Return to Dust

Kristin Hersh’s prolific career has seen her heralded queen of the alternative release. Her tenth studio album, ‘Possible Dust Clouds’ is a highly personalised sociopathic gem delivered as a futuristic rewriting of how music works, a melodious breeze with a tail wind of venomous din.

Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them; a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua …

Laurel Halo will release her next album on Hyperdub in June. According to the label, Dust sees the artist return to songwriting after the abstract electronic sounds of her last few releases, such as 2015’s In Situ. The album features a collection of “loose and languid” songs, “sun-filled, melted and at times, heavy-hearted and obscure”. While Laurel Halo’s 2012 album Quarantine featured her own vocals, Dust sees her collaborate with a series of guest vocalists including Klein, Lafawndah, and Michael Salu. Recorded over two years at the EMPAC performing arts center in upstate New York, the album was recorded with the aid of live percussion, sub bass and electronics. Other musical guests on the record include Julia Holter, Max D, $hit and $hine’s Craig Clouse Eli Keszler, Michael Beharie and Diamond Terrifie.