Island Schallplatten & CDs

Review: It seems astonishing that 17 years have passed - and much water flowed under the proverbial bridge - since Dizzee Rascal released his groundbreaking debut album, Boy In Da Corner. The man himself seems to think so too, because E3 AF, his seventh album, sees him return to his East London roots via a set that's every bit as vibrant, inventive and exciting as his breakthrough debut. His rhymes - and those of the numerous guest MCs littered throughout the set - are naturally on-point, dexterous and lyrically inventive, while the beats they ride expand Dizzee's original raw, bass-heavy grime blueprint via nods to trap, UK garage, dubstep and dancehall. As many critics have pointed out, the result is the Bow-raised mic man's best album in years.

Review: It seems astonishing that 17 years have passed - and much water flowed under the proverbial bridge - since Dizzee Rascal released his groundbreaking debut album, Boy In Da Corner. The man himself seems to think so too, because E3 AF, his seventh album, sees him return to his East London roots via a set that's every bit as vibrant, inventive and exciting as his breakthrough debut. His rhymes - and those of the numerous guest MCs littered throughout the set - are naturally on-point, dexterous and lyrically inventive, while the beats they ride expand Dizzee's original raw, bass-heavy grime blueprint via nods to trap, UK garage, dubstep and dancehall. As many critics have pointed out, the result is the Bow-raised mic man's best album in years.

Review: Talk about airing your dirty laundry in public. Real-life couple Anthony and Josephine Vander West advocate inviting others to observe your process of self-redemption on their latest outing as Oh Wonder. Although not necessarily made in the pandemic, 22 Make is the direct product of what happened to this ace, unarguably shiny but always innovative alt-pop tag-team when the music stopped. Or at least when touring halted. Suddenly finding themselves facing a very different world, and a much more closed-off and isolated reality in which new experiences were hard to come by and they really only had themselves for comfort, the make or break situation very nearly resulted in the latter. Hence last year's 22 Break LP. This is the follow up, which explains, through their rousing but often delicate brand of nice melodic stuff, how the relationship was saved and new levels of appreciation for each other were fostered and cemented.

Review: Complementing the EDM trio's latest world tour 'Paradise Again', this charts the best of the supergroup's latest music following their prophesied split. Nevermind 'Don't You Worry Child' or 'Save The World'; this is a completely original affair, with monumental features from The Weeknd, Ty Dolla $ign and ASAP Rocky. A surprise to most fans following their nearly decade-long hiatus, this is not one to be missed, featuring an update in sound and their most energetic sonics to date. We came, we raved, we loved.