The latest from Bristol institution TRICKY could be his finest post-millennium album
Tricky's latest emotional bruiser of an album could arguably be his finest – yep, even surpassing Maxinquaye, his 1995 debut.
Albums
Leeds artrockers YARD ACT blend their trademark sound with some unexpected turns
There’s pithy, thought-provoking social commentary laced with humour throughout Yard Act's third album, making it an intriguing listen.
German techno boss ELLEN ALLIEN’s first album in six years is hard and fast
From the off, Ellen Allien is firing on all cylinders production-wise: if you like your techno hard, fast and driving, New Life is for you.
Revered psych-rockers PANDA BEAR & SONIC BOOM regroup for their second album together
It’s great to hear both Noah ‘Panda Bear’ Lennox’ and Pete ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember not resting on their laurels or ploughing the same furrow.
Forget Queen and American Idol, this is ADAM LAMBERT as you’ve never heard him before
Adam Lambert, American Idol runner-up turned Queen frontman, has gone back to his formative 90s inspirations for this rock-solid solo record.
Winehouse, McCartney and the blues all feature in the ROLLING STONES’ latest
There’s a lot to like on the Stones' latest album, though you wish someone had been brave enough to turn these 14 tracks into a leaner set.
SQUID guitarist ANTON PEARSON unveils ambient abilities on debut solo album
Perhaps closest to something like Brian Eno’s Apollo, Anton Pearson brings an unsettling, concentrated atmosphere to Driving Through Belgium.
CONFESSIONS II is MADONNA’s return to the dancefloor, with SABRINA CARPENTER in tow
While the glitter may have to settle to truly assess Confessions II, for now this disco-infused Madonna is important as Vogue or Ray Of Light.
London’s ALEWYA has created a diasporic dance-pop future classic with her debut album
Alewya’s debut album is the perfect example of two cultures blending together to create something beautiful, exciting and unique.
Psych-rockers TEMPLES make ravey pivot on album five, with muddled results
Reminiscent of a 90s Ibiza Temples were too young to experience, Bliss follows the arc of a night out: exuberant come-up, inevitable letdown.
A new box set documents how 80s British pop & indie got jazzy & soulful
You’re guaranteed to find things familiar, obscure and new to listen on a Cherry Red compilation, and Digging Your Scene is no exception.
Noisily rocking postpunk and working-class solidarity: DOWNTOWN BOYS
Downtown Boys' production values may have become classier, the tempo occasionally down a notch, but the ire and solidarity remain coursing.
A lost album by noiserock pioneers BUTTHOLE SURFERS is a diverting mixed bag
Butthole Surfers' second major label record, released in bastardised form in 2001, is only now seeing the light of day as originally intended.
When VINCE CLARKE’s not doing ERASURE, he’s often remixing acts like the ones compiled here
Vince Clarke (Erasure, Yazoo, Depeche Mode) has also had a long career remixing other artists, and has compiled 26 of them as Remix | Remodel.
BETH ORTON’s music is still brittle and beautiful after all these years
The Ground Above, Beth Orton's ninth album, is the sound of her reflecting on grief, and all that has gone down since those early years of her career.
HORSE LORDS bring rare invention to the guitar/bass/drums format
Horse Lords succeed in sounding like they’ve beamed in from the future – one which uses its knowledge of past artforms to push things forward.
Folk horror in audio form: ALISON COTTON is foreboding and spectral
The Gods Laugh is a portal to the spirit world, and Alison Cotton’s best record yet. It feels as though the witching hour has finally struck.
The return of HARD-FI: 20 years after ‘Cash Machine’, can they cash in?
It has to be said that Hard-Fi peaked too early. Their first album, Stars Of CCTV, was an instant hit – and a hard act to follow.
GRAHAM COXON’s solo return is both refreshing and reinvigorating
After a 14-year wait, we have an album as fresh, rewarding, and creatively productive as one could expect from Graham Coxon’s most prolific years.
From Putin features to political rallies, PUSSY RIOT’s debut album explodes with revolutionary energy
Labelled an “extremist organisation” by the Russian Federation last year, Pussy Riot’s music is now more important than ever.
Apostles & Polish writers: heard in TOCCATA CLASSICS’ new releases
Two new Toccata Classics releases – by David Hackbridge Johnson and Cambridge's Girton College Choir – showcase the variety in their output.
Beatless beastliness from Canadian experimental rockers BIG BRAVE
Big Brave’s 10th album rumbles and drifts, the listener caught up in the shifting quicksands of crackle, distortion, drone and decay.
Japanese rock instrumentalists MONO release the solemn, symbolic SNOWDROP
Snowdrop is well-trodden turf for Mono, a band who reject the ‘post-rock’ tag in interviews while embracing all of the genre’s core signifiers.
Psychedelic veterans HAWKWIND plunder their back catalogue on latest album
It isn't until side three that Psychedelic Selection comes into its own, with of dynamic new tracks that capture Hawkwind at their best.