The arrangements may be cleaner and songs embellished with alternative focuses but it would be hard to claim they don’t have the interests of the originals at heart. Seen as a sensitive collective tribute it’s hard to view it as anything else than a success.

Nothing really jumps out, and Ian Brown’s seventh album still feels weirdly unrewarding, the artist playing a contented father rather than raging at the current state of the world. That is fair enough of course, but for an artist as established and inspirational as Ian Brown has been over the decades, we surely deserve waves rather than ripples.

Whilst Miri may not have the insistence and urgency of its most recent predecessors, it has a consistently high standard of musicianship and a depth, maturity, subtlety and insight that rewards repeated listening. It is a beautiful collection of music rooted in place, culture, history and ideas.

An album that finds Nesbitt in the midst of personal and artistic self-discovery. She’s almost there, just a few more seasons.

While it’s a stretch to describe the record as ‘poppy’, it’s certainly their most accessible material to date, with songs like The Arbor, Videograms and Let’s Get Lost taking up residence in the head long after the record has stopped playing. ... It may be only January, but there’s already been a place filled on that Best Albums Of 2019 list.

An emotionally raw and thrilling pop record (because it is a pop record, despite its rock sensibilities). After a series of downs that would finish most bands, Get Tragic sounds like a new start for its creators.

Musically, she’s moved on from the folky Americana that made her name, and moved towards a more doomy, synth-based sound. Yet it suits her down to the ground.

Assume Form finds Blake sonically in a state of equilibrium, having found two niches over the course of his career that suit him equally well. They complement each other well, and as the record ends with the soothing but wry Lullaby For My Insomniac.

It’s a remarkably assured album that shines light on Hayes as an artist of note while further enhancing Brewis’ reputation as an irrepressible source of creativity. It might only be January but this is an album that will bring joy right up to the end of the year and beyond.

De Facto takes all that was good about Lorelle Meets The Obsolete and makes it even better. The groovier undercarriage suits their sound, as do the enhanced keyboards, and the substance of their music is hugely impressive.

The recordings here are ideal for longtime fans, whose only gripe might be paying for material that they already own. But this is not a big problem when you consider just how many rare tracks you get for your buck.

Lithics have made what is surely one of the most sincerely bracing albums of the year.

Throughout the 10 songs both performers are clearly having fun, and yet--as you might expect from its Ghost Stories title--there is darkness at the heart of this album. For that reason it is the perfect Yuletide accompaniment, capturing perfectly the comforts and wonder of the season--but also the awkwardness nobody wants to talk about.

All in, this is quite a cathartic affair, as Ferry weaves in and out of his enviable back catalogue with vim and vigour and with dashes of melancholy and darkness. Symphonic, cinematic and touching.

It has a daft title, and a few daft songs with hammy lyrics. It has variety, diversity and its heart on its sleeve. It has pretence, artifice and ambition. It has, basically, everything.

Queen Of Golden Dogs is Vessel at their most direct and bold, and the result is often overwhelming, sometimes confusing, and always fascinating.

This feels like something that Harcourt did for his own satisfaction, and as a little treat for his fans. There’s nothing wrong with that, it doesn’t leave a lot for the rest of us to dig into.

The downbeat tone may put some people off, and with the average track lasting a good five or six minutes, it’s true that some degree of patience may be required to get the most out of Yawn. For those willing to invest that patience though, the rewards are vast: Yawn demonstrates just how well Ryder-Jones is evolving as a songwriter.

Divorced from the context of the North Korea shows the purpose of these songs seems a little unclear, even factoring in the wordplay of “How do you solve a problem like Korea”, so the final few tracks are crucial to the album.

The last three Art Brut albums gradually moved away from the energy and enthusiasm of Bang Bang Rock & Roll, but with Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out they sound like a band having more fun than ever before. All three of those exclamation marks are entirely justified.

Selling is an inspired project, and On Reflection utilises the best of both artists to produce a project that is fascinating, pretty and groovy all at once: required listening for fans of electronic music.

Merrie Land feels like the perfect soundtrack for these uncertain, worrying times.

A neat album of only 10 tracks. We find her in life-admin mode, clearing out any dispensable trash that she no longer has time or the inclination for. ... Sublime.

Ultraviolet could have had a little more variety in its seven tracks, but it remains an impressive outing by this multi-talented new artist.

Generally, there’s a rather cosy feel to Elastic Days--you can imagine the gorgeous stroll of the title track keeping you company through the long winter months, and although some may bemoan the lack of variety on display through the album, it’s hard to deny that it makes for a very pleasant 41 minutes.

There’s obviously still an audience for Muse, given by the size of the venues they still sell out, and this will definitely please the die-hards, but most of Simulation Theory simply fizzles out without leaving much of an impression.

A pretty decent record if by no means a great one. Shiny And So Bright, Vol 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. neither offers the chance to dent Corgan’s ego or inflate it in any significant way.

It showcases Bradley’s strongest talents, and is just as good as any of the records he released when he was alive.

This is a magnificent and engaging record from one of our most beloved actors that both jazz aficiandos and neophytes should come to adore.

Her instrument has aged with her like a fine wine, like Iggy Pop, or like Mr Jagger himself. It’s completely her, completely unique. The new version is gleefully bleak and unwieldy.

No Tourists is a change of heart, but it proves Howlett’s instincts right with its lack of inspiration. Making this record probably did bore them, just as it bores this reviewer to listen to most of it, and while there are signs of life in places it’s mostly, to quote Jeremy, so futile.

They’ve turned everything up beyond 11 this time, opting to throw more skull crushing riffs into the mix. The songs might be shorter, but they lack none of the innate need to pummel that infuses most of their work. 


Daughters have provided a soundtrack to satisfy our ghoulish intrigue with a rare beast that is both thrilling and wholly singular. Yet, however darkly disturbing You Won’t Get What You Want is at times, its matchless quality elicits awe and wonder, and strangely, that brilliance provides a surprising and curious warmth.

It’s about clean lines, geometric beauty and clear sincerity. But it also has depth, richness and luxurious colour. It can be taken as superficially perfect pop music, or you can listen a little deeper and hear just how intricately woven her heartbreak anthems really are. She is an artist in the truest sense. And Honey is her latest masterpiece.

Aviary is not a great album--it’s too much of an ordeal for that accolade, requiring multiple listens to even start to engage with meaningfully. But it is, in its own idiosyncratic way, a towering artistic accomplishment. Just be prepared for a hard slog scaling the summit.

If by representing these protest songs Ono intended to convey how little has changed since she first recorded them in the spirit of social activism then she has succeeded, but Warzone also highlights how the conversation has evolved.

Overload contains multitudes, and at times its lack of cohesion can be a bit unsettling. But it is also proof that Muldrow can excel at whatever style she touches on, and a great collection of songs.

Fans of the old soundtrack will find much to love in the new interpretations, and coming from such iconic source material, Carpenter couldn’t really fail. With any luck, the new movie will measure up to the soundtrack and the high expectations that fans of the original movie have for it.

Though Natural Rebel has its moments, it all feels a bit staid and stale: not so much rock’n’roll rebellion as conventional cliché, both musical and lyrical.

Anyone looking for party bangers may be disappointed (apart from Natural Skin Deep) but Broken Politics is the sound of an artist growing and maturing very nicely. These are intelligent, beautifully crafted songs to sink into and luxuriate, and tracks like Black Monday and Synchronised Devotion will live with you for months after first hearing them.

It is a far more ambitious project than 2016’s Care, and the ambition pays off as Krell returns to form with an experimental, nuanced project.

MassEducation is that rare record that works both as a standalone album and a companion to the original.

Is Forever Neverland the most mainstream indie album for a while or the most indie mainstream album? With hits like these, songwriting as accomplished as this and production as tight as this, it surely matters little either way.

It may not be the liveliest 35 minutes of the year, yet it’s filled with memorable imagery and some heartbreaking songs. For anyone who’s never heard any of Marissa Nadler’s work before, For My Crimes makes for an excellent starting point.

You probably wouldn’t have started 2018 predicting that a 50-something bunch of grunge-era survivors would produce one of the most startling, exciting and vital albums of the year, but the sheer strangeness of the times dictates that that’s exactly what’s happened.

O’Brien isn’t afraid to tackle heavy subjects (there are songs about self-doubt, faith and even a tribute to 19th century mathematician Ada Lovelace), but it’s all pushed through with a real lightness of touch that means that it’s easy to give The Art Of Pretending To Swim plenty of repeat listenings.

The beautifully warm and naturalistic production brings these inherently intimate songs closer still.

There’s a serious attention to detail here, and that’s kept up for the considerable length of the album.

It sags in places, but this isn’t such a crime when the album also contains highlights like Electricity, Horses, Modafinil Blues and Bunny’s Dream, which are highly recommended for any electronic music fan.

It all amounts to Hersh’s harshest offering in sometime, but it’s also the sound of an artist rejuvenated and inspired.

Some may be turned off by the sheer melancholy on European Heartbreak, and yearn for the drive and verve of songs like It Changes. Yet, for anyone who enjoys soaking in sorrow, this makes for perfect listening. For anyone from other states of the European Union dreading the uncertainties of life post-March 2019, this album could at least be a security blanket.

Heaven is even better than their debut: what a relief that Dilly Dally managed to put any remaining tensions to bed before making this exceptional album.

Grant’s lyrics have always been striking, often highly emotive and confessional, but also frequently designed to raise more than a few eyebrows. Here, there are moments where he is more cutting, and more sleazy than ever.

Street Worms is a fine example of how to subvert expectations, and it’s a fine example of how to do ‘punk’ in 2018.

Everything you loved about the last few Phosphorescent records is still here, in abundance, but C’est La Vie seems more streamlined, more emotionally sincere. You can hear that Houck has discovered a lot of love in the past five years, and you only hope we get to hear him discover a tonne more.

Most of all though, Wanderer is an album about developing your own identity in an ever-changing, often troubling world. Arguably more than ever before, Cat Power has achieved that goal here.

Fucked Up have created a masterpiece that pushes boundaries, takes risks and delivers huge rewards.

It makes for a poignant, gentle album in the singer/songwriter tradition, with production that’s more elaborate than that of his former alias but not much more. The stories are genuinely endearing, the production creates an intimate feel, and with this album Ashworth has consolidated his reputation as a bedroom pop veteran.

While Art Of Doubt doesn’t quite touch their previous high points, there’s still more than enough to keep many a Metric fan happy.

There is absolutely no doubting that Pastoral is a phenomenal piece of work. It’s a brilliantly informed artistic statement and a state of the nation address that cuts right through. It must also be said that it is a quite challenging and difficult listen.

Elephants On Acid is far from perfect, and at points its short tracks sound like sketches that could have been fleshed out more. But it is a worthy addition to their discography, and shows development of their signature sound.

It’s About Time has joyous, feel-good highlights and low points that could have been worse.

Clocking in at a nifty 38 minutes, Obey is a solid release, though it trails off near the end with tracks that are clearly less inspired than the others. In these sections the minimalism is stretched too far and the arrangements are too loose, but the album has great moments elsewhere.

While there are other occasions--notably All The Wild Places’ excessively grandiose orchestration and the ridiculous gothic chanting on Chalk Circles--where it all feels just a bit much, all in all The Blue Hour is a bold, accomplished effort from a band who still have plenty of ideas more than a quarter of century after they first emerged.

His music is inventive and intriguing and has that special quality where you’re never quite certain what will happen next. Shelley’s On Zenn-La only adds to his increasingly impressive reputation.

It’s true to say that Chris seems to run out of steam a bit at the end, with only the beautifully reflective Make Some Sense really standing out during the album’s last few tracks. Nevertheless, this doesn’t stop Héloïse Letissier’s second record being one of the year’s most intelligent, enjoyable albums, and cements her position as one of our most intriguing, interesting pop stars.

Harsh electronic soundscapes are matched with more ambient pieces, and Anamesis Part 1 is a much gentler proposition creating the illusion of calming wind chimes, with Part 2 adding pastoral flourishes. Whereas Annotation pairs club beats with gentle electronic inflections, and Kundalini recalls the thrilling experimentalism of her last record in its use of exotic sounds.

It will be intriguing to see where he heads next on his musical tour, adapting as he does to different styles, though time and again the music of True Meanings feels like the most naturally sourced for him as an artist now. It is very much a case of a little less being a whole lot more.

A thoroughly engaging addition to Willner’s already enviable discography.

Thankfully, McCartney appears to be grasping the nettle and squeezing the most out of life and his apparently never-ending songbook. A definite thumbs up.

Simon’s voice, as anybody who saw him on his farewell tour will attest to, is still remarkably strong, and he’s rearranged these songs so that they suit his timbre.

Double Negative is an album that will endure for a long time. It’s a thrilling development that proves how Low continue to release music of extremely high standards, restlessly creative and never content to stand still.


With Animals might be a predominantly bleak work, but within its crumbling walls of decay, there’s considerable beauty to be found.

Safe In The Hands Of Love is a fascinating synthesis of rock, plunderphonics, bass music and noise from an artist that remains stubbornly undefinable.

A winning combination of intricate, impeccable craftmanship and human warmth, Re:member is a record that further enhances Arnalds’ reputation as a truly modern composer, capable of scaling heights few of his contemporaries can match.

It’s a good solid album, but far from essential when it comes to Justice.

It’s this constant shifting of tone and genre that makes Deportation Blues such a delight to listen to. That it comes from such a turbulent and traumatic period in its creator’s life is somewhat surprising, because even though this is an album that has its moments of darkness, there’s an irrepressible spirit and joy contained in almost every single song here.

By the end of the heartfelt Touched By You MNEK has truly made his mark with this ambitious masterwork of an album. After years in the background, he’s proved that he’s the full package.

Former Pulp bassist Steve Mackey eventually ended up producing the record, and he gives Pierce’s various sonic wanderings space to roam, but sadly it’s an amble of a circular nature.

Render Another Ugly Method is an album which demands careful listening, almost as it pushes away the listener, inviting interpretation as it rejects it. Often thrilling, it is rarely less than compelling.

When it gets the dynamics right, it’s undoubtedly a work of considerable skill, but it’s hard to escape the sense that what we’re hearing is essentially a well-crafted pastiche of other artists, rather something truly memorable in its own right.

Idles offer so much more than mere spit and bile. The nuance of what’s on offer on this record contributes to the rich contemporary loosely threaded punk scene that has produced bands like Protomartyr, Priests and Algiers.

Maybe it’s the heartache documented in these songs, but there’s an oddly listless quality to some of the album. ... However, some of the charm of those early songs is replicated.

So the album sees Interpol trying some new things, leaning on some preconceptions and loosening some of the ties which have previously bound. And it makes Marauder an extremely rewarding listen.

This is a fitting debut for a man who to many needs no introduction.

It’s a fine showcase for Tunng’s strongest set of songs in many years--happily, this seems to be one reunion that’s working out just fine.

Death Cab For Cutie aren’t changing any time soon, and Thank You For Today is another reliable if unsurprising missive from a band who seem to be settling into middle age comfortably.

Puberty 2’s only four-minute plus song was far and away its weakest, but here the songs are short, richly melodic, with layers of detail packed in--like super-compressed sad-pop bombs--and topped by Miyawaki’s vocals, at once commanding and plaintive.

Coup De Grace has plenty to offer, but it’s not a big step forward from Kane’s previous solo work. If you liked that you’ll probably like this; if you didn’t, this probably won’t change your mind.

An album that leaves few ripples on its smooth surface.

It is a hodgepodge of tracks, seemingly made with little thought to how they will all sound in sequence, and because of this it doesn’t have much more consistency than an eclectic music collection on shuffle. Which is a shame, because there are good ideas here.

The creative synthesis between her and producer Dre Skull means there isn’t a dull moment on the record. I Don’t Want: The Gold Fire Sessions is a gem, an energetic and hook-filled album that leaves the listener wanting more.

It probably would have come across better as a slightly leaner offering that was all killer no filler, but at its best Physical develops on his work with Factory Floor to create a distinctive style of his own, an unsettling retro take on house music that yields many fantastic results across the record.

Basic Volume is a strong, distinctive debut from a promising artist whose maturity and versatility are already apparent, highly recommended for fans of electronic music and dancehall.

The songs often seem underdeveloped, two brief verses buried between more noteworthy hooks.

Highlights are hard to pick out when so much of Happysad pursues the same vibe, but overall the album is an easygoing yet expressive release, highly recommended for fans of jazz and Stones Throw’s output.

With Family Portrait Ross From Friends (or Dr Geller as he prefers to be called) confirms enviable production skills that were already displayed on hype-building 12” releases, but is missing some songwriting nous that would have lifted the album up and made it a more consistently engaging listen.

The last album was such a darkly compelling set that it’d be wrong to frame Lamp Lit Prose as a ‘return to form’, but it’s perhaps a return to the light, to uneasy listening of a different sort.