The Good Intentions - The Long Unbroken Line (album)
Husband and wife duo R Peter Davies and Gabrielle Monk have spent half a decade carving out their own niche in the Brit-country scene, to the point when in 2011 they garnered an award for Best Americana Band at the British Country Awards. Fusing American trad. country with good old (opposed to 'ole') British roots, The Good Intentions improve upon their last full-length set, 2013's Travelling Companion (also on Drumfire), by dextrously crafting some plaintive and occasionally subdued easy-going country that comes straight from the bottom of a bottle and the ports and docks of their hometown Liverpool. Hard Times Come Again and Sad Country Songs are a case in point. If anything, the Long Unbroken Line badly needs at least one jollier song to break up the despair but grumbles aside, musically the pair can't get more sublime than the Gene Clark-like I Lay Me Down. 6/10
Dean Owens - Into The Sea (album)
Another Drumfire act much-touted by a few bystanders (not least by the label's head honcho Phil Penman). He's got a point - Owens is a serious contender. Hailing from Scotland, Owens has a voice comparable to Richard Ashcroft (yes, Verve's erstwhile spearhead I kid you not), a band that sounds as well-travelled as the folk, country and celtic references within and a lyrical bent not far removed from current story-telling behemoths like Jon Allen or Seth Lakeman. Rather than pool together the usual long tall Texan hoedowns, Owens' songs are borne out of his Scottish heritage and an obvious nod across the pond without mawkish sentiments just honest songs. Dora and Closer to Home are upbeat, hopeful, anthemic and topped off by Owens' resonating tonsils and memorable choruses. And the hits keep coming with duets featuring Suzy Bogguss on the bittersweet I'm Pretending I Don't Love You Anymore and Kim Richey on the harmonious Evergreen. A fine album with four extra songs on the deluxe edition well worth seeking out. 8/10
The Rolling Stones - Blue and Lonesome (album)
Judging the Stones on their less than inspiring later studio albums does one of Britain's most influential bands an injustice because prior to the 21st-century, Jagger, Richards, Wood and Watts knocked out a string of albums influenced by the blues, rock and roll and r'n'b exported by their American forebears. On Blue and Lonesome, the quartet have taken things further by recording a straight blues covers album and it's pretty good. Produced by Don Was and augmented by guest slots from Eric Clapton and Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers, B&L doesn't so much as rewrite the blues as worship and idolise it. Crammed with homages to Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf and Memphis Slim, to name but three, tracks like Just Your Fool, Commit a Crime and I Can't Quit You Baby brim with riffs, licks and references straight out of the deep South. And I don't mean Clapham. The Rolling Stones remain a potent force in the land of the blues. 7/10
Dead Can Dance - Garden of the Arcane Delights + Sessions (album)
Originally released as a simple four-song EP in 1984, Garden of the Arcane Delights now comes complete with DCD's Peel Sessions from the same era to form a coherent full-length album that documents their early sound of their debut set and progression towards that all-important second-album. Thus you get rare compositions such as the eerie Instrumental and previously-issued but hard-to-find Labour of Love, frail takes on fan favourites Ocean and Threshold and a peek into the future with Penumbra and Panacea, soon to be re-titled for future releases (Penumbra later appeared on Spleen and Ideal as Avatar). Released as part of a Dead Can Dance reissue programme alongside live almanac Toward the Within and the ghostly Within the Realms of a Dying Sun (both worth having of course), Arcane is perhaps the most intriguing and essential for the bonuses. 8/10
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene Trilogy (box set)
With the recent release of the final part of the influential and lucrative Oxygene series comes the ubiquitous box set of all volumes for the festive season. Often unfairly reneged for being too safe, predictable or too twee to be considered 'proper' prog or ambient, Jarre was actually a formidable force in the '70s and early '80s before he discovered those blimmin' hand-lasers and irritating voice samplers. Without him though, The Orb, Moby and Air might not have chosen the paths they did.
Oxygene 1 (parts 1- 6) preceded the superior Equinoxe, the frenetic Magnetic Fields and lush Concerts In China series and stands up as a dark, eerie and atmospheric piece of work from start to finish. Pts 2 and 4 are the most familiar pieces, the latter a huge hit both here and across Europe and a lasting signature tune from his vast effortless canon.
Oxygene 2 (parts 7 to 13) appeared twenty years later but lacked the charm of the original, although 8 and 10 became club-hits when remixed, while 2016's Oxygene 3 (14 - 20) sounds for all the world like OMD in places whilst managing to retain some of the magic of the first version with some added glitchy bits. 7/10
GØSPEL - Bodies (single)
Set to head up their next EP due out in 2017, Bodies is another atmospheric anthem that manages to distance itself from the likes of Chvrches by being dark, intense, brooding and other melancholic superlatives coming to an electronic outfit near you soon. Singer Beth breathes seductively all over this paean to being embroiled in nightclub hell (or heaven, depending on your opinion) with lines like "We've paced around in our bodies and our fashion.." and "The lights are flashing now and there's a war in here...". Rarely has the local provincial discotheque sounded quite so menacing. 8/10
Blancmange - Red Shift EP (EP)
Seemingly a companion digital release to accompany the recent Commuter 23 long-player, Red Shift is an assemblage of reworked versions of a quartet of songs from said album. Of the four, Last Night (I Dreamt I Had a Job) and the title-track of the EP stand head and shoulders above the other two as highlights while Judge Mental and Jack Knife don't bring a great deal to the table. Blancmange spearhead Neil Arthur still snarls, grimaces and rails where once he crooned, there's a nifty bit of guitar riffing on Red Shift itself and some industrial steam-hammer percussion throughout, a little of which evokes memories of the band's earlier work like the Irene and Davis album and one or two '80s b-sides. Thumbs up.
Modern English - You're Corrupt (single)
Long, long ago, Colchester's nearly-dids Modern English nearly did with the lively pop nugget I Melt With You, a song often wheeled out by 6 Music for their token nod to the band. But Robbie grey and co were more than just a one-off - a slew of great albums on 4AD and a few decent singles such as Life in the Gladhouse and Chapter 12 remain timeless examples of colourful intelligent indie-pop. However, there's a melancholic, dark side to the band as well and You're Corrupt is a fitting example. Possessed of a shuffling glam-rock rhythm and a rallying call to protest, Grey and co sound pretty miffed at things but without descending into a full on shouting match. 7/10
PPM - That's Life These Days (single)
Laying his usual project Liquorice River to rest temporarily, singer Ross Liddle leaps sideways to form PPM, a naggingly-insistent psych-electronic duo that stands for Personal Propaganda Machine. A little bit Neu, Roxy Music, Soft Cell and Fad Gadget with arch observations courtesy of Liddle and some retro robotic riddims from Ian Goodey, PPM wouldn't sound amiss on Some Bizarre, Illuminated, Survival or Mute. And if that doesn't convince you to investigate then nothing will. This track and the superior Bad Times might not have you hanging out bunting for the next royal jubilee but it should have you nodding sagely in that 'I know where you're coming from and I like your spunk' way. 7/10
African Head Charge - Return of the Crocodile (album)
Not exactly a 'new' album per se from one of On-U Sound's most enduring acts, Return of the Crocodile is an archive compendium of reimagined tracks originally pieced together in the '80s. Messrs Sherwood and Iyabinghi Noah have fused together a melting pot of found-sounds, tribal drums, brass stabs and layers of distorted dub. In many ways, African Head Charge epitomise the On-U ethos - uncompromising yet strangely beguiling. Makola Market and Arrival & Fall Out edge it as highlights, while the bonkers Slippery Heel is as mind-mangling as you'd want. 7/10
Husband and wife duo R Peter Davies and Gabrielle Monk have spent half a decade carving out their own niche in the Brit-country scene, to the point when in 2011 they garnered an award for Best Americana Band at the British Country Awards. Fusing American trad. country with good old (opposed to 'ole') British roots, The Good Intentions improve upon their last full-length set, 2013's Travelling Companion (also on Drumfire), by dextrously crafting some plaintive and occasionally subdued easy-going country that comes straight from the bottom of a bottle and the ports and docks of their hometown Liverpool. Hard Times Come Again and Sad Country Songs are a case in point. If anything, the Long Unbroken Line badly needs at least one jollier song to break up the despair but grumbles aside, musically the pair can't get more sublime than the Gene Clark-like I Lay Me Down. 6/10
Dean Owens - Into The Sea (album)
Another Drumfire act much-touted by a few bystanders (not least by the label's head honcho Phil Penman). He's got a point - Owens is a serious contender. Hailing from Scotland, Owens has a voice comparable to Richard Ashcroft (yes, Verve's erstwhile spearhead I kid you not), a band that sounds as well-travelled as the folk, country and celtic references within and a lyrical bent not far removed from current story-telling behemoths like Jon Allen or Seth Lakeman. Rather than pool together the usual long tall Texan hoedowns, Owens' songs are borne out of his Scottish heritage and an obvious nod across the pond without mawkish sentiments just honest songs. Dora and Closer to Home are upbeat, hopeful, anthemic and topped off by Owens' resonating tonsils and memorable choruses. And the hits keep coming with duets featuring Suzy Bogguss on the bittersweet I'm Pretending I Don't Love You Anymore and Kim Richey on the harmonious Evergreen. A fine album with four extra songs on the deluxe edition well worth seeking out. 8/10
The Rolling Stones - Blue and Lonesome (album)
Judging the Stones on their less than inspiring later studio albums does one of Britain's most influential bands an injustice because prior to the 21st-century, Jagger, Richards, Wood and Watts knocked out a string of albums influenced by the blues, rock and roll and r'n'b exported by their American forebears. On Blue and Lonesome, the quartet have taken things further by recording a straight blues covers album and it's pretty good. Produced by Don Was and augmented by guest slots from Eric Clapton and Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers, B&L doesn't so much as rewrite the blues as worship and idolise it. Crammed with homages to Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf and Memphis Slim, to name but three, tracks like Just Your Fool, Commit a Crime and I Can't Quit You Baby brim with riffs, licks and references straight out of the deep South. And I don't mean Clapham. The Rolling Stones remain a potent force in the land of the blues. 7/10
Dead Can Dance - Garden of the Arcane Delights + Sessions (album)
Originally released as a simple four-song EP in 1984, Garden of the Arcane Delights now comes complete with DCD's Peel Sessions from the same era to form a coherent full-length album that documents their early sound of their debut set and progression towards that all-important second-album. Thus you get rare compositions such as the eerie Instrumental and previously-issued but hard-to-find Labour of Love, frail takes on fan favourites Ocean and Threshold and a peek into the future with Penumbra and Panacea, soon to be re-titled for future releases (Penumbra later appeared on Spleen and Ideal as Avatar). Released as part of a Dead Can Dance reissue programme alongside live almanac Toward the Within and the ghostly Within the Realms of a Dying Sun (both worth having of course), Arcane is perhaps the most intriguing and essential for the bonuses. 8/10
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene Trilogy (box set)
With the recent release of the final part of the influential and lucrative Oxygene series comes the ubiquitous box set of all volumes for the festive season. Often unfairly reneged for being too safe, predictable or too twee to be considered 'proper' prog or ambient, Jarre was actually a formidable force in the '70s and early '80s before he discovered those blimmin' hand-lasers and irritating voice samplers. Without him though, The Orb, Moby and Air might not have chosen the paths they did.
Oxygene 1 (parts 1- 6) preceded the superior Equinoxe, the frenetic Magnetic Fields and lush Concerts In China series and stands up as a dark, eerie and atmospheric piece of work from start to finish. Pts 2 and 4 are the most familiar pieces, the latter a huge hit both here and across Europe and a lasting signature tune from his vast effortless canon.
Oxygene 2 (parts 7 to 13) appeared twenty years later but lacked the charm of the original, although 8 and 10 became club-hits when remixed, while 2016's Oxygene 3 (14 - 20) sounds for all the world like OMD in places whilst managing to retain some of the magic of the first version with some added glitchy bits. 7/10
Set to head up their next EP due out in 2017, Bodies is another atmospheric anthem that manages to distance itself from the likes of Chvrches by being dark, intense, brooding and other melancholic superlatives coming to an electronic outfit near you soon. Singer Beth breathes seductively all over this paean to being embroiled in nightclub hell (or heaven, depending on your opinion) with lines like "We've paced around in our bodies and our fashion.." and "The lights are flashing now and there's a war in here...". Rarely has the local provincial discotheque sounded quite so menacing. 8/10
Blancmange - Red Shift EP (EP)
Seemingly a companion digital release to accompany the recent Commuter 23 long-player, Red Shift is an assemblage of reworked versions of a quartet of songs from said album. Of the four, Last Night (I Dreamt I Had a Job) and the title-track of the EP stand head and shoulders above the other two as highlights while Judge Mental and Jack Knife don't bring a great deal to the table. Blancmange spearhead Neil Arthur still snarls, grimaces and rails where once he crooned, there's a nifty bit of guitar riffing on Red Shift itself and some industrial steam-hammer percussion throughout, a little of which evokes memories of the band's earlier work like the Irene and Davis album and one or two '80s b-sides. Thumbs up.
Modern English - You're Corrupt (single)
Long, long ago, Colchester's nearly-dids Modern English nearly did with the lively pop nugget I Melt With You, a song often wheeled out by 6 Music for their token nod to the band. But Robbie grey and co were more than just a one-off - a slew of great albums on 4AD and a few decent singles such as Life in the Gladhouse and Chapter 12 remain timeless examples of colourful intelligent indie-pop. However, there's a melancholic, dark side to the band as well and You're Corrupt is a fitting example. Possessed of a shuffling glam-rock rhythm and a rallying call to protest, Grey and co sound pretty miffed at things but without descending into a full on shouting match. 7/10
PPM - That's Life These Days (single)
Laying his usual project Liquorice River to rest temporarily, singer Ross Liddle leaps sideways to form PPM, a naggingly-insistent psych-electronic duo that stands for Personal Propaganda Machine. A little bit Neu, Roxy Music, Soft Cell and Fad Gadget with arch observations courtesy of Liddle and some retro robotic riddims from Ian Goodey, PPM wouldn't sound amiss on Some Bizarre, Illuminated, Survival or Mute. And if that doesn't convince you to investigate then nothing will. This track and the superior Bad Times might not have you hanging out bunting for the next royal jubilee but it should have you nodding sagely in that 'I know where you're coming from and I like your spunk' way. 7/10
African Head Charge - Return of the Crocodile (album)
Not exactly a 'new' album per se from one of On-U Sound's most enduring acts, Return of the Crocodile is an archive compendium of reimagined tracks originally pieced together in the '80s. Messrs Sherwood and Iyabinghi Noah have fused together a melting pot of found-sounds, tribal drums, brass stabs and layers of distorted dub. In many ways, African Head Charge epitomise the On-U ethos - uncompromising yet strangely beguiling. Makola Market and Arrival & Fall Out edge it as highlights, while the bonkers Slippery Heel is as mind-mangling as you'd want. 7/10