Your Custom Text Here
Anaïs Mitchell’s self-titled latest album
New album: Beautiful, classic singer-songwriter sixth LP from the Vermont folk artist, best known for Broadway success with the 2010 album and musical Hadestown, these finely crafted low-key piano and guitar-led numbers compare favourably with 1970s Joni Mitchell or Aimee Mann
Read more
The ninth album by Pond
New album: No surprise that this is the ninth album by the Australians psychedelic rock and pop band, a dynamic release with a wide variety of styles, intelligent, atypical lyrics, passionate delivery and wonderful unpredictability
Read more
Leon Bridges: Gold-Diggers Sound
New album: Delicate soul mixed with R&B, Afrobeat, late-night jazz and even a dash of country come in this third LP by the 32-year-old singer, songwriter and record producer, filled with heartbreak and hope stemming from events of the past year
Read more
John Grant: Boy From Michigan
New album: The American’s newest LP is his most autobiographical to date, filled with trademark electronica sounds, but an overall mellower sound than previous, smoothly produced by Cate Le Bon, coloured by childhood recollections
Read more
The third album by Hiatus Kaiyote
New album: This wonderful third album by the Melbourne band is a free-flowing beauty - like a butterfly garden of jazz, soul as well as Brazilian influences from time spent with veteran composer Arthur Verocai and Amazonian indigenous Varinawa communities
Read more
LoneLady - standard bearer for brilliant electro-pop
New album: A wonderful new LP by Manchester electro-pop artist Julie Campbell, created in the 18th-century Somerset House shooting range studios, with sparkling numbers that perfectly combine influences from Cabaret Voltaire to Neneh Cherry
Read more
Album review: From traditional folk to original songs spanning continents and centuries, this outstandingly beautiful and emotive album by the American and Italian music and life partners was recorded in lockdown in their adopted Ireland home
Read more
Matthew E. White and Lonnie Holley
Album review: This first collaborative release between the Virginia songwriter, producer, and founder of Spacebomb Records and the Alabama sculptor is an experimental fusion of jazz, funk, electronica and exclamatory spoken-word observation
Read more
Peggy Seeger, still brilliant at 85
Album review: With wonderful clarity of voice, thought, style and wry, worldly perspective, this 24th solo LP from the 85-year-old folk legend exudes grace, charm and humour, showing she has lost none of her magic and poignancy
Read more
Sketchy: Tune-Yards
Album review: Rhythmically complex, and restlessly clever, the latest release by California’s Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner wrestles with a variety of issues from gentrification to gender privilege and climate disaster
Read more
Ladies of the canyon … the cover of Lana Del Rey’s eighth album
Album review: Evoking big, wide landscapes with a slow, melancholic, wistful, nostalgic and semi-fictional narratives, the New York singer-songwriter’s eighth album is of uniform style and slow pace, but rich in powerfully strong melodies and memorable lines
Read more
Album review: Liberating, refreshing, eccentric, with a playfully light touch and flourishes of flute and feminist theory garnish this solo debut by the singer who works with Holly Herndon singer and is half of Italian synth new wave duo Itaca
Read more
Mask
Album review: The south London quartet’s second album has is double-edged woozily beguiling in music and caustic in lyrics, a mixture of shoegaze, postpunk, and electronica with a distinctive sound produced by the groundbreaking Dan Carey
Read more
Celeste
Album review: She’s rightfully lauded as the next mainstream soul star, with evident echoes of Adele and Amy Winehouse, and while the 26-year-old British-Jamaican has all those attributes, there’s also an edge in this hugely powerful debut
Read more
Ashnikko aka Ashton Nicole Casey
Album review: Like an x-rated character from Avatar, the 24-year-old American singer and rapper Ashton Nicole Casey’s burst-on-the-scene full debut is full of blueness, giggles, sass and sex, admired by guests Grimes, Princess Nokia and Kelis
Read more
A catchy oddball odyssey: SkyWay Man’s new album
Album review: The second full-length project from American rock/cosmic country/psychedelic folk singer, songwriter and producer James Wallace is a catchy, but very easy listen oddball odyssey, a cinematic psych folk opera
Read more
Pom Poko
Album review: The postpunk Indie quartet from Norway return with their second LP after 2019’s Birthday with more wonderfully energetic work in this short, sharp selection of 10 three-minute songs
Read more
Nine more for the curious listener
Album reviews roundup: Great contrast mark this week’s group of nine, from Nick Cave’s solo concert album to the first Cabaret Voltaire for 26 years, vibrant pop and hip hop from Megan Lee Stallion and Tayla Parx to the beautiful minimalism of Ana Roxanne
Read more
This week’s very colourful square of album covers is matched by the quality of the music
Album reviews roundup: This week’s selection again reflects the times - divided political America to grief and isolation, but also presents an abundance of creativity, wit and musical invention crossing everything from jazz to hip hop
Read more
Another nine great albums square up
Album reviews roundup: The latest section sees the return of Fleet Foxes in full voice, yet another high quality release by the Sault collective, the ever inventive Thurston Moore, Alicia Keys in collaboration and many more
Read more