Lethal Bizzle
Back to Bizznizz
(V2) £11.99
Bizzle may not be in the same emotional league as UK hip hop don Roots Manuva, but the east London grime MC is a nimble cross-genre mover and shaker. Once of More Fire Crew, he subsequently released the most potent grime single ever, 'Pow! (Forward)', so incendiary it is still widely banned in clubs. Hook-ups with hardcore punks Gallows and the Enemy have broadened his appeal, making 'grindie' (the hybrid of grime and indie) a reality. Bizzle's second album features Babyshambles, Kate Nash and plenty of non-grime tunes, making for a fizzing record whose lows take a back seat to its verve.
Kitty Empire
Chromeo
Fancy Footwork
(Back Yard) £10.99
Chromeo are a rare thing indeed - an electro-funk outfit based on Arab-Jewish amity, and one that has toured with dour indie rockers Bloc Party. Montreal hip-hop heads P-Thugg and Dave 1 were originally persuaded to go electronic by their hometown dance kingpin, Tiga. Now on to their second album of unironic synth lovemaking, the duo combine wit, old-fashioned romance and cheesy populism. The album's title track is already a talking point, and the remainder of this unexpectedly likable Eighties funk anachronism ought to slot nicely into a playlist softened up by Calvin Harris and the Feeling.
KE
Cherry Ghost
Thirst for Romance
(Heavenly) £11.99
Keen to 'dodge the singer-songwriter tag', Bolton's Simon Aldred enlisted four of his mates to add a bit of body to Cherry Ghost, but Thirst for Romance, their debut, is very much Aldred's affair. And it's a melancholy affair, awash with dark imagery and morbid reflections which, in the hands of a lesser lyricist, would sound indulgent and angsty. Tales of forever-broken hearts and loved ones getting dragged down into the sea are nicely offset by sharp humour, although Aldred's equally sharp-edged voice does begin to grate after a while. Luckily, Cherry Ghost have enough good tunes to go around, not least the jaunty 'Alfred the Great'.
Killian Fox
Unkle
War Stories
(Surrender All) £11.99
Genre-hopping dance outfit Unkle's previous albums had atmosphere and ambition but were marred by dreary passages of electronic noodling. Here, though, production duo James Lavelle and Richard File's decision to opt for a heavier rock sound pays dividends. Tighter and more epic than its predecessors, War Stories underpins commanding vocals from guests including Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and the Cult's Ian Astbury with crunching electric guitars. Homme's turn on the depraved 'Restless' is a highlight, but there are no duds to spoil the air of apocalyptic doom.
Hugh Montgomery
The Thrills
Teenager
(Virgin) £12.99
Things looked bright for Dubliners the Thrills after 2003 sunshine smash So Much for the City, but 2004's Let's Bottle Bohemia failed to realise their promise. As the mock-Californian five-piece embark on album number three, does anyone still care? Their winning mix of upbeat melodies and pained vocals once again makes for some sturdy pop songs, notably first single 'Nothing Changes Around Here'. But Conor Deasy's croak quickly begins to wear and, as the tracks become indistinguishable, it's impossible to stifle the boredom. Just how much more flaccid indie-boy wail can the world stand?
Katie Toms
John Hammond
Push Comes to Shove
(Back Porch) £10.99
The blues veteran's steady output has been patchy on quality control but here he hits his best form since Wicked Grin, his 2001 set of Tom Waits songs. Credit goes to producer Gareth Dutton - aka hip-hop bluesman G Love - who takes Hammond's sound back to grimy, non-digital basics. Harp-heavy versions of numbers by Junior Wells and Little Walter growl and shimmer in classic Chicago fashion, Hammond's newly discovered writing skills deliver a breezy, Mose Allison-style 'Eyes Behind Your Head', and there's a winning hip hop excursion on 'Tore Down'. A vintage draught of blues, raw and intoxicating.
Neil Spencer
Charles Mingus Sextet
Cornell 1964
(Blue Note) £12.99
Recently unearthed by Mingus's widow and now released for the first time, this remarkable double-CD live set catches what was perhaps his finest regular band at an early stage. Some of the pieces will be familiar but there was never any such thing as a routine Mingus performance, so an oft-performed work like the angry 'Fables of Faubus' comes over new and boiling hot. By contrast, who would have expected a treatment of 'When Irish Eyes are Smiling'? Eric Dolphy, on alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet, plays stupendously throughout, but the real star is the driven Mingus, his bass, his passion and intensity.
Dave Gelly