This week's latest and greatest…
Winston Surfshirt - Sponge Cake (Sweat It Out!)
On the cover of Sponge Cake, sun-bleached images of a dreamy Venetian holiday, a lush green golf course and lounging summer bodies are collaged with faceless heads. This artwork is fitting for an album that is soaked in sunshine, a weird, off-kilter sensibility and a compelling melange of pop, hip hop and West Coast rap. On the one hand, there are tracks like Be About You that hark back to retro R&B's unabashed bedroom songs and brass sections, and then there are tracks like FreeForYou that are framed by samples and dreamy, California riffs filled out with hushed, whispered croons and a flow that aims to tribute none other than Kendrick Lamar.
"Buttery, cool and moreish, inviting the kind of easy dancing that comes with day drinking." Samantha Jonscher. Album Of The Week. Four stars. Read more…
Wolf Alice - Visions Of A Life (Dirty Hit Records/Liberator)
Following the success of their debut LP, 2015's My Love Is Cool, London four-piece Wolf Alice are back with Visions Of A Life. Ellie Rowsell (vocals, guitar), Joff Oddie (guitars, vocals), Theo Ellis (bass), and Joel Amey (drums, vocals) mix it up and display plenty of range on this record. Written about the death of a friend, shoegazey opener Heavenward's floating, reverberant vocals contrast heavily with the fast-paced, hard-hitting Yuk Foo that follows; the lead single's raw, assertive sound reminiscent of Riot Grrrl bands like Heavens To Betsy and Bikini Kill.
"A polished alternative-rock album with the perfect amount of grit." Madelyn Tait. Four stars. Read more…
And the rest of the releases…
36 Crazyfists - Lanterns (Spinefarm/Caroline)
Ben Frost - The Centre Cannot Hold Mute ([PIAS]/Inertia)
Benny Andersson - Piano (Deutsche Grammophon/Universal)
Chris Rea - Road Songs For Lovers (BMG/ADA)
Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me (Universal)
Dream Wife - Fire (Pod/Inertia)
Evil Invaders - Feed Me Violence (Naplam Records)
Golden Vessel - Right/Side (Exist. Recordings)
Grave Pleasures - Motherblood (Century Media)
High-tails - A Slight Hi (Stop Start)
Hurts - Desire (Sony)
Ibeyi - Ash (XL/Remote Control)
IDYLLS - The Barn (Holy Roar Records)
Ivan Ooze - The Social Alien 2: Memoirs From The Milky Way (Independent)
Jamie Lawson - Happy Accidents (Gingerbread Man Records/Warner)
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Sorry Is Gone (ATO/[PIAS]/Inertia)
Kadavar - Rough Times (Nuclear Blast)
Kamasi Washington - Harmony Of Difference (Young Turks/Remote Control)
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Superscope (Sunday Best/[PIAS]/Inertia)
Kollaps - Sibling Lovers (Trait Records)
Miley Cyrus - Younger Now (Sony)
Morning TV - Sun (Habit Music Company)
Noire - Some Kind Of Blue (Spunk)
Oscar & The Wolf - Infinity ([PIAS]/Inertia)
Paddy McHugh - City Bound Trains (FOUR | FOUR/Universal)
Primus - The Desaturating Seven (ATO/[PIAS] Australia)
Propagandhi - Victory Lap (Epitaph/ADA)
Protomatyr - Relatives In Descent (Domino/EMI)
Rick Price & Jack Jones - California Dreaming (Sony)
Robin Schulz - Uncovered (Warner)
Satellites - Black Dog (Independent)
Scalphunter - Lies (Arrest Records/Firestarter Distribution)
Shania Twain - NOW (Universal)
The East Pointers - What We Leave Behind (Independent)
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Always Foreign (Epitaph)
Torres - Three Futures (4AD/Remote Control)
Winston Surfshirt - Sponge Cake (Sweat It Out)
Wolf Alice - Visions Of A Life (Dirty Hit Records/Liberator)
Worriers - Survival Pop (SideOneDummy/Cooking Vinyl)
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