From London
Recommended if you like Nala Sinephro, Ambrose Akinmusire, Moritz von Oswald Trio
Up next Debut album Plunge out 5 September
The harp is having a resurgence in jazz. Instrumentalists such as Nala Sinephro, Alina Bzhezhinska, Marysia Osu and Brandee Younger have recently released records that reference the decades-old legacies of harp pioneers Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby while creating new fusions of ambient electronics, soul and free jazz. The latest entry into this burgeoning genre is London-based trio Flur. Comprised of harpist Miriam Adefris, saxophonist Isaac Robertson and drummer Dillon Harrison, the group produce a distinctly off-kilter take on the harp combo, harnessing the lushness of its sound as a counterpoint to angular melodies and textural rhythm.
Having cut their teeth as band members for the likes of flautist Shabaka Hutchings, producer Floating Points and vocalist Ganavya, the group revel in a downtempo restlessness on their debut album, Plunge. The songs Nightdiver and Over Under play through a meditative selection of sweeping harp string runs before Robertson’s atonal, long-drawn saxophone lines stop the compositions from settling into a predictable mood. Then Bolete interweaves percussive harp plucking with Harrison’s fractal groove and jarring scrapes of synth sounds, and Hold Fast Old Kelp riffs off a lo-fi electronic loop that is so sparse it feels on the verge of falling apart.
It is this sense of anticipation and unpredictability that makes Flur so engaging. Their ambience is cut through with unease and their dynamism combined with a loping swing. In this trio’s hands, the harp is more than just a soft and comforting sound. With headline live shows still to come, their evolution of the instrument’s potential seems unbound. Ammar Kalia
This week’s best new tracks
Alabama Shakes – Another Life
A decade after their last album – and newly a trio – Alabama Shakes return with a showstopper that builds from spotlit tension to rich, moody soul and a furious, cathartic peak. Laura Snapes
Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo – Radioactive Dreams
The long-teased collaboration between the Oklahoma City noise band and the fingerpicking guitarist finds the gorgeously gloomy middle ground between their respective sludge and wide-open spaces. LS
Spoon – Guess I’m Fallin in Love
Both nasal and throaty, aloof and pained, Spoon’s Britt Daniel still has one of the coolest voices in rock. As the band eye an 11th studio album, this return track is a hard-driving celebration of saying the L-word. Ben Beaumont-Thomas
Sofie Royer – Auto
Powered by serried ranks of new wave guitars, this is another triumph from the multilingual alt-popper, here choosing German for a song about the euphoria and erotic charge of driving fast. BBT
Kettama & Clouds – Sort It Out
Speed garage plus hardcore plus trance plus Bicep-esque chords? The Irish producer Kettama is so enjoyably shameless in fusing the most fun bits of dance music together; this new track offers laser-reaching transcendence. BBT
Oliver Sim – Obsession
This is Sim’s first track not to be produced by his xx bandmate Jamie xx. Instead, Bullion and Jockstrap’s Taylor Skye helm this nervy anxiety attack about “obsession mistaken for love”. LS
Oli XL – Conspiracy Girl (ft Valeria Litvakov)
The Warp-signed producer has dropped the first seven-track segment of his album Lick the Lens. This is a beguiling highlight: an English folk song that might have been sung at harvest time, but digital and glitching. BBT
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