Album review overview: Olivia Marsh, Kemuel Roig 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 we post an overview of albums that arrive at the editors in short reviews today.

Photo (c) Jorge Fakhouri Filho

Braxton Keith – Real Damn Deal

On his debut album “Real Damn Deal”, Midland-born Braxton Keith plants his flag in the honky-tonk mud and refuses to walk away from it again. Fifteen tracks, twenty-four minutes of net enjoyment, and production by Alex Torrez and David Dorn that hovers between Bob Wills swing and radio-friendly Nashville polish. “I Ain’t Tryin” rolls out like a two-step from a Texan dance hall of sixty years ago, while ‘Wind Blows’ and ‘Baby You Do’ lean more towards Dierks Bentley. His voice has that almost comical, high twang of a man who genuinely believes he is the real deal. The issue lies in the credits: ten co-writes with Liz Rose, Chris Stapleton, Jim Lauderdale and others smell like a hit factory. Anyone who has heard ‘I Own This Bar’ before knows what the formula delivers. Accessible, skilful, without a single moment that feels dangerous. (Elodie Renard) (8/10) (Warner Records Nashville)

Melani Granci – To Some Place New

“To Some Place New” is the debut of Franco-Italian composer and pianist Melani Granci. And as a debut, Granci is also searching for her own sound. Whether she has fully succeeded is debatable. The eight tracks show craftsmanship, something you would expect from an alumna of Saint Louis in Rome, followed by further studies in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In the meantime, she has worn her fingers to the bone in local jazz clubs. Enough hours in the air, and with that knowledge, you set the bar high as a listener. The compositions are well put together, and that certainly applies to the arrangements, in which, alongside the piano, James Pettinger’s accordion plays a major role, as in the restrained ‘Maria’s Song’. Yet we are never truly surprised. On the contrary, certain elements even get on our nerves, such as the wordless singing of Aitzi Cofre Real. When Real finally spills out in ‘When You Feel Like It’, Granci shows she can use 88 keys to open new worlds, new places to go. All in all, not a bad debut, but the bar has not been met. (Jeroen Mulder) (6/10) (Milena Granci)

Rhododendron – Ascent Effort

The Portland trio Rhododendron delivers with “Ascent Effort” (The Flenser, 2026) a second record that refuses to be categorised and is proud of it. Five tracks, forty minutes, recorded by Nicholas Wilbur in Anacortes. Ezra Chong (guitar, vocals), Gage Walker (bass) and Noah Mortola (drums) operate in the twilight zone between math rock, post-hardcore, jazz fusion and the angular legacy of Slint and Rodan. Opener ‘Firmament’ begins synthetic and misty before unfolding over eight minutes into something that edges towards Biffy Clyro without becoming it. ‘Like Spitting Out Copper’ shifts halfway from cinematic bass into outright screaming. The closer, ‘Within Crippling Light’, at thirteen minutes, reaches for the sublime and then holds on about two minutes too long. A record that conquers the listener by refusing to meet them halfway. (Anton Dupont) (8/10) (The Flenser)

Olivia Marsh – Paraglider

With her second EP “Paraglider” (Warner Music Korea, 2026), Australian-Korean Olivia Marsh delivers five tracks that float just as the title suggests. The former songwriter for Kep1er and Kiss Of Life, raised between Newcastle (NSW) and Seoul, continues to develop as a singer and composer on an EP that she says was born after severe turbulence on a flight. Focus track ‘Roll’ is propulsive indie pop about a fleeting encounter that only existed in the dark. The airy, breathing production sits closer to Tame Impala than the K-pop machinery in which Marsh learned her craft. ‘Stranger Tides’ and ‘One Touch’ confirm she is stronger in atmosphere than in choruses. If you knew ‘Strategy’ from her debut EP “Meanwhile”, you will hear the same whispering intimacy, now with more confidence. Short, beautiful, and it is a shame it is only five tracks. (Jan Vranken) (7/10) (Warner Music Korea)

Kemuel Roig – Both Sides Now

A full eighty minutes. That is the running time of Cuba-born pianist Kemuel Roig’s record. Good value for money, and to be fair, up to track ten, there is nothing wrong, and we are willingly carried along in Roig’s interpretations of songs that are close to his heart. The opening ‘Junk’, written and recorded in 1970 by Paul McCartney, is an immediate statement. In Roig’s version, the waltz is slowed down even further, with notes held for a long time. You hear the pianist’s phenomenal technique, immense control and absolute love for melody. A wide range of songwriters and composers pass by. From Joni Mitchell (the title piece is hers) to Cole Porter and Michel Legrand. In ‘Contigo Aprendí’ and ‘Esta Tarde Vi Llover’, he also reveals where his roots lie. Cuban sentiment, but with subtle accents drawn from jazz and classical romanticism. It is Roig and his piano. That is fine for an hour, but eighty minutes is simply too long for a solo piano record in this genre. A producer should have stepped in with a selection from the thirteen pieces included here. Kill your darlings. (Jeroen Mulder) (7/10) (Life In Music)