Squeeze have done well. They’ve worked their arses off for years and now have significant profile again, playing some of Europe’s bigger venues (such as the O2). Their latest release, then, is anticipated. It’s a fanciful rejig of a concept album the band’s central duo, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, created, pre-success, when they were teenagers in 1974. For both better and worse, it sounds that way.Trixies offers 13 snapshots of an imaginary nightclub, much flavoured by Difford’s youthful reading of Damon Runyon’s New York nightworld tales, mingled with the lowlife of their native south Read more ...

This album raises an interesting question: how many other musical artists have had as much of a career as Joshua Idehen prior to releasing their debut album proper? The Nigerian-Brit found his feet in the London poetry scene of the Noughties, just as grime was blowing up and bringing varied local vernacular into the heart of pop culture. A relentless collaborator, he has regularly made theatre, performance and video pieces as well as three albums with his band Benin City, four with Hyperdub-signed electronic duo LV, one with Californian beat scene godfather Daedelus, one in Calabashed with Read more ...

As a disillusioned ex-admirer – like so many – it’s with a degree of dread that I approach Morrissey’s 14th solo album (the first for six years) not least because of the positively Kafkaesque struggle to actually hear it. But an open mind is necessary.What if there were no axe to grind? What if the hopeless search for love had been answered? What if there were no conspiracy theories? Why, then, there would be no new album (and – let’s face it – we’re all thigh-high in conspiracy theories right now). So we must buckle up and hear what the once-great man has to opine. The hilarious album Read more ...

The Somnambulist, the debut album from Lunar & The Deception, showcases a goth-leaning rock which is imbued with a good dash of the anthemic. Take the album’s third track “Your Monsters”: while strings swirl through a guitar-based chug, the choruses are uplifting – lighters beg to be held aloft in accompaniment. Big stuff, stadium ready too and like a rockier analogue of Finland’s ever-potent HIM. If genre categorisation is needed for The Somnambulist, darkwave fits the bill.Lyrically, over its crisp 33 minutes, The Somnambulist is concerned with the lies permeating international networks Read more ...

Journalist Daniel Farson’s meteoric rise is neatly outlined on this disc, containing 14 of the short television films he presented for the fledgling ITV channel Associated-Rediffusion between 1957 and 1963. BFI archive curator William Fowler is right to compare Farson to Louis Theroux, and Farson’s ability to remain (mostly) straight-faced and respectful, no matter how outlandish the claims made by his interview subjects, is one of his most endearing qualities. There’s a telling quote from an ITV producer in the booklet accompanying this BFI release, Peter Hunt noting that Farson had “a Read more ...

Released once again in advance of International Women's Day, The Sisterhood 2 is a worthy successor to Sarah Jane Morris and Tony Rémy's celebrated 2024 album. It presents 11 more luminous portraits of female singer-songwriters – artists Morris calls her "essential lodestars" – each chosen for their excellence and originality, dual role as writer and interpreter, and artistic courage.With her fabulously rich timbral quality and storytelling gift, Morris inhabits each subject while remaining unmistakably herself. In co-writer, co-producer and guitarist Rémy she has found the ideal creative Read more ...

Catrin Finch has been at the top her field for a long time now. The Welsh harpist was appointed to the ancient office of Royal Harpist by Prince Charles in 2000, was nominated for a Classical Brit Award in 2004 and her World Music collaborations with Seckou Keita resulted in their winning the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Duo. After her three acclaimed albums with Keita, she released the striking Double You with Irish fiddler and classical violinist Aoife Ni Bhrian in 2023. And now, striking out with her first solo album in a decade, she turns to her self – in fact, to her 13-year Read more ...

Gorillaz return with The Mountain, a release that feels like a defining chapter in the band’s long evolution. After years of restless experimentation and high profile collaborations, this record sounds purposeful and reflective. It carries the playful unpredictability fans expect, yet there is a deeper emotional current running beneath the surface.From the opening moments, the album establishes a sweeping and cinematic tone. Layers of electronic production blend with organic instrumentation from Anoushka Shankar, creating a sound that feels both expansive and intimate. Elements of alternative Read more ...

“I don’t remember yesterday, but I remember when I was eight years old.” The opening lyrics of “Sure & Steady,” Gained / Lost’s second track, underline a core concern of UK indie stalwarts The Wave Pictures’ 20th (!) album: the passage of time, what can and cannot be remembered, what may or may not have a bearing on the here and now. A look at the images collected for the Exile On Main Street-style sleeve of Gained / Lost confirms what’s going on.Thematic considerations aside, The Wave Pictures have a fondness for American musical archetypes. Despite guitarist and singer David Tattersall’ Read more ...

After honing an 80s-inspired and -influenced indie sound, the solo singer-songwriter Mitski set out across the range with previous album The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We. Its rural, rustic aesthetic paired with Mitski’s exploration of love and loss.This authentic combination chimed with a huge audience, with “My Love Mine All Mine” earning almost two billion streams on Spotify, and widespread use on TikTok. The huge success can largely be explained by Mitski’s uncanny ability to frame herself in the point of view of deeply to down to earth characters, bringing to life the mundane and Read more ...

My first listen to Iron & Wine was only last year, when iconic Midwest Emo band American Football released a cover album of their now classic 1999 self-titled album. Keen to hear all of my favourite tracks reincarnated by some seemingly random, and unknown artists, I woke up on its release date to find that their most popular song “Never Meant” was covered by Samuel Beam, aka Iron & Wine. The song is literally a masterpiece, both its original and Beam’s fantastic cover, a triumph in stretching and kneading the track into something new and beautifully haunting.Hen's Teeth is Read more ...

When the debut album by ex-Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock starts, the omens are good. The opener, “Look into My Eyes”, is an electro-pop stonker with a roots reggae break at its close. So far, so tasty. Cast eyes down the track-listing and the majority of songs come in at under three minutes. Often a good sign, indicating a willingness to cut flab, keep things snappy. Such positivity lasts for a few songs, but then the album, unfortunately, settles to a bland amalgam of reggaeton and R&B that’s less persuasive.The consistent nod towards Pinnock’s Caribbean heritage is the most Read more ...