by Two Steps on the Water
Two Steps on the Water - Sword Songs (PBS Feature Record)
Following on from last year’s debut LP God Forbid Anyone Look Me in the Eye, Melbourne’s Two Steps on the Water return with Sword Songs, a heartbreaking collection of songs that goes some way to capture the ferocity and intimacy of Two Steps on stage. Expanding to a four-piece with the addition of Ellah Blake on keys, Sword Songs finds vocalist June Jones seeking catharsis in sharing her deeply personal experiences as a transgender woman across the nine tracks of the LP. Sienna Thornton’s violin parts have become as much a signature part of the band’s sound as Jones’ vocals – album highlight ‘Bolt of Lightning’ building to a crescendo that evokes The Dirty Three at their most furious.
Ibeyi - Ash (featured on The Breakfast Spread)
Ibeyi is French-Cuban twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. Ash, their second album for the lauded XL Recordings, picks up where their 2015 self-titled debut left off – a beguiling mix of traditional Yoruba rhythms and Afro-Cuban percussion, jazz vocals, contemporary RNB and experimental electronic pop. Ash features a cast of big name collaborators including jazz saviour Kamasi Washington on lead single ‘Deathless’, Spanish rap star Mala Rodriguez on the dancehall-inspired ‘Me Voy’ (their first Spanish-language single) and DC funk legend Meshell Ndegeocello on ‘Transmission/Michaelion’.
Thematically, Ash shows an evolution in Ibeyi’s songwriting, with their experiences as women of colour and the dire state of global affairs putting an inevitable political bent on this assured collection of songs.
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