Jungle – Jungle (XL)
Why you should listen: After stirring up hype last year, the mysterious Jungle deliver an album of slick, indie-disco tracks slathered in synths, falsetto hooks and octave harmonies. Although much of Jungle's intrigue has been heightened by their hidden identities, their music has been regularly compared to early TV on the Radio.
It might not be for you if… You’ve got little patience for a hype band trying to play the incognito card. And, as their Glastonbury festival set showed last month, they might not be ready to add variety to their sound.
What we said: “It all starts to feel like one big cover: by deliberately creating a sense of mystery around themselves, Jungle may have raised expectations that their music cannot yet deliver on,” wrote Paul Macinnes, in the Guardian. Kitty Empire gave the album four stars, in the Observer – click here to read her take.
Score: 3/5
Morrissey – World Peace is None of Your Business (Harvest/Virgin EMI)
Why you should listen: Morrissey’s back. And if it’s a journey through predictably uncensored political opinions, shimmying Hispanic influences (no, seriously) and clattering drums, you’ve come to the right place.
It might not be for you if… You’d rather show up at Morrissey’s house with a truckload of horse burgers, ready for hurling, than sit through his 10th solo release.
What we said: “Gusts of electronic noise blow through the songs, a didgeridoo groans mournfully, the drumming is sometimes coated with a layer of fuzz and often collapses into lugubrious stamping, and the guitars seem to spend as much time clanking, humming and shrieking with feedback as they do being played; when they are, they're often distorted to the point at which they sound decayed,” wrote Alexis Petridis, in the Guardian. Click here for Kitty Empire’s four-star lead review in the Observer New Review.
Score: 4/5
Honeyblood – Honeyblood (Fat Cat)
Why you should listen: Honeyblood’s Shona McVicar and Stina Tweeddale recorded this grunge-pop album in Connecticut in just under two weeks, with producer Peter Katis (Interpol, the National, The Twilight Sad). The Glaswegian duo have already rustled up plenty of interest from the blog world, and this debut should please fans of Big Deal, Best Coast and Mary Timony.
It might not be for you if… You don’t like super-catchy, female-fronted gauzy rock. This record is largely inoffensive, to be honest.
What we said: “They namecheck PJ Harvey and Throwing Muses in interviews, but their sound is actually more akin to the excitable, lo-fi indie-pop fuzz of the Shop Assistants or the Darling Buds,” wrote Dave Simpson, in the Guardian. Click here to read Phil Mongredien’s three-star review in the Observer.
Score: 3/5
Reigning Sound – Shattered (Merge)
Why you should listen: On Shattered, frontman Greg Cartwright steers Reigning Sound in their most slick, soul-inspired direction since the band’s inception some 13 years ago. After a substantial line-up change, Cartwright's bandmates carry his songwriting skill and emotive voice to another level of crisp precision on this well-crafted rock record.
It might not be for you if… You preferred Reigning Sound’s more ramshackle approach from days past, or prefer your soul and rock separately.
What we said: “Shattered is a grown-up, repeat-listen rock record of rare quality, and a great addition to an already astoundingly good back catalogue,” wrote Tom Hughes, in the Guardian. Head here for Ally Carnwath’s four-star review in the Observer, too.
Score: 4/5
Slow Club – Complete Surrender (Caroline International)
Why you should listen: Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson expand beyond the twee folk-pop that first broke them in 2007 and explore a bolder, Motown-indebted sound here. Have a listen to the album on our exclusive stream to see if you’re into the new direction the multi-instrumental duo are taking.
It might not be for you if… The idea of Slow Club tiptoeing into Paloma Faith or Amy Winehouse retro-soul territory makes you cringe. More delicately plucked guitar, please.
What we said: “This new sense of ambition is crucial for a once-whimsical band, and is reflected in their banishment of nu-folk tweeness in favour of bombastic Motown soul,” wrote Harriet Gibsone, in the Guardian. Click here for Molloy Woodcraft’s three-star review in the Observer.
Score: 4/5
Massively excited/rolling your eyes about Moz’s return? Or have you got other albums creeping their way to the top of your listening list this week? Let us know in the comments section, and check out the rest of the week’s new album reviews here.
