Albums
Madlib - The Beat Konducta: Vol. 3-4: In India (Stones Throw)
Production ace Madlib’s Beat Konducta series is about him indulging in his passion for discovering new sounds, re-working them and then slinging out his clever little edits, sans MCs.
The Good Life - Help Wanted Nights (Saddle Creek)
Tim from Cursive’s other band never seemed like they would eclipse the many other great acts on Saddle Creek, but here you witness them throwing a genuine contender into the ring.
Fabienne Delsol - Between You and Me (Damaged Goods)
French lady in London Fabienne Delsol’s debut album was an absolute peach – a record that was so authentically sixties-sounding you could hardly believe it was recorded in 2004.
The Donnas - Bitchin’ (Cooking)
For a while there it seemed like The Donnas were going to be perpetually unemployed. Their return is welcome but patchy – the opener’s a gem, but there’s some real middle-of-the-road material too.
Black Lips - Good Bad, Not Evil (Vice)
Formidable live band and on the strength of this, pretty tasty in the studio too. Before anyone knew anything about these four boys from Atlanta, it was just assumed they were staple garage rock.
Vashti Bunyan - Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (FatCat)
On the bumph that comes with this record Ms Bunyan says that these cute songs – which were recorded before she became a folky – were not the result of her manager hoodwinking her into becoming a pop starlet.
Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (XL)
For album five, Dev has expanded the size of his band and dramatically upped his range to include soul, jazz and pop.
Akron/Family - Love is Simple (Young God)
Starts with a short ditty alarmingly reminiscent of Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’, then disappears down many wonderful and beautiful musical paths.
