Published on Jan 23, 2013
Is there a category of music that Malka Spigel hasn't excelled at yet? It doesn't appear so. An Israeli born artist who is best known for her work in the post-punk band Minimal Compact, Spigel has also spent time in the alt-rock band Githead with her husband Colin Newman (of Wire fame). Additionally, her solo work has explored all sorts of variations of guitar and electronic music.
On her first solo album in nearly 15 years, Spigel brings in some heavy hitters to help out. Newman, of course, is on board, as is Johnny Marr (The Smiths), Andy Ramsay (Stereolab, and Matt Simms (Wire) among others. With an all-star cast like that, it seems Every Day Is Like The First Day was destined for greatness from the infancy stage.
“Ammonite” gets things underway with a moody mix of violin looping, restrained drums and nearly hypnotic vibe. It's a bit of a dark opening, but sets the pace well for what follows. Title track “Every Day Is Like The First Day” follows a similar path but builds swells of noisy rock punctuated by Spigel's always-impressive bass playing. After the initial nods to Spigel's rock background, tracks like “Dream Time” and “Back In The Old City” are more abstract and approach art-rock status, while “See It Sideways” shifts into more dream pop territory.
When you peel back the layers, there is a very pop oriented album buried in here with plenty of angular hooks and timeless melodies present. Tracks like “Two Dimensions In A Single Frame” and “Dream Time” possess plenty of evidence of this, though the entire offering has surprisingly universal appeal amid the moody and sometimes experimental prodding.
“