Plastic Sound Records
-
London-born but New York-based Adam Masterson represents the timeless ideal of a rock star - classic guitar, tousled hair, vintage shades - yet he does so for the here and now. Embracing old school influences but with copious amounts of spirit and soul added into the mix, he emerges as an outlier built from his own design, bucking trends while simultaneously emanating stadium-sized charisma.Visit product page →
He has shared stages with the likes of Tori Amos, Amy Winehouse and Stereophonics (in actual stadiums), guested with Patti Smith and Mick Jones (The Clash), while publications such as The Guardian, Billboard and American Songwriter have all gushed with praise about his previous output.
Masterson’s diverse sounding new album, ‘Time Bomb’, is just his second, and it comes a full two decades after his debut effort, ‘One Tale Too Many’. Reflecting both the personal and musical journeys that he has been on over the years, it switches gears several times over the course of twelve songs that are the very definition of eclectic.
The energetic and rousing Springsteen-style workout ‘Wild Wolves’ is offset by a louche and very British panache on the anthemic and Mott-ish ‘Bring Back The Freaks’, ‘Crazy Rain’ is a confident mid-tempo Americana rocker that contrasts with a dramatic and cinematic title song that opens the album, while the Paul Weller-ish gospel-soul vibe of ‘Take a Little Love’ is counterbalanced with Van Morrison-esque atmospherics in the record closing ‘Leaves Against The Sky’.
A number of guest musicians joined Masterson in the album recording process, including guitarists David Rhodes (Peter Gabriel, Scott Walker) and Leo Abrahams (Paolo Nutini, Regina Spektor), bassists Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Charlie Jones (Goldfrapp, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page) and Brett Bass (Gregg Allman), drummers Charlie Drayton (The Cult, Divinyls), Jeremy Stacey (King Crimson, Ryan Adams) and Omar Hakim (David Bowie, Journey), with Rob Clores (Jesse Malin, Charli XCX) and Ben Stivers (Lyle Lovett, Matchbox Twenty) on piano and Peter Tickell (Sting) contributing mandolin and violin parts.
Tracklisting:
1. Time Bomb
2. Bring Back The Freaks
3. Chains
4. Take A Little Love
5. Run Away
6. Avenue Walk
7. The Kiss
8. Wild Wolves
9. Crazy Rain
10. Rusty Cans And Dusty Alleys
11. Cry With No Tears
12. Leaves Against The Sky -
Captivating, glamorous and bold, Belle Scar is a distinctive singer-songwriter, producer and artistic director originally from Montreal but now based in London.Visit product page →
Described by the New York Times as “a creature from another dimension, she’s phenomenal,” her dramatic, cinematic music is at times redolent of a Tim Burton film score and at others of a mash-up between Nick Cave, Björk and Portishead.
“I wrote ‘Atoms’ after my son was born, the aftermath of cancer in the family, life in the pandemic as well as acknowledging and accepting my continuing cognitive challenges,” explains Scar. “These songs are about my identity and trying to navigate the cycles of life, as well as my fascination with and awe of the universe, space and time in all its mysterious ways."
Lockdown had afforded Scar the time to further develop her new material at home, while also reconnecting with her classical roots and reabsorbing music ranging from Erik Satie and Claude Debussy to The Velvets and The Doors, and from Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen to her beloved Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday.
Adoring the magic inherent in film scores by composers such as Ennio Morricone, Danny Elfman and Philip Glass, she gravitated towards grander instrumentation and more complex arrangements for her new songs.
Writing the music, lyrics and vocal arrangements, with Marc O adding orchestration and production, the duo have created a mesmerising album about finding meaning in life’s beauty and darkness while navigating a path towards its unknowable future.
Tracklisting:
1. Trapped
2. Where Do We Begin
3. Atoms
4. Burning Lamps
5. I've Been Here Before
6. Space
7. Nobody Wins This War
8. The Eeriness
9. Ice Storm
10. We stand
11. Mementos -
Sold outThe album features a notable line-up of musician such as: Sami Yaffa (New York Dolls/Joan Jett), Dave Richmond (Serge Gainsbourg/Elton John), Christophe Deschamps (Jean-Michel Jarre), Kath Guifford (Stereolab), Will Crewdson (Adam & The Ants/The Selecters), Danny Ray (Bo Diddley/Brian Setzer)...Visit product page →
Mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and cut to vinyl across a 180g LP in a gatefold sleeve with booklet.
L'homme de l'ombre immerses you from start to finish in a sonic and lyrical journey that rewards your mind and emotions. Here you will find the glamorous rock attitude of Marc O's musicianship colliding brilliantly with the wise and witty writing of french philosopher Bruno Pons Levy.
The result is not so much a double identity, but an intangible and powerful third element, much like the mathematical equation described in the song The triangle squared (Le triangle au carré). This song is emblematic of Marc O's persona: a musician of style and vision, crossing cultures and decades to collaborate with a remarkable team and create this, his most personal album.
Tracklisting:
Side A
1. L'homme du monde
2. Le fondu des bas-fonds d'écran
3. Le Dissymètre
4. Le test de la femme à barbe
5. Les démodés
Side B
6. Rendons le leurre
7. Le triangle au carré
8. Métalogue
9. Le Casanovice
10. L'homme de l'ombre
