This week we review the latest albums from Gorillaz, Joan Armatrading, Jason Isbell, John Butler Trio, and Son Of Dave.
5 stars (out of 5)
Recorded on a floating island made of rubbish, the third Gorillaz album proves one man's trash is an animated hip-hop supergroup's treasure.
A vast array of guests, including Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, soul legend Bobby Womack and The National Orchestra for Arabic Music merely hints at the breadth of musicianship and berserker ambition lurking within.
What confirms it is the vast sweep of Orchestral Intro, the stunning funk of Sweepstakes, Empire Ants' transformation from after-hours ambience to Moroder-esque monkey business, and the blistering strut of single Stylo.
Single download: Stylo
For those who like: Outkast, MF Dooms' The Mouse and the Mask, Damon Albarn's chutzpah
- John Hayden
3 stars (out of 5)
Joan Armatrading may have made her biggest musical statements (chart-wise) with ballads and bouncy pop tunes but on her latest disc she winds into some full force rock 'n' roll as if she were born to it.
Those who came in at Love and Affection may wince at the driving guitars and walloping bass on Heading Back To New York City and Best Dress On, but Armatrading has the heft both vocally and musically (she plays everything on the album bar drums) to pull the rockers off. Elsewhere there's enough lower-tempo crafted pop to please the longtime fans.
Single download: Two Tears
For those who like: Blondie, Annie Lennox, Tracy Chapman
- Paul Mooney
3 stars (out of 5)
For this second album since leaving Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell taps a vein of Muscle Shoals soul, blending it with driving country-blues and slick rock to make a palatable mix that neither offends nor excites the senses.
A handful of the better songs (Seven-Mile Island, Cigarettes And Wine, Soldiers Get Strange) show him to be well in command of his lyrics but there's little fresh about his arrangements.
It is perhaps telling that in this Australia/New Zealand edition the stand-out track is a cover of Big Star's When My Baby's Beside Me.
Single download: Cigarettes And Wine
For those who like: Patterson Hood, Drive-By Truckers, Ryan Bingham
- Jeff Harford
3 stars (out of 5)
It seems a bit has happened in the three years since John Butler released the well-received Grand National. The Australian guitarist and singer has a new line-up (including a brother-in-law) and a tighter, more polished sound.
Tracing his lineage, Butler found inspiration in a variety of sources, from a matriarch singing for her survival, to his young son, and he delivers his rapid-fire lyrics over a range of textures: the slide flourishes remain (Don't Wanna See Your Face), but are augmented by some slick yet understated licks (Steal It, A Star Is Born) and delightful fingerstyle guitar (Mystery Man).
Single download: I'd Do Anything
For those who like: John Mayer, Ben Harper
- Shane Gilchrist
4 stars (out of 5)
Former Crash Test Dummies member Benjamin Darvill's fifth solo album under the Son Of Dave moniker, Shake A Bone is that rare combination of passion and humour.
Working within a framework of 12-bar blues, Darvill uses harmonica blasts, guttural vocal howls, foot stomps and a range of rhythmic loops and is helped by producer Steve Albini, who brews an in-your-face mix that seems so much more than the sum of its limited parts.
From the grit of the title track to the train-chug vibe of Voodoo Doll and the lamentation of Brokedown Lincoln, this is an album designed to make you shake and smile in equal measure.
Single download: She Just Danced All Night
For those who like: Son House meets Beck
- Shane Gilchrist
