SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS

MUSIC is coming around all over again, this time it’s the late 70s and 80s’ prog-rock scene. Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and his side-project the Coattail Riders have crashed in with Get The Money, a mix of David Bowie, Yes, Wizzard, Rick Wakeman and ELO.

Get The Money is a really easy listen. In fact, for me, it is over far too soon and I was left wanting more. Not to mention that this third offering from the band is a veritable who’s who of the rock world.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl features as does Guns N’ Roses’s Duff McKagan, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, LeAnn Rimes, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Foos’ Pat Smear and Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones.

KREPT AND KONAN

REVENGE Is Sweet is part eulogy to a lost friend, part statement of intent.

It is a remarkable collection that, despite a roll call of talent (D-Block Europe, Headie On, WizKid), feels loose and unpredictable. Goat Level opens with a salvo of life lessons. Focus on its operatic beat and you might mistake the message for bravado. But the south Londoners are taking aim at their rivals for wasting their money and failing to use their healthy success to make real life changes. Revenge Is Sweet, cements the pair as the rap scene’s most potent duo.

KELE

FOLLOWING arena gigs to celebrate Bloc Party’s 2005 debut Silent Alarm, and his gay marriage musical Leave To Remain, comes Kele’s fourth solo album, 2042. The title refers to a Census Bureau prediction of the year when ethnic and racial minorities will become the majority, and Kele calls it his most political yet. In the album, he references the Grenfell and Windrush scandals as well as American Football star Colin Kaepernick.

The angry Let England Burn (“so we can start again”) contrasts with the reflective Back Burner on an album that encapsulates Britain at the end of a tumultuous decade while still managing to be upbeat rather than depressing.