ALBUM REVIEWS

Pet Shop Boys – Nonetheless

One of Britain’s most consistently brilliant singles bands, the Pet Shop Boys have never quite hit the same heights with the albums they’ve released since the 1990s – until now. On Nonetheless Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe remedy matters with a collection of songs that plays to their strengths, intertwining hummable melodies with dance beats, wistful lyrics and luxurious production. Why Am I Dancing? and A New Bohemia contain some of the most beautiful chord sequences that Lowe has composed in years while in New London Boy Tennant gets nostalgic about the capital’s gay scene in the 80s (“I know where I have to go/To unlock the secret in me”). The Schlager Hit Parade wittily muses on the simple pleasures of Europop and The Secret of Happiness is all swooning romance. Their best album since Bilingual.

Pearl Jam – Dark Matter Review by Alexander Hoggard

Ahead of the release of Pearl Jam’s 12th studio album, lead singer Eddie Vedder declared: “I think this is our best work.” Perhaps a bold statement from the frontman of the veteran Seattle group, but Dark Matter proves to be the band’s finest offering in almost two decades. A vibrant start sees the band rattle through the power chords on Scared Of Fear before blazing into React, Respond – which sees the rhythm section of drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Jeff Ament soar. For a band famed for their live performances, the elegant Wreckage seems destined to be a concert favourite with its singalong-ready anthemic outro. Atmospheric closer Setting Sun sees Vedder part with the final line “Let us not fade” – and on this showing, there’s little chance of the band fading away.

Kathryn Williams and Withered Hand – Willson:Williams Review by Duncan Seaman

Singer-songwriters Kathryn Williams and

Dan Willson – who performs under the name Withered Hand – became fast friends after meeting at Edinburgh International Book Festival five years ago and their first collaborative album shows their shared love of acoustic instrumentation, folky melodies and confessional lyricism laced with a liberal amount of self-deprecating humour. Written in the wake of personal losses – Willson for his brother, Karl and pal Scott Hutchinson of the band Frightened Rabbit, and Williams for her friend, the comedian Jeremy Hardy – bereavement is a running theme, but songs such as Grace, RU4Real? and Wish are incisive rather than gloomy, while in Shelf they ponder on life while considering a spot of DIY. A delicate delight.

Annie Dressner – I Thought It Would Be Easier Review by Duncan Seaman

Native New Yorker Annie Dressner has become a regular on the UK touring circuit since relocating to Cambridge and setting up a photographic business alongside her work as a musician. Her fourth album is an impressive collection of ten carefully wrought songs that showcases Dressner’s intimate lyrics and mellifluous vocal. Production gimmicks are avoided in favour of straightforward arrangements that give the upbeat Americana of Dance We Do and Should've Seen It Coming a pleasing directness. Seasoned English singer-songwriter Polly Paulusma duets with Dressner on the winsome 18 Years while Big Grey Couch also hits the spot with chiming guitars and catchy chorus. I Just Realized is a poignant ode to Dressner’s mother who died at the age of 56.