THIS WEEK’S CD RELEASES

I See You The xx (Young Turks)

While many warmed to the first chilly knockings of The xx back in 2009, the trio left many more a little nonplussed. That will surely change with I See You – a record you are as likely to fall in love to, as with. While you could only dance a little selfconsciously to previous releases, now you can throw confident shapes to Dangerous, On Hold and A Violent Noise. The success of Jamie (Smith) xx’s solo album, In Colour, seems to have influenced the process, but it’s Roma Madley Croft’s delicate vocals that make this a record to embrace.

Gentlewoman,RubyMan FloMorrissey&MatthewEWhite (Caroline International)

I first encountered Florence Morrissey as a gauche teenager proffering psychedelic-tinged folk in 2015. Now the London singersongwriter has teamed up with American alt-jazz hipster Matthew E White to delightful effect on one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable albums this year. Though it is a covers album, their choice of tracks as diverse as the title song from Grease and Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne, to James Blake’s The Colour In Anything and Frank Ocean’s Thinkin’ Bout You, are inspired and often sublime.

Admission DearlyBeloved (Aporia Records)

Like the love children of the White Stripes, Nirvana and Hole, this grunge-punk duo are loud and proud, and have plenty to shout about. The set-up makes song such as RIP and Strobe Dosing sound sparse, but they are propelled with such energy that what is absent feels extraneous. Niva Chow and Rob Higgins may tear through Future Shock like a pair possessed, but they can dial it down too. Higgins is a nephew of Geddy Lee, of rock legends Rush, but Dearly Beloved are a rush of a whole different kind.