SOUND JUDGEMENT
THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED
JAMES – LIVING IN EXTRAORDINARY TIMES ★★★★★ MORE than 30 years after their first release, the Mancunian Brit-pop favourites have continuously evolved to remain relevant.
Singer Tim Booth sets his stall out lyrically from the off with the political and the personal represented in the first two songs – the percussive anti-Trump diatribe Hank followed by Coming Home (Part 2), a companion piece to 1990’s Come Home and a tender expression of love from afar for his son.
The political side is perhaps best expressed on Many Faces, a message of unity which pointedly states “all walls fall over time”, while the two schools meet on May’s storming lead-out single Better Than That, one of the band’s best songs in years.
THE BLACK DELTA MOVEMENT – PRESERVATION ★★★★★ ANYONE with an ear for honest-to-God rock’n’roll won’t fail to be knocked sideways by this infectious collection of barnstormers. There’s a clear Jesus & Mary Chain/Black Rebel Motorcycle Club vibe to be heard in the mantra-like vocals of No End and the wigged-out guitars of sevenminute album closer Butterfly, as well as a Nirvana-esque pop sensibility that can be picked up in the maddeningly catchy King Mosquito and For You.
The indie scene has been pretty wan in recent years, but based on the sheer intensity of Preservation, The Black Delta Movement might just be the band to reinvigorate it.
AMANDA SHIRES TO THE SUNSET ★★★★★ AMERICAN singersongwriter and violinist Amanda Shires, the winner of the emerging artist of the year at the Americana Music Honours & Awards 2017, has the ability to restore the listener’s faith in many things with To The Sunset. Mostly that folk/Americana can achieve another level if you add grubby guitar, electro twists, a slight upwards scooch in tempo and vocals as bewitchingly chirpy as hers.
This collection errs on the optimistic side, even with songs like Take On The Dark, where Shires repeatedly, alluringly croons that “it’s OK to fall apart”. Eve’s Daughter, an upbeat folksy-meets-edgy indie mash-up that focuses on a woman’s hope for love in testing times, is one of the album’s peak moments.