Nelly Kemp

Emerging as an independent act after a five-year absence, Nelly Furtado seizes the opportunity to open another chapter of her career with The Ride. Originally recorded for Interscope, Furtado wrangled control of the album as she left the label and, fittingly enough, The Ride is perched between the mainstream and the fringe. Much of the latter is due to the presence of John Congleton, the producer best known for helming albums by St. Vincent, and the vivid, elastic soundscapes of Annie Clark's records are certainly an inspiration for Furtado. The Ride may not be as daring as St. Vincent's work, but that's relative. In its own way, the album is as much a redefinition for Furtado as Loose was a decade earlier, positioning her as a mature pop artist with adult alternative undertones.

Emerging as an independent act after a five-year absence, Nelly Furtado seizes the opportunity to open another chapter of her career with The Ride. Originally recorded for Interscope, Furtado wrangled control of the album as she left the label and, fittingly enough, The Ride is perched between the mainstream and the fringe. Much of the latter is due to the presence of John Congleton, the producer best known for helming albums by St. Vincent, and the vivid, elastic soundscapes of Annie Clark's records are certainly an inspiration for Furtado. The Ride may not be as daring as St. Vincent's work, but that's relative. In its own way, the album is as much a redefinition for Furtado as Loose was a decade earlier, positioning her as a mature pop artist with adult alternative undertones.

Teamed with Rick Kemp, Prior turns in her best non-Steeleye Span folk-rock performance, with heavy amplification, crisp electric guitars, and accordion for support. Her airy vocals and the heavy electric sound make this a superb adjunct to the best rock sides by Steeleye (Commoner's Crown, etc.), although this stuff has more of a contemporary feel, relating to Prior's Steeleye Span work roughly the way Dylan's best '70s and '80s stuff relates to his '60s folk and folk-rock sides, with a definite rock beat and pop music feel. There's also a strong social consciousness at work, with topical songs dealing with unemployment and privation amid love songs and a very playful cover of "Who's Sorry Now". (Bruce Eder, AMG)

This recording represents a slice of a vanished world: pianist Nelly Akopian-Tamarina studied in Moscow in the 1950s and 1960s, and her teacher was Alexander Goldenweiser, a friend of Scriabin and Rachmaninov, and a carrier of traditions stretching well back into the 19th century. Her career was interrupted by disfavor with Soviet authorities in the 1970s, but has been resumed in her old age with compelling results.

It's fantastic, underground progressive heavy rock classic with definitive 'British' feel - very similar to the 2nd Tamam Shud LP, Leaf Hound, early Uriah Heep and even Allman Brothers Band debut LP. The tracks are mostly very long, guitar parts are intensive and loud, vocals are fine and additional flute parts really charming. The sound was restored very carefully (with no tacky equalization and compression) and now is very bright and clear.

Slavonic Reflections, recorded by Nelly Akopian-Tamarina in recital at Wigmore Hall, is a highly personal collection of piano music containing Mazurka’s by Chopin, Janáček’s cycle In the Mist, as well as encores by Medtner and Liadov. The programme breathes a melancholic air of sadness, while simultaneously showing an equally Slavonic inclination to dance, as well as a fascination for nature. Nelly Akopian-Tamarina belongs to a distinguished tradition of playing stretching back to the great Russian school of Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Medtner. Slavonic Reflections is her second PENTATONE release, after a 2017 Brahms album that The Guardian praised as “enchanting, intimate and irresistible”, while BBC Music Magazine described it as “revelatory Brahms from another age”.