SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

TESTAMENT

ALL SAINTS ★★★★★ ALL Saints’ new record is a solid effort filled with tracks that hit the spot from the English-Canadian foursome.

There’s an instant familiarity here, their voices blending together in that identifiable, profoundly All Saints manner. Indeed Testament is, erm, testament to the fact that their sound – best described as pop tinged with R&B and soft electronica – is timeless.

They’ve reunited with William Orbit, who produced Pure Shores and Black Coffee, for two tracks, After All and Testament In Motion, adding a double dose of nostalgia for listeners who crave bewitching beats and ethereal melodies.

NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC! 100

VARIOUS ARTISTS ★★★★★ IT’S been described as the original mixtape, and to celebrate the 100th album, the people behind the Now That’s What I Call Music! juggernaut have compiled some corkers.

To please early Now fans, the second disc’s track-listing is crammed with old school favourites like UB40’s Red Red Wine, Wet Wet Wet’s Love Is All Around and the Spice Girls’ Wannabe.

The first disc is a snapshot of a more current music scene with artists including Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris and Ariana Grande.

For an exemplary mix of the old and new, you cannot go wrong here.

TEATIME DUB ENCOUNTERS EP

IGGY POP AND UNDERWORLD ★★★★★ WHAT do Iggy Pop and Underworld have in common? Quite a lot actually.

Neither act has let age be a barrier (how can Underworld frontman Karl Hyde be in his 60s?!) – and their work is as edgy now as it was in their youth.

And of course, both acts featured on the Trainspotting soundtrack. It was T2 Trainspotting, the sequel, that helped inspire their new collaborative EP, Teatime Dub Encounters.

At nearly 30 minutes long, it’s a lengthy but solid piece of work. The highlight is definitely Bells And Circles. Pop recounts getting high in more ways than one on a plane while trying to pull an air hostess, before Hyde joins in with an anthemic chorus.