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MJ Lenderman: Manning Fireworks
New album: Engagingly easygoing alt-Americana-country-rock drawl underpinned by darkly humorous, droll lyrics in this excellent fourth LP by the sharp 25-year-old Asheville, North Carolina singer-songwriter in this follow-up to 2022’s Boat Songs
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Leyla McCalla: Sun Without The Heat
New album: A deliciously uplifting fifth solo LP by the American singer-songwriter and mult-instrumentalist, fusing folk, country, Americana, Afrobeat to Brazilian tropicalismo
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Waxahatchee: Tigers Blood
New album: Following 2020’s acclaimed album Saint Cloud, Alabama-raised, Kansas City-based singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield returns with a strong, solid, steady release that sits comfortably in the middle ground of Americana, pop and country
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Moor Mother: The Great Bailout
New album: The American poet and musician Camae Ayewa returns with with a pointed, powerful release aimed at Britain’s murky, slavery-profiting colonial past, with a vivid, profound, visceral, declamatory narrative and soundscape that charts many injustices about wealth and compensation
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Katy Kirby: Blue Raspberry
New album: Following 2021’s strong debut Cool Dry Place, the Texas singer-songwriter returns with another collection of intelligent, sharply observed numbers with beautiful clarity of voice, fine balance of instrumentation, unflinching honesty, great turn of phrase, and powerful melodies
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M. Ward: Supernatural Thing
New album: Short but sweet, this 12th LP by the Portland singer-songwriter Matthew Ward (alongside several with She & Him) mixes gentle folk with upbeat rocky numbers and includes guest appearances by First Aid Kit
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Alfa Mist’s fifth album, Variables
New album: A brilliantly inventive mix of dynamic, textured, vibrant jazz, funk, prog, African, and hip hop, from big band swing, boom-bap rhythms smooth, soulful vocals, all in a fifth LP the London keyboardist and producer
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Andy Shauf: Norm
New album: Following 2020’s The Neon Skyline, the Canadian singer-songwriter returns with beautiful, crisp, meticulous folk-pop, filled with narrative, clever philosophy and his delicate, engaging, falsetto voice
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Plains on the roadside: Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson
New album: A high-quality classic country duet album with beautifully interweaving vocals by Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee) and Texas songwriter Jess Williamson embellished with soft-brushed drums, banjo, steel guitar, road and porch scenes, and heartbreak
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Delicately melancholy: Cass McCombs’ Heartmind
New album: This tenth LP by the American folk, psych and alt-country singer-songwriter brings songs of perfect, effortless poise and weight, with touching, melancholy, moving, philosophical tales of musicians and soldiers, karaoke machines and fast-food restaurants, and is dedicated to departed musicians Chet JR White, Sam Jayne and Neal Casal
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Moor Mother’s Jazz Codes
New album: A mesmeric new album that began as poetry book by the American artist Camae Ayewa mixing jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop and spoken word in her own form of Black Quantum Futurism group, her multi-artform fusion of black history ontology
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Old friends: Mavis Staples and Levon Helm
New album: A timeless live album of soul, gospel, funk and blues capturing a 2011 Midnight Rambles show by the evergreen singer made at the home studio of the former drummer and co-lead singer of The Band who then died a year later
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Curtis Harding’s third solo LP, If Words Were Flowers
New album: Classic high-quality 70s-style soul and gospel by the Atlanta singer on his third solo album, filled with beautiful instrumentation and packed with vocally strong emotions that seek the positive through dark times
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Half Waif: Mythopoetics
New album: This fifth solo LP by American Nandi Rose Plunkett strips her music back to a piano ballad pop format but with added electronica, and her subject matter is again infused with intense emotions and dark humour, even to fear of total identify loss
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Another nine great albums square up
Album reviews roundup: The latest section sees the return of Fleet Foxes in full voice, yet another high quality release by the Sault collective, the ever inventive Thurston Moore, Alicia Keys in collaboration and many more
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Yves Tumor: mysterious, inventive androgyny
An opulent selection of funk and electronica innovation comes from Yves Tumor and Thundercat, along with Korean artist Yaeji and Berlin’s Minor Science, plus massive metal of Pigs x 7 and beautiful indie and pop by Anna Burch and Ren Harvieu
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A bit of everything: from the cover of Gabrielle Aplin’s Dear Happy
The first of two roundups this week, this includes a return for the postpunk pioneers Wire, pop singer-songwriter Gabrielle Alpin, and electronica indie quartet Holy Fuck teeming up with Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor
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Cutting edge? Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Kahn
This latest roundup includes Natasha Kahn’s return with vampiric battiness, Chrissie Hynde’s alternative American Songbook, Iggy Pop intoning poetry, and beautiful work from Mali’s Tinawiren and a Madagascar compilation
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Which way? Her way. Cate Le Bon
A huge selection and range this week includes the unique and original sound of Welsh artist Cate Le Bon, Australian punk rockers Amyl and the Sniffers, soul, funk and hip from The Internet’s Steve Lacy and cinematic rap from Flying Lotus
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Back in business: Glasgow’s Bis
Alongside full funk and pop from Prince’s great friend Chaka, experimental, indie and electronica dominate this week’s roundup, including Australia’s Methyl Ethel and long due return from Glasgow’s catchy popsters Bis
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