New album: The acclaimed jazz saxophonist returns with a genre-hopping emphasis across funk, hip hop as well his excellent big band, an overarching spiritual theme, and collaborators including George Clinton, Thundercat and André 3000
Read moreSt. Vincent: All Born Screaming
New album: Annie Clark’s follow-up to 2021’s 70s-inspired Daddy’s Home is a striking, stylish self-produced LP, with a rawer, starker edge, fierce guitars, a theme of characters pushed between their true selves and how they’re perceived, an includes guests Dave Grohl and Cate Le Bon
Read moreLynks: ABOMINATION
New album: After a series of entertaining singles, the flamboyant, often masked south London artist Elliot Brett’s debut LP is full of bounce and thrust – a humorous, witty, catchy collection of stylish synth-electro-pop mainly about gay sexual adventures in the city
Read moreA Certain Ratio: It All Comes Down To This
New album: Following last year’s 1984 album, Manchester’s pioneering and highly influential post-punk trio of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson return with a punchy, potent, stripped-back sound with a dark funk flavour, produced by the prolific and brilliant Dan Carey
Read moreKhruangbin: A LA SALA
New album: After the more energetic last LP, Mordechai, a return to slower, feathery, easy, seemingly effortless instrumental funk-jazz grooves from the super-cool American trio of bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald Johnson Jr and guitarist Mark Speer
Read moreGossip: Real Power
New album: After 12 years away, the American pop trio of the irrepressible singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Nathan "Brace Paine" Howdeshell and drummer Hannah Blilie return with set of punchy, candid, personal disco-punk-pop bangers, and produced by Rick Rubin
Read moreGhost Funk Orchestra: A Trip To The Moon
New album: After 2022’s A New Kind of Love, the dynamic New York group return with wonderful cinematic concept album of funk, big band jazz and psychedelia featuring samples of Apollo mission transmissions, and songs from the perspective of a woman wondering when her astronaut partner will return
Read moreTalk Show: Effigy
New album: A dark, arresting, gnarly, frenzied fusion of dance-funk post-punk by the south London quartet with an LP that feels like a gripping journey through a fictional night-club underworld, with echoes of the Prodigy and Baxter Dury-style vocalisations
Read moreLes Amazones d'Afrique: Musow Danse
New album: A joyous, vibrant, powerful, life-affirming third LP by the West African Mali collective female artists, mixing traditional, rich African vocal harmonies with electronica, dance, funk and folk of course no shortage of feminist fervour
Read moreBrittany Howard: What Now
New album: The Alabama Shakes singer and guitarist returns with her second solo album after 2019’s superb debut, Jaimie, with an equally brilliant but wider scope of styles, from soul to funk, jazz, but also dancefloor energy, and more than a dash of Prince
Read moreBlack Grape: Orange Head
New album: Salford’s Shaun Ryder and Manchester’s Paul ‘Kermit’ Leveridge return with their first LP since 2017’s Pop Voodoo, and their fourth overall together, with an especially funk-filled laced with their classic banter, wit and talent for cleverly daft, surreal and addictive lyrics
Read moreFavourite albums of 2023 Part 2: Anohni to Blur to Mitski, Ren to Sufjan Stevens
Welcome once again to the annual tradition of Song Bar’s favourite album releases of 2023. This is Part 2, and Part 1 was yesterday. There’s no such thing as a chart rundown or ‘best of’ here, and these come in no particular order …
Read moreFavourite albums of 2023 Part 1: Anna B Savage to Young Fathers
Welcome once again to the annual tradition of Song Bar’s favourite album releases of 2023. This is Part 1, and Part 2 is also out here. There’s no such thing as a chart rundown or ‘best of’ here, and these come in no particular order. This is all about quality and innovation …
Read moreRaze Regal & White Denim: Raze Regal & White Denim Inc
New album: The virtuoso experimental Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli join old friend and singer/ guitarist formerly of Oakland’s Once and Future Band in a pacy tapestry of cleverly interwoven psych, prog, funk, jazz and rock, with added echoes of Steely Dan
Read moreQuantic: Dancing While Falling
New album: Inexorably catchy, lavishly orchestrated 70-era disco, funk, gospel, soul and pop from the British New York-based musician and DJ Will Holland in his Quantic moniker, joined by great guest vocalists and collaborators, particularly Andreya Triana
Read moreTkay Maidza: Sweet Justice
New album: Stylishly funky, slick and soulful hip-hop and R&B with dark twists and tender moments come aplenty in this alluring second album by the eclectically talented Zimbabwean-born, Australian-raised and now Los Angeles-based artist
Read moreBalming Tiger: January Never Dies
New album: Hugely enjoyable debut LP by the South Korean K-pop and hip-hop collective, who bring a heady mix of slick delivery and experiment with funk, pop, indie rock and playfully inventive changes of pace
Read moreFlamingods: Head of Pomegranate
New album: The eclectic London band of abundant upbringings and influences from Bahrain to Dubai, Albania, Italy and Saudi Arabia return with a heady, upbeat mix of Afro-electro synth pop, krautrock, funk, disco and alt-rock psychedelia
Read moreSay She She: Silver
New album: A wonderful double LP by the Anglo-American female-led trio of Piya Malik, Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown in a joyous early 80s-style mix of disco, pop and soul
Read moreSirens of Lesbos: Peace
New album: Fascinatingly cool, crisp, delicate, experimental futuristic pop-funk by the band based in Bern, Switzerland, sprinkled with oddball instrumentation and electronica and including a guest appearance by bass legend Bootsy Collins
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