There are just the six perfectly formed recommended new releases for 22 July. First up are Bears Den, who have managed to avoid ‘difficult second album syndrome’ in following up their wildly successful debut and have produced a passionate and evocative album in Red Earth & Pouring Rain. If energetic power pop is your thing then Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart, the new album from Martha – a band not a person – may well be for you. Bess Atwell’s debut album, Hold Your Mind, is a place were folk meets a pop sensibility to great effect. Jazz great Branford Marsalis collaborates with singer Kurt Elling across a range of jazz standards and songbook classics to produce a fresh, innovative sound. Admirals Hard is a 7-piece folk band formed by members of seminal underground bands like Cardiacs, Knifeworld, Guapo – as unlikely as it sounds, this band have produced a rousing and raucous set of sea songs.
Release of the week is theyesandeye from Lou Rhodes, which plays with the traditional concept of the singer-songwriter. Songs layered in piano, strings and vocal are all enhanced with a splash of reverb. Just lovely.
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