Melanie C – Melanie C
FORMER Spice Girl Melanie admits she has not always felt comfortable in her own skin despite coming across as talented and likeable. However, her celebratory eighth solo album tells the world she now accepts – and even likes – herself for who she is.
It's an upbeat listen with singles Who I Am, Blame It On Me and In And Out Of Love as stand-out tracks to get people dancing. The atmospheric Fearless wouldn't sound out of place on a Spice Girls album, with rapper Nadia Rose – a childhood Spice Girls fan – adding power, while Here I Am is a singalong anthem about finding inner strength.
But despite the upbeat music, Melanie C pulls no punches in discussing the darker side of life with panic attacks in Nowhere To Run, toxic relationships in Good Enough and, finally, the relief that can come with a new start in End Of Everything.
8/10
Beverley Rouse
Corey Taylor – CMFT
I THOUGHT I knew what I was in for when I cranked up the volume for Corey Taylor's debut solo album. Uh-uh.
There is a mix of bluesy country in HWY 666, don't be forgiven if you find yourself at a crossroads looking for a demon – because just by this opening track I swear he has sold his soul to something.
Black Eyes Blue and Kansas have elements of soft rock from days of yore. Single CMFT Must Be Stopped (feat. Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie) is all drums and guitar riffs – think Run DMC mixed with Beastie Boys and throw in some tongue-tripping rap. This mix of rock and hip hop has the potential to generate some real staying power.
The whole record slips effortlessly from one track to the next. The driving riffs are apparent throughout, and the drums build up the momentum and even coaxed a mini-mosh from this hardened soul.
8/10
Rachel Howdle
Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension
FIVE years on from his heartbreaking magnum opus Carrie And Lowell, Sufjan Stevens' interstellar adventure is re-commencing in the form of 80-minute epic The Ascension.
Much like 2010's The Age Of Adz, this latest record fuses Stevens' knack for piercing-yet-folksy melody with his more recent penchant for sci-fi infused electronica. That means there is a bit more that can be enjoyed purely on face value.
But grief and an obsession with the big questions are all still in plentiful supply – indeed Stevens' grapples with faith and the universe he inhabits dominate much of the record.
Fans of this more esoteric Sufjan will be drawn to the album's climax, with the stunning title track Ascension followed by the overtly political America – no spoilers, but it offers quite the counterpoint to the quirky Americana that helped him make his name.
8/10
Stephen Jones
Fleet Foxes – Shore
FROM the first seconds of opener Wading In Waist-High Water, it could only be Fleet Foxes – acoustic guitars, wheezing keyboards, a children's choir, over almost before it has begun. But the vocals are by Uwade Akhere, rather than frontman Robin Pecknold, a literal attempt to take himself out of the spotlight.
He then does sing second track Sunblind which references Richard Swift and a host of other artists like Arthur Russell who are no longer with us. Can I Believe You sounds like it could have been crafted during sessions for Neil Young's 1972 Harvest and Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman samples Brian Wilson's voice from Pet Sounds outtakes.
A 'surprise' release, Shore – which comes with an accompanying 16mm road movie of the same name shot by Kersti Jan Werdal in the Pacific Northwest – is at once tinged with melancholy yet life-affirming. It's good to have them back.
7/10
Matthew George
