MOJO PLAYLIST
Arise for the month’s best soul, Afro-jazz and baggy doo-wop.
1 ANGEL OLSEN FOREVER YOUNG
Olsen grabs analogue synths and forward-reverses into the ’80s: this Alphaville cover joins Billy Idol, OMD and Laura Branigan classics on September’s Aisles EP. Find it: streaming services
2 SAUN & STARR CONFESS IT
Searing new-old R&B live at Harlem Apollo: from Daptone
celebration Super Soul Revue – Sharon Jones! Charles Bradley! – out October. Find it: streaming services
3 BEACHWOOD SPARKS AND GOSPELBEACH YOU DON’T SEE ME CRYING
Neal Casal’s bandmates’ tender cover of one of his finest songs. From Highway Butterfly,a
5-LP tribute to the much-missed songwriter. Find it: YouTube
4 BUKKY LEO AND BLACK EGYPT ATOMIC BOMB
From The Legend Of William Onyeabor live at the Jazz Cafe (Drift Recordings), a loose, Afrojazz interpretation of Onyeabor’s funky epic, led by renowned Nigerian saxophonist Leo. Find it: BandCamp
5 THE POP GROUP WORDS DISOBEY ME (DENNIS BOVELL DUB)
Mark Stewart and co’s 1979 track rebuilt via echo, splintered rhythms and spacial distortion by mix elder Bovell. From Y In Dub, out in October.
Find it: YouTube
6 FAT COPS HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Heat-hazed baggy doo wop, built around a confessional tale of dangerous liaisons in a “static caravan on the edge of Aberfan”. With salty sermons from Loki The Scottish Rapper! Find it: streaming services
7 BADBADNOTGOOD SIGNAL FROM THE NOISE
Canadian instrumental trio, with plenty of hip-hop bona fides, stretch out into intrepidly proggish new terrain. The jazz Radiohead? Find it: YouTube
8 BRUCE HORNSBY FEEL THE PAIN
Hornsby’s late-career audacity hits a new high, recasting the Dinosaur Jr lurcher as an austere, jagged piano ballad. It works!
Find it: YouTube
CLINIC FANTASY ISLAND 9
From new LP of same name, masked mystery men of Mersey crank up the Barrett-y dub-pop, with a possible Brexit comment.
Find it: YouTube
10 JOY CROOKES FEET DON’T FAIL ME NOW
Resonant retro-modern soul pop from the south London singer. Bass line slink, Amy Winehouse purr and plaintive-ecstatic chorus stack the odds before next month’s debut LP. Find it: streaming services