Szun Waves, New Hymn To Freedom

[The Leaf Label]
Grade: A-

If the phrase “live improvised music” sounds as dry as the dust kicked off an old hacky-sack, do Szun Waves ever have a surprise for you. New Hymn To Freedom, the English trio’s second album, is a remarkably lucid 45 minutes of spontaneous composition, a civilization of sound and emotion conjured from nothing more than the in-the-moment interplay between keyboardist Luke Abbott, saxophonist Jack Wylie, and drummer Lawrence Pike. These songs bloom slowly, with Abbott spinning spangled webs of modular synth over Pike’s splashy, cymbal-heavy playing while Wylie lays a plaintive foundation. Seen from one angle, New Hymn is a new take on spiritual jazz, with Abbott playing like Pharoah Sanders with a Buchla. Turn it slightly and it becomes a West Coast new-age symphony colored with amber light. Turn it again and it’s a gorgeous piece of percussive ambient experimentation. Whichever facet you encounter first, New Hymn shines like a rough-cut gem.

RIYL: Alice Coltrane. Laraaji. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Astral traveling.

Start Here: Szun Waves hit “High Szun” at full speed, with Pike sending Abbott and Wiley on an ecstatic chase that sounds something like Terry Riley covering Liars’ Wixiw. [Marty Sartini Garner]

Troye Sivan, Bloom

[Capitol]
Grade: B

Earlier this year, Australian songwriting phenom Troye Sivan announced his sophomore album, Bloom, with a grand gesture: the explosive seduction “My! My! My!” a minimalist electro sugar rush. The rest of the full-length is far more nuanced, a smart sonic decision that reaps dividends: Bloom is a deeply romantic, deeply personal collection of songs that establishes Sivan as a fiercely talented pop chameleon. “The Good Side” is feathery indie-folk dominated by delicate acoustic guitar; the title track is a sleek and danceable ’80s homage; and highlight “Postcard” is a heartbroken piano ballad. Although Bloom does become a bit sluggish near the end, the collection rebounds with album-closer “Animal.” The sparse song takes cues from the Prince “Purple Rain” school of ballads, and leaves plenty of space in the arrangements between pops of piano, synth wobbles, and splashes of guitar. Appropriately, Bloom’s beauty and gifts reveal themselves gradually over time.

RIYL: Non-cookie-cutter contemporary pop. ’80s synth-pop. Weekend dance parties.

Start here: “Dance To This” is a percolating Pet Shop Boys-esque slice of synth-pop featuring a dynamic vocal appearance from Ariana Grande. [Annie Zaleski]

Muncie Girls, Fixed Ideals

[Buzz]
Grade: B

Fixed Ideals, the sophomore album from Exeter’s Muncie Girls, is definitely a grower, but it’s built for longevity. Which is to say, the catchiest of these songs convey the pop-punk group’s expert knack for earworm hooks fused to meaningful sing-along lyrics, and even after the subtler tunes catch on, those initial addictions don’t weaken. Barn-burning tracks like “Fig Tree” and “Locked Up” evoke the appeal of their near-perfect debut, but there are clear attempts to push the musical envelope, especially in the record’s middle section: From the Pearl Jam groove of “Falling Down” to the Belinda Carlisle pep of “Isn’t Life Funny” to the Duran Duran-meets-shoegaze rhythms of “Bubble Bath” (complete with bubbly sound effects), the band is stretching their format. The only downside is a sense of fussiness that suffuses some of the more heavily produced tracks, a slightly stultifying vibe that saps a bit of urgency and vitality from the songs, making them feel too precious, as though the music was hermetically sealed to prevent anything too loose or raw from breaking free. Still, it’s another set of engaging and mostly excellent songs from one of the U.K.’s most compelling rock trios, and well worth the time.

RIYL: The Get-Up Kids. Veruca Salt. ’80s-influenced pop-punk. Smart and sassy lyrics.

Start here: “Picture Of Health” is already a classic Muncie Girls jam. [Alex McLevy]

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