31.03.2025-TROPHY WIFE Trophy Wife (Moshi Moshi,2013)

 

INDIE ROCK

   Trophy Wife delivered their debut single back in the ebbing days of 2010, with the math rock melancholia of 'Microlite' enrapturing anyone who came in its path.

   Since then, fans have waited for a debut album. And waited. And waited. Missing, presumed 'gone', Trophy Wife faded into inaction.

   The band have finally delivered said debut LP – on the same day that they split up.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/cyd53r

30.03.2025-SUZIE UNGERLEIDER My Name Is Suzie Ungerleider (Stella/MVKA,2021)

 

FOLK

   After more than two decades as roots singer-songwriter Oh Susanna, Suzie Ungerleider disavowed that moniker due to its namesake song's association with racist imagery and a dehumanizing belief system. That change is reflected on the title of this album, a work that confirms Ungerleider's talent no matter what name she goes under.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/dotke0

29.03.2025-DRAKE Honestly,Nevermind (OVO/Republic,2022)

 

DANCE

   Drake, one of the world’s most prolific pop-rap stars, has surprise-released his seventh studio album, and it’s, er, a house record? At first glance, that might seem weird considering that the Canadian “6God” has been insistent in proving over the past decade that he’s one of the biggest and best rappers alive. But by utilising his endless experience as a melodic hitmaker and chart monster, ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ has all the makings of a summer smasher: get your Pimm’s pitchers and back garden barbecues at the ready.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/vvrjb6

27.03.2024-TREETOP FLYERS Old Habits (Loose,2021)

 

FOLK ROCK

   The Treetop Flyers’ new album, Old Habits, hums a very British tune, while “going down to old, old Woodstock”. And yes, that’s a Van Morrison lyric. Suffice it to say fans of soft, supple, and “moondance” mystical music will find a “whole lotta love” for this album. And yes (again!) it conjures the magic of Woodstock, circa 1970, when the town was the epicenter of the musical world, as Van the Man, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and even a young John Martyn (along with his pal Jed the woodchuck, who may actually be a groundhog!) were hanging out and blending a very revered Anglo blues/folk/R&B into the country soul of those hometown boys, The Band.  And during that idyll in magical up-state New York, the music was, quite simply, “slippin’ and a-slidin’’ and “peepin’ and a-hidin’.”

https://www.sendspace.com/file/tkbjdr

25.03.2025-NAKED AND FAMOUS Recover (Somewhat Damaged/AWAL,2020)

 

ELECTROPOP

   The Naked and Famous' first album since 2016, Recover, eschews the idea of a rock band. They have gone and hard-boiled their sound into something resembling modern day pop forms.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/x6tp9h

23.03.2025-WALK OFF THE EARTH Meet You There (Golden Carrot,2021)

 

INDIE POP

   Meet You There is pretty standard indie pop. All the songs have interesting pieces of production, and while most of the lyrics don’t necessarily invoke any emotion, the hooks are catchy and the songs are clearly heartfelt. Some of the highlights of the album include “Farther We Go,” “Anthem,” and “How it is.” Pretty much all of the songs on this album are about love in some capacity, and they all have moderately clever metaphors.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/w04ui6

22.03.2025-BUDOS BAND III (Daptone,2010)

 

AFROBEAT / FUNK

    The dependable retro funk outft compacts Afrobeat, Latin soul, and James Brown into brief but highly danceable instrumentals.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/j04gto

19.03.2025-WE ARE TEMPORARY Embers (Trisol,2018)

 

DARKWAVE

   Once again, Mark Roberts wraps these fragile topics in a blanket of sound that couldn't be more thrilling, extravagant, or unique. With overflowing pathos and grandeur, he unleashes a synthetic alchemy: the elegiac profundity of MIND.IN.A.BOX and the radical visions of FKA TWIGS; the vibrant weightlessness of COVENANT and the dark shimmer of FEVER RAY; the throbbing pulse of SBTRKT and the detached nonchalance of DEPECHE MODE. This is not just another electronic music record. It is the zeitgeist, flirting with the best elements of the genre: Witch House, EDM, Trip-Hop, Dream Pop, NuGoth, Post Rock or old-school electro explode into one massive burst of emotion, creativity, and vibration. Above everything else, Roberts is showcasing just how organic this music can sound when allowed room to breathe. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/s6lo3o

18.03.2025-ELECTRIC YOUTH Memory Emotion (Watts Arcade/Last Gang,2019)

 

SYNTHPOP

   Synth-pop is susceptible to stagnation. Artistic experimentation — the kind that diversifies a genre — can rarely occur when a genre has tight parameters in which artists must work to ensure listener satisfaction. Memory Emotion demonstrates this dilemma. As a result, the album is best consumed as joyful background noise.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/7fp72d

16.03.2025-LINK QUARTET & MISS MODUS Hotel Constellation (Hammondbeat,2014)

 

JAZZ

   The album is a powerful demonstration of compositional strength that makes the Link Quartet take a prodigious step forward compared to the "usual" instrumental soul funk that has always been a peculiarity of the band, among the best interpreters of the genre in the world.

From the 70's synth funk of the title track to the extreme sexy funk of blaxploitation extraction (in the Betty Davis area) of “Silhouette” , to the relaxed soul ballad “Second skin” , to the overwhelming space funk with a hint of Eumir Deodato of the final “Tears don't fall” , to the "new “Spooky” (remember Classic IV?) that seems to be the lounge beat of “Love safari” , the Hendrixian Hammond beat of “Stop calling” and “Barbarella”, it is a succession of excellent songs capable of exploding live thanks above all to the indisputable technique of the band led by Paolo Apollo Negri.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/ponb5h

15.03.2024-APSURDE Inglorious Heroes (ScentAir,2018)

 

SYNTHPOP

   APSÜRDE saw the light in 2011 with the common goal to provide the public with a complex audio-visual electronic experience. The members of the band are Ádám Szakács, Gábor Csontos and Ákos Szénási. Linda Soucz support the band from the background with her beautifully deep lyrics (and voice). Since the guys are famous for being obsessed with the electronic/synth sounds of the 80’s and 90’s their instrument arsenal includes all of the legendary equipment of the era.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/xlf877

14.03.2025-OH WONDER Oh Wonder (Island,2015)

 

INDIE POP

   While many of the songs have a somber quality, there are some hints of electronic-pop ballads. The English band is successful when it comes to creating its musical compositions. Even though most of the tracks have piano chords in them, one will hear delicate instrumentation such as a guitar, violin and percussion on a couple of the songs. Heartfelt and meaningful lyrics are what Oh Wonder depicts within its songs. Between the musical compositions and lyrics, the artists show their true potential when it comes to authentic songwriting.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/tpt37n

13.03.2025-ORWELLS Disgraceland (Atlantic,2014)

 

GARAGE ROCK

    Disgraceland sticks to a pretty simple musical formula that pays big dividends: fat hooks, catchy melodies, and a brash, too-young-to-give-a-fuck attitude that suits a band whose median age barely affords its members the right to sidle up to the bar after gigs. The album is playfully debauched fun completely stripped of the stress or baggage that can often come with the dreaded “next big thing” tag. Cuomo’s lyrics play like a detour through the mind of your typical teenage kid. “I can’t walk, and I can’t dance/ Give me a smile, then take off your pants,” he professes with cockeyed swagger on lead track “Southern Comfort”. Dumb? Absolutely, but that’s part of the charm.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/unl7lu

12.03.2025-SAN FERMIN Belong (Interscope,2017)

 

INDIE ROCK

    Don’t let the apparent lightness and accessibility of Belong fool you. Ludwig-Leone has taken some personal risks on this album, writing vulnerable tracks in which the frequently addressed ‘honey’ is not a songwriter’s cliché but a very real sweetheart, someone who could hurt and be hurt. But we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t chance it.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/yhzgss

09.03.2025-VACCINES What Did You Expect From The Vaccines (Columbia,2011)

 

INDIE ROCK

   The Vaccines’ debut does a wonderful thing – it reminds you that guitar music still works. Hurtling Libs-y choruses can still alter your body chemistry, make you want to wade recklessly into a moshpit, chase a girl, shove your best friend round a dancefloor. It’s the sound of youth. It’s not shameful or old hat, or worn out or exhausted. It’s indie rock, and The Vaccines do it better than any young British band has done in years.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/u37r8w

08.03.2025-WAXAHATCHEE Out In The Storm (Merge,2017)

 

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

   Katie Crutchfield's Waxahatchee project has evolved significantly since its inception, and Out in the Storm marks the furthest departure so far from her solo, lo-fi 2012 debut American Weekend. The followup to 2015's pop-leaning Ivy Tripp, Out in the Storm hears Crutchfield unleashing her first effort recorded in a proper studio, with a full band and under the guidance of producer John Agnello. Unsurprisingly, the results are some of Crutchfield's biggest rock'n'roll anthems yet.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/sv32do

07.03.2025-SILJE NERGAARD Houses (Masterworks/Sony,2021)

 

JAZZ

     For more than twenty-five years, Nergaard has been a leading jazz vocalist in her native Norway, with fifteen albums also gaining her an international reputation as one of the world’s most celebrated singer-songwriters. Houses is a genuine high-carat release filled with music and lyrics themed around a concept album exploring the ideas of hopes, dreams, love, and a longing for the future. The lyrics are deeply affecting as they stir the emotions while invariably communicating a note of genuine optimism.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/0ogm8z

06.03.2025-WHISPERING SONS Image (PIAS,2018)

 

POST-PUNK

   Among the best and hottest names in post-punk, Whispering Sons have an open field to experiment with darkwave and shoegaze and they do so upon a very steady flying rocket, with polished engines and the needed grooves along with all the required musical brain-waves. Their debut is a must-listen-to LP – an intense record filled with original passion and certainty.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/9o9a38

05.03.2025-ANBB Mimikry (Raster-Noton,2010)

 

EXPERIMENTAL

   Mimikry is the product of a long-mooted collaboration between electronic prodigy Alva Noto, aka Carsten Nicolai, and Einstürzende Neubauten founder and former Bad Seeds guitarist Blixa Bargeld. As if such a match wasn't enough, two tracks feature the vocals of artist, model and actor Veruschka. Idiosyncratic in subject matter and by turns melodic, forlorn and disturbingly intense, Mimikry is a masterpiece that will surely prove to be this year's most fascinating alliance.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/iubdag

04.03.2025-AKKORD Akkord (Houndstooth,2013)

 

DUBSTEP

   Even if it's not what they intended, the music that Synkro and Indigo make as Akkord feels like a response to the recent ubiquity of lo-fi house and techno. The project was initially presented anonymously, which makes sense—like Raster-Noton, their music is so pristine it's almost faceless. The two Mancunians have always leaned on techno as their biggest reference point, and over time they've inched closer and closer toward a traditional idea of the genre. Their debut album brings them closer still. Akkord is a fiercely technical take on dance music, one that you could dance to or simply admire in all its steel-plated glory.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/clohje

02.03.2025-VANESSA DAOU Make You Love (EMI,2000)

 

TRIP HOP

    Vanessa Daou’s solo debut, Zipless, was structured entirely around poet Erica Jong’s Becoming Light, leaving Daou to prove herself as a songwriter for the remainder of her career. Six years and four albums later, Daou’s Make You Love plods along with the singer’s signature breathy monotony as she tries to recapture her past glories (with two tracks based on Jong poems) but never once attempting anything fresh. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/r3x3q6

01.03.2025-JESSICA 6 See The Light (Peacefrog,2011)

 

DANCE

    Brooklyn trio Jessica 6’s newest release, See the Light, shows us an incredibly fresh take on R&B and the very subtle touch a genre can add to a band. The almost hypnotic synth, and the deep soothing voice of the vocalist Ruiz really creates an atmosphere worth experiencing.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/bjvjkd