Dream Wife
Dream Wife
JUST when it seems Punk really is dead, along comes all-female trio Dream Wife with this intense and idiosyncratic debut which, if it doesn't quite reinvent New Wave, certainly reinfuses it with youthful charisma. Having formed initially as part of a performance art project, the band have developed a formidable reputation as a live act, but their anarchic image is backed up by tracks as infectious as Fire, Somebody and Love Without Reason – all defined by angular guitar, pulsating bass and Icelandic-born Rakel Mjoll's spiky, sloganeering vocals. In a perfect world all bands would sound like Dream Wife, but it's encouraging at least that just one of them does.
9/10
James Robinson
Craig David
The Time Is Now
IF CRAIG David is hoping to appeal to an audience hankering for a dose of nostalgia, he's hit the nail on the head. The Time Is Now, his seventh album, is a collection that strongly echoes the dance, R&B and garage classics of the early noughties, but with a modern edge that is distinctly of the here and now. From opener Magic – which sounds both appropriate for 2002 and 2018 – through party bangers Heartline, Brand New, I Know You (featuring Bastille) and Focus, David delivers. Sure, there are a few weaker points, some filler tracks, but the majority of the LP is strong, each track with the potential for top 40 success. Bonus track Reload is the true stand-out – it has a real Artful Dodger vibe and seems like a real gift to those who have been a fan of David since way back when.
8.5/10
Lucy Mapstone
The Spook School
Could It Be Different?
ON THEIR formidable third album, Edinburgh quartet The Spook School lend an affirming, empathetic voice to communities with which they associate closely, notably non-binary, trans and queer allies. It begins with a monologue from comedian Josie Long, riffing on self-identity and raging against the government, before Still Alive targets an abusive ex, castigating the culprit and building to a chant of "F*** you, I'm still alive". Euphoric rather than gratuitous, the cry comes atop a rollicking punk-pop clatter comparable to prime Buzzcocks. Singer Nye Todd came out as transgender early in this band's life and his experiences flavour the record, although Brexit is the anxiety trigger on Bad Year. Keep In Touch examines why even deeply intense relationships can be transient, and insecurities of self are deftly deconstructed elsewhere. Produced by Hookworms' MJ, this record brims with pop riches, a dossier of personal discovery destined to resonate widely.
9/10
John Skilbeck
Django Django
Marble Skies
BIG things were predicted for Scottish psychedelic indie four-piece Django Django upon the release of their eponymous debut in 2012. Those early gigs had an air of excitement and great things to come. So it was a shame that second release, Born Under Saturn, seemed to come and quickly go when it was released in 2015. It was a good album, but perhaps too similar to the first to make the desired impact. However, David Maclean, Vincent Neff, Jimmy Dixon and Tommy Grace certainly show artistic progression on Marble Skies. By and large ditching the guitars (or turning them down a little), the band have come up with a summery, dance-driven sound that has always been hinted at since their debut. Featuring Metronomy's Anna Prior, Slow Club's Rebecca Taylor and 80s keyboard maestro Jan Hammer, Marble Skies is a welcome blast of colour for these grey winter days.
7/10
Rob Barker
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Young Adult
SAM Duckworth is ready to don his cape and fly once again with this sixth studio album under his largely successful moniker. Young Adult is the Southend troubadour's first release in four years as Get Cape and he still has as much to say now as he did as a fresh-faced teenager on his 2006 debut. Duckworth, soon to be 32, believes he is now more "direct and confident" in his songwriting, and it is hard to disagree. The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager, which launched his career, was more electro-folk than the reflective, acoustic sound heard on Young Adult, but the brass section which enriched most of his finest work can still be heard on stand-out tracks Invisible and previous single Just A Phase.
7/10
Andrew Carless
