Alison Krauss – Windy City (Capitol)
Alison Krauss might be one of the most underrated, but prolific, artists of the ‘Country’ genre. Although, what that actually is these days is a pretty loose beast. Most of us will know about her 27 Grammys (apparently she’s tied for second place in the winner stakes), many for best Bluegrass Album with Union Station.
Jens Lekman – Life Will See You Now (Secretly Canadian)
A few years ago we were all entranced by the charming twee of Scottish team Belle & Sebastian, who’s material traversed the difficult subjects in their own faux-1960’s soundtrack kitsch-ness. Then, locally, Lawrence Arabia brought us more lush, slightly cheesy songs like Apple Pie Bed which he interlaced with some deliciously clever lyrics. At times […]
Minor Victories – Minor Victories (Orchestral Variations)
Ok, so when Damon Albarn tries out a new project (be it Gorillaz or The Good The Bad and The Queen, or any other concept) you expect something that will totally reset your clock. I was expecting the same from Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai) and main driver Justin Lockey and his brother James […]
Elbow – Little Fictions (Polydor)
Seven albums in and Elbow sound as engaged and enthusiastic about the music they create as ever. There is a maturity and richness to the musical layering on this album that rewards repeated listening. It really is the sound of a band at the top of their game.
Sampha – Process (Young Turks)
Process is the much-anticipated debut album by Sampha Sisay, a 28-year-old Londoner who has lent his voice in recent years to recordings by Solange, Drake, Kanye West and Frank Ocean. Now after a couple of EPs, he’s finally ready to step out front and centre on his own.
Tweed – High-Brow Blues (Southbound)
First things first. Don’t confuse this Auckland based Folk outfit with a Philadelphia band with the same name. However, there is an American connection, with one American-born Kiwi and one recently returned from the States. Nancy Howie (guitar) was a Kiwi who grew up on a sailboat, picking up her accent from a long stint […]
The Nudge – Dark Arts (Keen For A Nudge)
The Nudge release their new LP Dark Arts based on the back of their dynamic live shows of psychedelic jams and spaced out stoner riffs. Featuring just three tracks of increasing length and complexity, Dark Arts is an attempted journey of transporting the listener into The Nudge’s woozy world.
Various Artists: T2 Trainspotting: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Polydor)
T2 Trainspotting reunites the horribly duplicitous skag-addicted non-heroes of the first movie about twenty-somethings trying to get off heroin in Edinburgh, and finding that they have nothing very much to put in its place. In that film, audiences often hid their under the seats, unable to watch scenes about dead babies and diving into gruesome […]
The Bollands – All Of My Ghosts (Monkey)
Kiwi folk duo The Bollards continue to flex their musical muscle with this, their third album. All Of My Ghosts finds them trying out new sounds and production techniques while still keeping their songwriting personal and affecting.
Duke Garwood – Garden Of Ashes (Heavenly)
London-based blues musician Duke Garwood begins the new year in top form, unleashing his 7th album Garden of Ashes, an ambient and atmospheric odyssey which drips with post-apocalyptic melancholy and madness.
Howe Gelb – Future Standards (Fire)
I have to confess my heart dipped a little when I saw the title of this album. Recent albums with the word standard in them by Dylan, Elvis Costello, and even Willie Nelson have seemed to me to signal that the performer has given up on their own songwriting and is content to just serve […]
Mick Harvey – Intoxicated Women (Mute)
It has taken 20 years for Mick Harvey, long-time collaborator with Nick Cave, the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey and others, to ‘complete’ his four album Serge Gainsbourg translation project.
Foxygen – Hang (Jagjaguwar)
All summer I’ve been tuned into Simon Morris and Phil O’Brien’s Matinee Idle, RNZ’s wonderfully eclectic music show featuring the quirky, personal over indulgences of two middle aged radio DJs who never had the courage to throw away their random collection of CDs and vinyl from the 1950’s – 1980’s. It’s a challenging, cringe-worthy but […]
Tycho – Epoch (Ghostly International)
What sounds and images do the words ‘ambient electronic music’ conjure in your mind?’ To many, I’m sure the answer is along the lines of ‘high-floating, tempo-less experimental synth chords, over a hazily morphing blob of colour not unlike an inoffensive default screensaver’. I’ll grant you, that is one side of the genre. But on […]
The Flaming Lips : Oczy Mlody (Warner Bros)
There’s no denying that this album is a difficult listen. Like all their work, defining exactly which planet they were on when they made this is as much a challenge as a truth. Fact or fiction it’s clear though that The Flaming Lips are not returning to any of their previous celestial destinations any time […]
The XX – I See You (Young Turks)
We all know that 2016 got Black Mirror levels of topsy-turvy, but perhaps one of the (rightly) less analysed stories of the year was the bizarre influence of The XX’s self titled debut released 11 years earlier had on mainstream pop charts in 2016. Their fingerprints are all over last year’s top 40- from Drake […]
Susto – & I’m Fine Today (Missing Piece/Caroline)
There’s nothing better than discovering a new band that seems to be making just the right music at just the right time. For me, that band is Susto. Hailing from Charleston, South Carolina, I first heard them at last year’s Austin City Limits Festival. Now, the release of their second album, & I’m Fine […]
Half Japanese – Hear The Lions Roar (Fire Records)
Just when I thought I knew about every band to find the courage to lay down on the tracks during the 1970s yet another one resurfaces – complete with an overstocked pedigree of albums spanning decades of hard work and ferocious output. Half Japanese were born out of the Fair brother’s lo-fi bedroom recordings of […]
Flo Morrissey & Matthew E. White – Gentlewoman, Ruby Man (Liberator Music/Glassnote Records)
From Frank Ocean to Leonard Cohen, from James Blake to the Velvet Underground, Flo and Matt certainly cover some musical ground in this intriguing and satisfying collection of covers.
You Me At Six – Night People (Infectious)
English quintet You Me At Six are often described as “pop/punk”. But if the sound they make on this, their fifth album, sounds anything loosely resembling punk rock, I’ll eat my Ramones T-shirt.