Editor's Pick of New Releases, April 2010
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|12:00 UK time, Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Every month the BBC reviews a sizeable amount of new albums from across the genre spectrum, and every month I try to pick a handful that are really worthy of your time and (hopefully) money.
April's selection is here, below, but it's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are many more excellent albums from April out there, awaiting discovery, from under-the-radar delights to mainstream pop affairs. So make sure you don't miss out: follow our reviews as they go live via Twitter, or make a point of bookmarking the Music homepage and visit us frequently. There are usually new reviews uploaded every day of the working week.
May's shaping up to be a particularly splendid month for new albums, with The National, LCD Soundsystem, Deftones, Foals, Toni Braxton and Kelis among the big-name acts with fresh material forthcoming. So look out for a similarly quality-of-content round-up in a month's time.
Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
(Hometapes, released 5 April)
Recommended by Huw Stephens
"They've Yeasayer's playfulness, MGMT's way with a deceptively catchy melody, and The Ruby Suns' penchant for layering on an infectiously happy haziness that keeps the listener coming back. Expect to hear a lot more about Bear In Heaven over the coming months."
Read the full review
High Places - High Places vs. Mankind
(Thrill Jockey, released 5 April)
"High Places have moved on from their excellent debut, with a greater emphasis on so-called conventional instrumentation positioning them on the fringes of the ongoing chillwave explosion, albeit with enough invention to outlast most of its central protagonists."
Caribou - Swim
(City Slang, released 19 April)
6 Music Album of the Day
"Dan Snaith, aka Caribou, is a doctor of maths - and with this album everything seems to add up. Stripped and purified beats sit comfortably with an atmosphere of the ethereal, while Snaith's lullaby vocals lead you into exciting new worlds."
Starkey - Ear Drums and Black Holes
(Planet Mu, released 19 April)
Recommended by MistaJam
"A homeland forerunner in the sonic catchalls of grime and dubstep, promoting his own nights and labels, Starkey is among a rare few stateside producers to have successfully competed in such quintessentially British artforms."
65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
(Hassle, released 26 April)
Recommended by Huw Stephens, Marc Riley
"From being a fringe concern - albeit one with an underground reputation worthy of rabid devotion - 65daysofstatic have grasped hitherto unimagined opportunities, capitalised on experiences and brought an eclectic yet huge arsenal with which to entice newcomers and open-minded veteran travellers with."
The Futureheads - The Chaos
(Nul, released 26 April)
Recommended by Fearne Cotton, Zane Lowe, 6 Music Album of the Day
"The Futureheads have always had more nous, more range, more brains than their indie punk peers. Album number four delivers on the hope amongst their fanbase that the band might give up on their commercial dreams, instead ploughing the oddness that always set them apart from the pack."
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way
(Daptone, released 26 April)
Recommended by Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show
"Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings can hold their heads high and proud with icons of the soul scene, for here they match bold exuberance with sensitivity and affection on a truly brilliant album that elevates them far beyond pastiche."
Small Black - Small Black EP
(Jagjaguwar, released 26 April)
"Seven tracks of fuzzy, foggy, fantastic synth-pop-through-a-mangle akin to fellow blogosphere big-shots - but should an absolute beginner persevere, they can't fail to find the tremendous beauty within these purposefully flawed gems."
Food - Quiet Inlet
(ECM, released 19 April)
Recommended by Jazz on 3
"Quiet Inlet reveals a technologised rhythmic approach distantly related to jungle and two-step as well as connections with 1970s Miles Davis recordings. Food's music is a magical hybrid of technology and improvisation, Europe and America, ambience and dance."
Ty - Special Kind of Fool
(BBE, released 19 April)
Recommended by Nick Grimshaw, Ronnie Herel, MistaJam
"As ever, Ty fills his lines with specifically British homeland references, keeping things conversational and often dryly humorous. There are jazz, soul and electro trimmings, but the end product couldn't be perceived as being any of these genres in the full sense."
Paul Weller - Wake Up the Nation
(Island, released 19 April)
Recommended by Radcliffe & Maconie, Victoria Derbyshire, 6 Music Album of the Day
"The album roars along at an impressive pace, taking the listener on a hallucinogenic expedition through Weller's varied stylistic terrain. Here the Modfather is making full use of his exceptional musical vocabulary, and Wake Up the Nation feels like an unrestrained sonic exploration."
Martha Argerich - Argerich Plays Chopin
(Deutsche Grammophon, released 5 April)
"This chance unearthing of over an hour of Martha Argerich recordings is quite the find. Clearly focused, she coaxes incredible narrative-led performances from these works. The last thing we hear on the disc after this mammoth effort is ecstatic applause - anything less would be inappropriate."
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