Album Reviews – January 2022

by Phil Mongredien on 30th January 2022 at 3:00 pm (Mexican summer)An almost entirely solo affair, the Welsh musician’s sixth album encapsulates feelings of lockdown with a nod to mid-70s Bowie Continue reading…

by Emily Mackay on 30th January 2022 at 1:00 pm (Eating Glass)The ex-Crystal Castles singer’s solo debut is pulsing and personal… Continue reading…

by Kitty Empire on 30th January 2022 at 9:00 am (RCA)The Danish star’s third album keeps the killer hooks coming Continue reading…

by Dave Gelly on 29th January 2022 at 4:00 pm (Resteamed)Six years before he defined a new British style of jazz, the pianist and composer was already out on his own Continue reading…

by Fiona Maddocks on 29th January 2022 at 12:00 pm Violinist Leonidas Kavakos’s new sonatas and partitas album stands out from the pack, and the Gaechinger Cantorey excel with CPE Bach Continue reading…

by Ammar Kalia on 28th January 2022 at 9:30 am (Modern Love)Mexican-American producer Delia Beatriz draws on the flutes of the Mayan courts to create a startlingly original sound Continue reading…

by Rachel Aroesti on 28th January 2022 at 8:30 am (Dorm Seven)The 26-year-old singer-songwriter’s debut blends rootsy soul, 90s hip-hop and gospel with self-effacing, intimate lyrics Continue reading…

by Andrew Clements on 27th January 2022 at 4:15 pm Lahti SO/Dima Slobodeniouk(BIS)Scenes from Finland’s national epic were set to music by many Finnish composers beyond the best known, Sibelius. These works by Klami, Madetoja and Pylkkänen deserve wider recognition, as these accomplished performances demonstrate Continue reading…

by Alexis Petridis on 27th January 2022 at 11:30 am (BMG)After her Broadway success with Hadestown, the indie folk artist returns with a set of lowkey but polished melodic gems, boasting sharp lyrics and striking emotional gear-changes Continue reading…

by Phil Mongredien on 23rd January 2022 at 3:00 pm (EMI)With the punch and pace of yore and the depth and richness of maturity, the singer-songwriter is back at his best Continue reading…

by Michael Cragg on 23rd January 2022 at 1:00 pm (Polydor)The actor-frontman returns as a solo act with 14 sweat-soaked bangers Continue reading…

by Kitty Empire on 23rd January 2022 at 9:00 am (Zen FC)The Leeds quartet’s state-of-the-nation debut is an instant classic Continue reading…

by Neil Spencer on 22nd January 2022 at 4:00 pm (Riverboat)The Algerian musician in exile leads a quartet that mixes traditions in an engaging and exuberant style Continue reading…

by Fiona Maddocks on 22nd January 2022 at 12:00 pm The National Youth Choir of Great Britain have been busy commissioning, while Sandrine Piau soars on Enchantresses Continue reading…

by John Fordham on 21st January 2022 at 9:00 am (Jazzwerkstatt)The pianist and her long-running quartet’s buzzing and lucidly eloquent set mirrors lockdown’s swerves between isolation and longing Continue reading…

by Will Pritchard on 21st January 2022 at 8:30 am (Black Butter Records)The Nottingham duo rehash the formula of their TikTok-famous single Don’t Rush in an attempt to replicate its success Continue reading…

by Andrew Clements on 20th January 2022 at 3:00 pm Julien Behr/Vannina Santoni/Alexandre Duhamel/Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth(Harmonia Mundi)Period instruments and French voices add an extra dimension to François-Xavier Roth’s recording Continue reading…

by Alexis Petridis on 20th January 2022 at 11:30 am (Island Records)Waspish portraits of the country’s worst people – from alpha male businessmen to middle-class foodies – are punchily delivered by this excitingly undeveloped Leeds quartet Continue reading…

by Damien Morris on 16th January 2022 at 3:00 pm (Ninja Tune)Si Green’s celestial, swooning seventh studio album is a restful ambient dream Continue reading…

by Michael Cragg on 16th January 2022 at 1:00 pm (Universal)Abel Tesfaye goes to the brink, and back to the 80s, on his most cohesive album yet Continue reading..