ARMSTRONG **
Under Blue Skies (The Beautiful Music/Country Mile)
This 2007 album, originally on CDr, secures a wider release but sadly proves the point that some things are best left undiscovered. There’s a promising start, with the Byrdsian Rickenbacker pop and harmonies of Love Hate Passion War and the breezy Aztec Camera snapshot of Crazy World, but after that the nasal Buddy Holly notes of singer/songsmith Julian Pitt increasingly chafe against the lacklustre songwriting, defiling their otherwise pretty pastoral pop with tons of slurry. CS
BABYBIRD *****
Photosynthesis (self-released)
Go into this latest album from Stephen Jones expecting to find another You’re Gorgeous and you’ll be disappointed. This is a far darker, pessimistic and less commercial collection of songs. Tracks include the instrumental Black Friday Jesus and the single No Camera, a slow, thought-provoking muse on modern life. It might be Jones’ haunting delivery, the downbeat yet hypnotic tone, or the bells and violins but by track three I was hooked. LN
BARRY ADAMSON ****
Live At The Union Chapel (Live Here Now)
Late last year, Barry Adamson put on a show which dug backwards – to his time with Magazine and the Bad Seeds – and forwards, from imaginary noir soundtrack classic Moss Side Story to more recent songs like The Hummingbird taken from highly recommended Adamson retrospective album Memento Mori. Accompanied by a band with brass and strings, Adamson managed to raise the roof of the old chapel with his unique cinematic soul. This live album is proof of that. DN
BILL RYDER-JONES ***
Yawny Yawn (Domino)
Ryder-Jones, using only vocals and piano, reimagines his 2018 release Yawn, and the absence of other instruments make this even more melancholic. Intensely pensive and personal, the singer/songwriter/musician reflects on death, loss, relationships, mental illness and medication side-effects. While there’s no denying the craft that draws one in, his monotone, slow inflection and playing tempo may be too clinical and dirge-like for some. Pursuing the lyrics while listening will help keep you from nodding off. RLR
BLANCK MASS ****
Animated Violence Mild (Sacred Bones)
Blanck Mass by name, Blanck Mass by nature. Album number four from Benjamin John Power, one half of Fuck Buttons, is big, bombastic, and bizarre. Swaying between sounding like the soundtrack to a Chilean wonderkid’s goals-and-tricks YouTube compilation (House Vs. House), fight music on a MMORPG (Love Is A Parasite), and the kind of stuff that pumps out of a Cyberdog stall at Download (Death Drop), Animated Violence Mild is utterly bonkers. Fun, though, if screamo-EDM-goth-trance is your bag. SE
FEEDER ****
Tallulah (self-released)
Studio album number 10 for the resurgent Feeder. No pressure, following the last two top 10 releases, but from my ears they should be in with another shot at the chart. The lyricism of Grant Nicholas shines through yet again here, Fear Of Flying coming across as anthemic with its contrasting verses and soaring hook. Kyoto is also up there, a metallic belter of a track. Absolutely great to see the guys back to their best. OS
FÖLLAKZOID ***
I (Sacred Bones)
These Chilean characters are primarily viewed in the context of the global psychedelic rock scene, not least because that’s the sort of music they used to play, but I (their fourth album, mildly confusingly) sees them comprehensively memoryhole that part of their makeup. There are live instruments in there somewhere, but they’ve been remixed by German electronic oddball Uwe Schmidt into exactly one hour of hypnotic, dubby tech-trance minimalism. Would probably sound great live, assuming Föllakzoid have the tekkers to perform it. NG
THE HOLD STEADY ****
Thrashing Thru The Passion (Frenchkiss)
With the return of Franz Nicolay to the fold, The Hold Steady, now a six-piece, are back with Thrashing Thru The Passion. Over the years they’ve honed their postpunk-meets-Americana sound so well, you’d think they were its originators, and these 10 tracks don’t detract from that formula. The Hüsker Dü-meets-Springsteen element is present and correct, but Craig Finn’s storied lyrics just get better and better with every release. The perfect accompaniment to those long summer evenings. CA
KAISER CHIEFS ****
Duck (Polydor)
With Brexit impending, nefarious leaders, political squabbles and tension in the Middle East, what we need is a dose of positivity as the daily news seems to be getting grimmer and grimmer. With their seventh album, Kaiser Chiefs have tried to create an antidote to all that is going wrong, rather than wallow, and they’ve succeeded. Duck is an extremely uplifting selection of tuneful new wave stadium-indie-rockers that will please more than just the Kaiser Chiefs fanbase. DN
MALLORY KNOX ****
Mallory Knox (A Wolf At Your Door)
Mallory Knox: it’s been a while. It seems the band have waited some time to release their next batch of songs, saying, “you only get one self-titled album in your career, so you better make it count.” And in fairness, this riff-filled release gives a great pitch at where this band is at right now. White Lies and Black Holes sound out loud and clear, adding to a 12-track release that’s a true interpretation of the band’s current outlook. OS
MEATRAFFLE ****
Bastard Music (Delayed)
After their impressive 2015 debut Hi Fi Classics, South Londoners Meatraffle offer up Bastard Music, so-called because of its indeterminable origins. Their blend of proletariat post-punk and weird, wonky funk falls somewhere between Sleaford Mods and Fat White Family, while the socialist spoken word of their trumpeter-vocalist Zsa Zsa Sapien has the lairy London swagger of Baxter Dury. Here’s a band who have forged their own musical manifesto — and it’s not a bad one to follow, comrades. SP
THE MURDER CAPITAL ****
When I Have Fears (Human Season)
The Murder Capital’s vocalist James McGovern has dismissed comparisons with Idles as “lazy journalism”, insisting “there’s a credible Irish scene”. So he can’t have any complaints about anyone drawing the inevitable parallels between swaggering, prickly, declamatory punk songs like Don’t Cling To Life and More Or Less and those of fellow Dubliners Fontaines DC. What sets The Murder Capital apart is McGovern’s willingness to swap the bark for a soulful croon and even, on How The Streets Adore Me Now, a lugubrious Mark Lanegan-esque baritone. BW
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS *****
Be Good (Epitaph)
The latest album from the Minneapolis punk rockers is, according to frontman Ryan Young, “less about feeling sorry for yourself and more about accepting how goddamn miserable you are.” The lyrics may be melancholic, the vocals gruff and angry, but the music is certainly uplifting. There are some great trashy guitar riffs and pounding drumbeats, while the quieter moments give you a chance to catch your breath. Be Good is very good. LN
REDD KROSS ****
Beyond The Door (Merge)
You can’t pretend American powerpop veterans, nay legends Redd Kross haven’t been above slipping slightly since their heyday albums like 1987’s Neurotica, but hell, I sometimes wake up at night with tears of thanks that I never had to follow up Neurotica. This new album, though – now this is vintage Redd Kross. That manic 60s breakfast cereal commercial energy is not only back, it’s palpable, and it turns out Beyond The Door actually ranks as one of their best. JM
THE REGRETTES ****
How Do You Love? (Warners)
Absolutely loving the resurgence of the riot grrrl scene, in its various guises, over the past few years. LA four-piece The Regrettes offer a less angry approach to feminist and political issues, outwardly at least – but dig deeper and you’ll find it all in the lyrics. The band combine a variety of influences on How Do You Love?, veering between the garage rock of The Strokes and the indie punk of Skating Polly to create something quite special. CA
RIDE ****
This Is Not A Safe Place (Wichita)
The 90s shoegaze quartet keep to trademarks with their sixth album: beautiful vocal harmonies, swirling guitars and a driving rhythm section. Shimmering dreampop and psychedelic moods colour tunes including single Future Love – especially reminiscent of the Church, and capturing perfectly the flush of newness – Jump Jet and the gorgeous Kinks-like Dial Up (a few are on the garage/punk spectrum). Even if their songwriting is, typically, not the strongest, with melodies like Shadows Behind The Sun Ride are still soaring in the clouds. RLR
RUSSIAN CIRCLES ****
Blood Year (Sargent House)
Produced, like its predecessor Guidance, by Kurt Ballou at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio, Blood Year is a moody, muscular beast that boasts earthshaking riffs for metalheads (on closing track Quartered in particular), enough nimble deviations and finger-tapping to keep the ArcTanGent crew happy, and the odd fleeting moment of tranquillity for fans of Explosions In The Sky. Milano is as relentlessly, jawdroppingly dense as Donald Trump, but thankfully far more pleasurable to listen to. BW
ŠIROM ****
A Universe That Roasts Blossoms For A Horse (Tak:til/Glitterbeat)
This Slovenian trio translate their song titles into English, which is both helpful and a boon, as they’re most intriguing (Low Probability Of A Hug being my personal favourite). The songs on A Universe…, their third album, are lengthy – five in just under 45 minutes – and inscrutable: rickety, mostly instrumental folk manoeuvres that are trad at root, but dreamlike and cubist in their arrangements, and played on a vast array of stringed things and percussive gizmos. NG
SPOON ****
Everything Hits at Once (Matador)
Despite several fine albums, Spoon have always been one utensil off the indiepop top drawer, and their ambition with Everything Hits… was to compile an end-of-era best of to rival Substance. I can only predict, that this comp should finally see them bend the charts to their will, Uri Geller-like. Fans of the warped guitar pop of Wilco, Eels, Beck and XTC will be chuffed by the titular tune and the likes of the heavenly Inside Out, the Motowny …Cherry Bomb and the new wavey Got Nuffin. Sporking great! CS
VARIOUS ****
STUMM433 (Mute)
John Cage’s composition 4’33”, in which the performers are instructed to put down their instruments, and the audience encouraged to listen to any incidental sounds around them, is an interesting choice for a recording project. Nonetheless, Mute Records have released a box set of performances of this famous work from 50 of their artists, including Depeche Mode and Yann Tiersen. A daring endeavour that, on many tracks, brings an eeriness, and occasionally some musicality, to everyday sounds and background noise. IT
WHY? ****
Aokohio (Joyful Noise)
This is no run-of-the-mill-heard-it-all-before indie music: Aokohio has depth. Tracks are sometimes as short as 31 seconds, many are indefinable and many, such as Launch, are over before they really take off. There are smooth vocals, interesting lyrics, public service broadcasts, squeaks and squawks, synths and jaunty tunes. This isn’t an album to dip in and out of: there’s a lot to take in and it needs your full attention. LN