Simply, six of the best long-players that have come out over the past month. Because albums are dead, obviously. Pillock.
June was a pretty rich month for new albums. Not featured below but definitely worthy of investigation are sets from How To Dress Well, Venetian Snares, The Antlers, Teleman and Martyn.
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Jack White – ‘Lazaretto’
(Third Man/XL, released June 9th)
“Coming two years after his debut ‘Blunderbuss’, a vitriol-filled purge that dropped in the wake of White’s divorce, ‘Lazaretto’ does sound like a transitional step. Its songs convey a post-closure sureness; indeed, opener ‘Three Women’ is White’s brazen introduction to his concurrent concubines. His band, taking turns for frantic fleeting solos, share his newfound joy.”
Read the full review
Listen on Deezer
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clipping.– ‘CLPPNG’
(Sub Pop, released June 9th)
“While it aims to push boundaries, ‘CLPPNG’ does so in a way that demonstrates a love for the music and culture that forms its source material. Diggs talks about club culture, twerking, “getting your eagle on”, hipsters in Young Jeezy T-shirts, and he makes references to Clipse and Biggie, but never in a way that you’ve heard before.”
Read the full review
Listen on Deezer
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Brontide – ‘Artery’
(Holy Roar/Pink Mist, released June 30th)
“Brontide are amongst the foremost proponents of a brand of instrumental rock that carries both turbulence and tenderness. Their music doesn’t need a lexicon beyond the interface between instrument and identity, their language a universal one of potentially boundless possibility.”
Read the full review (and bonus interview)
Listen on Deezer
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The Phantom Band – ‘Strange Friend’
(Chemikal Underground, released June 2nd)
“Coming four years after acclaimed second album ‘The Wants’, ‘Strange Friend’ proves that the Phantoms’ Kraut-folk muddle is still as giddily rewarding, as Rick Anthony’s saturnine tones slither – like Jim Morrison on Buckfast – through unpredictable textural twists.”
Read the full review
Listen on Deezer
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Alex Banks – ‘Illuminate’
(Monkeytown, released June 2nd)
“The result of two years of head-down studio time, the Brighton-based producer has laced this debut with heart-racing drums that trip over each other and dark-hued synth rollers.”
Read the full review
Listen on Deezer
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First Aid Kit – ‘Stay Gold’
(Released June 9th, Columbia)
“With lyrics dripping with casual poetic nuance and bold, full arrangements, ‘Stay Gold’ is at once an arresting set of classic country reference points as well as a towering body of stirring, beguilingly original songs.”
Read the full review
Listen on Deezer
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Lots more albums reviewed, here. Some good, some bad. None dead.
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