Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Being a 'supergroup' - as Boygenius trio Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus are commonly described - has its pitfalls, one of which is finding time to record and promote your music. It was for this reason that it took the threesome almost five years to record their debut album, The Record, which was released to critical acclaim (the NME called it an 'instant indie classic') earlier this year. The fact that 'The Rest', an EP of unheard songs (literally - no previews were available online prior to release), has followed so quickly suggests that it was recorded at the same time. Either way, it was produced by the band alongside a team of six producers) and delivers more memorable songs in their now familiar American indie-rock style. A treat for fans, all told.

Review: Unfairly labelled as a novel curio when they first emerged, the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is a genuine expression of Mighty Mocambos man Bjorn Wagner's love of Trinidadian steel pan music. Their tracks - often, but not always, quirky cover versions - combined authentic funk instrumentation (drums, bass, guitar, horns) with the timeless and distinctive sound of steel drums. BRSB, the combo's fourth album, is another summery and effortlessly entertaining treat. Highlights include the inspired 'Love For The Sake of Dub' (an organic interpretation of Claudja Barry's slo-mo disco classic 'Love For The Sake of Love'), the breaker-friendly cheeriness and heaviness of 'Grilled', a wonderfully woozy and dubbed out stroll through the 'Stranger Things Theme', and the summer sunshine of 'Champion's Walk'.

Review: Bad Boy Troy is the musical moniker of one Troy Tipton, whose ambition to make rollicking guitar music extends back to the age of six, at which point he began to take after famous guitarists such as Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Paul Rogers. A lifelong stint of touring with the likes of Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, Whitesnake and Ozark Mountain Daredevils has led up to this moment, at which the headstock heartthrob now releases this globetrotting new album on CD. Huge guitar sludge-waves are heard in full swing on cover versions like 'Another Brick In The Wall' (Pink Floyd) and 'Bad Ass Boy', as the seasoned axe daredevil swears his dread oath to never sleeping, always shredding.

Review: Two years on from the release of their fantastic debut album, Wolo So, Balimaya Project returns with more inspired fusions of polyrhythms, percussion, heady horns, "virtuosic kora styles", contemporary jazz and traditional Mande music. It's a uniquely sweet, deep and gently sun-soaked sound - all emotive vocals, tapped out tribal rhythms, frazzled solos, dreamy acoustic guitars, glistening highlife-influenced electric guitars and sultry, soulful intent. The London-based collective has long been hard-to-pigeonhole, and it's this impeccably realised but sonically adventurous approach - along with the quality of their musicianship - that's been the key to their success. When The Dust Settles will only enhance their rising reputation - it really is that good!

Review: Although it was reportedly recorded in a "cabin in the woods" and fuelled by "nights listening to the Grateful Dead", Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart's latest album is a far more drowsy, dreamy and immersive affair than you might expect. Produced by label-mate Cate Le Bon (who also contributed instrumentation), Flying Wig somehow sounds contemporary despite being rooted in a mix of the woozy sound-worlds of Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel's more downbeat mid-80s moments, classic sixties folk-rock and the kind of heart-aching, country-tinged AOR ballads that were once a feature of late-night AM radio. It's beautiful and beguiling, basically, and never wavers from its distinct sonic blueprint.

Review: William Basinski and Janek Schaefer make for a long distance collaboration on this much anticipated new album. It has taken the best part of eight years from conception to final execution but that more than proves worth the wait. Time and duration are recurring themes in their work and during the pandemic yeas in particular those were very much skewed and warped for us all. ". . . on reflection" casts itself free from temporal restraints with delicate piano passages, flickering melodies and drawn out drones that really sink you in deep.

Review: There's a chance this Liverpudlian four piece will be familiar by now. This, their 11th studio outing, first unveiled as the 1960s slipped into the 70s, is a bonafide epic from an outfit that weren't lacking in epics; in many ways a culmination of their time together, marking the end of their active years and beginning of their legacy. By this stage, then, they've emerged from years spent on the inner journey and time on the outer, space cadeting to the hallucinogenic fuelled tones of "Sgt. Peppers" and "Revolver". Of course, there's still plenty of explorations happening, but the gritty blues rock of opening track "Come Together" really sets the tone. Five decades on, it still sounds great and maybe even better than you remember. Even if you own the original, this anniversary edition is worth having.

Review: Tomasz Bednarczyk makes a long-awaited return to 12k after his 2009 debut Let's Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow (12k1055, 2009) and a couple of follow-up releases on Australia's Room40. On Windy Weather Always Makes Me Think Of You Bednarczyk has collected sounds via a smartphone dictaphone and Sony field recorder over the past 10 years with a goal to transform all gathered recordings into new, multilayered harmonies. Field recordings come from voyages around the globe and originally consisted of melodies interwoven by multilayered sounds of the environment. After the gathering and layering of sounds the process was to deconstruct theminto single sounds and samples. This has served as a basis for creating the entire concept of the album; to establish completely new harmonies using solely those short fragments.

Review: Second time around for the Bees' terrific debut album, Sunshine Hit Me, which wowed critics and buyers alike on its initial release way back in 2001. The epitome of a surprise hit with admirably DIY roots - the duo behind it, Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher, famously recorded it in a limited home studio built in the back garden of a residential house on the Isle of Wight - the album has lost none of its allure all these years on. Woozy, summery and lo-fi, with hazy horns and glassy-eyed vocals rising above backing tracks that variously doff a cap to soul, rocksteady, ska, 1960s dream pop, psychedelia and a wealth of subtle global musical influences, Sunshine Hit Me is a warming, smile-inducing treat. This edition also boasts a sextet of bonus cuts, which seem to be a mixture of B-sides and tracks plucked from the pair's archives.

Review: Hadsel, Zach Condon AKA Beirut's first album in four years, is named in honour of the place in which much of it was recorded, a remote Norwegian island that the neo-folk artist stayed in back in 2019. The tranquillity of his surroundings, as well as access to limited instruments (a lo-fi drum machine, a church organ, a basic synthesiser and his trusty acoustic guitar, is reflected in the beauty and slow-burn nature of the music on show, which naturally pushes Condon's distinctive, emotionally charged vocals to the fore and tends towards the atmospheric and musically opaque. The results are genuinely beguiling, with our picks of a very strong bunch including 'The Tern', where Condon's voice sails above sustained organ chords, a tribal-tinged rhythm track, and life-affirming vocal harmonies, and the brass-enhanced warmth of 'So Many Plans'.

Review: Eternally Frozen Maple Death sounds like a dramatic way of describing some scientific process of natural mummification, but it's actually the name of this solo album by Italian drummer and composer Andrea Belfi. A tribute to Belfi's late father, who passed away in 2019, the album is composed of four long-form pieces that reflect on the themes of loss, memory, and time, all felt by Belfi in the moments afterwards. Minimal percussion, synthesizers, and tape loops combine across its breadth to form a meditative and melancholic sound, much like the moments of hollow 'frozen' stasis felt in the weeks and months after such an impactful life event.

Review: He may be a shoegaze and dream-pop legend, but sometime Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell has spent much of the last few years making ultra-immersive, out-there ambient soundscapes that are as mind-soothing as they are enveloping and, at times, overwhelming. Tidal Love Numbers, his latest album, once again puts his gorgeous, layered guitar playing front and centre, with collaborators Masal (a duo from Essex) providing complimentary harp, synth and drum sounds. They call the resultant four tracks "ambient, astral jazz". That's a fairly apt description, with the four stretched-out tracks sitting somewhere between Bell's own ambient work, the ambient-Americana of Jonny Nash, and the open-minded experiments of 21st century harpists such as Zeena Parkins.

Review: When the world seems like it's coming apart at the seams, you can always rely on Belle & Sebastian to lift your spirits. It may have been a while since we last heard from the long-serving Glaswegian combo - A Bit of Previous, their tenth album, is also their first for seven years - but the old magic still remains. While the lyrics deal with all manner of subjects - not least the march of time and the weight of their own musical history - the accompanying music is largely triumphantly cheery, or at the very least the sonic equivalent of Prozac. As a result, standouts are plentiful, with our picks including the glassy-eyed, gospel-tinged Americana-soul fusion of 'If They're Shooting at You', the pedal steel-sporting indie-pop breeze of 'Young and Stupid' and the fuzzy, low-slung, post-punk/indie-pop fusion of 'Unnecessary Drama'.

Review: Following a string of singles on Timmion and its lesser-celebrated Stylart Records offshoot, Jonny Benavidez offers up his debut album, My Echo, Shadow & Me. In keeping with Timmion's successful formula, Benavidez is accompanied by the label's sensational (and undeniably authentic-sounding) house band, Cold Diamond & Mink, for a stroll through alternatively loved-up, heartbroken and irresistibly funky soul songs inspired by records from the 1960s. It's a winning formula all told, made even more special and rewarding not by Cold Diamond & Mink's backing and production - which is as good as ever - but the sensationally soulful and sensitive nature of Benavidez's voice.

Review: Having previously successfully turned her hand to house and disco - many of our top pop performers have always been shapeshifting musical magpies (hello Madonna) - Beyonce Knowles Carter has now delved into the world of country music. No doubt you'll be bored of the endless discourse around Cowboy Carter, but that doesn't stop it from being a genuinely good album - a brilliant fusion of neo-soul, r&b and, yes, country music instrumentation that wisely leaves Beyonce's incredible voice front and centre. There are some genuinely notable covers - see her takes on the Beatles 'Blackbird' and Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' (featuring an introduction from her Dollyness) stand out - but the most striking songs are by and large her own work. For proof, see 'American Requiem', 'Most Wanted' (with Miley Cyrus), 'Sweet Honey Buckin' (with Shaboozy) and 'Tyrant'.

Review: Beyonce joins Drake in the house-via-Baltimore club 'renaissance', which has seen to a good deal of major hip-hop & R&B artists working in the styles over the course of entire albums and mixtapes. This being the queen of pop's first album in over six years, some naysayers say songs like 'Break My Soul' (filled with 90s organ and downtempo kicks and snares a-la Robin S) and 'Energy' (packed with batida stylings) are paint-by-numbers, but we beg to differ; for Beyonce, it's a polyglot of reinventory music.

Review: Of all DJ duos currently operating in British dance music, Belfast boys Bicep might be the hardest to pin down (Optimo aside, of course). Certainly, this debut album is not easy to pigeonhole, though it is an enjoyably cohesive listen. This is largely down to two factors; the frequent use of deliciously colorful and loved-up synthesizer parts, and the duo's innate ability to utilize beats tailor-made for dancefloor devastation. So while keen dancefloor historians may notice sly (and not so subtle) nods to '89 rave, U.S house and garage, Italo-disco, late '90s progressive house, jungle and early British hardcore, the album never sounds anything less than a fine set of Bicep tracks. Expect it to be one of the biggest albums of the year.

Review: Saxophonist Binker Golding and Moses Boyd made a huge impression with their earliest collaborative releases, winning the 'Best U.K Jazz Act' gong at the 2016 Jazz FM Awards. Their periodic albums since, which explore improvised and semi-improvised free-jazz territory, have been uniformly excellent and their latest, the duo's first for two years, is no exception. They recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, under the supervision of GRAMMY-winning producer Hugh Padgam, with guest Max Luthert joining in with tape loops and electronics. The result is a magical set full of alternately dreamy and alien-sounding electronic textures, loose-limbed, impeccably recorded jazz drums (you feel like you're sat behind the drum kit, such is the quality of the stereo panning) and winding, expressive, often lengthy sax improvisations. Magical music!

Review: Since debuting in 2006, Italian singer Mario Biondi has skipped between styles and sub-genres, variously turning his hand to carnival-ready Latin jazz, soul-jazz, easy listening, Europop, Christmas music and bossanova. On Romantic, his latest full-length excursion, he keeps his options open too, offering up a range of loved-up songs (in both English and Italian) that variously doff a cap to Nat King Cole, big band jazz, jazz-funk, Barry White (the Love Unlimited Orchestra style 'Romantic Song'), string-laden tear-jerkers ('Loneliness'), funked-up disco-jazz ('What's Your Name'), Rhodes-heavy soul (a gospel-influenced cover of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' that's worth the admission price on its own) and breezy Latin beats ('Papa Loves Mambo').

Review: Norwegian ambient veteran Biosphere has enjoyed something of a renaissance of late, thanks in no small part to a series of essential reissues of his 1990s work. His latest release, "The Senja Recordings", is not a reissue, though, but rather his most significant and extensive new album in years. Icy, windswept and atmospheric, it was apparently recorded during extended stays on a Norwegian island over the course of four years. There's plenty of sparse, dark ambient material, of course, but also plenty of distorted but quietly melodic compositions that mirror the loneliness of his remote surroundings. He brings us closer than ever to those surroundings via extensive use of field recordings made during his time on the island, something that only enhances the listening experience.

Review: As Biosphere, Norwegian producer Geir Jenssen pretty much defined a whole genre of ambient music across several seminal albums. In 2011, his N Plants outing was another critically acclaimed one that took inspiration from the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Every track on the album is named after a Japanese nuclear plant and features a warm, diffuse glow that never leaves you. Rhythms are suggested by the rippling of synths or tumbling of chords as distant hues, soft glow keys and fuzzy vinyl crackle all bring each track to life in a way that makes it as good in the foreground as the background.

Review: Geir Jennsen returns as Biosphere, one of the most enduring names in Norwegian electronic music and by now synonymous with elegant, plaintive ambient of the highest calibre. Inland Delta is made up of nine new musical pieces recorded between 2022 and 2023, primarily focused on improvised performance on a range of vintage keyboards recently restored to pristine condition. As lead track 'Franklin's Dream' demonstrates, there's space for traditional piano as well as the looming drones we know and love Biosphere for, all composed on the fly with a keen sense of harmony that comes from Jenssen's vast experience in this corner of experimental music.

Review: In interviews promoting Fossora, her tenth album, Bjork joked that it started life as "her Clarinet album" - a nod to the set's extensive (and sometimes experimental) use of regular and bass clarinet instrumentation. Really, though, it's her lockdown album, and one partly inspired by the grief she felt following the passing of her mother in 2018. In many ways it's an astonishing set, with the Icelandic artist adding her own distinctive lyrics and vocals - still effortlessly emotional and addictive after all these years - to tracks that brilliantly fuse, mix and mangle red-lined tribal drums, fuzzy IDM style electronics, brass band arrangements, jazz instrumentation and, on the inspired title track, increasingly intense, break-neck dancefloor rhythms that tend towards the gabber end of the spectrum. Unusual, entertaining and utterly beguiling; it's another brilliant album from a genuine one-off.

Review: Since they emerged in 2019, there's been a fair amount of hype around Black Country, New Road, with one noted media outlet calling them, "the best band in the world right now". While that might be a little over-the-top, there's no doubting that they're a unique proposition - as this much-anticipated debut album on Ninja Tune proves. Stylistically, they're hard to pin down, variously fusing post-punk guitars, fuzzy Stereolab synths and folksy strings with thoughtful, story-telling spoken word vocals (think Arab Strap), restless bass guitar and drums and sax sounds that have more in common with the more experimental end of jazz than alternative rock. It's an usual mixture, but a hugely alluring and surprisingly coherent one. For The First Time is, then, a genuinely impressive debut album.

Review: Originally released in 2005, Silenced captures the essence of The Black Dog's enigmatic allure, transporting listeners to otherworldly realms with its lush, tuneful compositions and angular genius. Each track on the album is a testament to the group's unparalleled ability to surprise and entrance, evoking a sense of both unease and beauty. For fans of The Black Dog, Silenced serves as a welcome treat, while also serving as an entry point for those new to the group's mesmerising soundscapes. Definitelt one of their best full length albums yet to date.

Review: During The Black Keys surprise revival of recent years, much of their music has been produced by Dangermouse. While he played no role on the duo's new album, Ohio Players - their 12th in total - his influence remains in the inventiveness of the production. The pair's new-found love of collaboration remains too, with Beck credited as co-writer on roughly half of the album's tracks. His influence is obvious in the funkiness and fuzz-fuelled psychedelia of 'This Is Nowhere' and 'Don't Let Me Go', as well as the quirky, horn-sporting cheeriness of 'Beautiful People (Stay High)' and the low-slung, effortlessly funky indie-rap hedonism of 'Paper Crown' (where he appears on vocals alongside Juicy J. The band's wholehearted love of hip-hop is also explored on the excellent Lil Noid collaboration 'Candy & Her Friends'.

Review: During recent interviews, James Blake framed Playing Robots Into Heaven, his sixth album, as a kind of return to his club roots - an idea borne out by his decision to structure the album as a kind of imaginary "night out raving". Of course, this is Blake we're talking about, and while the album does lean heavily on the post-dubstep sound that made him famous (which itself drew as much from experimental electronica and outsider pop as dubstep, house or techno), it's not like he's suddenly turned into Ben UFO, Scuba or Mala. It's a highly enjoyable album, though, and one that combines his most familiar and cherished elements - heavily treated, emotive vocals, piano motifs, woozy electronics and ghostly chords - with grooves rooted in techno, house and UK bass. If you're a fan, you'll love it.

Review: Bleachers return with their self-titled new album, released via Dirty Hit. Following up their debut album Strange Desire in 2014, the band are seen to continue building on a huge, passionate following across three studio albums, renowned for their impressive live show and infectious camaraderie. There's a rich depth to the sound on Bleachers, laid out in bright, soulful technicolour. The album is frontman Antonoff's distinctly New Jersey take on the bizarre sensory contradictions of modern life, on his position in culture, and the things he cares about. Sonically, it's sad, it's joyful, it's music for driving on the highway to, for crying to and for dancing to at weddings. There's something reassuringly touchable and concrete about its sentiment: exist in crazy times but remember what counts.

Review: Blink 182 were one of the biggest bands of their era - the chart bothering pop-rock act that had their most famous hit used in the legendary American Pie movie and cement their status as teen faves forever. As much as their old albums remain favourites with fans, One More Time is a brand new work from the reunited outfit and one made by the band's classic lineup of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker. Arriving after a battle with lymphoma and a plane crash for their colective ranks, those issues are what brought the band back together and are addressed across this great return to form

Review: The traditonal way to start a review of any Micko Westmoreland release - and with as is to point out that he's best known for playing Jack Fairey in the mock glam documentary Velvet Goldmine, but with a second strong album in his new, flanked -by-legends incarnation and some highly memorable video promos featuring a succession of alternativ ecomedy greats, that could well be changing. Expect spiky English podst-punk songwriting a la XTC or even Pulp, with recent singles 'Autosexual' and 'What's In A Name' (which includes guest vocals from Kevin Eldon numbering among the highligths.

Review: NYC quartet Body Meta is an interesting proposition. The Work is Slow, their debut album, is tricky to pigeonhole, with the band drawing on their disparate pasts as musicians within the experimental, post-rock, jazz-rock and fusion scenes to deliver winding, unfurling instrumentals that flit between fuzzy, freewheeling intensity and glistening, slow-burn beauty. There's much to enjoy amongst the six tracks on show, from the discordant alt-rock experimentation of 'Horse Flower Storm/Fabuloso', and the squally riffs/mind-altering heaviness of 'Bullitt', to the jazz-flecked, groove-laden psychedelia of 'Rice Tea' and the sun-bright loveliness of 'Ribbon'.

Review: Simon Greene aka. Bonobo is set to put forth yet another album from his own personal ether; 'Fragments' was born from actual sonic 'fragments' that were later repurposed into twelve full 'sonic affirmations'. A later escape into the wilds of California's deserts formed the bulk of this album's downtempo magnum opi; watch out for collabs with a foray of world-downtempo electronica acts including Jamila Woods, O'Flynn and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. One of his most heartfelt albums, expect all from lilting future garage ('Rosewood') to rave-nostalgic slow builds.

Review: 'Moonage Daydream' is the latest addition to the Bowie franchise; an epic film of never-seen-before Bowie footage, recolourised and repackaged to form an experimental cinematic odyssey for today's generation of art rock lovers. The soundtrack sees an insta-release to complement the launch of Parlophone's new digital streaming service; it's got an exclusive early version of 'Hunky Dory' in there, as well as a live version of 'Rock n' Roll With Me'. A kaleidoscopic LP from the master of reinvention, posthumously reinventing himself once more.

Review: The jazz and broken beat revival continues apace as we race through 2019, so original pioneers of the sound are rightly coming back into focus. Enter the Brand New Heavies, one of the key acts of the mid-eighties who sound as good on this brand new album as ever. It's littered with funk-licked pop, crystalline acid jazz and singalong songs that range from tender ballads to soaring soul. Angie Stone, Beverley Knight and other vocalists lend their tones along the way, but importantly TBNH is not a revival or self-satisfied celebration. Instead, it feels like a forward-looking and accomplished album that takes the band in subtle new directions.

Review: When tasked with compiling his first After Dark compilation for eight years, musical font-of-all-knowledge Bill Brewster decided to go "slow and low", picking an impressively eclectic collection of low-tempo outings old and new. The results are undeniably impressive, with Brewster serving up an entertaining and eye-opening mixture of twinkling, jazz-flecked electronica (T.O.E), synth-laden proto-Balearic dreaminess (Island Band), Weatherall-esque dark disco psychedelia (Brewster's Hotel Motel project remixing Jeb Loy Nichols), squelchy nu-disco deepness (Ray Mang dubbing out Khruangbin), acid-flecked revivalist proto-house (Rhythm Plate), little-known, 80s soul era synth-pop (Debbie & The Code), future Balearic anthems (Nail re-editing Gilbert O'Sullivan), saucer-eyed, piano-sporting space house (Gus Patterson) and ultra-deep electro (Carl Finlow). As usual, Brewster has largely avoided familiar favourites, instead showcasing obscurities that deserve wider attention.

Review: Surgeon and Regis have been collaborating as British Murder Boys for decades, though in recent times it's tended to take the form of occasional live performances. Like their previous album, 2014's "Live In Tokyo", "Fire In The Still Air" is a non-stop recording of a live performance - in this case one that formed part of Berlin's Atonal Festival last August. It's a thrilling and largely breathless excursion; a non-stop, 51-minute ride in which Surgeon handles beats and electronics, and Regis processed sounds and growling, gravel-voiced vocals. The duo's techno credentials shine through, of course, but it's their industrial and EBM inspirations that come to the fore throughout. For much of the set, they come across like an updated, techno-propelled re-incarnation of early '80s Cabaret Voltaire, and that's not a bad thing at all.

Review: British Sea Power's Do You Like Rock Music? is a triumphant exploration of anthemic rock soundscapes. Released in 2008, the album captures the band's distinctive blend of indie rock, post-punk, and art-rock influences. The tracks unfold with a dynamic energy, featuring soaring guitar riffs, atmospheric arrangements, and emotionally charged lyrics. Standout songs like 'Waving Flags' showcase their ability to create powerful, stadium-worthy moments, while the album as a whole exemplifies British Sea Power's penchant for crafting a cohesive sonic journey. As such this record solidified the band's reputation for delivering ambitious and compelling musical narratives, and this deluxe version contains an additional ten tracks culled from radio sessions and B-sides.

Review: The highly anticipated follow-up to 2019's old school Q-Tip executively produced Uknowhatimsayin? and the 2023 Scaring The Hoes collab tape with alternative hip-hop savant JPEGMAFIA, Quaranta (Spanish for 40) shall serve as the next solo full-length from the hero that is Danny Brown. A "spiritual bookend" to Brown's 2011 breakthrough success XXX, which correlated with the MC hitting his 30th birthday, this latest batch features both a dynamic collection of producers such as Skywlk, The Alchemist and Quelle Chris, while also boasting features from some of the most underrated voices in the game like Bruiser Wolf, and MIKE. Conceptually, Brown appears poised to take us on a lyrical and sonic sojourn across his expansive success ever since he knocked the scene's door down decades ago.

Review: When he first rose to prominence as a progressive house artist in the mid 1990s, Brian "BT" Transeau was something of a trailblazer: a classically trained artist who created a mixture of grandiose ambient compositions and dancefloor fare smothered in spiraling orchestration. "Between Here & You", his latest album, falls in the former category, offering an evocative journey through ambient sound worlds every bit as alluring as his earliest work. Tracks drift, pulse and slowly unfurl, with Transeau mixing subtle orchestration and disconnected female voices with impeccably atmospheric electronics and copious amounts of reverb and delay. In other words, its horizontal music that's best enjoyed with the lights off and your eyes closed.

Review: Of all the artists past and present who claim to let their music do their talking for them, Burial is one of the elite band of whom this truly is the case. In fact, so reluctant is he to engage with the cult-of-personality hoopla that surrounds almost every modern producer and musician of merit, that he remains a genuine recluse; he has never appeared live, only one obliquely-angled publicity photograph is known to exist, and the number of interviews he has given can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Yet despite this, his music speaks loud and wide, and the world has been listening ever since his 'South London Boroughs' EP debut on Hyperdub in March 2005. His eponymous album, which began life as a low-key release in May 2006, is now widely regarded as the benchmark release of the ever-widening dubstep genre, picking up unanimous critical acclaim along the way, and ending the year heavily featured in many 'best of' polls. Now Burial returns with 'Untrue', a new record of weird soul music, which lovingly processes spectral female voices into vaporised R&B and smudged 2step garage. Vocal lines are blurred, smeared, pitched up pitched down and pitch bent until their content is cast adrift from their original context and they whisper their saccharin sweet nothings into the void. The album continues with the debut's crackle-drenched yearning and bustling syncopations, haunted by the ghosts of rave, but also reveals some new Burial treats with a more glowing, upbeat energy. Kicking off with the skittering 2step syncopations and vocal science of 'Archangel', 'Near Dark' and 'Ghost Hardware', before long it descends into a space of radiant divas and ambience. Where 'Burial' first was humid, suffocating and unrelentingly sad, 'Untrue' is less sunless. Many of the tracks are so sweet, they become toxic, underscored by the almost geological rumbles of growling basslines. Unlike the overpoweringly melancholic prevailing mood of before, Burial's sound is now better defined as a downcast euphoria typified by the epic, muted optimism of the album's last track 'Raver'. Forget central heating the radioactivity of this album is all that you'll need to keep you warm this winter. 'Untrue' is available as full 13 track digipack CD, including recent underground hit 'Ghost Hardware', and 9 track DJ friendly double vinyl set, from which some of the beatless pieces have been edited.

Review: As you'd expect given his profile and position within hip-hop, Busta Rhymes eleventh studio album - his first for three years - is something of an all-star affair. The set's panel of executive producers boasts Timbaaland, Swizz Beats and Pharrell Williams, while the impressive roll call of guest MCs, singers and producers includes Giggs, Young Thug, Shenseea, T-Pain and Burna Boy. It has the feel of a celebration of his legacy and work, with s guests delivering hard-hitting lyrics and thoughtful flows over backing tracks that flit between sparse, distorted heaviness (recent single 'Beach Ball'), snappy, horn-sporting post-crunk weightiness ('OK') and G-funk influenced future party jams ('Luxury Life', with its aquatic P-funk bass and dusty, golden era drums).

Review: Past Inside The Present welcomes the excellent pairing of Brock Van Wey aka Bvdub and vocalists and instrumentalist Lacey Harris aka Inquiri for a brilliantly escapist new ambient EP, Destroyesterday. They combine to majestic effect with 'All The Weight Of The World' a swirling soundtrack with vocals floating amidst the melancholic pads. 'Alone In Crimson' is more textural and suspenseful and 'Please Let Go & Let Me Hold You' then has the spoken word vocals front and centre as intense synth crescendos sweep you up. The title cut is a hypnagogic delight that leaves you adrift in your own dreams.

Review: Glacial Movements is the perfectly named home for this collaborative album between San Francisco-based musician and sound artist Brock Van Wey aka Bvdub and Italian sound artist Netherworld. As the title suggests, this is a record about finding the balance between the respective sounds of the two artists. And they manage it perfectly across cold and icy dub depths, wide open frozen ambient tundras and arching chords that bring beauty and light in the most slow and subtle of ways.

Review: Originally recorded and released in 1993, On The Move was the last studio album James Brown collaborator Bobby Byrd recorded during his lifetime. While it may have been recorded after Byrd's 1970s heyday, musically it offers full-throttle funk - albeit with slicker and more expansive musical arrangements - of the kind that he and Brown used to deliver in their sleep. It's a great set all told, with this (delayed) 30th anniversary edition also including instrumental versions of all eight original tracks. It also boasts a couple of rare non-album tracks recorded at the time: the slow-motion, horns-and-guitar solo laden 'Sunshine' and the effortlessly funky, low-down and addictive 'Don't Throw Your Love in the Garbage Can'.

Review: Over the last couple of years, author Justin Hopper has joined folk musician Sharron Kraus and vintage synthesizer fetishists Belbury Poly on stage to narrate sections of his 2017 novel "Old Weird Albion" - a "poetical, autobiographical and psycho-geographical account" of his experiences at Chanctonbury Ring in West Sussex. This album is, in effect, an extended re-recording of those performances, with Hopper reading choice excerpts from his book over an inspired fusion of traditional folk tropes - think recorder, flute, and drifting female vocals - atmospheric field recordings and 1970s style electronic instrumentation. Given that these synths have largely been used to re-record tudor style Baroque tunes (think "Greensleeves" and you're close), the results are not only delightfully eccentric but also admirably unique.