SOUND JUDGEMENT
The latest album releases reviewed
HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT’S GONNA LAST? BIG RED MACHINE ★★★★★
The second full-length release by The National’s Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is an exquisite work combining big- hearted songwriting with deep emotion.
It’s a study in regret, nostalgia for childhood, lost innocence and optimism about the future.
On Brycie, Dessner pays tribute to his twin brother, who guided him through depressive bouts at school, while on Hutch (featuring Sharon Van Etten, Lisa Hannigan and Shara Nova) he struggles with the death of his friend, Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison, who took his own life in 2018.
Taylor Swift also appears on two tracks, including the yearning single Renegade, which addresses the anxiety of co-dependent love.
Mostly, however, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? is a tribute to friends and family, and the joy of making music alongside them.
THE MUTT’S NUTS CHUBBY AND THE GANG ★★★★✩
Forty-five years on from the Summer of Hate, Chubby And The Gang are here to prove that punk’s still not dead. The opener and title track and It’s Me Who’ll Pay are 100mph thrashes fronted by Charlie Manning’s gruff vocals, but with 15 songs, there’s plenty of variety.
Life On The Bayou has blues harmonica and piano, showing a Dr Feelgood and pub rock influence, while Take Me Home To London is an acoustic ballad, just voice and guitar. At a time when the Sex Pistols have been arguing in the High Court, there’s a new gang in town ready to keep the punk flag flying.
YOU SIGNED UP FOR THIS MAISIE PETERS ★★★✩✩
Maisie Peters made headlines earlier this year when she signed to fellow teen-busker Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records and both share a taste for lyrical, poppy songwriting.
Now Peters, 21, is releasing her debut studio album – a love letter to youth and the emotional highs and lows of those heady years.
She has produced a solid selection of dynamic and fresh chart-ready tracks. On Outdoor Pool she recalls a teenage dalliance gone wrong and sings, “I was 15, now I’m 15 and a fool,” while the title track is a comingof-age story told without regret.
She has an avid fanbase – the Daisies – and her debut album is likely to win her even more.