First out of the bag this week is One Deep River, which features 12 unhurriedly elegant new songs from Mark Knopfler, and his warm Geordie vocal tone, his poetic storytelling lyrics and deft, richly melodic guitar playing are all present and correct and as dazzling as ever. One Deep River offers an unstoppable flow of…
For over 20 years, The Decemberists have been one of the most original, daring and thrilling American rock bands. Their distinctive brand of hyper-literate folk-rock set them apart from the start, releasing nine full-length albums that are unbound by genre and highly ambitious. Now the beloved indie band is back with their first new album…
The first of our six Easter eggs for you is All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, the first new album in nine years from The Libertines. On the album, the quartet of unlikely lads have gathered from their new-found homes in France, Denmark, Margate and London to solder their strongest-ever internal bond and to scale…
John Grant’s sixth album is his most opulent, cinematic, luxurious record yet and confirms his status as a modern electronic auteur. Grant likens the musical flavours of The Art of the Lie to the sumptuous Vangelis soundtrack for Bladerunner, or to The Carpenters if John Carpenter were also a member. While undeniably a John Grant…
The first of this week’s bangers is from Ed Harcourt. While recognisably bearing all the hallmarks that have made him such an admired and prolific songwriter – one of Britain’s most cherished yet inventive music creators – his new record, El Magnifico, also finds him striving for something new. It is an Ed Harcourt record,…
The behemoth that is Taylor Swift returns with The Tortured Poets Department – her eleventh studio album. No more needs to be said. Note: The LP is initially available on standard ‘ghosted’ white vinyl as well as ‘phantom’ clear vinyl, which is exclusive to physical record shops. Click here for more details and to order…
The first of this week’s sublime 6 comes from one of the most hard-working singer-songwriters in the game. Katie Crutchfield, who was raised near Waxahatchee Creek in Alabama, skipped town more than a decade ago and struck out on her own as Waxahatchee. Crutchfield says she never knew the road would lead her here, but…
Across ten tracks, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds dance between convention and experimentation, taking left-turns and detours that heighten the rich imagery and emotion in Cave’s soul-stirring narratives. This is the sound of a group emboldened by reconnection and taking flight. There are moments ton Wild God hat touch fondly upon the Bad Seeds’…
The first of this week’s six smashers is Deeper Well, the fifth album from six-time Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves, whose music is almost chimeric, with rolling acoustic guitars, puffy clouds of strings and synth, warm bass punctuations, layered harmonies, moments of Celtic melody and plenty of room on the tracks for Musgraves’ silvery vocals. On…
When Richard Thompson began writing songs for his latest album, Ship to Shore, he was instinctively drawn to his own musical roots, employing them in the service of fashioning a deep and diverse 12-track collection that pulls from various styles, genres and eras, but remains unmistakably Richard Thompson. Note: Copies of the CD and LP…