Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
"Dorky white disco funk” is what Kevin Parker, the main man of Tame Impala from Perth, Australia, calls this album, the first for over four years. That's both an accurate and ironic description, but the result is a grow-on-you mixture with some added smooth house, and very sleak pop that gradually seeps out wistful, emotive work, such as from the catchy Is It True to One More Year to the slower Posthumous Forgiveness, and Lost In Yesterday. Out on Fiction.
Tame Impala – Lost In Yesterday
Moses Boyd – Dark Matter
The London jazz drummer, composer and producer releases a genre-transcending album that defies definition. Guest vocalists include Obongjayar with Dancing in the Dark, a song about the tragic fate of black youth, and keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones from Ezra Collective on the excellent 2 Far Gone, while opener Stranger Than Fiction emerges from a twinkly dawn of cymbals, guitar, and horns into an explosion of funk, bold, soaring keyboard and brass riffs keeping pace with the drums. Outstanding. Out on Exodus
Moses Boyd – Stranger Than Fiction
Katie Gatley – Loom
Electronica but not as you might imagine, Loom, the second LP by the LA artist, has a hugely expansive, cavernous sound, and echoes with grief and a range of other emotions, as it was written when her mother was dying of cancer. Of the eight single-word titled tracks, Waltz may be in three-time, but that's the only convention thing about it – this orchestral based track spirals way beyond that. Ally has an shattering, splintering sound, Flow sounds like volcano waiting to explode, and the 10-minute Bracer requires exactly that action. A towering piece of work that has to be on loud, and will utterly overwhelm. Out on Houndstooth.
Katie Gatley – Waltz
Seth Lakeman – A Pilgrim's Tale
Timed slightly ahead of the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s setting sail from Plymouth for America in September this is inspired by the English folk singer's visit to that ship's landing spot, Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts, where he met descendants of the Wampanoag people who confronted the Mayflower’s Puritan immigrants. The album's 12 songs a mixture of new and traditional, tell tough tales of those formative times, of the righteous pilgrims plundering grain from the Wampanoags with narrative by actor Paul McGann. Out on BMG.
Seth Lakeman – Watch Out
Nathaniel Rateliff – And it's Still Alright
The folk and blues singer-songwriter based in Denver releases a new solo album of absorbing, sometimes country-style Nilssone-sque narratives. Expecting to Lose is a stompingly catchy number, Time Stands has a timelessly emotive quality, Tonight #2 channels a little Johnny Cash, You Need Me a dash of John Denver, while the title track has some Glen Campbell about it. Definitely alright. Out on Stax.
Nathaniel Rateliff – What A Drag
Mush – 3D Routine
Welcome full debut LP (after previous EP) from the Leeds-formed indie band fronted by songwriter Dan Hyndman who certainly has a unique form of engaging half-singing, half-talking delivery. Witty lyrics, sharp, fast-paced guitar work, what's not to love about them? Check out Eat The Etiquette, Revising My Fee, the slower Existential Dread, or the title track. Out on Memphis Industries.
Mush – Revising My Fee
Eyelids – The Accidental Falls
Attractive LP project between the guitar-rock, Teenage Fanclub-style musicians of Oregon band Eyelids – Chris Slusarenko and John Moen – joining up with Tim Buckley collaborator and lyricist Larry Beckett and produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. The album includes Found at the Scene of a Rendezvous that Failed, originally written by Beckett and Tim Buckley, as well as new tracks such as The Minutes, the psychedelic Dream, and River, as well as Monterey, inspired by Elliott Smith. Out on Decor.
Eyelids – Found at the Scene of a Rendezvous that Failed
Boniface – Boniface
Debut LP from the young Canadian artist. aka Micah Visser, comprises songs of formative coming-of-age experiences and heartbreak, each moment captured in diary-like detail. From Fumbling to Oh My God to Keeping Up, a solid, impressively mature selection of piano ballads, big production pop and 80s-style delivery. Out on Transgressive.
Boniface – Keeping Up
Beach Bunny – Honeymoon
Chicago-based Lili Trifilio's four-piece band release fresh, teen-angst indie. Tracks to sample include Colorblind, Cuffing Season, Promises and the more intimate Racetrack. Ms California is a love letter to Lili's home state. Out on Mom + Pop.
Beach Bunny – Ms California
Don’t forget to also check out our favourite albums of 2019:
Aldous Harding to Richard Dawson to Michael Kiwanuka: favourite albums of 2019 – part 1
Billie Eilish to FKA twigs to Weyes Blood: favourite albums of 2019 – part 2
This week's selection is by The Landlord.
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