Swedish metal titans ARCH ENEMY don’t let up on triumphant 11th album
As melodic death metal goes, Deceivers ticks all the boxes: classical undertones, fast guitars, obligatory solos, heavy basslines and demonic vocals.
Albums
KASABIAN’s first album post-Meighan plunders new and familiar territory
Kasabian’s seventh studio album - The Alchemist's Euphoria - is also their first since the sacking of frontman Tom Meighan for domestic assault.
Almost 20 albums on, ERASURE are as thrillingly inventive as ever
Futuristic sci-fi cinematic soundscapes and heart-and-soul-fuelled pop cleverness: not many artists can sound this inventive 19 albums in.
Analog Africa unearths laidback grooves from overlooked band THE MOVERS
The overall vibe here is one of laidback good times, with almost ska-like propulsion to tracks like Hot Coffee, while other tracks could be mistaken for lost Northern Soul classics.
JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET: playful big-band jazz with sublime substance
Man In The Hot Seat, recorded with amazing clarity at Abbey Road, is a satisfying, convincing blend of JTQ’s acid jazz roots and the predominant influence of ‘70s soundtracks.
DUB WAR: Welsh rap-rock group return with relentless political heft
Political, discordant and relentless, Dub War’s return ought to both delight older followers and attract new ones to their message-laden, Welsh-infused take on the genre.
NOISE & FLOWERS: live album from NEIL YOUNG beautifully crystallises an artist of extremes
Noise & Flowers is both a brilliant introduction to Young’s music with modern production and a treat for completists.
DC GORE takes Orwellian sideswipe at modern humanity on ALL THESE THINGS
Like the novels of Orwell that have inspired the imagery of DC Gore's debut release, there is something chilling and affecting that stays with you after listening.
FOREST NOCTURNE: beautifully uneasy listening from doom metal icon THE LORD
The sound of an ancient horror lurking in the shadows, Forest Nocturne is beautiful uneasy listening.
DOMi & JD BECK invite hip-hop heavyweights onto jazzy – and surprising – debut
Apeshit is Anderson .Paak’s new label, and with DOMi Louna on MIDI keys and JD Beck on percussion, they whip up a host of jazzy joints for their rap star boss.
15 years after his breakthrough album, JAMIE T re-establishes his relevancy
The Theory Of Whatever is an album you can imagine sounding immense played live: expansive guitar hooks and countless singalong moments.
ORBITAL at 30: rave icons age gracefully with repolished greatest hits
Now is the time to celebrate three decades of Orbital, with 30 Something: not a lazily compiled best-of, but a selection of Orbital’s finest tracks.
BARRY ADAMSON: third album re-release is a must-listen for the unfamiliar
An essential purchase, and a good place to start for those not familiar with the maverick brilliance of Barry Adamson.
THE WAR ON DRUGS’ Dave Hartley stuns with harmonious solo project, NIGHTLANDS
Reminiscent of Pink Floyd, Moonshine’s lyrical focus is on current affairs – particularly the unatainability of the American Dream.
Trauma and the everyday collide on honest, therapeutic ALEX THE ASTRONAUT release
How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater seems to be a progression of Alex’s mental health journey, as seen by upfront mentions of her therapist throughout the album.
WORKING MEN’S CLUB’s FEAR FEAR thumpingly echoes today’s troubled times
Bristling with edgy energy, the LP is as much a product of its troubled times – pandemic, political divisions, social tensions – as it of its precocious creator.
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT’s maximalist approach pushes extreme music to nth degree
To say Spirit Of Ecstasy is an album bursting with creativity and boiling over with fresh ideas would be a major understatement.
THE KOOKS find inspiration in the 70s on crowd-pleasing new album
10 Tracks That Echo In The Dark will undoubtedly be a hit with Kooks fans old and new, as well as a festival favourite.
Intense, baroque & baffling, allow yourself to fall under the BLACK MIDI spell
Black Midi can be accused of many things, but never a lack of ideas or a reluctance to follow their own muse.
DEAF HAVANA’s comeback album proves the alt-rockers were right to reform
Embarking on a UK headline tour this November, The Present Is A Foreign Land should prove a hit in a live setting for Deaf Havana.
INTERPOL play to their strengths with new music full of swagger and vulnerability
The Other Side… is Interpol playing to their strengths with an impressive widescreen swagger on an album that gives more away on each addictive listen.
MABEL reinvents herself on album no. 2 with the story of one wild night
Half a decade after her breakthrough single Finders Keepers, you can understand why English-Swedish singer Mabel asks her followers, “Allow me to reintroduce myself” on new album, About Last Night.
Gen Z idol BEABADOOBEE strikes melted gold on summery second album, BEATOPIA
Beatopia, the second album from Beabadoobee, is a singular vision of shimmering indie-pop that transcends her Gen Z demographic.
SNIFFANY & THE NITS make a play for the year’s best UK punk album
Sniffany & The Nits, three-quarter Welsh ambassadors moored in London, follow two pre-pandemic releases with a debut LP that’s fast, powerfully efficient, clattering and oddly tuneful.