November 2019.

New Albums

Cigarettes After Sex. Gawd, that name. It must be provocative. But ignore that and you will find a rich, dreamy, deeply melodic, cinematic new album called Cry. It’s the very opposite of music to mosh to; it’s for swaying and cuddling.

Michael Kiwanuka has made another really fine new album, called simply Kiwanuka. It’s a clever hybrid of new and old sounds; soul, spoken word, politics and some killer tunes. One of the best British albums of the year.

Underworld. Drift Series. This is probably one for aficionados or fans only. It’s a function of the dance pioneers rigorous work ethic and desire to keep forging ahead. If you like Underworld, try it; if not move on.

Caribou’s new song Home is a complete winner; old should samples sit shoulder-to-shoulder with some very 2019 electronic sounds. Moreish. Brilliant, in fact.

ELO. From Out of Nowhere. ELO were one of the first bands I truly loved. And that love has never disappeared. I listened to them over and over and over again. In fact I managed to bond with a band I once signed called The Sundays (signed to Elektra records and imagined to be HUGE, but they petered out) over a shared love of ELO. This new album repeats many of the original ticks. It isn’t ELO in their imperial phase but it is good.

Big Thief have a new album on the way. Early tracks are great if you like wonky contemporary folk in the mode of Joni Mitchell.

Between New and Old Albums.

The double album of Tarantino’s latest, Once Upon a Time… is great, from the 1970s artwork to the inclusion of some ads. Impress your friends with your eclectic and near perfect taste.

Old(ish) Albums.

Rediscovered classic of the month is Prefab Sprout’s I Trawl The Megahertz. I always feel that Prefab Sprout were underrated (possibly because of that name; you are not alone Cigarettes After Sex). This is an oddity but it is mesmerising; a beautiful fever dream with rich sound and a lot of spoken word recorded while Paddy Mcaloon was going blind. Brave, original, genius.

Books.

Valentine Warner’s The Consolation of Food is great; half recipe book and half autobiography. It is a sparkling, funny, usual book that absolutely oozes its author’s character.

I was between books in an airport the other day and bought an excellent novel called Tin Man by Sarah Winman. It’s straightforward, unsentimental and very elegant story of love lost.