He is the rare bird. On tour with Roger Waters, whom he assisted for his latest album, by doing a lot of arrangements and refusing even more, or alongside Erykah Bady, Elvis Costello or even Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Jonathan Wilson seems to be everywhere. And he does wonders. With Rare Birds, Wilson pens maybe one of his better discs. Surreal verses, slightly psychedelic ramblings, muffled tempos, his thirteen tracks drawn out on more than 80 blunt minutes, a somewhat long and exhilarating rock wave. From Trafalgar Square’s sacred progressions, which seem carved out of the layers of Camel’s Mystic Queen, to Mulholland Queen’s piano and Hi Ho The Righteous’s country folk strings, Wilson stretches the watercolor nuances of a classic rock focused on Venus, blessed by the winds of the eminently favorable Californian Gods.
As always with the modern griot from Laurel Canyon, it is sophisticated without being fake, handcrafted while being deeply modern, melodic, luxurious and full of elegance. Three birds from other paradises will complete the set: Lana Del Rey on Living With Myself, Father John Misty on 49 Hairflips and Laraaji on Loving You. Radiating with the positive rays from this guru, this third album can curl up between the constellations formed by Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull, Neil Young and J.J. Cale. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz