Great+wide+open

With the American Treasure box now out (at least on CD) news reaches SDE of another Tom Petty collection that’s due next month. As the title suggests, The Best of Everything: The Definitive Career Spanning Hits Collection 1976-2016 is more focussed on ‘hits’ than rarities, although inevitably the record label has added a couple of unreleased tracks.

Thirty Seconds to Mars' maximalist rock has always been a vehicle for big ideas: Jared Leto and crew explore themes of war and peace, sexuality, freedom, and faith through concept albums and glossy videos. But the widescreen focus of AMERICA may provide the group's broadest statement yet. In an attempt to survey, as he put it, "the good, bad, and the ugly" about his homeland, Leto even hitchhiked cross-country to promote the record. Guest turns from A$AP Rocky ("One Track Mind") and Halsey ("Love Is Madness") both draw parallels between romance and insanity. But Leto seems to have a different form of madness in mind on "Hail to the Victor" as he cries, "Another night, another war/Another 'What are we fighting for?'/Is everybody out here crazy?"

In the middle between Art-Pop-elements, folk-inspired acoustic parts, Rock-fragments and string-orchestra sections, you will find Isgaard‘ s versatile voice flying through the songs and merging all to a style of her own. A very ethereal, rich, powerful and moving release with just the perfect amount of melancholy, by this talented German female vocalist. While some of her early work had a style of Euro tech and dance, on this 2016 recording she sounds like a more gentle Kate Bush or Annie Haslam.