Our super soaraway six for 13 June opens with Remembering Now, on which the legendary Van Morrison returns to the transcendent, uncategorisable rhapsodies that make him unique in music. It’s rich with hallmarks of classic Van, with dominant themes of love in spirit, some escapist romance, a smattering of self-deprecating candour and specific references to…
First out of the box this week is the self-titled debut from 86TVs – a supergroup comprising Maccabees alumni Hugo and Felix White, their brother Will White and drummer Jamie Morrison of Stereophonics. This is the sound of a band with nothing to prove, yet conversely with everything to prove, if only to themselves. For…
A quarter of a century since his self-inflicted coronation and self-released debut solo album, Kenny Anderson – DIY pop voyager, ancestral seaside home restorer, squeezebox lothario, Fife for lifer, diamond miner, hijacker of hearts, and the man also known as King Creosote – brings us I DES. While the record’s kaleidoscopic musical terrain plots vibraphones,…
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…
This week’s six smashers start with Latest Record Project: Volume 1, a 28-track delve into Van Morrison’s ongoing love of blues, R&B, jazz and soul. It’s his 42nd record and his most dynamic and contemporary album in years, and it’s well worth your time. Musical pioneer Moby’s new album, Reprise, finds him revisiting and reimagining…
This has been another stellar week for releases, and the task of picking the best 6 hasn’t got any easier. But here we go … His sixth album in just four years, Three Chords & The Truth, is further proof that Van Morrison is one of the greatest recording artists of all time and remains…
Our smashers for this week open with the 40th(!) studio album of Van Morrison’s storied career. The modestly titled The Prophet Speaks features 6 brand-new Van compositions amongst the 14 songs. Van himself said: “It was important for me to get back to recording new music as well as doing some of the blues material…
There are plenty of top releases coming up in December that we’re excited about. We start of with On Air, which showcases the early vibrancy of The Rolling Stones live, includes eight performances not released officially before and is arguably the Stones at their early, raw peak. U2 return with Songs Of Experience, a companion…
The first of our recommended releases for 22 September is from Reverend And The Makers; if their last album, 2015’s Mirrors, was weird and wonderful, The Death Of A King continues the strange feel that seems to attach itself to much of their music. V is, unsurprisingly, the 5th album from The Horrors, and it’s…
It’s been harder than ever to whittle down the wealth of new releases out on 30 September to just 8 to recommend, but here we go! Sir Van Morrison possesses one of the finest voices in all music, and he uses it to good effect on his 35th studio album, Keep Me Singing. By way…