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Yola: gloriously powerful
New album: The title track was a splendid previous Song of the Day, and the rest of this second album by the equally stands up as excellent soul and funk by the singer and songwriter Yolanda Quartey from Bristol
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Dave’s second LP We're All Alone In This Together
New album: Second LP by the much lauded Mercury-winning David Omoregie for his first, Psychodrama, shows his talent for diversity of rap styles through social commentary and relationship themes, comprising R&B, Afrobeat, gospel, electronica and piano-led melancholy
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Shungudzo
New album: An impassioned, political debut album by the Zimbabwean-American artist, activist former gymnast and soul singer touching on climate change to race issues to women’s rights, typified in first singe It’s a Good Day (To Fight The System)
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Charlotte Day Wilson: ALPHA
New album: This serenely soulful debut by the Toronto singer-songwriter and producer is a slow, sensual, and mature, drawing on elements of gospel, folk, jazz and R&B, but is beautifully minimal and restrained
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Consequences is Joan Armatrading’s 20th studio album
New album: Now 70, her voice is as strong as ever, and this 20th studio album in a five-decade career is filled with strong songwriting, more in the style of her 80s pop than 70s folk, but with impressive moments of emotional power
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Robert Finley shows it’s never too late …
Album review: This fabulous third LP by the 67-year-old soul singer is produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, and filled with gritty, goosebump moments, his soaring and tender delivery bringing out every emotion
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Two peas in a pod: cover art art from Deacon by serpentwithfeet
Album review: An unusually delicate, tender and eccentric affectionately album of gospel-infused R&B about a black gay relationship and friendships, the second by Baltimore-born Brooklyn-based singer Josiah Wise
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Madlib, aka Otis Jackson Jr
Album review: A majestic journey into sampled and recreated classic sounds with his own original, eccentric twists, Madlib, aka American rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist Otis Jackson Jr's newest LP is in turn produced by Four Tet
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Aaron Frazer: Introducing …
New album: Introducing Song Bar’s first new album review of 2021, appropriately with an excellent debut LP, Aaron Frazer has a high, falsetto voice reminiscent of Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield with notes of 60s and 70s soul and funk
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Great albums of 2020: clockwise from top: Agnes Obel, Phoebe Bridgers, Bob Dylan and Sault’s Untitled (Rise)
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
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Nine more albums to help complete further selections reflecting on 2020
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
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This week’s magic nine
Album reviews roundup: an exceptionally experimental and original lineup includes Tunng’s special death project, Iceland’s Olafur Arnalds at his most vulnerable, Tiña, the cosmic jazz funk of Planet Battagon, and for balance, some Kylie disco
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This week’s very colourful square of album covers is matched by the quality of the music
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
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The latest square of nine new albums
Albums reviews roundup: The latest selection includes a big reunion for the Boss. a mass collaboration via Fraser T Smith, Stormzy and more, exquisite work by This is The Kit, and reflective breakup by Laura Veirs
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Hair today … new album releases in random formation
Latest albums include exquisite soul and gospel with the divine voice of Lianne La Havas and the mystery band Sault, plus mischief from Jarvis Cocker, The Pretenders roll back the years, the return of the (no longer Dixie) Chicks
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This week’s big nine
This week’s selection includes classic Rufus Wainwright, a return for Mike Skinner collaborating on each Streets song, powerful ambience from Julianna Barwick and a selection of eccentric, eclectic pop releases
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This week’s picture puzzle starts with Phoebe Bridgers, top right
This week’s selection includes albums of marvellous melancholy and mellowness from Phoebe Bridgers and Norah Jones, topical disco, genre-benders Jockstrap and older material newly released from Neil Young and Bessie Jones
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