BROCKHAMPTON – iridescence

Fame and controversy have struck this self-styled boy band since the Saturation Trilogy put them on the map and Kevin Abstract and friends make no attempt to shy away from those things here on their latest. There are bangers and weepers a-plenty. Production sounds superb while the songs are as good as anything they’ve done. Brockhampton are the real deal.

Tash Sultana – Flow State

Aussie multi-instrumentalist Tash Sultana did not bother holding back with the ol’ debut record. A full hour in runtime, writing every song and playing every instrument. Sultana is a one-person band and you only have to see the viral busking vids to get the full awe-inspiring impression of that. On Flow State, Tash gets to stretch out. Lots of looped beats and virtuosic guitar, a kind of psychedelic reggae feel... and it completely JAMS. If you’re looking to bliss out in that flow state then this’ll do the trick.

Emma Ruth Rundle – On Dark Horses

There is a gothic heaviness to Emma Ruth Rundle’s music. The album finishes and you feel like gasping for all the air you forgot to breathe while it was playing. Guitars drone and the rhythm section pounds you into the dirt, while Emma’s voice wavers on the horizon. On Dark Horses is her best project yet and that’s no small praise.

Prince – Piano & A Microphone 1983

One of the greatest talents modern music has ever known, alone at the piano, during one of his most fertile song-writing periods, just singing away. This could be yet another posthumous cash-in if it weren’t so utterly amazing. Prince commanded every stage he ever played, hearing him in such a vulnerable setting is a flippin’ revelation.

Guerilla Toss – Twisted Crystal

Whack on that tin-foil hat with the pipe-cleaner feelers on them and dance a merry jig as Guerilla Toss take their art-punk stylings into outer space on this latest one. Here’s a band that constantly evolves with each record and if their last one, GT Ultra, was for the intellect then this one’s for the body. Go on and get at it.

Noname – Room 25

Chicago hip hop still delivering as always. If you don’t know the name Noname yet then you need to. Sharply vital lyricism with a smooth as Sunday morning flow over some of that good neo-soul jazz instrumentation. Sorta like Chance the Rapper meets Nina Simone with words by Toni Morrison.

GØGGS – Pre Strike Sweep

Honestly, if it has Ty Segall’s name involved in any way then it’s a project you need to wrap your ears around. GØGGS is his band with Charles Mootheart (Meatbodies) and Chris Shaw (Ex-Cult) and this is their second record – another tick as Segall’s sidebands have all stepped it up with the second efforts, think Fuzz for the best example. Heavy rock with storming propulsive rhythms and furious vocals. Not too long. Just some good punky fun.  

The Myrrors – Borderlands

Politically-influenced psychedelic trance grooves with world music instrumentation and some brain-melting jams along the way… exactly what the world needs in this troublesome time. Relentlessly open-minded and ceaselessly funky. The Myrrors, man.

Spiritualized – And Nothing Hurt

Space rock is a weird old concept but few ever came closer to encapsulating it than J.Spaceman himself. Well, 21 years since his seminal ‘Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space’ and six years since Spiritualized’s last long player here is And Nothing Hurt. Formed on a laptop and twinkling with emotion, it might even be his best record since.

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