THIS WEEK’S CD RELEASES

Johannesburg Mum ford& Sons with Baa ba Ma al, The Very Best& Beaten berg (Island) ****

After a two-day recording session in Johannesburg with a host of African musicians Mumford & Sons emerged with a mini-album worth of material. Cynics will sneer and say they’re thieving artistic crusaders but anything that brings Senegalese singer Baaba Maal to a mainstream audience is a positive thing. His power is electrifying on Si Tu Vieux and There Will Be Time. Cape Town-based Beatenberg bring a Blur-ish pop sensibility to Wona. It all deserves more credit than it will receive.

Conscious Broods (Capitol) ***

New Zealand duo Broods hit the charts with Evergreen when they were barely out of school. Like fellow Kiwi Lorde they favour a form of cool electro indie-pop. Joel Little, who produced Lorde’s classic Royals, also produced Broods’ albums. Lorde also chips in with ideas and backing vocals on some tracks on Conscious. Elsewhere, Full Blown Love and Are You Home recall Chvrches. The hooks and melodies are immediate and without pushing too many boundaries they’ve consolidated on their 2014 breakthrough.

Life In The Dark The Felice Brothers (Yep Roc) ***

The prolific Felice Brothers may have cut their teeth in New York’s subways but their sound is of the Catskills mountains. It is like a Wilco-John Prine-Bob Dylan mash-up; musically Triumph ’73 is a ringer for It’s All Over Now Baby Blue. Shut your eyes and it could be Dylan singing Plunder with The Band’s Levon Helm on back-up. The lyrics are cutting, clever and on Dancing On The Wing current. If you like Cajun-country-folk and can overlook the fact they are as derivative as a tribute act, you’ll find them enjoyable.