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KOKOKO!: BUTU
New album: The brilliant band from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo return with an LP inspired by the vibrant nightlife of that city, the titled translated as ‘the night’ in Lingala language, featuring rawer, more electronic sounds and the commanding lead of vocalist Makara Bianko
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Kiasmos: II
New album: A decade after their acclaimed debut, the award-winning duo of Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen return with an emotive, uplifting release of inspired, transportive electronica
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Dirty Three: Love Changes Everything
New album: A first LP for 12 years by the Australian experimental trio of Nick Cave right-hand man Warren Ellis, Mick Turner and Jim White with mesmeric distortions and synthesized loops of guitar, drums, piano, percussion and violin
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Mabe Fratti: Sentir Que No Sables
New album: An entrancing, rather magical and unique fourth LP of experimental avant-garde electro-acoustic work by the 32-year-old Guatemalan cellist based in Mexico City who creatively distorts her instrument alongside her haunting vocals
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Lupe Fiasco: Samurai
New album: A fluid, nimble, articulate playfully smooth ninth short, snappy LP by the American rapper and record producer with a title inspired by the late Amy Winehouse comparing rap battles to Samurai word weapons in a meta release about the joy of his genre
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Hiatus Kaiyote: Love Heart Cheat Code
New album: Flourishes of rippling piano, harp, guitars, woodwind and the high, dynamic voice of Nai Palm open this sunny, fluidly effervescent new LP by the brilliant Australian experimental jazz/funk prog, soul and R&B band stretching their unique sound and musicianship
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LOMA: How Will I Live Without A Body?
New album: Slow, sensual, powerful, haunting, affecting, poetic and utterly gorgeous third LP by the Austin trio of Emily Cross (Cross Record), Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater) and Dan Duszynski, which includes poetic collaborations from Laurie Anderson’s AI model
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Charli XCX: BRAT
New album: The Essex-raised, hugely successful star Charlotte Emma Aitchison’s sixth album is a far more nuanced than her last, 2022’s Crash, still embracing mainstream pop and dance, but also with ironic twists, sleazy fun, humour, and a dirtier, more underground sound of her more experimental past
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Sam Morton: Daffodils & Dirt
New album: An experimental, dark, mysterious eclectic mix of trip hop, spoken word and electronica in this autobiographical debut LP by acclaimed actor Samantha Morton and producer and XL Recordings owner Richard Russell
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O.’s debut LP, WeirdOs
New album: A bold, high-octane experimental blast of viscous, growling, marvellous meaty textures and beats in this debut instrumental LP by the London-based duo of baritone saxophonist Joe Henwood and drummer Tash Keary, and produced by the ever innovative Dan Carey
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John Cale: POPtical Illusion
New album: The 82-year-old Welsh veteran, originally of The Velvet Underground, shows no slowing, and following 2023’s Mercy, releases another burst of lockdown creativity with an 18th studio LP of intricate, thoughtful, cleverly collaged songs
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Mike Lindsay: Supershapes Volume 1
New album: A deliciously experimental folk and electronica release by the Margate-based musician and producer from Tunng and the project Lump about home comforts, staying in, dining tables. cucumber salads and more, joined by the warm, intimate voice of the splendid Anna B Savage
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John Grant: The Art Of The Lie
New album: The Iceland-based American returns with his seventh LP, a mixture of catchy funk and disco with slow-burn, simmering, contemplative electronica where dark humour stirs along with candid emotions and a sorrowful look at rising fascism in the US
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This Is The Kit: Live from the Minack Theatre
New album: Originally a limited release on Record Store Day, a gorgeous live LP capturing the fabulous folk songwriting and feelgood presence of Kate Stables and the rest band on that unique amphitheatre setting overlooking the Cornish coast in May 2023
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Angélica Garcia: Gemelo
New album: A dynamic, colourful, passionate third LP by the Los Angeles pop artist of Mexican and Salvadoran descent here singing mainly in Spanish with operatic pop, cumbia, psychedelia, dance music, with titular translation and theme as ‘twin self’
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Orlando Weeks: LOJA
New album: A beautifully tender, serene and touching new LP by the former Maccabees singer and visual artist, the LP named after his Lisbon art studio, with his high, pure voice complemented by various co-collaborators including William Doyle. Katy J Pearson and Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale
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Liz Lawrence: Peanuts
New album: A classy, clever fourth LP for the British indie singer-songwriter, now signed to Chrysalis, with a tight, stripped back, thrumming sound, experimental at times, and packed also with excellent hybrid tracks spanning funk, pop, indie, folk and rock
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New album: A brilliantly bold, experimental, original third LP by the now south London indie-post-punk trio of Clottie Cream (Lottie Pendlebury), Rosy Bones and Holly Mullineaux, one that bubbles with unusual musical dynamics and lyrics
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Arooj Aftab: Night Reign
New album: An exquisitely dark, lingering fourth LP from the Grammy-winning Pakistani-American singer and composer with a mix of songs in Urdu and English, her resonant, pure voice accompanied by rippling piano, harp, guitar and more in a dark landscape of folk, jazz and traditional music
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Bat For Lashes: The Dream of Delphi
New album: Natasha Khan returns with her sixth studio LP and first for five years, a quirky, swirling experimental release capturing up the early days of her motherhood to daughter Delphi, born in 2020 during the pandemic, and using folkloric, electronica keyboard improvisational approach sometimes with vocals of semi-formed words
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