This week’s guide is by CF Smith and contributors, Arifur Rahman, Words By Shoaib and Irfan Ayaan.
We are excited to share the latest edition of Between The Cracks. This week, we have six new releases to add to your collection, featuring everything from slow-burning ambient to improvised avant grade jazz. We hope you’ll find some music you love and feel excited to hit the buy button. Check out our latest picks below.
Albums
Wilson Tanner – Legends
Legends, the latest release from Wilson Tanner, is a biodynamic, slow-burning ambient album recorded off-grid at South Australia’s Manon Farm. Built from field recordings and an eclectic palette of organic and electronic instruments, the album breathes with the life of the vineyard, earthy, unfiltered, and deeply atmospheric. With no mains power and an open-ear approach, Andrew Wilson and John Tanner craft a sonic postcard of rural Australia, steeped in natural wine mystique. Two standout tracks, ‘Grasshopper’ and ‘Hogshead’, illustrate the album’s immersive charm. “Grasshopper” rings with metallic, bluesy notes that feel like overheard echoes in the dry wind, a rustic lull that conjures heat and solitude. ‘Hogshead’, on the other hand, layers lawnmower hums with elastic guitar bends and woozy synths, capturing the rhythm of vineyard labour in surreal detail. The album’s unhurried pace and raw textures invite deep listening. It doesn’t strive for polish; it’s about process, place, and presence. Legends aren’t just ambient music; it’s a lived-in soundscape that lets dirt, wine, and weather stain the tape. It’s a beautiful, grounding experience. – WBS
Surprise Chef – Superb
Melbourne outfit Surprise Chef abandons meticulous planning for spontaneous energy on their aptly titled new album, with spectacular results. This world-renowned cinematic soul collective has built a reputation for precision, but Superb finds them embracing a looser, more playful approach without sacrificing their exceptional musicianship. The album bursts with vibrant, free-roaming funk instrumentals that push boundaries while remaining irresistibly groovy. While opener Sleep Dreams offers familiar territory, Bully Ball announces their evolved sound with thundering drums and pocket-perfect instrumentation that kicks the door down with raw funk energy. Standout track Body Slam showcases their experimental spirit, beginning with sweet soul before taking a haunting turn, featuring an ingeniously recorded timpani tucked in a bathroom. Similarly, Fare Evader pairs neck-breaking rhythms with atmospheric synth textures. Superb represents a thrilling evolution for Surprise Chef, proving that sometimes loosening the reins results in the most exhilarating musical journeys. – IA
Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal
In this beautiful meeting between multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Tamir Barzilay and the ever-curious Colorfield Records, they’ve laid down a collection of high-quality, electronic jazz soundscapes. That quality is easily explained if you take a look at their backgrounds; Barzilay has worked with artists such as Macy Gray, Jason Mraz, and Lady Blackbird, while Colorfields discography speaks for itself. Phosphene Journal boasts contributions from vocalists Monica Martin and Sharada Shashidhar, alongside talents like Larry Goldings and Daniel Rotem. Staying true to the spirit of past Colorfield releases, this album is all about venturing into the unknown and unravelling the wonders that await beyond the comfort zone. Typically found behind the drums or guitar, this time, Barzilay roamed elsewhere in the studio, relying on Pete Min’s guidance as if he were navigating blindfolded. There are some real highlights, such as ‘The Hungry Moon’, ‘Stereogum’, ‘Walking Blindfolded’ and ‘The Red Sea’. But start with the lead single and opener, Fika, and let the magic unfold from there. – CFS
LEDLEY – LEDLEY
North London’s sonic cartographers craft a mesmerising jazz odyssey that transcends mere musical collaboration to become a heartfelt topographical memoir. Saxophonist Chris Williams and trombonist Raph Clarkson, alongside electronic architect Riaan Vosloo, have created a psychogeographical suite that maps their friendship and shared passion for Tottenham Hotspur FC through instrumental conversations. Structured as two long-form sides, LEDLEY weaves industrial acoustics with spectral electronics, creating tensions between dissonance and light. The brass instruments engage in searching dialogues, Williams’s alto probing with recurring motifs, while Clarkson’s trombone provides swampy, cinematic foundations. Vosloo’s electronic elements serve as the essential connective tissue like the North London streets binding these sonic boroughs together. Lordship Lane and Seven Sisters Road stand out as particularly evocative pieces, channelling the urban pathways leading to Tottenham’s spiritual home. This is place-based jazz at its most personal, a moving soundscape that transforms football fandom and friendship into an absorbing instrumental narrative worth repeated exploration. – IA
Julia Mestre – Maravilhosamente Bem
Julia Mestre’s third solo effort, Maravilhosamente Bem, is a lush, emotionally rich journey through love, desire, and nostalgia. Fusing ’80s ballads with MPB, disco, and pop, Mestre crafts a cinematic soundscape as intimate as it is vibrant. Her sultry vocals glide over warm synths, funky basslines, and sensual rhythms, all wrapped in a modern yet vintage aesthetic. The album feels like a late-night confession whispered in the glow of a dance floor. Two standout tracks underscore the album’s emotional range. ‘Sou Fera’, a pre-release single, channels Rita Lee’s swagger with bold pop energy and assertive lyrics, making it a powerful opening statement. In contrast, ‘Pra Lua’ reveals a more vulnerable side; co-written with Gabriel Quinto and others, it seduces with a languid groove and poetic lyricism, evoking the pull of lunar romance. Maravilhosamente Bem isn’t just an album; it’s a mood. Mestre’s musical and visual direction reveals an artist in full command of her narrative. It’s a defining moment in her solo evolution and a joy to experience. – WBS
Novoa / Kamaguchi / Cleaver Trio – Vol. 2
Following their “deep and thoughtful release” in 2023 comes the ‘Novoa / Kamaguchi / Cleaver Trio – Vol. 2’ by the trio consisting of pianist and composer Eva Novoa, bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Gerald Cleaver. With her longtime friends and collaborators, Novoa has been performing as a trio since 2017. The second album from such an experimental trio ought to be fearless, audacious in a good way, in pushing the limit of avant-garde jazz. With their collective talent off the charts and the untamed flame of musicianship, this trio was able to mould complex structures and melodic ideas into something that would satisfy both longtime jazz fans and curious newcomers alike. The tracks ‘From Left To Right’ and ‘Gonga 2’ perfectly exemplify the marvellous experiments that bring out the full potential of three masterful artists who can shape their own universe. – AR
