White Denim – Performance
The Austin quartet return with their eighth studio album, and one that may bring them to them an wider audience. Highly skilled proggy noodling is one of their facets, but they are re-energised with a new studio to produce tracks, like this and the title track, that hit a very catchy groove, channelling pop alongside jazz and an expanded psychedelia. One of their very best. Out on City Slang.
White Denim – Magazin
Tunng – Songs You Make At Night
After many other parallel projects, such as Lump with Laura Marling, to Wrangler, the gang are all back together again, with Sam Genders joining Mike Lindsay and co and adding an old, familiar voice to the vocals and the songwriting mix. It's a very welcome return to the innovators of so-called folktronica, with oodles of clever, quirky elements, squiggly pop catchiness, dry humour and wonderfully warm vocal harmonies. Out on Full Time Hobby.
Tunng – Dark Heart
Ólafur Arnalds – re:remember
The Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer returns with a work of phenomenal beauty and stillness, combining piano, strings, and sometimes gentle beats. The innovation here is also in his groundbreaking new software, Stratus, which brings together two pianos controlled by one in mesmeric instrumentals. Out on Mercury KX.
Ólafur Arnalds – re:remember
The Lemon Twigs – Go To School
The brothers from Long Island, Brian and Michael D’Addario return with their almost freakish talent to play all instruments and and sing in complex but poppy tracks that could be described as from rock operas of the 70s or 10cc.. And indeed this is a concept album about a chimpanzee named Shane who is adopted by childless aspiring musicians and raised as a human, and features a guest appearance from Todd Rundgren. Hard not to indulge in and enjoy. Out on 4AD.
The Lemon Twigs - Small Victories
Her's – Invitation to Her's
Norway meets Liverpool in this likeable set of songs by duo Audun Laading and Stephen Fitzpatrick that can best be described 80s-style indie pop, filled with wistful lovelorn lyrics and a sound that echoes Echo and the Bunnymen, The The and Ariel Pink. Out on Heist Or Hit.
Her's – Invitation to Her's
Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood – With Animals
RIch, dark, brooding songs stir up this cauldron of collaboration between that unmistakable voice of the American working with the London-based instrumentalist. This is a fascinating, oddball work of ghostly, sinewy, distorted material. Out on Heavenly Recordings.
Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood – With Animals
Blood Orange - Negro Swan
The former Lightspeed Champion artist, aka Dev Hynes, returns again as Blood Orange in a hip hop / R&B / soul work that this time centres around racial experience. His voice is very much background to guests that include Ian Isiah on the sparse on Holy Will, and Georgia Anne Muldrow on Runnin', for example. It's an intriguing, clever, mercurial, but sometimes odd mixture of haziness, laziness, talkiness and beats, of the personal and political. Out on Domino Records.
Blood Orange - Charcoal Baby
Candi Staton - Unstoppable
Rolling back the years, and with the recent loss of Aretha Franklin, it seems appropriate to highlight this 30th album release by another of the great soul voices, who in this album mixes funk on opener Confidence, alongside the bluesy I Fooled You, Didn't I?, and and gospel funk with a cover of Patti Smith’s People Have the Power among many other fine moments. Out on Beracah/Thirty Tigers.
Candi Staton – Confidence
Interpol - Marauder
Sixth album from the Manhattan rockers who have now been playing for over 20 years. Big sound, designed for big arenas. If you already like them, then this is for you. Out on Matador.
Interpol - The Rover
This week's selection is by The Landlord.
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