Barrie
Barbara
(Winspear)
★★★★

HAPPY To Be Here, the exquisite debut from Brooklyn five-piece Barrie, hasn’t been far from my stereo since it was released in 2019.

Turns out the group split up shortly after, with songwriter and frontwoman Barrie Lindsay deciding to continue solo. Any concerns fans might have are quickly dispelled, with Barbara full of the kind of dreamy and melodic synth pop that lifted their first record to such great heights.

Much like Tame Impala there is a gorgeous blend of layered sounds, warm production and engagingly delivered lines that invites repeated listening.

The lyrics of the pulsating Frankie touch on Glen Campbell’s Witchita Lineman and FDR’s New Deal, while Jenny is apparently a love letter to Lindsay’s new wife. With its Animal Collective-style percussive and vocal hooks, Dig pushes the experimental boat out a little.

Absolutely fabulous.
 

Neil Young
Citizen Kane Junior Blues 1974 (Live at the Bottom Line)
(Warners)
★★★★

THIS legendary concert is the latest in Neil Young’s official bootleg series (he is releasing two other performances from the early ’70s on the same day).

As one of just two solo gigs the Canadian singer-songwriter did in 1974, it showcases just how creatively fertile Young was at the time, with many of the songs destined to appear on albums like On The Beach, Tonight’s The Night and Zuma.

The recording is an audience bootleg: there is quite a bit of interference, crowd chatter and general restlessness. Luckily the quality of performance shines through.

With just an acoustic guitar and harmonica Young runs through a fantastic set, playing the epic, rarely heard Pushed It Over the End, a nine-minute Ambulance Blues, an intense Revolution Blues and a cover of Greensleeves.

Ol’ Shakey at the peak of his powers.
 

Katie Spencer
The Edge Of The Land
(Lightship Records)
★★★

RECORDED over just two days, Katie Spencer’s second album explores our relationship with the natural world. “The landscapes that I grew up in still continue to inform my music,” she says about her east Yorkshire origins along the Humber.

She cites Sandy Denny, John Martyn and Michael Chapman as influences on her consummate contemporary folk songs – all originals except for a cover of Anne Briggs’s Go Your Way – though I also hear a strong echo of Canadian legend Joni Mitchell.

With her striking vocals, fingerpicked acoustic guitar and talented musicians providing discreet backing on double bass, drums, piano and flugelhorn, she conjures a wonderfully elegant atmosphere.

Shannon Road is a real highlight, the chorus bringing to mind the late ’60s pastoral folk of Nick Drake’s Five Leaves Left debut record.

Unhurried and assured, it’s a beautifully realised set.