New album: A sixth album in just three years by the collective run by prolific producer Inflo, aka Dean Josiah Cover, has a striking new direction - instrumental, orchestral works with brass and largely non-verbal choir parts, yet this cinematic release still has echoes of the black experience
Read moreDaniel Rossen: You Belong There
New album: A mesmerically rich, beautifully swirling fusion of acoustic and flamenco guitar, symphonic folk, classic and jazz by by the Grizzly Bear guitarist and vocalist whose voice has the sensitivity, warmth and honest of Elliott Smith, in this wonderful solo debut
Read moreFather John Misty: Chloë and the Next 20th Century
New album: Lavishly orchestrated, marrying the ironic and the romantic, filled with stories and profound lines, Josh Tillman’s theatrical fifth LP is perhaps his finest yet, a fusion of the cinematic, jazz, swing, country, and folk-pop
Read moreHannah Peel and Paraorchestra: The Unfolding
New album: A beautiful conceptual collaboration between the Northern Irish composer and the Bristol orchestral ensemble of professional disabled and non-disabled musicians mixing analogue, digital and assistive instruments, the music evoking human links to nature and shared beginnings in the universe
Read moreMario Batkovic: INTROSPECTIO
New album: A mesmeric, magical fusion of boundary-pushing electronica, saxophone and organ by the Swiss virtuoso solo accordion player born in Bosnia now based in Bristol, with guests including saxophonist Colin Stetson
Read moreMarta Del Grandi: Until We Fossilize
New album: This delicate, beautiful debut by the Italian singer from Milan with a jazz background infuses her songs with folk and classical and eastern elements in an LP inspired by the Greek myth of Amethyst who defies the patriarchy
Read moreÌxtahuele: Eden Ahbez's Dharmaland
Album review: Serene, strange, magical a wonderful collection performed by the Swedish experimental band of newly discovered sheet music of instrumentals and songs by the composer best known for Nature Boy, written for Nat King Cole
Read moreFloating Points, Pharoah Sanders and The London Symphony Orchestra: Promises
Album review: This transcendent, astonishingly beautiful work, from a five-year collaboration, culminates in genre-spanning exquisite music over nine continuous movements that could easily top the best of the year
Read moreBell Orchestre: House Music
Album review: A wondrously absorbing and beautiful first release in a decade by the Montreal-based group of musicians with 10 tracks flow seamlessly into each other via coalescing classical and electronic instrumentation.
Read moreSmerz: Believer
Album review: From stark and abstract, to serene, ambient and dancefloor, the debut LP from the Norwegian duo Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg is an experimental adventure taking in everything from classical to techno
Read moreAgnes Obel to Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers to Sault: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 2
Albums of 2020 roundup: Out of crisis comes great art. A year of lockdowns, no gigs, alternative sounds, experimentation and surprises. This is the second half of our roundup of favourite albums of 2020. Part 1 was here
Read moreFiona Apple to Lianne La Havas to Yves Tumor: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 1
Albums of 2020 roundup: A year of lockdowns, alternative sounds, experimentation and surprises. This is the first half two roundups of a total over 50 favourite albums of the year that musicians stayed at home. And here’s Part 2.
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: Chilly Gonzales, Mark Lanegan, Drive-By Truckers, Marie Davidson, Kacy & Clayton & Marlon Williams, Beethoven, Oh! Gunquit, Puppini Sisters, Dylan Henner
Album reviews roundup: A selection of contrasts – some dark, 2020-slanted Christmas other recent seasonal releases and other recents and earlier releases, from Chilly Gonzales to Mark Lanegan and a Beethoven anniversary piece
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, The Avalanches, Nas, Sigur Rós, Caro, Alex Maas, M. Ward, Flohio
Album reviews roundup: From the former Beatle to a country/pop mainstream artist, 2020’s running theme seems inspire isolation, survival, DIY and experimentation. But as this selection shows, there are also many new, innovative artists out there
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: AC/DC, Marika Hackman, Gillian Welch, Pa Salieu, Benee, Gwenifer Raymond, Katy J Pearson, Molchat Doma, Faten Kanaan
Album reviews roundup: This week’s selection includes a surprise but strong return for the Aussie rockers, three innovative debuts in in hip hop, pop and folk, and an outstanding series of instrumentals by a Welsh guitarist
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: Elvis Costello, Dizzee Rascal, Sun Ra Arkestra, Eels, Oneohtrix Point Never, Action Bronson, Jim White, Adrianne Lenker, Keaton Henson
Album reviews roundup: This week’s selection again reflects the times - divided political America to grief and isolation, but also presents an abundance of creativity, wit and musical invention crossing everything from jazz to hip hop
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: Future Islands, Black Thought, Public Enemy, Emmy The Great, Sylvan Esso, Hen Ogledd, Kronos Quartet, Blake Scott, Slow Pulp
Album reviews roundup: Hip hop comes up strong this week with Black Thought and a recent Public Enemy release with heavyweight guests, but there’s not shortage of other highly original artists from Future Islands to Sylvan Esso
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: Emily Barker, Throwing Muses, Tricky, Declan McKenna, Hannah Georgas, Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith, Sarah Davachi, Allison Neale, Richard Norris
Album reviews roundup: This week’s selection mixes deep emotions with philosophy, evolution with the elemental, with a mixture of folk, pop, electronica and indie, and including drone music featuring five ancient church organs
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: Bright Eyes, The Killers, International Teachers of Pop, The Lemon Twigs, X, Dan Croll, Bully, Andrew McCormack, Chuck Prophet
Albums reviews roundup: Our latest selection includes a couple of comebacks from Bright Eyes and US punk legends X, plus Sheffield’s wonderful International Teachers of Pop, a mainstream Killers and the talented Lemon Twigs brothers
Read moreNew albums: Fontaines D.C., Beyoncé, Alanis Morissette, The Psychedelic Furs, Max Richter, Song Sung, Dominic Fike, Creeper, Romare
This week includes a strong second album by Fontaines D.C., comebacks by The Psychedelic Furs and Alanis Morissette, a Lion King-inspired film-album by Beyoncé, eclectic work by newcomber Dominic Fike and experiment by Max Richter
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