BEST OF THE NEW RELEASES...

BLEACHERS: Bleachers (Dirty Hit)

Best known as the go-to producer for an array of talented and famous women — Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde and others — Jack Antonoff reasserts his own credentials on his fourth album with New Jersey band Bleachers. The sound is rooted partly in the Garden State’s rich rock traditions, with sax lines and ganglike vocals on Modern Girl. Elsewhere, retro-flavoured synth-pop rules, with Tiny Moves a 1980s-flavoured love song, and the wonderful Alma Mater one of several hazy electronic ballads. ‘I’ll make it darker,’ sings Del Rey on the latter, but this is a bright, if scattergun, album. ))))*

NORAH JONES: Visions (Blue Note)

Jones has always been more enterprising than her demure image suggests, and she continues to spring surprises. Her ninth solo album, made with soul saxophonist and drummer Leon Michels, puts dinner-party jazz on the back burner in favour of funky R&B and raw country. She’s a versatile instrumentalist, too, at home on the piano and twangy, Nashville-style guitar. If 2020’s Pick Me Up Off The Floor, made in lockdown, was her mid-life crisis album, she’s now far more philosophical (on That’s Life) and even celebratory (on I Just Wanna Dance). A refreshing return. )))**

THE ROLLING STONES: Live At The Wiltern (Mercury Studios)

Like all Stones tours, the Licks outing of 2002 was dominated by hits-heavy concerts in huge venues. But, amid the arena gigs, they also visited smaller, more intimate places, including Los Angeles’ 1,850-capacity Wiltern theatre. The upshot was a less predictable night out, complete with the odd bum note and a setlist featuring rarely played gems like blues ballad No Expectations, the discoinspired Dance (Pt. 1) and Keith Richards’ delightful reggae homage You Don’t Have To Mean It. The world doesn’t need another live version of Jumpin’ Jack Flash, but the deep cuts are well worth a listen.

))))*