Albums of the week
This week’s
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- Modern Vampires of the City
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- (2013)
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- by Vampire Weekend
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For a band who’ve enjoyed sizeable success thus far with afro-beat-influenced indie-pop, Vampire Weekend are showing an impressive lack of respect for their back catalog on album number three. Maybe it’s the influence of producer Ariel Rechtshaid, or perhaps simply the consequence of the boys having itchy feet creatively, but Modern Vampires of The City is a very different prospect sonically to Contra. Take lead single "Diane Young": combining skittish synths, hyperactive percussion and pitch-shifted vocals, the final effect is akin to Buddy Holly doing "Footloose". And whether they’re pairing galloping rhythms with tongue-twisters on "Worship You", or a subdued, piano-groove with chipmunk-style BVs on "Ya Hey", there are enough twists and turns here to keep us constantly enthralled.
Previous weeks
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- Silence Yourself
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- (2013)
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- by Savages
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Formed little more than 18 months ago by Jehnny Beth and Gemma Thompson, this London-based quartet are already acclaimed as one of the most exhilarating live acts about. The question is, will Savages’ minimalistic post-punk be as arresting if they’re not on hand to give you an eyeballing? It’s credit to Daughter-producer Rodaidh McDonald and Beth’s former-bandmate Johnny Hostile that the answer is a resounding yes: the pair of them have captured the rumbling bass lines, punishing percussion, chugging guitars and Beth’s Siouxsie Sioux-meets-Ian Curtis vocals in all their ferocity, resulting in a debut album that’s economic, confident and intense. Or, as Thompson put it in a recent interview, “It’s music to break sh*t and f*ck on the floor to.” Quite.
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- The Child of Lov
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- (2013)
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- by The Child of Lov
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In this age of over-sharing, maintaining an air of mystery can prove a smart move. Take The Child Of Lov, for example: when he dropped his debut single "Heal" last October with no explanation as to who he was, the speculation surrounding his identity probably generated more column inches than blowing thousands on PR ever would have. We now know that falsetto belonged to Amsterdam’s Cole Williams, a life-long D’Angelo-obsessive, and this year’s recipient of the NME Philip Hall Radar Award. His eponymous debut vindicates all the fuss: ranging from syrupy slow-jams like "Call Me Up" to flute-flecked funk like "To The People", and offering up guest spots from Damon Albarn and DOOM, the album’s like some superb, sonic three-way between TV On The Radio, Outkast and J Dilla.
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- Thr!!!er
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- (2013)
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- by !!!
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Boasting bangers like "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin’ Something", Thriller wasn’t just the highlight of Michael Jackson’s musical career, it was – and still is – the apex of pop perfection. Three decades on, those eight letters have become shorthand for “the one with all the hits”, and it’s this universal truth that inspired the name of !!!’s third studio album. Arrogant? Not really. From the laidback groove of "Even When The Water’s Cold" to the cacophonous disco/punk hybrid of "Station" – via a slew of club-friendly cuts like "Slyd" – the Sacrimento-formed six-piece have produced an album that’s all thr!!!er no f!!!er. So what if it won’t match Jacko’s effort for sales; it’s still the high-point of their career to date.
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- If You Leave
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- (2013)
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- by Daughter
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Already responsible for a superb run of singles and EPs, this London-based trio were widely earmarked as something special a long time ago. On the strength of their debut LP, it still seems we all vastly underestimated them. Thanks, in part, to some supremely skillful production, Elena Tonra’s bewitching indie-folk is now simultaneously intimate and expansive, offering up a sorrowful world of suffocation, death and lost love that’s swathed in atmospheric reverb. True, with its mere 10 tracks weighing in at a hefty 77 minutes, if you’re looking for a quick, feel-good fix, this probably isn’t the record for you. But if you want an album to luxuriate in – to get lost in – If You Leave is there for the taking. And it will astound you time after time.
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- Bankrupt!
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- (2013)
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- by Phoenix
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Having broken through big-style with their last LP, this is probably the first time our French friends Phoenix have ever felt the weight of expectation. Fans have demanded Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Part Two and, in a way, they’ve got it: despite all Thomas Mars’ talk of creating something “more experimental”, Bankrupt! isn’t exactly short in the massive tune-stakes. Picking up where "Lisztomania" left off, lead single "Entertainment" is a good measure of the treats in store, boasting a soaring chorus and a lovely, oriental-flavoured synth-lick redolent of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ "Hong Kong Garden". If there’s one real difference between Bankrupt! and its predecessor, it’s that this one’s infused with the confidence of a band who’ve already arrived.
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- Mosquito
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- (2013)
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- by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
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Well, well, well: look who’s back. Actually, don’t look. Providing proof that you should never judge a record by its cover, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have hidden a gem of an album behind some pretty garish, Garbage Pail Kids-style artwork. Following the electro-heavy It’s Blitz, Mosquito finds the art-rock trio drawing on more diverse influences, bringing in a gospel choir for "Sacrilege", and Doctor Octagon and James Murphy for "Buried Alive", plus giving us their take on roots reggae on "Under The Earth" (spoiler alert: it doesn’t really sound like roots reggae). So, please: put on shades, close your eyes, do whatever it takes to move past the eyesore of an album cover and sample the music, because if you don’t you’re missing out on a treat.
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- Devotion
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- (2013)
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- by Jessie Ware
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Following her work as backing singer for Jack Peñate, and previous collaborations with SBTRKT and Joker, Jessie Ware called upon Julio Bashmore and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu to help her conjure up this silky-smooth set of electronic soul/downtempo R&B. Driven by icy beats, subterranean bass and the South Londoner’s soulful tones, Devotion positions Ware as the missing link between Aaliyah and Sade.
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- Overgrown
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- (2013)
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- by James Blake
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Credited with inventing a “new musical language”, James Blake’s debut was widely rated as one of the best of 2011. Two years on, Blake’s sub-heavy, electro-soul doesn’t have the shock factor it once did, but that doesn’t make it any less affecting. Lead single "Retrograde" is a case in point: underpinned by a sparse electronic rhythm and topped with just swooning synths and soulful vocals, it’s a masterclass in minimalism that hits you deep in the pit of your stomach. Elsewhere on Overgrown, the Eno-produced twitch of "Digital Lion" and dubby album-closer "Our Love Comes Back" are just two examples that Blake’s found a way to incorporate his bass-music background more sensitively into his sound.
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- Jake Bugg
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- (2013)
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- by Jake Bugg
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As career starts go, they don’t get more auspicious than Jake Bugg’s. Selected at the tender age of 17 to perform at Glastonbury 2011, the Nottingham-born singer-songwriter’s subsequently signed a deal with a major label, performed on Jools Holland and been endorsed by musical megastars as diverse as Chris Martin and Elton John. Sonically, his eponymous debut is a distinctly 60s-influenced set, inspired by the blues-rock of Donovan and pre-“Judas!” Bob Dylan, and features Bugg delivering Alex Turner-worthy anecdotes in a vocal style redolent of Lee Mathers of The La’s. Impressive.
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- Machineries of Joy
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- (2013)
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- by British Sea Power
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We’ll come clean right now: we’re big British Sea Power fans. Had Machineries of Joy been a dud, we’d probably have kept schtum in the hope it’d turn out to be a grower. Happily, our moral compass isn’t being compromised at all when we state that their fifth album-proper might well be their finest hour to date. Highlights are plentiful: the anthemic, string-swept title-track, a glorious, SFA-esque romp called "K-Hole" and the horn-flecked barn-stormer "Monsters Of Sunderland", to name but three. Lyrically, it’s as weird and wonderful as we could have hoped for too, finding Yan and Hamilton yelping about Franciscan monks, ketamine and French female bodybuilders-turned-erotic movie stars.
