This week’s pop picks open with Gary Numan, whose Intruder live show at the OVO Arena, Wembley in May 2022 is now presented as A Perfect Circle, referencing his return to the legendary venue. The Blu-ray also features a backstage interview with Gary himself. This iconic show was an electrifying display of innovation, artistry, energy and poignancy: a perfect blend of past and future, darkness and light. For those fortunate enough to witness it, the show was a testament to his enduring legacy and a glimpse into the future of live music.
The Ks’ second studio album, Pretty on the Internet, follows the breakout success of April’s debut LP, I Wonder if the World Knows?, which reached #3 in the UK Official Albums chart. Pretty on the Internet was recorded with Grammy Award winner Jim Lowe (Stereophonics, Nick Cave, Taylor Swift) at venues across the UK and will anchor a rigorous live schedule that will see the band bring their much lauded live show to countless festival main stages, having played to more than 250,000 fans in 2024.
Amazonas finds legendary vibraphonist Cal Tjader deep in his ’70s Brazilian jazz fusion bag, operating at the sonic intersection between Rio and California, backed by a pairing of Airto Moreira on production and George Duke on arrangements, with guest performances by Hermeto Pascoal, David Amaro, and Raul De Souza.
Folk Bitch Trio have a shared sense of humour that is embedded deep in their music, and that sets it alight, safe from the self-serious traps of the folk genre. Now Would Be a Good Time, their debut album, tells vivid, visceral stories, and is funny and darkly ironic in the manner of writers like Mary Gaitskill or Otessa Moshfegh. Their music sounds familiar, but the songs are modern, youthful, singing acutely through dissociative daydreams and galling breakups, sexual fantasies and media overload, all the petty resentments and minor humiliations of being in your early twenties in the 2020s.
Following the release of Tall Tales, his new collaborative album with Thom Yorke, comes a welcome 2-LP reissue of Mark Pritchard’s previous solo album, Under the Sun. Originally released in 2016, Under the Sun is one story told in chapters and, as with any good story, the spell is only maintained if you don’t skip to the end. Pritchard, as usual, defies easy categorisation and that gives depth and nuance to this work. He draws on the sounds and influences genetically coded in his musical DNA – ambient, nu-wave, avant-garde electronics and folk – but reimagines them through an otherworldly filter that cements Under the Sun somewhere in the future, rather than the past.
Our release of the week is Find El Dorado, a deeply personal new album of reinterpretations by Paul Weller of songs that have long lived in the back of his mind and which are now reimagined with fresh meaning and a sense of reverence. This is less a covers album and more a map of his emotional and musical DNA. The album was produced by Steve Cradock and includes guest appearances from Declan O’Rourke, Noel Gallagher, Amelia Coburn, Seckou Keita, Robert Plant and more.
There are also reissues coming out from Dennis Bovell, Bruce Dickinson, Dr Feelgood, Eels, Mazzy Star and Nick Drake, plus a whole raft of new titles put up for pre-order on the website.
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