New albums: An unprecedented five albums landing simultaneously without warning, and with a temporary free download period on the mysterious London collective’s website, producer Inflo (Dean Josiah Cover) and co have again brought untold riches in soul, funk, gospel, jazz, RnB, hip-hop, experimental and contemporary classical
Read moreChristine and the Queens: Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles (prologue)
New album: Grand and theatrical, with oodles of 80s synth sounds and a big dash of Grace Jones and David Bowie-sytyle glamour, Héloïse Letissier returns with his (recently confirmed as a trans man) flamboyant, poetic third LP
Read morePhoenix: Alpha Zulu
New album: A return to form in their 20-year career for the quirky, groovy French pop quartet of singer Thomas Mars guitarist brothers Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz and bassist Deck D’Arcy, in this seventh album, this time recorded in the Louvre no less
Read moreBig Joanie: Back Home
New album: The London trio of vocalist and guitarist Stephanie Phillips, bassist Estella Adeyeri, and drummer Chardine Taylor-Stone return with an electronic extension to their catchy DIY post-punk with an LP based around the theme of different forms of home
Read moreFirst Aid Kit: Palomino
New album: After the heartbreak of the dark 2018 Ruins album, Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg return to uplifting, sweet harmony country-folk-pop, sometimes reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, and expressed in the title by the idea of a free-spirited elegant horse
Read moreNancy: English Leather
New album: Clever, catchy and beautifully crafted, drawing on 60s and 70s pop influences from Beach Boys and Zombies to glam rock, the British artist’s mischievous new LP is described as a “psychedelic portrait of repression, self-denial and introspection, with a perverted underbelly of indulgence and depravity at its core. After all, it’s the English way”
Read moreMelby: Looks Like A Map
New album: Serene, textured, mellow and beautifully moody LP by the four-piece from Stockholm, whose eclectic indie, at the surface, runs deep with elements of prog, jazz, electronica and dreamy pop, lightly dusted with shivery soul, folk, sadness and sugar
Read moreRubblebucket: Earth Worship
New album: A playful, inventive, witty, often humorous and highly original new LP by the Vermont-formed, New York City-based group fronted by Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth “dissolve the imaginary lines between the natural world and its human inhabitants”
Read moreTaylor Swift: Midnights
New album: Much hyped of course, and hardly needing a mention here, but after her lauded foray into folkier territory on albums Folklore and Evermore, the American superstar returns to mainstream synth-pop that’s dark, intelligent, self-deprecatory, small-hours state of mind, dead-of-night numbers
Read moreWild Pink: ILYSM
New album: A fourth particularly fine, tender, emotional LP in only five years by the New York indie rock band fronted by singer-songwriter John Ross, with a theme, as the title suggests of loving very much, with some powerful and poignant moments, and broader experimental sounds
Read moreArctic Monkeys: The Car
New album: With lavish orchestration, grandiose dynamics and a crooning falsetto, echoes of Scott Walker and early 80s David Bowie, Alex Turner’s writing and delivery enters a new and fascinating phase of enigmatic, melancholy maturity
Read moreLouis Cole: Quality Over Opinion
New album: Brilliantly clever, agile and innovative sixth new solo funk album by the American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and Knower co-founder, mixing fast, perky beats and falsetto with the slower, more tender love songs, often with a twist
Read moreAlvvays: Blue Rev
New album: Delayed by floods, theft, and the pandemic, the Toronto band fronted by singer-songwriter Molly Rankin and guitarist Alec O’Hanley make a triumphant third album return with uplifting and melancholy dream-pop indie filled with jangly inflections of The Smiths, shoegazey MBV, loud-quiet Sonic Youth and romantic Belinda Carlisle synth pop
Read moreThe Big Moon: Here Is Everything
New album: An emotive, hooky, candid third album by the London indie-rockers fronted by Juliette Jackson, with a running theme around her experience of pregnancy and its life-changing consequences
Read moreBroken Bells: Into The Blue
New album: Acclaimed producer Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse and James Mercer of the The Shins reconvene for their third duo BB album in 12 years, and first since 2014, with strong, slow, unhurried, smoky numbers of thrumming indie reverberation
Read moreCourting: Guitar Music
New album: Short, snappy, sharp and caustically ironic, the Liverpool indie post-punk band’s 30-minute, eight-track LP follows their excellent 2021 EP Grand National with biting lyrics, catchy melodies and ferocious energy
Read moreSports Team: Gulp!
New album: The Cambridge-formed London-based band return with their follow-up after lauded 2020 debut LP Deep Down Happy with catchy, strongly written, swaggering guitar indie, bubbling with energy and an upbeat, arch humour aimed at life’s insecurities
Read moreTim Burgess: Typical Music
New album: One of music’s most positive, self-effacing and affable characters – as frontman of The Charlatans and host of Twitter Listening Parties – returns with a inventive, richly adventurous new solo LP of 22 tracks recorded over 30 days with a classy mix of catchy pop, rock and psychedelia
Read moreCrack Cloud: Tough Baby
New album: Eclectic, original, energised and experimental, this is an enthralling third post-punk, pop, rock and thunderous concoction release by the Vancouver collective led by drummer and lead vocalist Zach Choy filled with the passionate and oddball
Read moreBeth Orton: Weather Alive
New album: The first album for six years by the British singer-songwriter brings an exquisite fragility and mature beauty, suffused with her delicate, sometimes ghostly vocals and sparse but perfectly weighted instrumentation
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