at Maxazine’s editorial staff every week. There are too many to listen to, let alone review. This ensures that too many albums are left behind, and that’s a shame. That is why we post an overview of albums that arrive at the editors’ desks today, along with brief reviews.
Photo (c) Jorge Fakhouri Filho
People in Orbit – Viewpoints
Take a look at the titles, and you know you have a concept album in your hands from a band that does not take itself too seriously, although that latter point may be open to interpretation. And with that, we arrive at the theme of this album: perspective and interpretation. We do not see things as they are, but as we are. Or as we listen. People in Orbit, a five-piece formation from Malmö in Sweden, wraps this philosophical question in a mix of jazz rock and electronics, with influences from traditional jazz. The backbone of “Viewpoints” is formed by “Cycles”, including the prelude, a five-part suite. A title like “Bombastic and Majestic Introduction” sparks great curiosity and raises the question of whether the title lives up to its promise. Founder and trumpeter Adam Sass and saxophonist Edin Ekman are given full freedom in the improvisations. That space for improvisation is there, but everything remains neatly within the lines. The compositions on “Viewpoints” are well thought out, as is the structure of the arrangements. At the same time, the Swedes manage to maintain tension by constantly playing with dynamics, within and between the different tracks. Naturally, comparisons with Weather Report come to mind, although the Swedes are less flamboyant and more restrained. If one had to mention a drawback, it is that People in Orbit sometimes plays with the brakes on just a little too much. (Jeroen Mulder) (7/10) (April Records)
Squarepusher – Kammerkonzert
With “Kammerkonzert”, Tom Jenkinson, better known as Squarepusher, ventures fully into the world of chamber music for the first time. The title is German for chamber concert, and the name is meaningful: fourteen tracks built on strings, fortepiano, vibraphone, woodwinds and live drums, all played and programmed by Jenkinson himself via a MIDI guitar system. The familiar IDM blueprint remains recognisable, but the usual electronic sounds have been replaced by acoustic instruments, resulting in an album that is both cerebral and playful. “K7 Museum” is the most infectious moment, with a harpsichord and slap bass interplay that floats somewhere between Mozart and Miles Davis. On “K5 Fremantle”, eerie drones and pizzicato plucks are set against each other. The lead singles “K2 Central” and “K13 Vigilant” demonstrate Jenkinson’s ability to build surprising textural shifts without abandoning the core of his sound. “Kammerkonzert” is not his most adventurous work, but it is tightly and intelligently executed. (Tobias Braun) (7/10) (Warp)
El Ten Eleven – Nowhere Faster
The Los Angeles post-rock duo El Ten Eleven releases its sixteenth record with “Nowhere Faster”, following its longest break in 23 years of collaboration. The album is thematically rooted in unrest and transience, and this is audible in the eight tracks that Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty have assembled. A new element is the inclusion of live strings and piano, heard for the first time in their discography and giving tracks such as the title track and “You Against You” a cinematic sheen. The album is divided into two halves: the first four tracks revolve around electric bass, the second half around acoustic bass processed through effects pedals. “Uncanny Valley Girl” opens with a returning delay period that Dunn had not used for years, while “Last Night in the Kitchen” evokes the energy of a classic Bond theme. Closing track “So It Goes” draws from Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” and ends as an Americana-tinged lament. Nowhere do they sound like the past, but nowhere does it feel like excessive risk-taking either. (Anton Dupont) (7/10) (Joyful Noise)
Love Ghost – Anarchy And Ashes
“Anarchy And Ashes” is the latest work from this prolific alternative rock band from Los Angeles. Singer and guitarist Finnegan Bell is the driving force and constant factor behind Love Ghost. This is his second collaboration with Tim Sköld, who produced this mini-album but does not appear as a performing artist. At the end of 2024, Love Ghost released the widely acclaimed album “Love Ghost x Skold”. The band also regularly collaborates with Mexican artists such as Wiplash and Adán Cruz. In these cross-border collaborations, genres and languages (Spanish and English) are blended. The songs on “Anarchy And Ashes” are all sung in English and, in addition to five new original tracks, include two versions of Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”. If you want to acquire everything Finnegan Bell is involved in, you would need to take out a second mortgage. I would advise listeners who enjoy music in the vein of Marilyn Manson and Skold to look for other, especially longer albums in the genre. This mini-album is a rather superfluous release. (Ad Keepers) (6/10) (Metropolis Records)
Blaudzun – The Best Of
Johannes Sigmond has now been active for nearly 20 years under the name Blaudzun and has released nine albums since 2008. So a compilation album offering an overview of his work was certainly due. One might question whether compilation albums are still relevant in 2026, as streaming services allow you to gather everything into a playlist yourself. However, it is still valuable when the artist selects the tracks they believe belong in their own canon. Blaudzun also made a valid point in the accompanying press release that he himself discovered the work of The Beatles and The Cure through compilation albums. They also function as an introduction to an artist’s work. And so there is now “The Best of Blaudzun”. It provides a fine overview, from a modest song (and audience favourite) “Wolf’s Behind The Glass” to larger productions such as “Bonfire” from his most recent album “Latter Days”. All 17 tracks are of a high standard. The only possible remark is that one well-known song is conspicuously absent: the radio hit “Who Took The Wheel”. (Peter van Cappelle) (9/10) (V2 Records)
