This week’s spring sparklers start with Drop Cherries, which was recorded entirely on tape in Somerset and Wales late last summer and which marks the very first time that Billie Marten has both written and co-produced (with Dom Monks) one of her records. The title is taken from a tale she heard from a friend…
It’s fair to say that Seán McGowan has been ‘grafting’ since day one. Since 2009, the Southampton born singer has toured over 20 countries and performed at numerous festivals, all while juggling reality with jobs such as barman, cleaner, kitchen porter, tour manager and, most recently, barber. Unafraid of getting stuck in, McGowan is still…
The first of this week’s soaraway six is The Price of Progress, which stands as The Hold Steady’s most sonically expansive record thus far while also remaining unmistakably them. The album showcases narrative rock’n’roll tales of ordinary people struggling and surviving in a modern world. The front and back of the album cover feature photographs…
Alison Goldfrapp has set a towering bar for British synth-pop in the 21st century and she’s only just getting started. The magnetic London-born singer, songwriter and producer’s seven albums with Goldfrapp were fuelled by an unfailing modernity and a sixth sense for sounds that were more timeless than any trend. With the release of her…
Heading up this week’s six stormers is Memento Mori, the 15th studio album from Depeche Mode and its first as a two-piece lineup of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, following co-founder Andrew ‘Fletch’ Fletcher’s tragic passing in 2022. Produced by James Ford with additional production work by Marta Salogni, Memento Mori’s gestation took place during…
NO THANK YOU is yet another delicious left-field turn for 29-year old Simbiatu Ajikawo. Sleek, succinct and utterly propulsive, it’s Little Simz’ defiantly punk-rock, two-fingered salute to conformity and fame, and all the expectations and restrictions that come with. Recorded with her regular collaborator Inflo, this is Simz at her most free, daring and spontaneous.…
First out of this week’s box of delights is V, the first double album from Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the band led by Hawaiian-New Zealander singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ruban Nielson. Designed to play as one continuous movement and road-tested on dry California freeways, V is the definitive Unknown Mortal Orchestra car record. It’s also the…
Nearly five years on from their acclaimed debut, Bennett Wilson Poole reveal the follow-up, I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away. It’s been a long time coming, but… That eponymous first album was a serendipitous series of events which began with a late-evening session where the trio wrote a response…
Kicking off this week’s six stormers is visionary Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Fever Ray, who has finally returned to us grateful fans with a splendid new long-player, some five years after their last outing (2017’s Plunge). Radical Romantics is a return characterised by a somewhat darker and more brooding mood and feel. This work is…