Not the Centre of the Circle, But the Middle of the Edge

The Chop, Dorea, Folk Bitch Trio, Okonski, Shame, Wendy Eisenberg

Letting the music, not the name, do the talking.

Entrance Music : Okonski

Best for : Second year jazz fan

Steve Okonski leads a jazz trio that he wants to trick people into liking jazz. To that end he plays jazz piano with proper tunes. 'Entrance Music' suggests that some prior work may have been needed to attract the audience, as this has a definite jazz feel that is more than mere flavouring. Less committed listeners wandering in through this particular entrance may quickly find themselves looking for the exit. More fool them, for there is much here to enjoy and nothing to induce fear.

He also claims to find it hard to come up with strong melodies, but you wouldn't know it from these tunes. You can safely leave the jazz elements to weave their little flourishes and wait for the next melody to drive. And if your attention slips and you miss one, there will be another along very shortly.

This is an album that is easy to listen to, while offering more than easy listening. It has an infectious sense of contentment. It's a little like the music you might find played in an arts cinema while settling down to watch a much anticipated film and before Pearl and Dean make their appearance.

'October' is the perfect track to open the show, and not just because of the time of year. It's a track that paints pictures and creates feeling, strongly suggesting a narrow avoidance of hurricanes as strong breezes rustle the leaves. It's a trick that he pulls off in 'Summer Storm' too. Perhaps the weather is his inspiration.

This is lovely stuff without quite producing that 'this is it' moment. It's just a little too easy to lose it in the background. That makes it a likeable record, but not a long term favourite.

Taster Track : October

Now Would Be A Good Time : Folk Bitch Trio

Best for : Ugly songs with beautiful harmonies

Folk Bitch Trio are three Australians who write songs about what they know and what they know is a little grubby, quite dark and not always pretty. It could be a no filter experience, but it transpires that within this life are the voices of angels.

These are songs built around harmonies. Without them they could be weighed down, roadkill on pop's pathway, too raw and bleeding for mass consumption. Their voices capture the beauty in damage, like a peacock's plumage as it lies injured at the side of the road. They're the reason that the slow strum and intensely confined lyrics of 'Hotel TV' can capture intense weariness without becoming ugly.

These are not the tales of young girls with sensitive souls but of women with bruises who live imperfect lives as a result of the choices they've made. A song such as 'That's All She Wrote' shows the dark sides of freedom and desire. 'Sarah' offers you voices to cling to when you're falling. They aim to save you, not to give you a helping hand to soar. (Imagine though if they did turn their attention to something more uplifting, and the euphoria that could produce!)

The harmonies are your reason for listening to this, and their essence is contained in 'I'll Find A Way (To Carry It All)'. It's a gorgeous acapella number that has the hushed vibe of candle lit Christmases in a hushed and spellbound cathedral.

Focus purely on the voices and The Staves come to mind. Add in the darker context and you shift a few degrees closer to Fleet Foxes.

Thank Folk Bitch Trio for illuminating the beauty in the darkness.

Taster Track : I'll Find A Way (To Carry It All)

Cutthroat : Shame

Best for : A Monday morning wake up call

It's 05:30 on a dark, drizzly, tired Monday morning. I'm moving with about as much energy and momentum as that time deserves. I press play on this morning's album and these are the first words I hear.

"Big, beautiful, naked women fall out of the sky

Motherf**ker, I was born to die

Sweaty Roman armies fighting down in the dirt."

Now, I'm awake.

So, not a chilled and mellow start to the week then. Of course, I knew something of Shame's style and reputation but I wasn't prepared for how quickly they get in your face and mind. It's almost physical and it's thrilling. This is like waking up and tombstoning or undertaking an ice bucket challenge. This music brings every part of you to life, whether you're ready for it or not.

Shame are London's answer to Fontaines DC. This is a discordant riot of guitars, highly stimulated drums and a surfeit of wild energy. And, importantly, it's also tuneful.These songs feel rooted in a style where the no filter style of punk has merged with the greater musical complexity of post punk. They make it loud, and they make it quick. Individual songs barely matter as they fall chaotically from one to another with scarcely time to catch breath.The music is jagged and angular, full of multi paced guitars and rhythms. It's glorious.

Singer Charlie Steen's performance is key. Everything funnels towards his delivery. On 'To and Fro' he may sing

" I ain't got a good voice

But it don't mean I don't mean what I say in a song"

He has the perfect voice for pushing these songs and attracting noisy attention.. He makes the point clearly. Modern life is rubbish but stop moaning about it and get on with living. His attitude is more John Lydon than Joe Strummer. He's a lord of chaos and misrule, the kind of man who might dislodge a floor display of paint for the second time in the full knowledge of what's going to happen and how noisy and messy it is about to get.

You can bracket Shame with bands such as Yard Act and Geese. They're all bands who do their own thing and only their own thing. They're truly independent in voice and spirit..

One thing is for certain, if something is worth doing, it's worth doing as well as this.

Taster Track : Cowards Around.

It's The Chop : The Chop

Best for : Home made synth pop with charm appeal

Synth pop used to be the sound of the future. The Chop have made an album of lo fi gems that sound like a soundtrack for the past.

Remember when synth pop was made by people with bright lights, massive hair and Caribbean yachts? This is synth pop that sounds like a prototype. It sounds like two friends making music together on a basic synthesiser that one of them received for Christmas. 'Out Every Night' captures the feeling perfectly. It's wistful and a little wonky and it has the innocence and charm of a new born pet.

There's a sense of wonder to be found beneath the surface. Its slow and steady pace sounds tentative, the first steps into a new world. It might feel a little strange, like bell ringing or morris dancing, but it brings the same comforting sense of togetherness.

It could only have been made by a duo, one for words and one for music. These songs are homemade works of art, like the album cover itself which could have started as a doodle before becoming something remarkable. One benefit of its simplicity is that hooks and melodies are plentiful and unadorned.

The feeling of thoughts given voice that you take from songs such as 'No Heels' and 'The Trailer Was Better' brings the feel of eavesdropping on private moments. They're conversational and engaging. Something like an accordion plays a big part in the feel. It's true that if your idea of holiday hell is to spend it wandering around artisan markets and craft fayres while sipping craft beers in the sun, you may itch for something more dynamic and energising. I love it.

When real life intrudes in the form of the 'F' word in 'Here We Go', it jars as if a sweet suburban Mum had suddenly used it in the 1960s when you were young. It's powerful and it still sounds like the friendliest bout of swearing you can imagine.

It's not quite unique, but it's an uncommon musical approach. Imagine if the Young Marble Giants had sung and performed folk. Or think what the music of Helen McCookerybook might sound like if you've never heard her before.

This is music that helps you to feel better about the world. Don't ignore it.

Taster Track : Out Every Night

O Que Mais Voce Quer Saber De Mim? : Dorea

Best for : Brazilian music shorn of tourist appeal, but possessing a pure quality.

Think of Brazilian music and you'll likely think of warm sunny beaches and samba or bossa nova rhythms. There's more to it than that as Dorea sets out to show us, but it's an inescapable consequence that in doing so, it has to succeed on broader terms.

The first thing that strikes you is that Dorea has a soft and kindly voice. For the most part his songs are simple voice and guitar. The touchpoint for a song such as 'Mais Que Dois' is 70s sensitive and delicate singer songwriter, night time listening for switching off from the day. If there's a flaw it's that it is also easy to switch off from the music.

Naturally the Portuguese influence is also strong. I spent an enjoyable hour listening to their traditional fado music on holiday in Lisbon a few years ago but, here's the catch. I haven't wanted to listen to it again .Dorea may not play what is strictly fado music, but he does make music that seeks purity rather than feeling. It's beautifully and tastefully done, and it contains much that some may love but little that is likely to excite the senses.

Songs such as 'Essa Pressa' are thoughtful and worked out. The complicated rhythm and time switches are nicely handled.'Sem Ancorar' is the rare bird you suddenly notice during a forest walk, causing you to keep still and hold your breath rather than disturb it.

On this album, Dorea reveals himself to be a musician's musician. His music is worthy, even laudable, but even though it remains gentle it becomes a little too much. While you're listening to it, time stands still but that allows your mind to wander where it will rather than focus on the songs.

If you come to this seeking beach music, you'll likely be disappointed. If you come to it with curiosity, as you would to a performer playing in the basement of a hard to find club away from tourist hot spots, you could be happily surprised.

Taster Track : Sem Ancorar

Wendy Eisenberg : Wendy Eisenberg

Best for : Musical skill and performance

Sometimes I wonder if pop demands that artists sell themselves short. For every self taught three chord punk, there are others who play it safe rather than stretching themselves and taking risks. Wendy Eisenberg is emphatically not one of that group.

Her songs are bold and challenging. She's a composer more than a sensitive singer-songwriter. Her musicianship throughout is intricate and complex. To this music blogger, whose height of musical achievement was to scrape through from elementary piano into Primary grade, it's remarkable how she seems to activate different parts of her brain and body simultaneously. It's the musical equivalent of rubbing her tummy and patting her head at the same time. Her songs become works of art and a performance showcase for her skill and musical imagination.

This is an album that demands repeated listening to reveal its rewards. At times it's as if she feels that the world's melodies have been nearly exhausted and she's having to search harder to find any that are unused. The quest for loveliness and art trumps passion and immediacy. Live, I'd imagine that she'd attract an audience to watch and listen in hushed reverence. That keeps her at a distance from those who listen to her.

Nevertheless there are moments throughout the album that capture and hold your attention. On 'Business Meaning' she conjures a feel of country and western strings playing chamber pop. It's strange but enjoyable, like discovering a new and unexpected blend of flavours. I was immediately drawn to 'Old Myth Dying', where the guitar sounds like church bells on a misty Sunday morning. 'Will You Dare' will lull and seduce you. Her vocals flutter, like chattering birds. 'Curious Bird' is both a lovely song and one that describes her very well.

She's too distinctive for easy comparisons, but she shares something of Brian Wilson's ability to create something truly different that you may not have heard before. The dedication to cutting her own path regardless echoes Joanna Newsom.

It says something that I've struggled with writing this review more than any other. There's so much to unpick, and the rich density of the songs may be offputting for many. I have one foot in that camp, but I'm also full of admiration for the ambition and stretch of the album.

Taster Track : Old Myth Dying