40. Mark Chadwick - 'Moment' (On The Fiddle Recordings)Levellers frontman Mark Chadwick released his second solo LP earlier this year. For Mark, the album is ‘an honest look at drink, life and love’ and particularly his relationship with the former and its effects on the latter two. Don’t go expecting a ‘rehab’ record however, for Mark that process is ‘one-size fits all and I did not fit the size’ , trusting instead to confront that addiction and its cure through his music, ‘in a sensible and a, hopefully, insightful way’. As a songwriter and recording artist for over 25 years the ten tracks also see Mark taking stock of his journey to date and, to a degree, looking forward to the next chapter. Listen to 'Moment' via Spotify HERE.
39. Headman/Robi Insinna - '6' (Relish Recordings)Swiss DJ and producer Robi Insinna has been remixing the likes of Doves, Franz Ferdinand and many others under his Headman alias for over a decade now, yet there are aren't many who will be aware of his own music, let alone the fact that he is now on his fifth album. Despite being his fifth, it's entitled '6' and is released via his own Relish Recordings label. It's an eclectic and highly collaborative work that was created largely using analog electronics and even a bit of good old fashioned tape delay. Overall it's eclectic and multi faceted, while retaining a sense of identity with the use of analog electronic sounds, and the collaborators all seem to bring their own shades of color to the record. One or two overlong and under-par moments, but mostly '6' is an entertaining and irresistibly movement-inducing set of tunes. Read the full review, and listen to the album HERE.
Repetitive yet progressively explorative, the debut album from the Berlin-based group Camera is a brilliant thing. 'Remember I Was Carbon Dioxide' combines recrafted jams and impulsive improvisation to great effect across the 12 tracks to create what sounds very much to my ears like a modern Krautrock classic. During the forceful 'Roehre', a chunky driving rhythm provides the momentum as snarling drones of bass and guitar do battle with squealing free jazz sax and subtle electronics. Explosive and sensationally addictive. The album was released via the brilliant Bureau B label. Tagged "Krautrock Guerillas" by fellow Berliners for crashing award ceremonies and jamming in Berlin Train stations, the excellent Camera are beyond hipster tags. Have a listen to the album on Spotify HERE.
A lot of the time when a frontman of a well loved group goes solo, the resulting material can sometimes end up sounding a bit like their usual band but not quite as good. While Manchester trio Doves have been on hiatus for the last four years, Jimi Goodwin steps out into the musical world with his very own debut offering. It's by no means a low-key affair either, more of a wild adventure at times. “I wanted it to be like that crazy mixtape you’d make your mate which had everything from Duke Ellington to some mad hip-hop track you’d just heard, and back again,” says Goodwin. “That’s how I listen to music, and I wanted to make an album that reflected that. The last thing I wanted it to sound like was some geezer who was in a band. I don’t like being pegged.” A surprising, diverse and strongly assured solo debut from a man who has defied and surpassed expectations. At times a slow burner perhaps, but plenty to enjoy. Read the full review HERE, and listen to the album via Spotify HERE.
As well as intergalactic ambient techno, nocturnal garage grooves, warped hip hop, spacey synth ballads, and dreamy piano laments, there's the acid house trucking anthem 'I Like To Truck', and the genuinely sinister 'Something's In The Back Of My Truck' which conjures up all sorts of dark images, as well as capturing the heavy weariness of long distance overnight driving. The spoken word bit at the end is particularly exceptionally twisted. All vocals are delivered in a seedy deep Southern USA accent, highlighting Jones' ability to slip into the roles of convincing characters. Amongst many other diverse and weird things, we get the acid electronica of the spiralling 'Motherfuckingtruckerfucker' and the unsettling varispeed vocals on 'I Dream About My Truck When I'm Driving Her', describing a scene in a motel room, sticking "duct tape newspaper to the window" and keeping "a gun under my pillow, next to a picture of my third wife". It's moments like these that make you wonder if Jones leaves his windows open whilst recording the bizarre vocals and creepy spoken word segments. What must his neighbours think? Only a true maverick like Jones could create something this fucked-up and brilliant. Listen to the album via Bandcamp HERE.
People will be surprised at how brilliant this record is. 'Wanderlust' is her fifth album and was co-written with Ed Harcourt, featuring 11 wonderfully atmospheric songs that bring out the very best in SEB's talents, including this elegantly haunting slice of melancholy. On this album Bextor abandons the disco-pop in favour of beautifully organic moments that are perfectly suited to her voice and sometimes recall her early days as lead singer of late 90's post-Britpop indie types theaudience. I still love that band and always will. 'Wanderlust' debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number four, becoming her highest-charting solo album since 2001's 'Read My Lips'... Listen to 'Wanderlust' via Spotify HERE.
31-1 will be revealed over the next few days.50-41 can be found HERE.
