SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

HOTSPOT PET SHOP BOYS

★★★★★

CREATING an album which echoes the best aspects of their extensive back catalogue without sounding predictable is quite a feat but Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe pull it off.

It’s clear the pair still enjoy working together; it shines through in this third in a trilogy of albums with producer Stuart Price, following Electric in 2013 and Super in 2016.

Like the single Dreamland, featuring Years & Years, Hotspot gets better with each listen. You Are The One is a romantic ballad to rival any on their exquisite 1990 album Behaviour. It’s an album of strong emotions, climaxing with the joyful Wedding in Berlin. A 10-track treat for fans.

R.Y.C

MURA MASA

★★★★☆

MURA MASA’S (Alex Crossan) second album R.Y.C (Raw

Youth Collage) will surprise. Rapper slowthai makes an appearance on Deal Wiv It, which brings an unexpected and bouncy punk feel to an otherwise introspective 11-track album, while Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell delivers a rock-inspired edge on Teenage Headache Dreams.

But the album is also heavy with Crossan’s own vocals, such as on standout track, In My Mind, where his nostalgic sound compliments the electronic production.

Raw and youthful, Crossan’s change in direction shows an artist able to tap into trends and draw the best out of collaborators.

MIND HIVE WIRE

★★★★★

FORTY-THREE years after Wire’s first record, three of the four who made it – Robert Grey, Colin Newman and Graham Lewis – have made their 17th album.

There are the post-punk songs you expect, such as Be Like Them and Oklahoma, but there are more of the left-field pop songs they have done so brilliantly since Outdoor Miner in 1979.

The main difference over the years is song length – Pink Flag had 21 songs in 35 minutes, Mind Hive has nine in the same time.

There is no other band in their fifth decade making music as vital as Wire.