New releases · Music
New music: Berlin Manson, Baroš, Swift's Encore and Jacklin's Gem
A regional roundup of two Czech and Slovak October releases, plus international arrivals from Taylor Swift and Julia Jacklin.
A roundup of new releases and their reviews. We have not seen, heard or read the works ourselves: the verdicts are those of the critics cited.
A quiet regional week from Berlin Manson and Tomáš Baroš meets bigger international arrivals from Taylor Swift and Julia Jacklin.
- Berlin Manson's Cheap Fashion out October 2 via Full Moon Forum
- Tomáš Baroš debuts with First Call on Bivak Records
- Taylor Swift adds four songs via The Encore
- Julia Jacklin releases fourth album The Gem on 4AD
October opens with new records from Prague rockers Berlin Manson and Slovak jazz bassist Tomáš Baroš, while internationally Taylor Swift has expanded her record-breaking Life of a Showgirl with four extra songs and Julia Jacklin has released her fourth studio album, recorded above a Melbourne pub.46103
Slovakia and Czechia
This week's regional releases both land on October 2: a new record from Prague-based band Berlin Manson and the long-awaited solo debut of Slovak double bassist Tomáš Baroš.46
Cheap Fashion
Cheap Fashion is the new studio album by Berlin Manson, arriving October 2 through Full Moon Forum. According to Czech outlet Musicserver.cz, it is the first record the band has made since all of its members settled permanently in Prague, and the Czech capital, along with recurring references to the Academy of Fine Arts (AVU), surfaces throughout the songs.4
The same report describes an album built around distrust in heroism and carried by a notably dense guitar sound. The vinyl edition is pressed for playback at 45 rpm, and the band has an extensive autumn tour planned around the release.4
First Call
First Call is the debut solo album of Tomáš Baroš, a Slovak double bassist who has spent more than twenty years working as a sideman for prominent names on the domestic and international jazz scenes before stepping out on his own. The record, out October 2 on Bivak Records, gathers seven original compositions performed with musicians from across Europe and the United States.6
The tracklist spans much of Baroš's writing life: Bass Blues is his very first composition, dating back to his youth; Kyoto was written while preparing for a tour of Japan; and the already-released single Slow River Waltz was conceived as a soundtrack to an autumn walk through Prague.6
International
Two bigger international names fill out the week: Taylor Swift's expanded edition of her chart-dominating Life of a Showgirl, and Julia Jacklin's fourth album, made above a Melbourne bar.101179
The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore
The Encore adds four newly written songs to The Life of a Showgirl, the Taylor Swift album that already set a modern-day sales record across 34 different variants and posted the biggest first week for any album in chart history. The extra material, reportedly written in Sweden with her usual collaborators, arrived September 25 alongside the video for lead track Patient Zero.10113
The Gem
The Gem is Julia Jacklin's fourth studio album and her first for 4AD, released September 25 through 4AD and Remote Control Records. It was recorded over nearly a year at Rat Shack, a converted studio sitting above a Collingwood pub of the same name, with producer Robert Muiños.1379
Rather than travelling abroad as on earlier records, Jacklin chose to stay and work at home in Melbourne, testing songs live at the pub itself before recording them.38
Related stories
Version history
- version 3 ·
- version 2 ·
- version 1 ·