Right, since getting back from Accra (curry for breakfast, yeah!), I've been frantically catching up with two week of new releases, aided and abetted by the fact that my assistant is off sick so I have the office to myself. Quite a lot to get through so, in no particular order:
Robert Sotelo - quirky, literate indiepop. Highly recommended!
Gruff Rhys - marvellous, as expected! Beautiful, summery 30 minutes or so.
Alex Cameron - pleasant enough but not as strong as his previous album.
Iggy Pop - unlike others on here, I quite like his spoken word weirdness. Not as good as the EP with Underworld though but.
Miss June - a very accomplished debut from the New Zealand indie rockers. Think Hole, the late lamented Those Darlins etc.
Adam Green - some good songs, at 22 minutes, it hardly overstays its welcome.
Belle & Sebastian - best album they've made in many a year! Of course, a couple of tracks are reworkings of classics but they've gone back to their quirky, literate indiepop roots a bit.
Devendra Banhardt - best album he's made in many a year! None of the tracks are reworkings of classics and he's gone back to his quirky, literate indiefolk roots a bit.
Future Pilot AKA - bloody marvellous! First in 12 years from them/him. I suspect it was a lost recording (but maybe not?). Features Robert Wyatt, Emma Pollock from The Delgados and others. Defies genreisation.
Jerkcurb - it's good, this. Laidback guitar rock. Rough Trade Shops album of the week last Friday.
Mike Patton & Jean-Claude Vannier - the singer from Faith No More and a French composer/arranger make for unlikely bed fellows but they've made an excellent album! Mostly ballads, slightly weird, worth a listen.
Bat For Lashes - some good songs but there's an 80s production sheen I don't like. A tad disappointing, given the generally glowing reviews!
Frankie Cosmos - 21 songs in 40 minutes. If you've listen to a Frankie Cosmos album before, you'll kind of know the deal. It's good. Nothing outstays its welcome.
Jenny Hval - a lot less abrasive than some of her earlier work, in fact, quite marvellously lovely! Kind of reminds me of last year's Virginia Wing album. Very dreamy!
Metronomy - an odd one. There are some exceptional songs on here but some incidental filler. I still like their slightly oddball career path.
Tinariwen - as expected, as always, some tremendous desert blues. Quite guest heavy on the face of it but the guests blend in and they're people like Warren Ellis and Cass McCombs.
Sandro Perri - not a name I'm overly familiar with but he would seem to have had a convoluted and eclectic career covering post-rock, folk, electronica and things in between. I was quietly impressed by a track on the last Uncut CD. This is, er, laidback, eclectic and really good.
Pixies - thud, clang, shout! Tired, yawn, bored... sounds like they're going through the motions. The fact that this is the best of their three comeback albums doesn't say much! Kim Deal was clearly the talent.
Alasdair Roberts - another year, another marvellous album from Skinny Al that nobody will listen to. As ever, it's a work of folk genius!
The Utopia Strong - 147!
Off the new stuff, the issue of Uncut that's out this week features a 17 track CD of Wilco covers (from people like Low, Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Parquet Courts and Shuan Mendes).
Robert Sotelo - quirky, literate indiepop. Highly recommended!
Gruff Rhys - marvellous, as expected! Beautiful, summery 30 minutes or so.
Alex Cameron - pleasant enough but not as strong as his previous album.
Iggy Pop - unlike others on here, I quite like his spoken word weirdness. Not as good as the EP with Underworld though but.
Miss June - a very accomplished debut from the New Zealand indie rockers. Think Hole, the late lamented Those Darlins etc.
Adam Green - some good songs, at 22 minutes, it hardly overstays its welcome.
Belle & Sebastian - best album they've made in many a year! Of course, a couple of tracks are reworkings of classics but they've gone back to their quirky, literate indiepop roots a bit.
Devendra Banhardt - best album he's made in many a year! None of the tracks are reworkings of classics and he's gone back to his quirky, literate indiefolk roots a bit.
Future Pilot AKA - bloody marvellous! First in 12 years from them/him. I suspect it was a lost recording (but maybe not?). Features Robert Wyatt, Emma Pollock from The Delgados and others. Defies genreisation.
Jerkcurb - it's good, this. Laidback guitar rock. Rough Trade Shops album of the week last Friday.
Mike Patton & Jean-Claude Vannier - the singer from Faith No More and a French composer/arranger make for unlikely bed fellows but they've made an excellent album! Mostly ballads, slightly weird, worth a listen.
Bat For Lashes - some good songs but there's an 80s production sheen I don't like. A tad disappointing, given the generally glowing reviews!
Frankie Cosmos - 21 songs in 40 minutes. If you've listen to a Frankie Cosmos album before, you'll kind of know the deal. It's good. Nothing outstays its welcome.
Jenny Hval - a lot less abrasive than some of her earlier work, in fact, quite marvellously lovely! Kind of reminds me of last year's Virginia Wing album. Very dreamy!
Metronomy - an odd one. There are some exceptional songs on here but some incidental filler. I still like their slightly oddball career path.
Tinariwen - as expected, as always, some tremendous desert blues. Quite guest heavy on the face of it but the guests blend in and they're people like Warren Ellis and Cass McCombs.
Sandro Perri - not a name I'm overly familiar with but he would seem to have had a convoluted and eclectic career covering post-rock, folk, electronica and things in between. I was quietly impressed by a track on the last Uncut CD. This is, er, laidback, eclectic and really good.
Pixies - thud, clang, shout! Tired, yawn, bored... sounds like they're going through the motions. The fact that this is the best of their three comeback albums doesn't say much! Kim Deal was clearly the talent.
Alasdair Roberts - another year, another marvellous album from Skinny Al that nobody will listen to. As ever, it's a work of folk genius!
The Utopia Strong - 147!
Off the new stuff, the issue of Uncut that's out this week features a 17 track CD of Wilco covers (from people like Low, Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Parquet Courts and Shuan Mendes).