CABANE ****
Grande Est La Maison (Cabane Music)
This elegant debut from Belgian writer/composer Thomas Jean Henri enlists Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and This Is The Kit’s Kate Stables to croon delightfully over this lovely intimate suite of delicate tunes, underscored with fingerpicked guitar and drenched in string arrangements from the High Llamas’ Sean O’Hagan. If you’re not tempted by that already, read on – it’s like a Mediterranean Kings Of Convenience, Nick Drake in espadrilles, This Mortal Coil’s pastoral moments, or Damien Rice lightening up on a French holiday. CS
CERRONE ****
DNA (Malligator/Because)
Disco pioneer and venerated pillar of dance music Cerrone launches into the sixth decade of his career with a true odyssey of an album in DNA, the kind of rousing, epic disco (or ‘progressive house’ as it is now marketed) that will surely be set to 2001-style images of the universe whizzing by. Vocals melodies have given way to a fanfare of synth lines which crash to roaring guitars, sure to be spinning in the discotheques of the world come release. JM
DAN DEACON ***
Mystic Familiar (Domino)
It’s been a while since we last saw Dan Deacon on 2015’s Gliss Riffer, and Mystic Familiar shows the eccentric Baltimore native back in familiar territory. Building on ideas from previous releases, there’s the expected glitchy electronics as well as more reflective instrumental passages. Dan has dialled down the chipmunk vocals of early releases, and the album lacks the surprise and innovation of an album like Bromst, but it’s still an enjoyable listen. For newcomers, start with his earlier work. ML
ELLIOT GALVIN *****
Live In Paris, At Fondation Louis Vuitton (Edition)
It takes a certain type of genius to improvise an entire solo piano concert and for it to sound this good. UK jazz musician/composer Elliot Galvin begins his six-part performance, recorded live in Paris, with a blistering run of piano keys and hardly stops for breath, moving between needle-sharp staccato, graceful harmonies and darker, discordant sounds. What stands out most is his ability to transform the unplanned and unpredictable into something sublime – a gift I’m sure we all wish we had. FG
ENVY ***
The Fallen Crimson (Pelagic)
Have a half-decade hiatus and the first line-up changes in their 28-year history reinvigorated the Japanese post-hardcore/rock veterans? Swaying Leaves And Scattering Breath and Memories And The Limit blaze with heavy anthemicism, A Faint New World is a nod – well, a vigorous headbang – to their roots and HIKARI promises and duly delivers a crushing climax. But other tracks feel rather tepid and tame, lacking grace and power, and Rhythm is Evanescence clumsily repackaged for Mogwai fans. BW
FRED DEAKIN ***
Presents… The Lasters (Impotent Fury)
Ever found yourself wondering what a Lemon Jelly album would sound like in 2020? Well, here you go. Fred Deakin, one half of said electronica duo, drops a sprawling sci-fi concept album filled with playful psychedelia and climate change warnings. Think Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds, but about the last family on Earth escaping to Mars… I think. It’s all a bit silly but kinda fun, the glam chug of Come To Me the highlight. SE
GODSTICKS ****
Inescapable (Kscope)
Denigrate, the dynamic new single by south Wales four-piece Godsticks sets the scene for their fifth album. Their blend of indie-rock and alternative metal has emotion and depth, lyrics telling of singer Dan Charles’ personal struggle and inner demons. Inescapable is energetic and punchy but Charles’ vocals shine the brightest on Breathe, the softest track of the nine tracks. There are some great riffs and solos here and the nine-minute Change is worth waiting for. LN
HMLTD ***
The West Is Dead (Lucky Number)
Following a couple of tricky years where it was ‘all to play for’, HMLTD have re-found their feet with debut The West Is Dead, shirking the over-production that enfeebled their stint in Los Angeles in return for the inspired, and largely atypical, songwriting that characterised their early material. Is the kitschy lyricism ironic? Or perhaps even post-ironic? I doubt anybody really cares anymore about the ‘artistic intent’ of this band; the album is perfectly good, and they put on a lively show. JW
HUMANIST ****
Humanist (Ignition)
Producer and Exit Calm guitarist Rob Marshall’s debut album as Humanist is something that demands repeat listening. Industrial electronic sounds dominated by a psychedelic post-punk guitar wall-of-sound twang weave their way through songs that emotively tackle “life, birth, death, religion and mortality.” Collaborators include Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan, on Shock Collar, and Mark Lanegan, who adds some deep vocal menace to four tracks on what without any doubt is an all-killer-no-filler album. DN
KATIE GATELY ****
Loom (Houndstooth)
Katie designed this album from seismic sounds, electronica and symphonic textures, as a tribute for her mother who died from a rare cancer. Her love, anger, sorrow and respect permeate every song, but this is no pity party, combining Björk at her most bracing with the accessible side of Holly Herndon. On Allay, Katie speaks as the disease, layering vocals and samples of pill bottles shaking and cymbals crashing to a headspinning crescendo, like a malignant Laura J Martin. CS
LEE RANALDO & RAÜL REFREE ***
Names Of North End Women (Mute)
Two guitarists known respectively for alternative rock and flamenco team up to create this freeform album that mostly eschews their instruments of choice. The songs are experimental in tone, where tape loops, found sounds and vocal melodies drift in and out with spoken word passages. These stream-of-consciousness passages wouldn’t be misplaced on any Mark Kozelek album post-2014, although the duo are a lot more cohesive than him and don’t dwell on their colonoscopy or boxing quite as much. GM
NICOLAS GODIN ****
Concrete And Glass (Because)
Half of iconic French synth-pop duo Air, Godin’s second release in his catalogue of solo work illustrates his mastery at conceiving polished, bewitching electronic pop songs. Wistful harmony floats over solid percussion and memorable melodies are bolstered by a selection of great featured vocalists – not to mention Godin’s signature vocoder. Overall, it’s more of what made Air special, yet with a personal approach making it something entirely separate and very much a part of its own spellbinding sonic sphere. CPI
PEGGY SUE ***
Vices (French Exit)
Play this, London duo Peggy Sue’s first album since 2014, in the background while you carry on with something else and you’ll soon be humming along, with your shoulders swaying and a smile on your face. Their melodies creep up on you unannounced and their vocals, which if listened to directly can be rather sharp on the ears, take on a softer edge. Vices has a definite early 60s folky vibe going on and it’s quite enjoyable. LN
PET SHOP BOYS ***
Hotspot (x2)
Now that their nemesis, conservative philosopher and complete bastard Roger Scruton, is dead, the Pet Shop Boys are free to not write their own songs, as they once successfully sued him for claiming. First, though, their 14th studio album, which teems with multiple PSB hallmarks. Pumping hi-NRG sits by plaintive bedsit ballads (Burning The Heather); Years & Years assert themselves well on single Dreamland and Monkey Business, which sounds like Kid Creole, is possibly this duo’s zenith of zaniness. NG
POLIÇA ****
When We Stay Alive (Memphis Industries)
For Poliça frontwoman Channy Leaneagh, inspiration for her synthpop band’s fifth album was found in the months following a back injury. Sonically, Ryan Olson’s delicate and moody production seamlessly reflects her muse, departing from both the rich orchestral tones of their previous album, and the poppier approach to the one before that. Praising an album for its mixing is hardly glamorous, but Leaneagh’s haunting vocals are balanced with delicate strength, and elevates an album that could have otherwise sounded sparse and flat. AP
PULLED BY MAGNETS ****
Rose Golden Doorways (Tak:til)
To be honest, I can’t see black metal jazz becoming a widely acknowledged genre – but if perchance it does, this record should be one of its shining examples. Seb Rochford (leader of post-jazz stylists Polar Bear, and member of Basquiat Strings and Sons Of Kemet) fronts this new trio, whose debut album is a post-apocalyptic soundscape unleashing the most powerful and monstrous sounds imaginable from the traditional set-up of sax (Pete Wareham), bass (Neil Charles) and drums (Rochford). SP
SEPULTURA **
Quadra (Nuclear Blast)
The Brazilian metal legends return with Quadra, their 15th studio album, in what has been teased as a return to their black/death beginnings. While there are elements of that ferocity here, ultimately Quadra is a polished but insignificant metal album that tries too hard. The musicianship is outstanding, but they lack that raw attitude of old and the addition of symphonic interludes does nothing for me. The sooner the Cavaleras and Kisser/Paulo Jr realise how much they need each other, the better. CA
SETH LAKEMAN ****
A Pilgrim’s Tale (BMG)
Lakeman follows in the tradition of bands such as Jethro Tull where lyrics often carry more weight than music. His latest offering tells of the Pilgrim fathers’ journey to the New World, which is celebrated in detail including a song called The Great Iron Screw. Actor Paul McGann supplies between-track narration for this history lesson, with fiddle, banjo and Cara Dillon on backing harmonies. An album for those who appreciate Lakeman’s gentle voice, or enjoy sea shanties. LN
WIRE ****
Mind Hive (Pinkflag)
Quickly establishing themselves at the forefront of the postpunk movement in the late 70s, Wire were one of the most interesting bands to emerge in the wake of punk’s scorched earth policy. Despite being around since Adam was a boy, it’s a pleasure to find them still making music this good nearly 45 years later. Mind Hive veers between pop and something with a harder, slightly menacing edge. There’s nothing revolutionary here, but this is a solid entry in their catalogue. DG
WRANGLER ****
A Situation (Bella Union)
Synths growl, gush and gurgle on the latest LP from electronic supergroup Wrangler, made up of Ben ‘Benge’ Edwards of The Maths, Phil Winter of Tunng and Stephen Mallinder, one half of Cabaret Voltaire. Bleak, dystopian lyrics about ecological collapse and state surveillance conjure up a typically Ballardian universe. And with Mallinder’s breathy, half-whispered vocals, there’s a good slab of industrial sleaze on tracks like Machines Designed (To Eat You Up), alongside interludes of pristine, Kraftwerkian techno-pop (Anarchy Of Sound). SP
YORKSTON/THORNE/KHAN ***
Navarasa: Nine Emotions (Domino)
Now on their third album, this intrepid trio of folkster Yorkston, double-bassist Thorne and Khan, who brings the Middle Eastern Sarangi vibe and vocals, cover the nine (nava) emotions or sentiments (rasa) of the arts, ranging from disgust, anger and horror to mirth, beauty and compassion. The first two-thirds show cross pollination at its most wondrous and immersive on Sukhe Phool, The Shearing… and Westlin Winds, while the jarring Twa Brothers is an incongruous culture clash too far. CS
DEMOS
PLASTIC ESTATE
These Cardiffians have scaled down from a full band to a duo since releasing their first music, in the process excising most of their obviously indieish stylings in favour of slick leftfield synthpop. There Must Be More Than This is Plastic Estate’s first fruits for 2020, and it pulsates with a swooning grandiosity that I’d be unsurprised to see scooping an attentive audience. That said, I can’t help noting that every word of my first sentence could also describe their peers Private World. NG
REVOLUTION RABBIT DELUXE
www.revolutionrabbitdeluxe.com
And then you’ve got these guys from Blackwood, which used to be just one fella – Rev Rabbit, he calls himself – until he added three more. They’ve done a full CD album, Swipe Left, which despite its neologistic title has overly-tinkered-with artwork that looks like a relic of the Photoshop-happy early 00s, and music that straddles indie and punk in a way Steve Lamacq would have probably bigged up in the early 90s. RRD’s coalescing of whimsy and invective might hit harder with punchier production. NG
VEINS FULL OF STATIC
veinsfullofstatic.bandcamp.com
Immersive and impressive drifting electronics which I like more the bleaker and un-beat-y it gets. A Cardiff resident named Jamie with three releases to date, Veins Full Of Static’s latest is titled Passenger Songs and the Bandcamp blurb suggests these sparse, clanking rhythms and fuzz-dappled, vaguely pastoral ambient synths would ably soundtrack a journey where one is chauffeured in whatever manner. On a ‘netlabel’ that occasionally does tapes or CDs; I’ll buy a copy of this if given the option. NG
