Garden Ruin (Just Music)
After the delectable eclectic montage that was Calexico’s last album, Feast of Wire, one wondered where this South Western collective, centred around the ex-Giant Sand rhythm section of Joey Burns and John Convertino, would travel next. The answer is a mini album with new folk contemporary Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam, and their most straight ahead rock album yet. The Calexico that recorded Garden Ruin, their fifth album, may be a distinctly different sounding entity, but they are no less charming and majestic. They effortlessly blend jazz, country, folk and indie rock into a powerful set of songs that get better with repeated listening. If you have ever owned and loved a Calexico album, you need to go out and buy their new offering. If you haven’t then lucky you, a whole new musical journey awaits. — Lloyd Gedye
Hot Chip
The Warning (EMI)
Hot Chip are sick of being called chilled. This is why on Over and Over, the addictive first single off their new album, The Warning, they threaten “laid back, we’ll give you laid back”. And this is not the only time they tell listeners not to mess with them: “Hot Chip will break your legs, snap off your head,” goes the title track. Not that they would really get violent. It’s just that, with their ironic sense of humour and their cheeky, minimalistic and incredibly current production style, they don’t deserve to be dismissed as some sort of wishy-washy, down-tempo act, even if their brand of electro-rock is a little on the sedentary side at times. Hot Chip are five bedroom producers, two of whom sing, and they clearly have no regard for genre distinctions. What they do have is a distinct style and a seemingly never-ending supply of great songs on this consistent masterpiece. This album really is electro-rock at the top of its game; it’s up there with with the best their DFA label-mates LCD Soundsystem have ever come up with. Their music is as tongue-in-cheek, but far more diverse than LCD’s — and if you listen carefully you’ll hear anything from punk and funk and soul and folk rock to elements of sultry Prince-inspired R&B and even The Neptunes brand of hip-hop in the mix. Buy it. Play it until you’re sick of it (I know I did). Just don’t call them laid back, kapish? — Daniel Friedman
Linus Loves
Stage Invader (Just Music)
I don’t think that this is the best dance album to come out recently, but it’s definitely the most hyped — and it’s not hard to see why. Linus Loves is the nom de plume of Breastfed label manager Duncan Reid and, like Mylo, his label’s biggest and best artist, Reid’s music is — whether by design or coincidence — perched perfectly on the pulse of what is currently popular: a modern take on that 1980s electro sound, with plenty of nostalgic value, in this case in the form of musical shout-outs to the likes of Prince, Stevie Nicks and Kraftwerk. Also, in accordance with modern standards of dance decorum, the album is satisfiyingly diverse, ranging from house stompers to electro workouts to torch songs befitting of even the most earnest singer-songwriter. It isn’t the most consistent album to come out lately either, but stand-out tracks such as Waterfall, title track Stage Invader and The Terrace, Linus Loves‘s biggest hit to date, means that the hype is far from unjustified. Mylo, with his ironic sense of humour, is still better, though. — DF
Hey People!
The Beautiful Newborn Children (David Gresham Records)
Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce the faceless band that everybody loves, The beautiful newborn childre-eeen! It¹s one thing to record a blindingly brilliant little punk rock record, but to then not even take the credit for it is something else altogether. Clocking in at nine songs and twenty-three minutes Hey People! (David Gresham Records) is everything a young rocker could ask for! Bold, brilliant and danceable it is a perfect blend of the Stooges, MC5, Kings of Leon, the Strokes and the Rolling Stones. The cover adorned with images of protest and arrest, and the album¹s attention grabbing title let you know that these punks are not about to hang around and shoot the breeze, they mean business and they want your attention, now! – Lloyd Gedye
Honey from the Tombs
Amy Millan (Just Music)
Out of the Arts and Crafts stable comes Amy Millan’s solo album Honey from the Tombs. Make no mistake this album bears no resemblance to the work of the wondrous Broken Social Scene. This is a modern country album with a flurry of sonic dabblings that bring the old tradition of these songs into the 21st Century. Millan has a beautiful husky voice and although this album is not going to challenge your ideas about music, it can be a real delight. It feels like the type of album that will grow on you in a big way, so instead of saying jury is out, I¹m going to back it and hope it fulfils its promise. – LG
Dani Siciliano
Slappers (Kurse)
There are two types of people in the world. Those that think electronic producer Mathew Herbert is a genius, and those without the slightest clue who Mathew Herbert is. Only the former need read on. Dani Siciliano is one of Herbert’s regular collaborators, and his production style is instantly evident on her second solo album. The bland album artwork suggests that Dani is a Nellie Furtado type pop slag or an Alanis Morisette-ish angst-rocker, but neither of these stereotypes are further from the truth. This is a beguiling blend of pop, blues, folk, electronica, house and Herbert’s everything-including-the-kitchen-sink beats. Siciliano sings well and her lyrics are witty and refreshingly devoid of introspection. Ultimately, though, this is Herbert’s album, his production elevating it to a level that few singer-songwriter projects could reach. Both Furtado and Morisette should give the man a call. He could probably even make them sound good. – Daniel Friedman
Various
The World is Gone (Just Music)
This CD’s artwork is so beautifully crafted that the first thing I did on receiving it was pray that the music was of a similarly high standard. The second thing I did was ponder whether his is a compilation with lots of different artists on it or a project by a couple of individuals. The fact that it fluctuates between genres made this quite a challenge. This album dabbles in austere, glitchy electronica before moving towards fragile folk songs sung by a female vocalist, then on to tracks that have elements of dub, electro and even that forgotten genre once known as trip-hop (there’s a strong Massive Attack influence a times). Having done my research I can now report that Various are two English blokes plus a host of guest vocalists. Their music is slightly hard to define, but is, thankfully, every bit as good as their album¹s design work. – DF
The Stills
Without Feathers (Gallo)
A new line-up has led The Stills down a mediocre road. Second album Without Feathers plods along monotonously and each track rolls into the next without much to differentiate one from another. Tim Fletcher’s lazy vocal style and vowel stretching give a good indication of what a hybrid of Radiohead’s Thom York and U2’s Bono would sound like, and the instrumentals and compositions throughout the album reek of Dire Straits reincarnated. Okay, maybe just one Dire Straits song stuck on repeat (any one will do). That said it¹s not that Without Feathers is bad the songs are fine and mostly well crafted it just isn¹t one of those albums that begs to be heard. And no amount of spin doctoring is going to change that. Kelly FLetcher
J Dilla
The Shining (Kurse)
The late, great J Dilla was a tireless, versatile beatsmith who literally worked himself to death. A founding member of Detroit rap group Slum Village, Dilla was also a member of production super-group The Soulquarians. Featuring James Poyser and ?uestlove, the collective added a soulful sheen to albums such as Common’s Like Water For Chocolate and D’Angelo’s Voodoo. On the posthumously released The Shining, Dilla rounds up extended family members like Pharoe Monch, Black Thought, Dwele and of course Common and D’Angelo to voice ethereal, cosmic yet bumpy beats in line with his oeuvre. He doesn’t break new ground, but the journey is enjoyable nonetheless. Common gets things off to a spirited start on E=MC2, a track underscored by vocoder effect vocals and a deep synthesizer bass. From there, the proceedings develop a soul-drenched vibe, as Pharoahe Monch prefers to croon rather than rap (to charming effect) on Love and Common and D¹Angelo combine for some sultry vocals on the glowing chugger that is So Far To Go. Thankfully though, hard rocks like Stone’s Throw rapper MED and Black Thought keep things hard, rounding off a strong offering by J Dilla that respectfully preserves his legacy. – Kwanele Sosibo
Letoya
Letoya (Capitol Records)
Letoya¹s musical career aspirations took a nosedive when she lost her place in the sensational and trendy Destiny¹s Child of the early years. But the H-Town chick has defied the odds with the release of her self-titled fifteen-track R&B debut offer. This enhanced CD features a day in the life of Letoya, and the smash video Torn directed by Chris Robinson. The music is good and I could boldly bet my money on the album¹s success both here and abroad. She features a host of H-Town based rappers in some of the freshest and mid-tempo cruising type of songs. The radio favourite Torn contains the elements of Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye’s You Are Everything of the 1970s popularity. Honestly, I feel the slight re-doing of this superseded hit, contributes to make this a rather mature yet spunky album, proving modern day artist’s reliance on obsolete sounds.
– Monako Dibetle