Stuff Digital Edition

What’s new to listen to

A roundup of what we’re tuning into in the world of podcasts and music.

– Alex Behan – George Fenwick

Juno

One of the great joys of 2020 was discovering Los Angeles native Remi Wolf on her debut EP I’m Allergic To Dogs! Every note pops with the pure joy of creation, spontaneous musical literacy and a carefree, thumb-your-nose attitude. It became one of my most listened-to records and I fearlessly recommend it to friends, saying: ‘‘It’s like hearing early Beck for the first time.’’ It’s one of the highest compliments I am capable of. So all hail her first full-length effort, which is just as vibrant, fresh and frenetic. Wolf gets up on the groovy side of bed, treats funk like the first and most important meal of the day, but also snacks on punk and hiphop, which she’ll often throw in a blender to create her intoxicating, cacophonous cocktails. A conductor of controlled chaos, what she packs into a sub-three-minute pop song contains theses-worth of subtextual analysis.

Bellwether

This fascinating science-fiction podcast boasts a brilliant and terrifying concept at its centre: What if the internet just disappeared? Created by Sam Greenspan, the show is told in two ways. In a future timeline, Cass and Icarus are employees of the ‘‘Cloudburst Truth & Reconciliation Commission’’, which investigates what caused the internet to disappear two decades earlier. On their last night of the job they discover the remnants of an old podcast called Bellwether, hosted by – you guessed it – Greenspan, a non-fictional element that looks at the ways in which the internet is crumbling humanity. It’s a big swing but, for the most part, it lands, rolling a documentary and a speculative sci-fi story into one haunting podcast that will leave you contemplating your reliance on the internet. – George Fenwick

Friends That Break Your Heart

Ten years after the haunting echo of The Wilhelm Scream bounced around the globe, James Blake is still up to his old tricks, making intense, intimate, ethereal, classically informed electronica and, on his latest album, more than ever, uses his searing, soaring falsetto to bear his soul to the world. One can imagine how this record, easily his most vulnerable and personal, is a significant milestone in his artistic career. Despite that, and despite titles like Funeral, Famous Last Words and Lost Angel Nights, rather than dwelling in darkness and indulgence, it’s celebratory and victorious.

– Alex Behan

The Flipside

This new BBC series from journalist and author Paris Lees has an interesting concept: Each episode looks at two supposedly conflicting ideas or viewpoints and, through a combination of science and storytelling, considers what the contrasts can teach us about the way we live our lives. For example, the first instalment investigates the act of learning new languages, and how speaking two languages might change the way one thinks and behaves. Lees is a thoughtful host and the episodes traverse a range of fascinating questions, with future ones set to touch on topics such as the power of forgiveness and sex.

SOUND AND VISION

en-nz

2021-10-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282093459942172

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