> Indians. Somewhere Else. 4AD.
His ghostly high-register singing floats over largely beat-free backgrounds of subtle keys and layered electronics, with a shift to the warmer textures of strummed acoustic guitar on I Am Haunted and Cakelayers. It's nothing new, yet Juul's measured approach delivers several moments of beauty that are reward for those who can live without grand, attention-grabbing statements.
Single download: I Am Haunted
For those who like: Bon Iver, Efterklang, Grizzly Bear
4 stars (out of 5)
By Jeff Harford.
Cranking out the type of sass and swagger normally associated with legendary '80s British dance-rock acts, this third full-length album from Oxford lads Foals is a cracker.
Shimmering with sweaty dance-floor grooves one minute, then dishing out brooding mellifluous melodies the next, Holy Fire is the ultimate summer-driving companion.
It is awash with prickly staccato guitars, no better exhibited than in the dirty fuzz of opening track Prelude and its companion Inhaler. Foals is a guitar band in the same way that Queens of the Stone Age is metal. The guitar is but one ingredient in a recipe that is dialled to groove.
Single download: My Number
For those who like: The Checks, Motocade, New Order, Primal Scream
4 stars (out of 5)
By Mark Orton.
Over the course of nine studio albums, Mark ''E'' Everett has become something of a master of the heart-on-the-sleeve confessional lyric.
No surprises then in his 10th effort, although its title does hint at a soul rising from the depths of serial melancholia. Certainly there is a slightly brighter feel to Wonderful, Glorious, the prevalence of slinky electric guitar managing to offset Everett's deliberately grainy (sometimes distorted) vocals.
Elsewhere, it's the drums that steal the show; from the tom-tom thud of opener Bombs Away and Stick Together to the snare attack of Peach Blossom, there's plenty of interest, even if the formula is getting a little old.
Single download: Open My Present
For those who like: Black Keys
3 stars (out of 5)
By Shane Gilchrist.
