SOUND JUDGEMENT

The latest album releases reviewed

ASPHALT MEADOWS DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE

★★★✩✩

On their 10th album, the indie stalwarts don’t stray far from the plaintive, uplifting template they have set themselves.

But these songs, which range from the nostalgic I Miss Strangers to the sprightly Here To Forever, are lifted by frontman Ben Gibbard’s vocal performance and some devastatingly pretty guitar parts.

Since 1997, Gibbard and co have cornered the market for delicate indie with a big heart.

But Asphalt Meadows has a different trick, introducing a sense of paranoia to proceedings, perhaps the result of Gibbard’s growing lockdown anxiety as he watched the news every day. All this feeds into a solid record that looks back at the band’s 25-year history while moving forward in terms of tone and content.

AUTOFICTION SUEDE ★★★★✩

Their fourth album since reforming in

2010, these 11 tracks have been described by singer Brett Anderson as their take on a punk album.

Although not punk in the traditional sense, Suede capture the ferocity of the genre on tracks such as Black Ice, while jangling post-punk seems the primary influence on the driving Shadow Self.

Album opener She Still Leads Me On is a grand piece of music that soars high with heartfelt lyrics about loving “with a dangerous mind”.

OLDER (DELUXE, LIMITED EDITION BOXSET) GEORGE MICHAEL

★★★★✩

George Michael’s 1996 album Older, described by the late singer as his “greatest moment”, is being re-released in newfangled form.

It includes the critically acclaimed original 11 tracks on which the former Wham! star soothes listeners with soft, soulful beats and his mellow, youthful voice.

The deluxe edition includes a flurry of tracks and remixes, some from the 1997 re-release of Older.

The house remixes breathe new life into the original tracks.