wed 15/10/2025

New releases on CD & DVD

Moroccan Gnawa comes to Manhattan with 'Saha Gnawa'

Tim Cumming

A mix of tradition and Afrofuturism, acoustic and electronic, east and west fumigating in a cauldron of rhythms, chants, solo explorations and full ensemble blow-outs, Saha Gnawa (on New York's Pique-Nique label) draws on the example of Essaouira’s annual Festival Gnaoua, which brings together jazz masters and Gnawa maalems on stage.

Blu-ray: The Man in the White Suit

Graham Rickson

The best Ealing comedies are surely the three darkest: specifically Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Ladykillers and The Man in the White Suit. The latter pair were helmed by Alexander Mackendrick, a cosmopolitan director who’d arrived at the studios with a thorough understanding of trends in mainstream European and American cinema.

Soulwax’s 'All Systems Are Lying' lays...

Guy Oddy

It’s seven years since the Belgian brothers Dewaele unleashed their fine, largely instrumental and foot-stomping Essential album on the world, but...

Album: Mobb Deep - Infinite

Ibi Keita

Eight years after Prodigy’s untimely passing, Mobb Deep are gracing our sound systems once again with unreleased vocals and brand new music. With...

Album: Boz Scaggs - Detour

Mark Kidel

Boz Scaggs rarely does a less than wonderful album. His latest is an exemplary collection of smooth and soulful standards and a few other choice...

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Emily A. Sprague realises a Japanese dream on 'Cloud Time'

Joe Muggs

A set of live improvisations that drift in and out of real beauty

Hollie Cook's 'Shy Girl' isn't heavyweight but has a summery reggae lilt

Thomas H Green

Tropical-tinted downtempo pop that's likeable if uneventful

Pop Will Eat Itself's 'Delete Everything' is noisy but patchy

Thomas H Green

Despite unlovely production, the Eighties/Nineties unit retain rowdy ebullience

Odd times and clunking lines in 'The Life of a Showgirl' for Taylor Swift

Joe Muggs

A record this weird should be more interesting, surely

Waylon Jennings' 'Songbird' raises this country great from the grave

Tim Cumming

The first of a trove of posthumous recordings from the 1970s and early 1980s

Slovenian avant-folk outfit Širom’s 'In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper' opens the door to inner space

Kieron Tyler

Unconventional folk-based music which sounds like nothing else

'The Art of Loving': Olivia Dean's vulnerable and intimate second album

Tom Carr

Neo soul Londoner's new release outgrows her debut

Doja Cat's 'Vie' starts well but soon tails off

Thomas H Green

While it contains a few goodies, much of the US star's latest album lacks oomph

Mariah Carey is still 'Here for It All' after an eight-year break

Joe Muggs

Schmaltz aplenty but also stunning musicianship from the enduring diva

Album: Solar Eyes - Live Freaky! Die Freaky!

Guy Oddy

Psychedelic indie dance music with a twinkle in its eye

Album: Night Tapes - portals//polarities

Kieron Tyler

Estonian-voiced, London-based electro-popsters' debut album marks them as one to watch for

Album: Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu Plays Mulatu

Sebastian Scotney

An album full of life, coinciding with a 'farewell tour'

Album: Robert Plant - Saving Grace

Mark Kidel

Mellow delight from former Zep lead

Album: Biffy Clyro - Futique

Tom Carr

Scottish alternative rock trio return with elegant, balanced 10th album

Album: NewDad - Altar

Graham Fuller

The hard-gigging trio yearns for old Ireland – and blasts music biz exploitation

Album: The Divine Comedy - Rainy Sunday Afternoon

Guy Oddy

Neil Hannon takes stock, and the result will certainly keep his existing crowd happy

Blu-ray: The Sons of Great Bear

Graham Rickson

DEFA's first 'Red Western': a revisionist take on colonial expansion

Album: Twenty One Pilots - Breach

Tom Carr

Ohio mainstream superstar duo wrap up their 10 year narrative

Album: Ed Sheeran - Play

Thomas H Green

A mound of ear displeasure to add to the global superstar's already gigantic stockpile

Album: Motion City Soundtrack - The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World

Ellie Roberts

A solid return for the emo veterans

Album: Baxter Dury - Allbarone

Kathryn Reilly

The don diversifies into disco

Album: Yasmine Hamdan - I Remember I Forget بنسى وبتذكر

Kieron Tyler

Paris-based Lebanese electronica stylist reacts to current-day world affairs

Blu-ray: The Sweeney - Series One

Graham Rickson

Influential and entertaining 1970s police drama, handsomely restored

Album: Josh Ritter - I Believe in You, My Honeydew

Thomas H Green

The alt-country singer's latest isn't consistent but does hit highs

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