New album: An upbeat, wonderfully catchy and evocative new LP release by the Blur guitarist of pop-indie-disco-funk-prog numbers as soundtrack to a book of 15 graphic novel sci-fi stories, in a dystopian setting stemmed from his passion for the genre
Read moreOrla Gartland: Woman on the Internet
Orla Gartland’s debut album
New album: Clever, wry, witty, refreshing indie pop debut from the Irish singer-songwriter who brings oddball sounds along with the more conventional and has echoes of Fiona Apple in her delivery and even a dash of Laurie Anderson
Read moreDeafheaven: Infinite Granite
Deafheaven’s fifth studio album Infinite Granite
New album: Better know as a post-black metal band, San Francisco’s George Clarke, Kerry McCoy and co return with an LP of soaring, ethereal shoegaze rock – jangling guitars and clean vocals that turn the growl into smooth and dreamy
Read moreLorde: Solar Power
Solar Power is Lorde’s third LP
New album: New Zealand’s Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor returns with a far mellower LP than her previous mega-selling Pure Heroine and Melodrama, concentrating on simpler pleasures - relaxing and escaping the public glare though not doing much with any eco theme
Read moreIDER: Shame
IDER’s Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville return with their second album
New album: Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville return after 2019’s excellent Emotional Education with more clever, quick-witted, crisp, feminist indie pop unpicking the deep-seated problems of relationships, social control, society and self-loathing
Read moreThe Killers: Pressure Machine
The Killers’ Pressure Machine
New album: An atypical LP from the American stadium fillers eschews the sometimes nonsense (“are we human or are we dancer”) air-punching pop-rock anthems for more reflective material inspired by Brandon Flowers’ Utah childhood
Read moreWillie Nile: The Day The Earth Stood Still
Willie Nile’s The Day The Earth Stood Still is his 14th studio album
New album: The veteran 73-year-old rocker from Buffalo, NY is a lesser known treasure, and returns with more sharp, vivid political lyrics that open here comparing New York streets during Covid to a sci-fi alien movie, and many unashamed nods to Springsteen, Dylan, The Who, Mellencamp and The Beatles
Read moreJade Bird: Different Kinds Of Light
Reflectiive: Jade Bird’s Different Kinds of Light
New album: The 23-year-old English singer-songwriter and BRIT school graduate’s second LP after 2019’s debut is a strong selection of numbers influenced by Americana and more from Fleetwood Mac to PJ Harvey, Blur to various shades of country rock
Read moreJungle: Loving In Stereo
Jungle: Loving In Stereo
New album: West London’s Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland return with undeniably, strong, catchy selection of falsetto soul and disco pop that has strings, horns, hip hop and gospel elements that hit perfect, broad appeal notes
Read moreBleachers: Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night
Bleachers - aka Jack Antonoff, doing his best Springsteen look
New album: Super pop producer Jack Antonoff releases a very personal album inspired by his New Jersey upbringing, and features his hero and big influence – Bruce Springsteen – as well as guests Lana Del Rey and string arrangements by St Vincent
Read moreDurand Jones and the Indications: Private Space
Durand Jones & The Indications’ third album
New album: Good vibes and upbeat sounds mark this third LP by the American funk and soul group fronted by Jones as well as the higher range of co-singer and drummer Aaron Frazer who collectively mix in 70s disco and pop
Read moreTorres: Thirstier
Torres aka Mackenzie Scott’s fifth album
New album: Strong melodies and witty lyrics mark this powerful set of grunge-pop songs by the American indie rocker Mackenzie Scott, whose work has echoes of The Breeders and as well as her British counterpart Du Blonde
Read moreBillie Eilish: Happier Than Ever
Billie Eilish
New album: The teen queen of dark, teenage bedroom pop returns with her second LP, astonishingly mature, with supremely low-key, close-mic intimacy, and innovative songs about inevitable concerns - stardom, the difficulty of privacy and relationships and all their associated dangers
Read morePrince: Welcome 2 America
Welcome 2 America is the third Prince LP since his death in 2016
New album: The third posthumous album since the Purple One’s untimely passing in 2016 stands out as the best for a long time, including when he was alive, packed with punchy funk, soul, and social commentary that echoes peak-period Curtis Mayfield
Read moreShungudzo: I'm Not A Mother, But I Have Children
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)
Read moreFryars: God Melodies
Fryars: God Melodies
New album: Mischievously wry and marvellously inventive twinkling electro-pop in the third full album by the multi-instrumentalist and producer Benjamin Garrett who has also released multiple EPs and mixtapes
Read moreClairo: Sling
Clairo’s new album - Sling
New album: Willow-the-wisp delicately soft and profoundly beautiful, this second LP by Massachusetts singer-songwriter Claire Cottrill, 22, has refined her bedroom indie pop of 2019’s acclaimed debut album Immunity for something more akin to Elliott Smith or Sufjan Stevens
Read moreHalf Waif: Mythopoetics
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
Read moreCharlotte Day Wilson: ALPHA
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
Read moreBobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth: Utopian Ashes
Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth: Utopian Ashes
New album: The Primal Scream frontman and former Savages singer collaborate in an unusually mellow set of heartbreak numbers that recall the country rock duos between Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris
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