Nights in the (not so) big city...

A mix of new and not (so) new albums that I am listening to at the start of this year.

I have to admit that even though I am living in Switzerland this release fell very much under my radar. Bound by Endogamy (interesting choice for a group name by the way) are a Geneva-based duo with origins from the squat/punk scene. These origins are very much apparent in their self-titled debut which combines the minimalism of Kleenex with the punk electronics of DAF. Cold, dark and powerful but still something that you can “dance” to…at least keeping your fist in the air…

Swedish musician and actress Mariam Wallentin returns with her third full album under the name Mariam The Believer. Breathing Techniques, being her most mature effort until now, is an introspective Jazz album perfectly matching the cold nights of this winter.

Not an album that really got out of my attention but rather an album that I have purchased later than its release. Even though I am using digital platforms and youtube for music discovery I am still very much (to the dissatisfaction of my wife) a fan and collector of music in physical format so balancing financial and record-collection priorities can be challenging most of the the times.

Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns is the new trio that the famous Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen formed in 2023 together with with keyboardist Ståle Storløkken (from the jazz-prog band Elephant9), and drummer Ole Mofjell. Clearly inspired by the electric period of Miles Davis and the improvisation prog rock of bands such as King Crimson, Soft Machine, Henry Cow and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weejuns manages to avoid being a cheap imitation or a tribute but rather stands as an individual creative piece of music work.

There is not much information about Radio City on the internet and the fact that their only album had the same title with one of the most popular songs by Scorpions does not really help much when it comes to SEO aspects and internet search results. Nevertheless, this does not change the fact the Big City Nights is one of the most underated AOR gems of the 80s. Originally out in 1988 only in tape format, is “seeing” now a new extended CD release with restored sound and 6 more songs. This is high quality melodic rock and fans of the genre should move with haste as this is going to be sold out and become again rare fast !