Susanne Sundfør – Ten Love Songs (Sonnet Sounds)
Why you should listen: Sundfør, a chart-topper in her native Norway, has produced a beautiful sixth album of sprawling and ethereal pop – in the manner that Scandinavian artists so often do.
It might not be for you if… You don’t like pop music. That might be the only excuse here.
What we said: “Ten Love Songs shows a command of artpop, chilly synthpop, and that simultaneously joyous and desperate disco that seems to seep out of Scandinavia in an unending flood: it’s both appealingly direct yet perfectly thought-through,” wrote Michael Hann, in the Guardian.
Score: 5/5
Ibeyi – Ibeyi (XL)
Why you should listen: Much-hyped French-Cuban twins Naomi and Lisa‑Kaindé Diaz make so-called “doom soul” steeped in Yoruba chants, prayer-like repetition and a marriage of electronic beats with close vocal harmonies.
It might not be for you if… You expected more pace and variety from the debut by the daughters of a former Buena Vista Social Club percussionist.
What we said: “The doom soul moniker is a slight misnomer; the themes that run through their eponymous debut LP are mysticism and Yoruba spirituality (their name means twins in the Nigerian language),” wrote Lanre Bakare, in the Guardian. Click here for Kitty Empire’s three-star review, from the Observer.
Score: 3/5
Carl Barât and the Jackals – Let It Reign (Cooking Vinyl)
Why you should listen: Do you like indie? Because, really, that should be enough. If you crave the halcyon days of guitar music’s past, before synths came in and messed about with the order of things, then you should love this latest offering from the pretty-boy Libertine.
It might not be for you if… We lost you at “do you like indie?”
What we said: “This feels like a placeholder for the forthcoming Libertines album, but, as placeholders go, it’s a stormer,” wrote Caroline Sullivan, in the Guardian. Phil Mongredien granted the album a less enthusiastic two stars, in the Observer.
Score: 4/5
Cat’s Eyes – The Duke of Burgundy soundtrack (RAF/Caroline)
Why you should listen: The slightly psychedelic dreampop duo, made up of multi-instrumentalist soprano Rachel Zeffira and the Horrors singer Faris Badwan, go for a full-blown cinematic spectrum of emotion on their album for Peter Strickland’s latest sensual flick.
It might not be for you if… Washes of synths, and tunes designed for slow-motion scenes about one woman tying up another just don’t get you going.
What we said: “Orchestral textures, such as the eerie woodwind motifs of Moth and austere strings of Lamplight, conjure the darkly sexual charge of the film,” wrote Jon Dennis, for the Guardian.
Score: 5/5
Marika Hackman – We Slept at Last (Dirty Hit)
Why you should listen: Hackman’s debut drifts through her textured take on folky pop and electronica, mostly living up to the music blog hype she’s accumulated over the last year.
It might not be for you if… You’ve got little interest in a former model whispering about animals and forests or whatever, over an acoustic guitar.
What we said: “Although it could be loosely dubbed electro folk, her music’s unsettling quality and old-as-the-hills delivery makes her different,” wrote Dave Simpson, in the Guardian.
Score: 4/5
This week also sees releases from the likes of pop songwriter Charli XCX, singer-songwriter and guitarist José González and A Place to Bury Strangers. What will you be listening to?
