What We’re Listening To: Everything But The Girl & Other Bands You Need To Hear

Record reviewer Peter Baker brings you the releases you need to know about. Below, a lo-fi indie singer channels the Velvet Underground, Everything but the Girl returns, and an album is steeped in gospel-inspired soul.

Nabihah Iqbal — Dreamer

No doubt there were moments when Nabihah Iqbal thought Dreamer was only a dream or maybe even a nightmare. In early 2020, her UK studio was burgled, all her work was stolen (including her long-awaited new album), then her grandmother called, informing her that her grandfather had suffered a brain hemorrhage. Distraught, she was on the next plane home to Karachi, Pakistan. There she purchased an acoustic guitar and harmonium, cobbled together a small home studio and began work on the follow-up to 2017′s critically acclaimed Weighing of the Heart.

With the loss of her yet-to-be-released album, she was given the time for new ideas to emerge. Back in the UK, she took up residences in Scotland and Suffolk, where work on Dreamer began in earnest.

Dreamer is a deeper personal album, one which Nabihah wrote, recorded and produced herself (except for four songs that feature live drums). It is laden with Nabihah’s musical reference points, Dream Pop, Shoegaze, 80s electronica and 90s dancefloor, all cleverly woven together, delivering an uplifting lo-fi electronic album that easily surpasses its predecessor.

Record label: Ninja Tune

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘Dreamer’

Everything but the Girl — Fuse

The surprise return of 2023 must go to Everything but the Girl. Musical duo Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt called it quits on EBTG in 2000, when Tracey declared she no longer wanted to perform live. Established in 1982, EBTG has always received critical acclaim and commercial success, initially with its sophisticated cafe jazz-pop and then flirting with delicate electronic beats. International fame came with Todd Terry’s remix of Missing and their follow-up album, Walking Wounded.

The pair married in 2009. Both have released solo albums and Ben started a record label and club night and embarked on a successful DJ career. Fast forward to the spring of 2021 and the couple are recording in secret, layering electronic loops with ambient soundscapes, revelling in the opportunity to record with new technology without restrictions or expectations.

Fuse was completed in a small riverside studio near Bath, where Tracey delivers some of her best vocals to date. Her unmistakable voice is as fresh and moving as ever, floating seamlessly above the electronic platforms created by herself and Ben. A beautiful return from this talented pair.

Record label: Virgin

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘Nothing Left to Lose’

For fans of: Tosca, Morcheeba, and Lamb.

Durand Jones — Wait Til I Get Over

As one of the principal songwriters and lead vocalists in Durand Jones and the Indications, Durand and his bandmates have previously served up three excellent albums of energetic R ‘n’ B.

Steeped in history and the injustices of the past and present, Durand draws heavily from his relationship with his hometown, Hillaryville, Louisiana — a town first established as a form of reparations to previously enslaved Black Americans.

Bursting with gospel-inspired soul, Wait Til I Get Over is poignant and painful. Durand establishes himself as a solo artist and continues to be at the forefront of Southern Black music. It’s a touching collection of songs rooted in folk rock, church music and funk-fuelled R ‘n’ B, providing Durand with an avenue to deliver his most vulnerable album yet.

Record label: Dead Oceans

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘That Feeling’

For fans of: Leon Bridges, Otis Redding, and Stevie Wonder.

Lael Neale — Star Eaters Delight

Leaving Los Angeles in 2020 and returning to her family home in rural Virginia, beguiling lo-fi indie singer Lael Neale helped with farmyard tasks and household chores. Over a two-year period, she was constantly creating song sketches in her mind, distanced from the world and reflecting on her sense of self and humanity.

It was an extremely productive time when she wrote and recorded to cassette, using her weapons of choice, the Mellotron and the Suzuki Omnichord, as the basis for each song. Lael skilfully channels the Velvet Underground on this lo-fi lockdown album.

Record label: Sub Pop

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘Must Be Tears’

For fans of: Angel Olsen, Look Blue Go Purple, and Nico.

In Case You Missed It: Bria — Cuntry Covers Vol. 2 EP

Bria Salmena unleashes Cuntry Covers Vol. 2, continuing her sassy reinterpretation series where she reinvents Americana standards.

Fresh off the Orville Peck tour and supported by multi-instrumentalist Duncan Hay Jennings, the pair undertake classics from Gillian Welch, Paula Cole, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Robert Lester Folsom, Glenn Campbell and Loretta Lynn.

All of the tracks are reworked. Electronics and brass are interwoven with Bria’s brazen and soulful vocals. There’s something stark and original on show here and it’s certainly worth investigating.

Record label: Subpop

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?’

For fans of: Nick Cave, Orville Peck, and Neko Case.

Peter Baker is a local industry stalwart with 30 years’ experience and musical tastes from 80s electronic through to reggae, soul, jazz and country. If you’re lucky, you’ll find him in Tāmaki Makaurau behind the counter at Marbecks.co.nz, sharing his love of music. Read his album recommendations on Viva every Saturday.

Previously: Masterfully crafted folk and other things you need to hear