Summer is a busy time for music releases, and three UAE-based acts have dropped their latest albums accordingly. There’s a simmering quality to the trio of albums, from Shaun Warner’s full-length follow-up record, to Carl & the Reda Mafia and Tara Rautenbach’s latest EPs. Here is our guide to your hot weather listening.
Shaun Warner — Stay
There’s something tranquil, yet far from dull, about Shaun Warner’s nine-track sophomore album Stay. One listen, and it’s an instant candidate for the repeat button. The record — a follow-up to last year’s Shaun Warner & Friends — is rife with dance-pop tunes and dreamy collaborations. But, despite the rotating cast of vocalists and genre experimentations, the Irish DJ manages to appeal to different sensibilities while maintaining a coherent voice. Nostalgic alt-rock lovers will get a kick out of track number three, Stay ft. Hadi, reminiscent of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony. For the commercial electropop crowd, check out Turn You On; Alexandria Elisia’s drowsy vocal performance juxtaposed against the climbing beat will hook you in no time.
Carl & the Reda Mafia — Stories
Carl & the Reda Mafia are a versatile band that are known for their high-energy live performances, but they turn it down a notch on their discreet 4-track EP Stories. You may get the sense that vocalist Carl La’frenai is trying to hypnotise you on the album opener Confessions, a primitive track that transports you to a smoky, seedy Western somewhere far, far away. But follow-up track Look Out For May, and its blast of sunny trumpets, breaks you out of the trance, before track number three, Johnny & June, pulls things back down again, for just over three minutes. Breath of Air finishes the record off on a jazzy note.
Tara Rautenbach — Reason
South African singer Tara Rautenbach continues the trend of hypnotic summer releases with Reason, an unhurried exploration of love, loss, freedom and growth. The tracks hum along smoothly, blending one into another as they progress through Rautenbach’s revelations. Even the song titles give a sense of continuity, starting with Reason and New Name, pausing midway with Love, and continuing on with I Know You, Joy and Coming Home. The hand-clapping closure of the last track feels like a final exhale of relief, a weight off the shoulders, as Rautenbach muses, ‘It’s like the light has come and washed my eyes, and I can finally see.’ A calm, chill listen for a hot and humid day.
