What We’re Listening To: PJ Harvey’s Profound New Album & Other Things You Need To Hear

Record reviewer Peter Baker brings you the releases you need to know about. This week, sit back to the wonderous voice of singer PJ Harvey as she excavates loss and love, tracks reminiscent of Lorde’s nostalgia for early 2000s pop, and a dozen poignant works from the late Ryuichi Sakamoto.

PJ Harvey — I Inside the Old Year Dying

English singer Polly Jean Harvey needs no introduction. A singer, songwriter, producer, actor, poet and artist who performs as PJ Harvey, she is a lauded musician with an outstanding catalogue and a host of awards and accolades. In 2013, she was awarded an MBE for Services to Music, she has numerous Grammy Award nominations and is the only artist to have won the Mercury Prize twice.

I Inside the Old Year Dying is Harvey’s 10th studio album and her first in seven years, drawing inspiration from her long-form poem Orlam. Long-time collaborators Flood and John Parish (Aldous Harding) joined Harvey in the studio, and what unfolded was an eerie expression of loss and love, centered around Harvey’s engaging vocals layered over loops, post-punk bass, regimented rhythms and angular guitars. Poetic and profound, I Inside the Old Year Dying is an enigmatic return from this incredible artist.

Record label: Partisan Records

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘A Child’s Question, August’

For fans of: Nick Cave, Patti Smith, and Anna Calvi.

Claud — Supermodels

Having released several independent EPs, Claud had the esteemed pleasure of being the first artist signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ label Saddest Factory Records in 2020. After an exhausting period promoting and touring their debut album, Claud returned home, hoping to relax and celebrate all that had been achieved, but sadly it wasn’t to be. Their life was about to change, impacted by devastating loss and isolation, so Claud did what they knew best, jumping into writing and demoing their new album. Armed with a new acoustic guitar and a second-hand upright piano, Supermodels began to take form. A powerful expression of personal growth, backed by 80s alternative rock, 90s big chords and 00s Lorde-esque pop sensibilities, Supermodels is an enthralling document of our times and Claud’s own personal journey.

Record label: Saddest Factory Records

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘Every F*cking Time’

For fans of: Hole, Lorde, and Boygenius.

Various — Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night

Documenting a scene before it explodes is a writer’s dream, and that’s exactly what Nik Cohn achieved with his short story Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night, published in June 1976 when disco was the biggest genre of music on the charts and about to take over the world. In 1975, Cohn began frequenting the underground clubs of Brooklyn and Queens, where the soundtrack was wall-to-wall R ‘n’ B and soul, and everyone lived for the weekend. What he documented during this time would become the basis for the global phenomenon that was Saturday Night Fever.

Record label: Ace Records

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘Supernatural Thing, Pt. 1′

For fans of: Ben E. King, Betty Everett, and Gloria Scott.

Sun Ra — The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra

Alabama-born and raised, Herman Poole Blount became involved in the Chicago jazz scene in the late 1940s, ditching his given name and adopting Le Sony’r Ra, soon shortened to Sun Ra. He is revered for his eclectic and avant-garde performances, encapsulating the history of jazz, from New Orleans, to swing, bebop, free jazz and fusion. He developed an outer-worldly musical persona, claiming to hail from Saturn and sent here on a mission of peace.

The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra is the ensemble’s only release on the legendary Savoy Records and the first recording by a pared-down Arkestra (seven main instrumentalists and vocalist Ricky Murray on ‘China Gate’), as the group had recently relocated to New York, losing some members along the way. Connecting with Tom Wilson (Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan and The Velvet Underground) on arrival, accommodation sorted and plans laid, Wilson booked a recording session for Ra and the Arkestra on October 10, 1961, laying down what is deemed to be their most easily accessible work (bar track five ‘The Beginning’, a six-minute percussive and free-form workout). Effortlessly spiritual, the album has a laidback flavour to it, making it an ideal entry point to the magical career of Sun Ra and his Arkestra.

Record label: Coolnote

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘Bassism’

For fans of: Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Yusef Lateef.

Ryuichi Sakamoto — 12

Japanese composer, producer and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto sadly passed away in March this year. As a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and with a vast solo career, he is a revered pioneer of various electronic genres and leaves an incredible mark on today’s musical landscape. In 2014, he was diagnosed with cancer and his life changed dramatically; he cancelled live performances and began to reconcile his own mortality. 12 is a collection of a dozen thoughtful and poignant works for piano and electronics, written and recorded during the artist’s intense cancer treatment and the pandemic. These stark and minimal compositions are both moving and graceful as Sakamoto expertly leaves space for himself and the listener: space to relax, adjust and endure.

Record label: Milan

Release date: Out now

Listen to: ‘20220304′

For fans of: Max Richter, Brian Eno, and Harold Budd.

Peter Baker is a local industry stalwart with 30 years of 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: Little Smiz’s astonishing album and other things you need to hear