With its classic sound, heart-warming lyrics and Brittany Howard’s everywoman persona it’s fair to say it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise if Alabama Shakes were to “do an Adele” and become massive in the next 12 months.
Antonio Rowe
Kindness – World, You Need a Change of Mind
The expected sense of lo-fi mystery or haziness is cocooned within genres like disco, funk, baleric beat and even a nugget of soft-rock – all mixed to create a dreamy dance hybrid. This sea of hypnagogic albeit utterly captivating skewed-disco is slick, focused and utterly mesmerising.
The Big Pink – Future This
In gunning for commercial success have The Big Pink taken a step backwards in terms of creativity? Will it pay off? Only time will tell.
Listen: Azealia Banks – Liquorice
While it may not hit as hard as ’212′, ‘Liquorice’ – the new offering from Azealia Banks – is equally beguiling. Consider the hype still justified.
James Blake w/ Vondelpark – London HMV Forum 1/12/11
One thing must said, Blake’s tracks truly blossom live, where some sounded slightly introspective and meek on record. Live all of the weird electronic glitches are allowed to breathe, filling the HMV Forum’s ornate surroundings in an beautiful cacophony of industrial buzz, writes Antonio Rowe
Grace Jones – Hurricane Dub
All in all, Hurricane Dub is a respectful edition to Jones’ surely everlasting legacy as a artist who does what she wants, and still manages to keep interested while doing so. Whoever said legends have a sell-by-date was wrong.
The Drums – Portamento
While this latest offering is certainly more difficult and less hook-laden than the last, it’s not quite the disastrous misstep some critics would have you believe. Here we have a band already trying to grow, and while it may be producing mixed results now, give it time and we may be witnessing something special very soon.
Joe Goddard – Gabriel EP
It’s undeniable that praise is due, but like many will be thinking prior to listening to this EP – the title track is as good as it gets. Not that any of that really matters when that very same track is a future classic.
The Weeknd – Thursday
Although lyrically Thursday treads along the same boards (the hedonistic highs and emotional lows of love are again the main topic here), musically this isn’t House Of Ballons MK II. Not a mere extension nor a complete departure, Thursday is more Tesfay reacting to the copious amounts of internet love that’s been showered upon him during these past months. As a result of all eyes being firmly on him, Tesfay is more confident in his abilities and therefore more ambitious and experimental in the way he approaches his music.
Southern Shores – Atlantic EP
Atlantic EP by Southern Shores doesn’t change the world but that not its aim. It’s far too busy catching rays and urging you to join in this joyous equatorial party it’s created to bother with all that serious stuff, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll do just that – join in.
Listen: Kanye West & Jay-Z – Otis
Following previous, somewhat overzealous collaborative track ‘H.A.M’, Kanye and Jay-Z have returned to their roots in new song ‘Otis’; producing brilliant results.
Cults – Cults
Their songs ,most of the time, are a mesmerising contradictory one-two punch of soul-shredding prettiness and distant but ever present eeriness. A band evidently knowledgeable of the fact that a perfect pop song always bears glints of darkness. So unsurprisingly Cults’ pop is at its best when it’s lurking in the malevolent shadows and buried in the murky depths.