Promises

Hemi Hemingway - Wings of Desire (2026) ***

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: (To Be) Without You

When I started listening to this album I wasn't sure if it was a long-lost gem from the 1980s, or a retro attempt to recreate the 1980s. That big sound, those eighties synths, the gated drum sound, the big vocal style - all the eighties touch points.

I lost track of those touch points, but here's the biggies I noticed off the bat: Rick Astley; The Thompson Twins; Chris Isaak; The Cure; INXS; Icehouse; Flock of Seagulls; Kajagoogoo; OMD; Pet Shop Boys; Marlon Williams; Lawrence Arabia; 80's Bowie; Depeche Mode; Gary Numan; Flight of the Conchords doing the eighties; No Man; and others (even hints of Tim Finn on Long Distance Lover). The guy's a magpie!

If you put that lot into a blender you'd get Wings of Desire, but, and here's the thing - Hemi sounds like a new thing, somehow. Somehow, he doesn't sound nostalgic for that period of music - more like, it's a period that has inspired him. I like that.

There is nothing here I dislike. In fact, I like a lot of eighties synth-pop. Yes, even some of those highly processed synth/drum sounds. They were/are so catchy!

My favourites were (To Be) Without You and the title track (generally lead off songs are often the strongest song on the album I find). No Future No Future No Future is also a successful final song with that heavier Depeche Mode style.

The negatives: it doesn't all work (6 April '13 was an early skipper), and by the third listen the novelty value was starting to wear off. Usually, albums get better on repeat listens but for me the strong songs stood out more and the weaker ones became more obvious. Plus, those synths and drum sounds began to wear me down a tad. So, it started out a four-star effort and ended up as a three-star one.

Minor quibbles, largely. For the most part, this remains a lot of fun in a guilty pleasure/karaoke kind of way, although I wouldn't shell out my hard-earned pay teaching Year 10 on it.

Regardless - thanks for the intro KS - Hemi is a guy I'd never heard of before. Always good to try out new things.

Wide river to cross

Mavis Staples and Levon Helm - Carry Me Home (2022) ****

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: You Gotta Serve Somebody

Although released in 2022, the sessions were from 2011, just before Levon's death. The billing is a bit cheeky, too, in that Levon drums, but only sings on one song - he helps out on The Weight and although he is recognisable, he sounds very frail. His drumming isn't diminished though. His unique style is captured well throughout.

That leaves the heavy lifting, vocal-wise, to Mavis, who can carry a tune! Ha ha. Faint praise! She is a bit of a force of nature and like Levon's drumming, she has a powerful style that suits the spirited (in more ways than one) songs.

Before reading the backstory to their record, I admit that I was waiting in anticipation for Levon to start singing. In his prime he had a superb vocal delivery. Sadly, he wasn't healthy enough it seems.  

The thing I like about the set is that it's a live-in-the-studio affair. I don't know why more acts don't do this. Slade Alive and Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner are two of my all-time favourites that take this approach. You get the ambience and the tight band performance, as well as quality control via the studio. It sounds like the Mavis and Levon, and their bands, had a whale of a time during the recording.

Compare the 'live' version of Dylan's You Gotta Serve Somebody with her studio version. The live one is vibrant with a funky groove; everyone playing superbly in sync with that groove. The other is limp and flat in comparison.

Apart from that song, which is my clear standout, I do find myself especially enjoying the aforesaid The Weight, This Is My Country, Trouble in Mind, Hand Writing on the Wall, and You Got to Move.

Of the others - When I Go Away is very poignant and a trifle hard to listen to, given the recent event for GK. Plus, on subsequent listens, I skipped their version of The Lighthouse Family's I Wish I Knew... and the acapella song Farther Along.  

For the most part, a great selection from GK that follows the War album nicely.