Album: Amon Tobin - How Do You Live

Perennial electronic wizard pushes yet further into unexplored, sometimes loud, always compulsive terrain

Amon Tobin is hard to pin down. His music has mutated over the years. He initially fitted in with Ninja Tune’s late-Nineties/early-Noughties roster of post-hip hop stoner breaks, heavily jazzed. But in more recent years, he’s wandered into an area where glitchy soundscaping and avant-classical experiments are laced with warped sampling. Then there’s his industrially heavy Two Fingers crunch-step project.

Album: Nao - And Then Life Was Beautiful

★★★ NAO - AND THEN LIFE WAS BEAUTIFUL The soulful singer goes for a more organic musical approach on her third album

The soulful singer goes for a more organic musical approach on her third album

Neo Jessica Joshua, better known as Nao, has been consistently putting out good – often excellent – music since 2014. Back then she was making off-kilter, funky R&B that felt both retro and futuristic. Since then she’s grown as an artist on both 2016’s For All We Know and 2018’s Saturn. 

Album: Public Service Broadcasting - Bright Magic

★★★ PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING - BRIGHT MAGIC Berlin celebrated

Willgoose and Wrigglesworth celebrate Berlin

Public Service Broadcasting’s latest addition in their on-going string of concept albums could reasonably be described as an impressionistic musical portrait of Weimar-era Berlin, even if it steers well clear of anything resembling the decadent jazzy sounds of the time.

Album: Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine - A Beginner's Mind

★★★ SUFJAN STEVENS & ANGELO DE AUGUSTINE - A BEGINNER'S MIND An intriguing album of music inspired by film

An intriguing album of music inspired by film

For those amongst you who listened obsessively to the soundtrack of Call Me By Your Name, the idea of an album by cult singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens of ‘film music’ will probably fill you with deep joy. Although this isn’t a collection of music made for film.

Album: Lil Nas X - Montero

★★★ LIL NAS X - MONTERO Georgia-born star brings consistency to an extraordinary sound array

For better or worse, the Georgia-born star brings consistency to an extraordinary array of sound

Lil Nas X is good at being a pop star. Like, what could pop culture need more than a young, flamboyant, witty gay rapper from the deep south who can top the US country charts then just when it appeared he might not be able to live up to the success of “Old Town Road” lap dance Satan in the video for the Latin-tinged “Call me by Your Name” and storm to mega sales all over again?

Album: The Eivind Aarset 4-Tet - Phantasmagoria, or A Different Kind of Journey

★★★ THE EIVIND AARSET 4-TET - PHANTASMAGORIA, OR A DIFFERENT KIND OF JOURNEY Norwegian jazzers take on space rock

Norwegian jazzers take on space rock

Phantasmagoria, or A Different Kind of Journey instantly sets its controls for an excursion into the interstellar void between gaseous and solid objects. Opening cut “Intoxication” begins with lightly pulsing bass and a keyboard texture. Shimmering guitar floats over the top. Though more sparse and lacking vocals, it’s as if Pink Floyd’s “Us and Them” were performed by an earlier model of the band which had focussed on reducing performative grandeur as much as possible.