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Epic scale: The Million Masks of God by Manchester Orchestra
Album review: The Atlanta indie-rockers’ latest LP is has an even more expansive, full-bodied sound of vocal harmonies led by frontman Andy Hull that echo Fleet Foxes with strong songwriting, psychedelic parts and a sense of epic scale that would fill large venues or festivals
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A cri de coeur on climate change: Gojira’s new album, Fortitude
Album review: Metal may not be to everyone’s taste, but there’s no denying the songwriting and musicianship of this seventh album by the French quartet which is a powerful, engaging and stormy cri de coeur about climate change
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Art D’Ecco’s In Standard Definition
Album review: A stylish and charismatic glam-rock electro-funk-disco pop second album, echoing everything from early 70s Bowie or Bolan’s T-Rex to 80s synth New Romantics, by the wonderful Canadian androgynous singer
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Dinosaur Jr return with Sweep It Into Space
Album review: Packed with tender lo-fi to full-on rock numbers, the distinctive voice and playing of J Mascis joined Lou Barlow’s bass and Murph on drum, rolls out in the form of a very fine new LP, their first together for five years
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Flat White Moon
Album review: The eighth LP from Sunderland brothers Peter and David Brewis brings together a wealth influences and accessibility, cleverly marrying pop, funk and postpunk with echoes of the Beatles, XTC and Todd Rundgren
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Greta Van Fleet
Album review: This second LP by the quartet from Michigan will again raise Led Zeppelin comparisons, but the derivative 70s rock influence on the Kiszka brothers and drummer Danny Wagner also has vocal echoes of Rush, and especially Slade
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Silver Synthetic from New Orleans
Album review: This debut album by the New Orleans indie psych rock band is full of bluesy, catchy, snappy tunes and wistful lyrics, shades of 1970s Kinks, Richard Lloyd, Tom Verlaine, Ultimate Painting, Velvet Underground and Teenage Fanclub
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Du Blonde’s Homecoming
Album review: Beth Jeans Houghton returns, now under her label, continuing her more recent stripped back formula of great songwriting wrapped in fuzzbox guitar glam rock, this time with guests including Shirley Manson, Ezra Furman, and of Andy Bell of Ride
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Nicely worn: Black Honey’s album
Album review: Refreshing, energetic, upbeat big-chorus fuzzbox indie-pop by the four-piece from Brighton with echoes of big-sound styles ranging from Primal Scream to Girls Aloud to Garbage to Sigue Sigue Sputnik
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Sunburned Hand Of The Man’s latest album
Album review: An eclectic and fascinating album of newly edited tracks by the prolific Boston Massachusetts collective, covering everything from gentle acoustic to thrash metal, indie, psych, electronica, krautrock and everything in between
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Israel Nash
Album review: The Texas singer-songwriter’s latest LP indeed is a gem – infused with slow country, prog rock, southern gospel-soul, the folk and ‘70s psych-rock, with more than a dash of Neil Young, slide guitar and geographical reference
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William The Conqueror’s Maverick Thinker, their third album
Album review: The third album by the trio fronted by the Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter Ruarri Joseph is clever, catchy, bluesy, rocking and wry, filled with wistful lines, dry wit and great riffs
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Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: symbiotic
Album review: "A brutal but very beautiful record nested in a communal catastrophe” is how Nick Cave describes this Covid-19 lockdown-inspired release with his longtime Bad Seed collaborator, and so it is
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The Hold Steady have an Open Door Policy
Album review: Brooklyn’s natural lovechild band of Bruce Springsteen and Randy Newman return with their eighth studio album, full of polished, clever lyrics and energy, and if not quite up to 2008’s Stay Positive, deliver everything a fan would hope for
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As The Love Continues, Mogwai’s 10th album
Album review: The Glasgow band’s 10th album in a 25-year career is full of their usual dynamic contrasts and soaring cinematic, experimental passages, but strip back to older styles on which they build newer sounds
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Mush’s second album Lines Redacted
Album review: The second album by the Leeds-based band extends their distinctive, sonically idiosyncratic style of excellent angular art-rock with mind-bendingly alternative guitar riffs and scales, sharp lyrics and the oddly likeable nasal delivery of songwriter Dan Hyndman
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A catchy oddball odyssey: SkyWay Man’s new album
Album review: The second full-length project from American rock/cosmic country/psychedelic folk singer, songwriter and producer James Wallace is a catchy, but very easy listen oddball odyssey, a cinematic psych folk opera
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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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Lianne La Havas, Fiona Apple and Yves Tumor are among three artists who have released outstanding LPs
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.
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This week’s nine is filled with contrast, but also many 2020 themes …
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
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