Editor's Pick of New Releases, November 2009

Righto, keeping this month's instalment of the best albums of the past month (as assessed by BBC Music's ever-open-minded review team) brief, as there are more important things to be thinking about.

Firstly, there's the Christmas Records series, where we're profiling a different festive album every day throughout advent. So far we've had Tori Amos, Sufjan Stevens, the cast of Star Wars alongside Jon Bon Jovi (!) and more.

And soon it'll be time to reveal our albums of the year (a work in progress right now). We'll have a list for every one of BBC Music's genre categories, and let me tell you that competition is fierce. Every contributing writer has had the chance to submit their personal favourites, and the final lists will be published in the first week of January. Personally, my favourite album of 2009 is probably P***** Jean's King of Jeans, but something tells me that won't be our overall number one for Rock & Indie, such is the quality of the competition.

A quick note on the below: all the artists selected this month are operating outside of mainstream circles, but absolutely deserve wider attention. So don't be afraid - click to listen to something brand new to your ears and who knows, you might just like it.

2652 - Unbalance

(Tectonic, released 2 November)

Writes reviewer Colin Buttimer: "Unbalance sketches views of a cybernetic near future that touches a number of bases, from dubstep and broken beat to the Detroit-tinged breakbeat sci-fi of Jacob's Optical Stairway. Yet it's more than the sum of its influences, with a sense of great confidence and a real attention to texture."

Read the full review of Unbalance

2652 artist page

2652, Flashback (audio only)

Royal Bangs - Let It Beep

(City Slang, released 23 November)

Writes reviewer Mike Diver: "Varied but never lacking cohesion, Let It Beep is a charming and entirely unforeseen hit for tastes demanding their rock a little rough-hewn and happily unaffected. That it makes fellow Tennessee types Kings of Leon sound as sonically redundant as U2 and Oasis is merely an accidental bonus."

Read the full review of Let It Beep

Royal Bangs artist page

Video: Royal Bangs, Poison Control (live)

Jesca Hoop - Hunting My Dress

(Last Laugh Records, released 30 November)

Writes reviewer Rob Crossan: "A sensual, eccentric and often frankly odd-sounding record, Hoop's second album exudes oodles of charisma and originality, thanks mostly to her delightfully freaky take on traditional folk convention. It's clear that this hotly tipped talent is fully deserving of the current buzz around her."

Read the full review of Hunting My Dress

Jessica Hoop artist page

Video: Jesca Hoop, Four Dreams (live at London's Union Chapel)

Memory Tapes - Seek Magic

(Something in Construction, released 16 November)

Writes reviewer Mike Diver: "The work of one man, New Jersey-based Dayve Hawke, Memory Tapes' sound is immediately accessible but entirely capable of haunting your thoughts when it's not filling your ears. It's evocative of a thousand records you've heard before, and hundreds you own, but bafflingly unique, as if the recognisable elements have never before been assembled quite as exquisitely."

Read the full review of Seek Magic

Memory Tapes artist page

Memory Tapes, Bicycle (audio only)

King Midas Sound - Waiting for You

(Hyperdub, released 9 November)

Writes reviewer Louis Pattison: "Kevin Martin and Roger Robinson's debut album for Steve 'Kode9' Goodman's Hyperdub imprint shares some of the hallmarks of Martin's The Bug project; a musical grounding in dub and dancehall, with lyrics steeped in the grit and danger of city living and often shaded with religious notions of sin and salvation. Heavy with urban dread but awake to the promise of a better life, Waiting for You feels like a hard-won victory - the kind that tastes all the sweeter."

Read the full review of Waiting for You

King Midas Sound artist page

Video: King Midas Sound, Meltdown (audio only)

The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath

(Pointy, released 30 November)

Writes reviewer Chris White: "It's probably inevitable that a group like London's The Clientele are destined to remain undeservedly obscure. Yet those prepared to seek them out will discover some of the most heartbreakingly lovely, perfectly formed music to be recorded anywhere over the past decade. By buying this album, you will be doing your bit to help maintain one of Britain's most unheralded but genuine musical treasures."

Read the full review of Bonfires on the Heath

The Clientele artist page

The Clientele, Jennifer and Julia (audio only)

Related Links

This week's album reviews