From Sydney, Australia
Recommended if you like Shirley and Dolly Collins; Efficient Space’s Sky Girl compilation
Up next Fire of God’s Love reissued by Freedom to Spend on 14 November
As any nun worth her salt might tell you, revelation can come from the most unlikely places. Such is the case with Fire of God’s Love, a 1973 album by the Australian nun Sister Irene O’Connor.
Simple and spectral, it is a marvel of analogue pop music – a collection of airy folk songs, played largely on drum machine, acoustic guitar and synth organ, which sometimes feels more spiritually aligned with cult singer-songwriters like Princess Demeny and Mary Margaret O’Hara than most other non-secular records. Set for reissue next month by Freedom to Spend – an arm of the cult electronic label Rvng dedicated to high-quality reissues of 70s and 80s amateur synth records – Fire of God’s Love is also a quintessential winter record, perfect for the cooler months ahead.
O’Connor first started making music in the 50s while living in a convent in Singapore, and released music in the 60s under the pseudonym Myriam Frances, as to avoid ruffling any feathers in her community. In Singapore, O’Connor met another nun, Sister Marimil Lobregat, who had experience working in audio technology; back in Sydney, the pair would meet at the city’s Catholic Radio and Television Centre to work on music together, recording on a four-track tape recorder. The resulting songs are devoutly religious but skirt lines between devotional music and contemporary pop; some tracks, such as album opener Fire (Luke 12:49) contain elements of dub, while others, such as Teenager’s Chorus, feel of a piece with pastoral British folk music. The whole thing feels a little like a miracle: a sweet, compelling pop record from a hugely unlikely source. Shaad D’Souza
This week’s best new tracks
Rosalía – Berghain
German operatics, lyrics comparing diminishing yourself for love to transubstantiation, glass-shattering falsetto, “divine intervention” courtesy of Björk, and Yves Tumor reprising Mike Tyson’s “I’ll fuck you ’til you love me” – who else has the vision? LS
Lankum – Ghost Town
The only act capable of making the Specials’ 1981 hit even more haunting, Lankum swap dub for rumbling drone and the “ya ya ya!” for fathoms-deep chorals. Happy Halloween! LS
Navy Blue – Orchards
The US rapper and producer (who appeared on Loyle Carner’s latest LP) spills his heart in a deeply affecting single verse. As he navigates grief and growth, he learns “it’s hard to fill the shoes of who you never been”. BBT
Magdalena Bay – Unoriginal
“Someone’s gotta care / Put things in their place / While the world keeps burning,” Mica Tenenbaum sings, playing a depressed shopkeeper maintaining order as the song’s breezy strum clenches and distorts. LS
Bog Band – Mocashno Days
Trace notes of R&B flicker through the sweet stream of tinkling synths and loose, scratchy guitar that leads the Irish duo’s new EP, which gradually bumps its way to a loose rhythm. LS
TeeZandos x Cristale – No, Yes!
“Been aggy before it was trendy!” Proving there’s life in the classic UK drill sound yet, the two MCs seemingly try to outdo each other for lyrical dexterity and chest-prodding provocation. BBT
Betty Hammerschlag – Deep
This chiming, softly fidgeting track leads off Fake Girl, the beautiful new album by this bedroom dream-popper, one for any Grouper fans or those beguiled by Joanne Robertson’s recent LP. BBT
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