Bon Iver
22, A Million
22, A MILLION is a slip of an album, pulsating with unpronounceable names and lyrics that require both study and a dictionary, like being thrust poetry at school and told, exasperatedly, to make sense of it, to feel something about it, anything.
Except, the feelings come thick and fast with 22, A Million, however cryptically scrawled founder Justin Vernon's ideas are. There are stratas of sound, voices, manipulation, sampling – and a liberal use of saxophone, which is only ever a brilliant thing – to burrow into.
There's so much to read into between the lines. 8 (circle) builds with a yearning questioning that swells to bursting point, while 33 "GOD" splices Paolo Nutini and Lonnie Holley and rattles with urgency and bass.
The group's folk sensibilities, first heard on their 2007 debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, are now but a wisp amongst drawling, whirring bases and synths, footnoted only by English trio The Staves, who provide ethereal backing harmonies.
But there's soul and blues (____45____) and country (1000000 Million) here too, and 666 t is enough to make you want to spin in the centre of a dance floor on your own. At times it's brooding (715 – CRââKS) and 21 MââN WATER grates with sirens, but 22, A Million's been more than worth the five-year wait.
9/10
Ella Walker
Van Morrison
Keep Me Singing
ROCK and roll legend Van Morrison returns with his 36th studio album. Keep Me Singing is the first original album in four years from the Belfast singer and musician and it feels like a trip down memory lane, which is also the title given to one of the standout tracks on the LP.
Like other songs in this collection, it is tinged with nostalgia, while the whole affair feels like it could have been created in any one of the decades the singer has been active – it has a timelessness about it.
Self-produced by the man himself, Keep Me Singing is rich in depth and sounds, and Morrison puts in a distinctive vocal effort. Other highlights include Let It Rhyme and Going Down To Bangor. This new material doesn't break any fresh ground, but Keep Me Singing is nonetheless solid output from a living legend.
7/10
Ryan Ward
Jimi Hendrix and the Band of Gypsys
Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show
ON NEW Year's Eve 1969, Jimi Hendrix played the first of two shows with his Band of Gypsys, including bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles. As Miles later admitted: "The audience didn't know what to expect, and to be honest, we didn't either."
But the chance to perform at Bill Graham's legendary venue clearly reaped dividends for both band and audience with Hendrix in incendiary form. Of course, he had first burst onto the scene with the Experience, but this live album showcases a talent who still had it, despite the increasing use of drugs which ultimately led to his premature death, aged just 27.
The likes of opener Power Of Soul, the title track and Ezy Rider, proves conclusively that we will never hear his like again.
8/10
Kim Mayo
The Computers
Birth/Death
BIRTH/Death is the third album from Exeter band The Computers. Starting out as a garage rock band, the group has progressed towards a slick mix of blues and soul that's slowly but surely replaced their original punky, garage sound.
It gives new life to Alex Kershaw's vocals and shows off his warm tones, but it also allows the band to layer their sounds, and the result is that everything feels grander. It's polished and powerful. Perhaps the album's strong tempo is behind this, but whatever it is, it's good.
At just shy of 40 minutes, and with the standard 11 tracks, this record isn't going to take up all of your time. It's an upbeat journey through the sound – and soul – of The Computers, and its bite-sized nature means it'll fit nicely into your day, whether it's a lunch break listen or something for the drive home.
7/10
Liam Sheasby
Regina Spektor
Remember Us To Life
REGINA Spektor dips in and out of commercial consciousness: her first three albums barely caused a murmur, then her fourth, Begin To Hope rocketed up the charts thanks to the blithe Fidelity. That song may just be the zenith, because however well constructed Remember Us To Life is – and however comforting Spektor's voice is to have on in the background – there's no 'wow' factor.
In fact, it's rather one-note. The piano on Grand Hotel is sumptuous, but the story it accompanies is saccharine and contrived, The Light would suit a romantic Disney soundtrack while Obsolete slips into moroseness. Spektor's voice is just as strong as ever, and longtime fans will be satisfied, but this record is unlikely to win her many new listeners.
6/10
Ella Walker
