New album: A hidden gem released earlier in 2023 by duo Philadelphia guitarist Victoria Rose and Baltimore musician Stone Filipczak brings rich vocal harmonies and beautiful profound folk-pop
Read more@: Mind Palace Music
@: Mind Palace Music
Soema Montenegro: Círculo Radiante
Soema Montenegro: Círculo Radiante
New album: The Argentinian singer, poet-shaman and social activist’s fifth album brings out her powerful, passionate voice with a backdrop of traditional folk alongside electronica in a beautiful, entrancing release radiant with the sun and South American music
Read moreHarp: Albion
Harp: Albion
New album: Ethereal, evocative, alternative folk, bathed in flutes and acoustic guitars, in this beautiful debut by the former Midlake singer Tim Smith and his wife Kathi Zung, covering a range of emotions, and bucolic, mountain images
Read moreAlex Nicol: Been A Long Year - Vol 1 and Vol 2
Alex Nicol: Been A Long Year Vol 1 & Vol 2
New album: Two EPs forming one LP, this gorgeously paced, subtle country-inflected alt-folk release by the Montreal singer-songwriter brings his pure, high, haunting voice with poignantly vivid, droll lyrics about the self and the external world
Read moreHaiku Hands: Pleasure Beast
Haiku Hands: Pleasure Beast
New album: A gloriously anarchic, energetic fusion of hip-hop, post-punk, vogue pop, electronica, bouncy 90s dance music and interwoven skits by the vibrant Australian trio of sisters Claire and Mie Nakazawa and Beatrice Lewis
Read morePeter Gabriel: i/o
Peter Gabriel: i/o
New album: Strong, powerful, broad in scope, but also warm, tender emotional songs abound in this impressive, expansive return by the British artist with his first LP of new work in 21 years, with many great collaborators including co-producer Brian Eno, each of the 12 tracks has both Bright-Side and Dark-Side stereo mixes
Read moreAndré 3000: New Blue Sun
André 3000: New Blue Sun
New album: The actor and former half of superstar hip-hop duo Outcast makes a very surprising return after 17 years – a lengthy low-key, instrumental album built around his love of flute playing – minimal, meditational and relaxing
Read moreGhost Woman: Hindsight Is 50/50
GHOSTWOMAN: Hindsight Is 50/50
New album: This third LP by Canadian singer multi-instrumentalist Evan Uschenko and drummer Ille van Dessel, comes with a darker, moodier, goth-noir-psych-garage-rock smokiness
Read moreRaze Regal & White Denim: Raze Regal & White Denim Inc
Raze Regal & White Denim Inc
New album: The virtuoso experimental Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli join old friend and singer/ guitarist formerly of Oakland’s Once and Future Band in a pacy tapestry of cleverly interwoven psych, prog, funk, jazz and rock, with added echoes of Steely Dan
Read moreH31R: HeadSpace
H31R: HeadSpace
New album: Pronounced ‘Air’, the duo of Brooklyn rapper Maassai and New Jersey producer JWords serve up a stylish mix of bleeps, beats, industrial sounds, with clubby to woozy, inventive, minimal, alternative electronica marked by free-flowing hip-hop/spoken word
Read moreThe Polyphonic Spree: Salvage Enterprise
The Polyphonic Spree: Salvage Enterprise
New album: The Dallas, Texas choral-folk-rock ensemble fronted by Tim DeLaughter return with a first set of originals since 2014’s Psychphonic , here with a bright, uplifting, evocative return that characteristically echoes the gentle psychedelia of Pink Floyd and The Flaming Lips
Read moreJaakko Eino Kalevi: Chaos Magic
Jaakko Eino Kalevi: Chaos Magic
New album: With echoes of classic sounds from The Human League to Air and even a dash of Wham!, the Finnish electro-pop artist’s cleverly textured, stylish double album also contains cosmic jazz, dub reggae, neon synthpop, tender ballads and psych-rock
Read moreBas Jan: Back To The Swamp
Bas Jan: Back To The Swamp
New album: This third album by the quartet fronted by singer and harpist Serafina Steer, is another wittily droll, darkly humorous collection about love and modern life’s absurdities and mundanities, with influences from The Pet Shop Boys, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Kate Bush, Heaven 17 and even a referential shake of Salt N Pepa
Read moreVince Clarke: Songs of Silence
Vince Clarke: Songs of Silence
New album: The legendary synth-pop songwriter best known for Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure releases, at last, his first solo album, a mesmeric, ambient, darkly sci-fi cinematic work made from modular synthesisers
Read moreMarnie Stern: The Comeback Kid
Marnie Stern: The Comeback Kid
New album: A joyously noisy return of proclamatory, zingy, explosively proggy indie-rock with the first album in 10 years since by the New York guitarist and singer, since 2013’s The Chronicles of Marnia
Read moreSen Morimoto: Diagnosis
Sen Morimoto: Diagnosis
New album: The Chicago-based Japanese singer, rapper and jazz multi-instrumentalist’s new LP comprises a richly eclectic, dynamic selection of songs with an overriding theme of seeking the right direction in life
Read moreAesop Rock: Integrated Tech Solutions
Aesop Rock: Integrated Tech Solutions
New album: The prolific and incomparably articulate American rapper returns with another sharpener, this time an intelligent, irony-laden, highly detailed concept-style album dissecting absurdist, infinitely excessive consumerism
Read moreAnjimile: The King
Anjimile: The King
New album: A breathtaking, beautiful, powerful, intimate fifth album by the American experimental folk singer Anjimile Chithambo whose rich, rangey, deep and high voice has an alluring androgyny, somewhere between Nina Simone and Sufjan Stevens
Read moreBeirut: Hadsel
Beirut’s Zach Condon at the Norwegian church organ
New album: A joyous, tremulously beautiful, restorative new LP by New Mexico’s Zach Condon, the title after old wooden church on the Norwegian island of Hadseløya from which he recovered his physical and mental health after pre-Covid career-threatening throat problems
Read moreDavid Holmes: Blind On A Galloping Horse (featuring Raven Violet)
David Holmes: Blind On A Galloping Horse (featuring Raven Violet)
New album: After many collaborative projects, a brilliant first full solo album by the Belfast producer and musician since 2008’s The Holy Pictures, here featuring the vocals of Raven Violet throughout, this passionate, powerful, often political noir-synth pop release charts the unravelling of British society over the past decade
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