Cappella Mariana, Constantinople: Pilgrimage review – Kryštof Harant’s 1600 adventure reimagined
by Fiona Maddocks on 30 November 2024 at 12:00
(Supraphon)The Czech nobleman and composer’s journey from Bohemia to Jerusalem is the inspiration for this rewarding cross-cultural album Continue reading…
Papa M: Ballads of Harry Houdini review – committed to evolution
by Kitty Empire on 29 November 2024 at 12:00
Cult American musician David Pajo’s latest solo outing reflects his recent troubles but also his restless desire to change things up Continue reading…
Father John Misty: Mahashmashana review – a superb chronicler of life’s perverseness
by Lisa Wright on 29 November 2024 at 11:30
(Bella Union)Josh Tillman ties together the misery, wit and showmanship of his previous albums on a set laced with strings and swagger Continue reading…
Kendrick Lamar: GNX review – amply backed-up grandstanding
by Kitty Empire on 29 November 2024 at 11:00
(PGLang/Interscope)Fresh from his feud with Drake, the US hip-hop star’s latest album finds him on imperious form Continue reading…
The Innocence Mission: Midwinter Swimmers review – lo-fi soft focus on the beauty of everyday life
by Dave Simpson on 29 November 2024 at 09:00
(Bella Union)The married duo’s 13th album was made to evoke ‘the half-remembered singalongs of our 1970s childhoods’, and is full of rich sensory songwriting Continue reading…
Auntie Flo: In My Dreams (I’m a Bird and I’m Free) review | Global album of the month
by Ammar Kalia on 29 November 2024 at 08:30
(A State of Flo Records)Brian d’Souza’s genre-crossing curiosity takes him from propulsive disco to nursery-rhyme melodies and Tiësto-worthy trance Continue reading…
Schubert, Ter Schiphorst, Andre album review – something old, something new
by Andrew Clements on 28 November 2024 at 18:26
Steger/Kuss Quartet(Rubicon)Alongside a rather brittle Death and the Maiden, contemporary composers Iris ter Schiphorst adds a recorder to a string quartet while Marc Andre’s miniatures study textures Continue reading…
Hasse: Serpentes Ignei in Deserto album review – dazzling performances bring this oratorio of snakes on a plain to life
by Andrew Clements on 28 November 2024 at 18:11
Jaroussky/Orliński/De Sá/Lezhneva/Les Accents/Noally(Erato, two CDs)Thibault Noally captures the exuberance of Hasse’s 18th-century ‘church opera’ originally written for female voices Continue reading…
Lauren Mayberry: Vicious Creature review – Chvrches singer writes her own pop gospel
by Alexis Petridis on 28 November 2024 at 12:00
(EMI)The Scottish star’s solo debut is about ‘empowering myself to listen to my own intuition’ – leading her to alternately clumsy and deft songs influenced by Y2K pop Continue reading…
Kendrick Lamar: GNX review – stunning surprise from a rapper determined to be the greatest
by Alexis Petridis on 25 November 2024 at 16:14
(PGLang/Interscope) After his beef with Drake, Lamar expands his list of targets with enthralling rhymes and adventurous arrangements. At this point, he’s deferring only to God Continue reading…
Howells & Wood: Quartets album review – early and late-flowering first world war string quartets
by Fiona Maddocks on 23 November 2024 at 12:00
London Chamber Ensemble(Somm)Lost on a train and reconstructed, Herbert Howells’s youthful String Quartet No 3 is paired with the String Quartet No 6 by his teacher, Charles Wood Continue reading…
Silkroad Ensemble With Rhiannon Giddens: American Railroad review – homage to a forgotten army of workers
by Neil Spencer on 22 November 2024 at 12:00
(Nonesuch)The collective and their artistic director’s classy multimedia project highlights the lives lost and land snatched away in building the US transcontinental railroad Continue reading…
Michael Kiwanuka: Small Changes review – an exquisite return
by Damien Morris on 22 November 2024 at 11:30
(Polydor)Five years on from his self-titled Mercury winner, the singer-songwriter scales things down to potent effect Continue reading…
Kim Deal: Nobody Loves You More review – a solo debut worth waiting for
by Kitty Empire on 22 November 2024 at 11:00
(4AD)The Pixies and Breeders musician’s distinctive touch is ever present on a set that spans heartbreak, good times and strident guitars Continue reading…
Lars Danielsson/Verneri Pohjola/John Parricelli: Trio review | John Fordham’s jazz album of the month
by John Fordham on 22 November 2024 at 09:00
(ACT/Edition Palmer)Bassist Danielsson, guitarist Parricelli and trumpeter Pohjola combine folksy melodies, Latin grooves and free-roaming improv on this lustrous album Continue reading…
Jeff Parker & ETA IVtet The Way Out of Easy review – a captivating, unhurried ebb and flow
by Ammar Kalia on 16 November 2024 at 16:00
(International Anthem)Recorded in a single evening, the American guitarist and his LA bandmates revel in trading ideas and moods over four extended pieces Continue reading…
Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith and Fables review – Dolly digs deep
by Lisa Wright on 15 November 2024 at 12:00
(Owepar)Ranging from archive recordings with now departed elders to new tracks made with young relatives, the country star’s latest project is nothing if not exhaustive Continue reading…
Shawn Mendes: Shawn review – a candid, stripped-back return
by Michael Cragg on 15 November 2024 at 11:30
(EMI)Regrouping after some time out, the Canadian singer-songwriter adopts a sparser, folk rock approach, yet shines best in honeyed pop mode Continue reading…
070 Shake: Petrichor review – maxes out on heightened feelings
by Kitty Empire on 15 November 2024 at 11:00
(Def Jam/Good Music)The one-time rapper unleashes howling guitars, weeping strings and OTT vocals – including those of Courtney Love – on her overcooked third album Continue reading…
Merope: Véjula review | Jude Rogers’ folk album of the month
by Jude Rogers on 15 November 2024 at 09:00
(Stroom/Granvat)The duo are joined by a stellar cast including Bill Frisell and Laraaji, bringing innovation and playfulness to their bright, elemental music Continue reading…
Poppy: Negative Spaces review – screams and sweetness as metalcore meets loungecore
by Dave Simpson on 15 November 2024 at 08:30
(Sumerian)On her sixth album, the multi-genre star seems to be having an identity crisis – but amid the industrial guitars and synthpop, she clearly trusts her own instincts Continue reading…
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons album review – exquisite care and ego-free piano playing
by Andrew Clements on 14 November 2024 at 15:30
Bruce Liu(Deutsche Grammophon)Bruce Liu’s performance is superbly polished, but wonderfully free of mannerisms, giving these charming salon pieces the respect and sincerity they deserve Continue reading…
Linda Catlin Smith: Flowers of Emptiness album review – compelling beauty and quiet intensity
by Andrew Clements on 14 November 2024 at 14:30
Apartment House(Another Timbre)The composer’s ever evolving chamber music is captured here in eight works from 1986-2024, showcasing a singular voice Continue reading…
Flo: Access All Areas review – skilful R&B revivalists need to get their freak on a bit more
by Alexis Petridis on 14 November 2024 at 12:45
(Island)The trio bring gorgeous vocals and spiky attitude to 90s-facing songs – but they need a little more of that era’s oddball invention, as well as an undeniable hit Continue reading…
Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp: Ventre unique review – artful mischief
by Neil Spencer on 9 November 2024 at 16:00
(Bongo Joe)The Geneva collective are a blast with their brass-driven rhythms, engaged lyrics and energised delivery Continue reading…
Du Blonde: Sniff More Gritty review – a gleefully self-sufficient affair
by Lisa Wright on 8 November 2024 at 11:30
(Daemon TV)The Newcastle musician follows up 2021’s Homecoming with an infectiously freewheeling album on which she performs, produces and engineers pretty much everything Continue reading…
Primal Scream: Come Ahead review – Bobby Gillespie’s most personal album yet
by Phil Mongredien on 8 November 2024 at 11:30
The frontman of the Scottish rockers contemplates mortality and more on an album with shades of 70s Philly soul Continue reading…
Actress: Дарен Дж Каннінгем review – elegant mixtape leans into abstraction
by Kitty Empire on 8 November 2024 at 11:00
(Smalltown Supersound)With Ukraine on his mind, British producer Darren J Cunningham mixes electronics, found sounds and fleeting vocals that both sooth and disrupt Continue reading…
Distant Voices, New Worlds review | John Lewis’s contemporary album of the month
by John Lewis on 8 November 2024 at 09:00
New Music Players/Orchestra of Sound and Light(Métier)Inspired by the South Downs near Brighton, this selection box of new work from contemporary composers is English to its core – and yet defies tradition Continue reading…
Sofie Royer: Young-Girl Forever review – existential crises you can dance to
by Ben Beaumont-Thomas on 8 November 2024 at 08:00
(Stones Throw)The Austrian-Iranian singer’s new wave style hits harder than ever on an excellent album inspired by a treatise from a French anarchist collective Continue reading…
The Frans Brüggen Project album review – Horsch’s fascinating recorder review
by Andrew Clements on 7 November 2024 at 16:02
Lucie Horsch/Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century(Decca)On a record where instruments matter more than the music, Horsch celebrates Brüggen and the remarkable 17th and 18th-century recorders he collected Continue reading…
Brahms: Piano Sonata No 1; Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy, D760 album review – beautifully shaped works and a bravura performance
by Andrew Clements on 7 November 2024 at 15:58
Alexandre Kantorow(Bis)The French pianist revels in the virtuoso demands of Brahms’s early sonata Continue reading…
Linkin Park: From Zero review | Alexis Petridis’s album of the week
by Alexis Petridis on 7 November 2024 at 12:00
(Warner Records)They sold millions as the most poppy and emotional band in nu-metal. Now, returning with Emily Armstrong as frontwoman, they remain just as dynamic Continue reading…
Michael Mayo: Fly review – a bravura fusion of original work and jazz standards
by Neil Spencer on 2 November 2024 at 16:00
(Mack Avenue)The US singer-composer’s self-produced follow-up to Bones shifts from soul to a lighter, happier jazz sound Continue reading…
Peter Perrett: The Cleansing review – a darkly humorous gem
by Phil Mongredien on 1 November 2024 at 12:00
(Domino)For all his talk of death and dying, the former Only Ones frontman is on top form on this 20-track bonanza Continue reading…
IDK: Bravado + Intimo review – bright beats, retrograde rhymes
by Damien Morris on 1 November 2024 at 11:30
(ClueNoClue)The US rapper and Harvard mentor’s inventive, trap- and jazz-influenced tunes are let down by unreconstructed lyrics Continue reading…
Tyler, the Creator: Chromakopia review – candour meets artfulness
by Kitty Empire on 1 November 2024 at 11:00
(Columbia)The Grammy-winning US rapper pits soul-searching against some killer tunes, many featuring his mother, Bonita Smith Continue reading…
Autre Ne Veut: Love, Guess Who?? review – long-awaited return is like peak Magic FM
by Ben Beaumont-Thomas on 1 November 2024 at 08:30
(Rebel Bodies Music)Arthur Ashin’s first album for nearly a decade sounds bruised and careful, its melodies strong and simple – including his best song to date Continue reading…
Annarella and Django: Jouer review – flute and west African lute shine in expressive new partnership
by Ammar Kalia on 1 November 2024 at 07:30
(We Are Busy Bodies)This marriage of instruments is best when the full-band moments are stripped back to highlight the duo’s artistry Continue reading…
Photo by Eduardo Romero: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-selecting-different-albums-2333420/