Island Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Leeds indie stars English Teacher serve up a fantastic debut album here with 'This Could Be Texas'. Preceding hits 'The World's Biggest Paving Slab', 'Nearly Daffodils' and 'Mastermind Specialism' have all topped BBC 6 Music playlists and helped build the band quite the following. Their rise continued to soar after they appeared on Later With...Jools Holland, and they have since played a sold-out UK and US tour. Lead singer Lily Fontaine's vision for the album was "an odyssey to space, revealing Doncaster's likeness. It's about navigating in-betweens, cherishing home, and tracing Desire Paths." Fontaine reflects on being mixed-race in post-Brexit several times throughout the album and it comes here on lovely green vinyl.

Review: Unstoppable next-gen junglist Nia Archives presents Silence Is Loud, her forthcoming debut album following an introductory onslaught of bangers such as 'Crowded Roomz'.AIn keeping with the contemporary torch-bearer's take on jungle, Archives' sound is cuter and, dare we say, more original than many Terminator-helmeted old-heads would dare allow themselves. Lead single 'Silence Is Loud' demonstrates this as much, with its expository beat drop marking a return to and cogent awareness of, jungle tekno, with its 4x4 undergird topped up by a floaty trip-hop vocal line, its lyrics evoking city reminiscences and staying afloat in troubled times. Promising both banger delivery and sentiment, Silence Is Loud is poised to pave the way for the very next incarnation jungle.

Review: Nia Archives has burst through and made a gigantic impact that now stands her at the forefront of the latest jungle era, and pretty much has done since she first made waves in 2020. Her collagist soundscapes have brought an all new sense of energy and rejuvenation to the genre that has in turn brought in plenty of new fans. While some may label her a revivalist, she emphasises that that aspect of the genre has never really gone away. The 24-year-old's debut album has been much anticipated by fans who have fallen in love with her weightless jungle tracks and intense basslines and they aren't let down here as those sounds resonate throughout.