New releases on CD & DVD
CD: Tove Lo - Sunshine Kitty
Monday, 16 September 2019
Swedish singer Tove Lo appeared at a time when female physical sexuality was being used as a raw, blunt weapon in pop, when porno chic reached an apex in music videos. Half a decade ago was the time of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” and Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball”, thus Lo’s overt displays of sexual bravado seemed part of the same and she had big hits with songs such as “Habits (Stay High)” and “Talking Body”.
CD: Mudhoney - Morning in America
Saturday, 14 September 2019
Mudhoney’s new album Morning in America is a strange beast. Made up of outtakes from last year’s Digital Garbage, a cover version and rerecorded versions of limited edition 7” singles, one look at the track listing suggests a second CD that might eventually accompany a reissue somewhere down the line. It also implies a release forced by contractual obligations or a cash-flow problem at their label, Sub Pop.
CD: Charli XCX - Charli
Friday, 13 September 2019
Charli XCX would make a cracking mixtape. I mean that not in the hip hop culture sense - although she’s knocked out a few of those in the five years...
CD: Jenny Hval - The Practice of Love
Thursday, 12 September 2019
On a first pass, The Practice of Love seems to be an electropop album in thrall to trance music’s tropes: the synth wash, repeated musical phrases, a...
CD: Metronomy - Metronomy Forever
Wednesday, 11 September 2019
According to Metronomy maestro Joseph Mount, his first attempt of album number six was a much snappier affair. But it wasn’t until he broke from his...
DVD/Blu-ray: Amazing Grace
With Aretha: the best live music film ever? |
CD: Pixies - Beneath the Eyrie
Black Francis and crew ease into Rock’s Elder Statesmen status |
CD: The Lumineers - III
The Denver folk-rockers return with a haunting concept album |
CD: Bat For Lashes - Lost Girls
Return from the margins to pop majesty for Natasha Khan |
CD: Tinariwen - Amadjar
Tuareg crew’s collaborations take their desert grooves to new and beautiful places |
CD: Iggy Pop - FREE
Iggy affectingly contemplates life and mortality in an often tuneful, jazz-flecked set |
DVD/Blu-ray: A Kid for Two Farthings
Whimsical East End fairy tale, redeemed by handsome visuals |
CD: Chrissie Hynde with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble - Valve Bone Woe
The Pretenders' singer switches direction for a late-career high |
Blu-ray: The Ear
Fear and loathing in Cold War Czechoslovakia |
CD: Širom - A Universe That Roasts Blossoms for a Horse
Boundary-breaking Avant-folk from Slovenia |
CD: Caravan Palace - Chronologic
Easy-going fourth album from French dance popsters moves further from their origins |
CD: Kano - Hoodies All Summer
A career best for an MC who's been at the heart of grime since its inception |
CD: Whitney - Forever Turned Around
A subtle but beautiful return for the Chicago natives |
CD: Ezra Furman - Twelve Nudes
American maverick sells himself short by adopting a restrictive punk slant |
CD: Taylor Swift - Lover
18 earnestly epic tracks from America's loved-up sweetheart |
CD: Tanya Tucker - While I'm Livin'
Solidly enjoyable reappearance from one of country'n'western's wild women |
CD: Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold
Punks' St Vincent-produced search for new ground succeeds, with casualties |
CD: Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity - To Whom Buys a Record
Energised yet structured reconfiguration of free jazz archetypes |
DVD/Blu-ray: The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
Mixed-race heritage condemns a striving youth in 1900 Australia |
CD: New Model Army - From Here
Almost 40 years on and the Bradford post-punks are still gloomy |
CD: Grenades - Primate
Debut from UK punk outfit shows black wit and sonic imagination |
CD: Ride - This Is Not A Safe Place
The shoegaze legends' comeback is still going strong |
The Hold Steady - Thrashing Thru the Passion
A joyous return to form from the world's best bar band |
CD: Frank Turner - No Man's Land
A richly conceived, blandly executed history lesson |
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