Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You
The Boss returns, and this time with a sound that's as Bruce Springsteen a sound as it gets, back with the E Street band after his solo work that included some confessions of inadequacy, loneliness and insecurity on the 2018 show and album, Springsteen on Broadway. This one is far more reminiscent of 2012’s Wrecking Ball, with unashamed, passionate, sometimes cliched and cheesily rousing numbers, but for fans who love classic Bruce, these are in many ways also belters, including some old songs, such as If I Was The Priest, which dates back to '72 and Janey Needs a Shooter, one that also floated up from the same decade. The album includes defining images such as burning trains and “faded pictures in an old scrapbook”, while House of a Thousand Guitars, sets up a heaven-type meetup jam scenario for friends, almost certainly haunted by some now sadly missed. That melancholy is fuelled by the loss of George Theiss, having died from cancer, and two bandmates Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons. Overall it's a reliving of the good times, with a tinge of sadness, an overall reflection on age catching up, especially with the closing track – I'll See You In My Dreams. Out on Columbia.
Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You
Futura Utopia – 12 Questions
Acclaimed producer Fraser T Smith (Stormzy and Dave’s debut albums) puts together a collaborative project with guest poets, spoken word artists and more addressing some fundamental issues around faith, freedom, race, gender, wealth, equality and ecology, including poets Simon Armitage, Arlo Parks, actor Idris Elba, Stormzy, Ghetts, Bastille, Kano, Dave, Bastille Mikky Ekko, Shoreditch rapper and poet Kojey Radical, Tom Grennan, Tia Carys, Alysiia Harris, former Black Panther Albert Woodfox, and artists Katrin Fridriks and Es Devlin. Styles range from the heavy beats and shouts of Promised Land with Mikky Ekko, to the tender piano of Do We Really Care Part 2 with Simon Armitage. A fascinating, bits and pieces album of 21 tracks all with the sincere aim of reclaiming unity, love and connection, and a definite need to address the central problem of, as shown by track 9 – Why Are We Divided When We Are So Connected? Out on Platoon.
Future Utopia Ft Dave & ES Devlin – Children of the Internet
This Is The Kit – Off Off On
Sublime new release by Kate Staples and co – clever, slick and tender with that distinctively beautiful voice of pinpoint clarity, bringing a delicate fusion of folk and pop. After Moonshine Freeze – leading Kate’s Ivor Novello nomination, she went on tour with the National. Now with a welcome return in just with renewed vivacity, standout tracks include the galloping, banjo finger-picking This Is What You Did, as well as No Such Thing, Coming To Get You Nowhere and the title track. Eleven gorgeous, uplifting, clever and ethereal new songs. Out on Rough Trade.
This Is The Kit – This Is What You Did
Laura Veirs – My Echo
The eleventh album by the American singer-songwriter follows her breakup with husband, producer and chief musical collaborator Tucker Martine. As she puts it: "It’s my ‘my songs knew I was getting divorced before I did’ album. My conscious mind was trying as hard as I could to keep my family together but my subconscious mind was working on the difficult struggles in my marital life. I was part of a “Secret Poetry Group” that met and wrote poems monthly for a year during the writing of this record. Many of my poems turned into songs for this album." So it's very personal, confessional and emotional fayre, but the themes of advancing age, the confines of domesticity, oppressive government and the threat of the apocalypse also permeate these songs. Standout tracks include Burn Too Bright, Turquoise Walls, Another Space and Time, and All The Things. Out on Bella Union.
Laura Veirs – Burn Too Bright
Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison
Debut solo album by the frontman of The National is a different style – soulful, poetic and understated, are produced by Booker T. Jones, and includes guests Matt Barrick (The Walkmen), Andrew Bird, Mike Brewer, Hayden Desser, Scott Devendorf (The National), and bass player Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz). Berninger's voice is slow, deep, breathy, gravelly, aping Leonard Cohen, and a little too slow and indulgent in parts, but there are some standout melancholy moments here, including One More Second, Oh Dearie, the title track, Take Me Out of Town. Out on Concord.
Matt Berninger – One More Second
Songhoy Blues – Optimisme
Bluesy, rocky (Badala) and also steeped in deep traditions of classic Malian music and desert blues (Addadja and Fey Fey), the Africans return with a multilingual album that transcends styles and tastes. Other catchy highlights include Bon Bon, Worry, and Dourmia. Top class, tight brilliant musicianship bringing power and authenticity in another great release. Out on Transgressive.
Songhoy Blues – Barre
Ela Minus – Acts of Rebellion
The debut by Brooklyn-based Colombian artist Ela Minus is a different album of electro-dance that has a punk edge, perhaps coming from her previous experience as drummer for Ratón Pérez, but here she mixes full on rave and pop with strange, dark, explorative soundscapes in a very eclectic and often catchy mixture, jumping between the dreamy and dancey such as between Tony and Do Whatever You Want, All The Time. Standout tracks include surefire foot tappers El Cielo No Es De Nadie and Megapunk, which certainly as a Daftpunk influence, but with political element: "“We can’t seem to find a reason to stay quiet / We’re afraid we’ll run out of time / To stand up for our rights.” Punchy. Out on Domino.
Ela Minus – el cielo no es de nadie
Sam Brookes – Black Feathers
This beautifully stripped back but powerful folk-pop LP by the Bristol-based singer-songwriter tackles the dark topic of depression with persuasive melody and lyrics.18 & Sleeping and Into The Night capture the tender tone and pace, but his voice can soar with great strength, such as on opener Ekarma, or Sinking Boats which also has a powerful momentum and buildup of drums. An album of exquisite dynamism, subtlety and passion. Out on Go Slowly Records.
Sam Brookes – Ekarma
Girlhood – Girlhood
Uplifting, breezy, soulful gospel-inspired electropop in this debut between singer Tessa Cavanna and producer Christian Pinchbeck has a 90s throwback feel, especially on The Love I Need of M People or even Spice Girls. There's piano-led feelgood momentum such as on Sister, or the disco-style singalong It Might Take A Woman, or the slower, more tender Queendom. Uplifting pop that has a summery, retro feel and in parts also echoes Moby. Out on Team Talk.
Girlhood – The Love I Need
This week's selection is by The Landlord.
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