ALBUMS
KIKAGAKU MOYO
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Kumoyo Island may be positioned as a farewell album for the psych-rock Japanese quintet who recently announced an ‘indefinite hiatus’ after a decade and five studio albums, but it narrowly avoids feeling self-aggrandising. The 11 tracks pack in every trick in Kikagaku Moyo’s book, from the meditative to the chaotic and with some groovy numbers in between. ‘Dancing Blue’ tiptoes around the edge of funk, while ‘Daydream Soda’ is hypnotic in its rhythm but experimental through its use of naturalistic samples. Winds, rattles, hisses and breaking waves feature a lot throughout this new work, cinematically exploring the album’s mysterious concept. The band’s distinct sounds of sitar and drone can be heard loud and clear in ‘Cardboard Pile’, which scratches out into a pleasing ‘Jolene’-adjacent hook (yes, the Dolly Parton one). Tracks like ‘Yayoi, Iyayoi’ (featuring a rare instance of the band singing in native tongue) and ‘Gomugomu’ lean into prog-rock influences. Meanwhile, a cover of Brazilian pop rocker Erasmo Carlos’ ‘Meu Mar’ and the trumpet lines in ‘Effe’ take listeners to new sonic territory. Perhaps Kumoyo Island is where Kikagaku Moyo’s musical journey culminates, but every bump and turn seems to have been solely on their own terms. And boy, how their fans have enjoyed going along for the ride. (Megan Merino) Released on Friday 6 May.
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Kumoyo Island (Guruguru Brain)
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BOOKS
EMILIE PINE
Ruth & Pen (Hamish Hamilton)
May 2022 THE LIST 75
REVIEWS
This debut novel from the internationally bestselling author of Notes To Self is as contemplative and enveloping as expected with Emilie Pine’s transition from essayist to novelist both smooth and assured. Ruth & Pen is a book about two women tackling one very different day. Teenager Pen is falling in love, stretching her wings and testing her boundaries, while adult Ruth is processing years of infertility and the potential breakdown of her marriage. Their stories are largely told in parallel with the similarities between them and questions they face clear, even though their situations and paths barely cross. The pair are shown as they miss and make connections. Ruth and Pen are searching for the hope and bravery needed to keep fighting; or to know when to stop and accept that there are some battles that shouldn’t be won. Both are grappling with what it really means to reveal yourself and how to confront the fear of what you’ll do if you share exactly who you are and are rejected for it. Pine confidently explores love in all its guises and there is real strength in her portrait of the various ways there are to care. The characters are rich in their complexity and the portrayal of Pen’s mum, who is drawn through her daughter’s thoughts and observations, is particularly well rendered. Through lots of little interactions and seemingly casual conversations, the author examines all the ways relationships can wither or thrive, depending on those miscommunications that aren’t necessarily anything to do with a lack of words, but most certainly down to a gap in mutual understanding. This tender and inquisitive novel is a reminder that no one lover or friend or authority figure has all the answers, but that the pursuit of understanding is noble all the same. (Lynsey May) Published on Thursday 5 May.
