SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

THE NEW ABNORMAL THE STROKES ★★★★✩

AFTER such a long time away from recording, The

Strokes are not breaking new ground here. And to be honest, with everything that is going on in the world right now, I don’t think we need new and groundbreaking.

This is The Strokes returning to their famous sound, the tempo, the drawl, the voice cracks and rhythm – it’s all there.

Bad Decisions has the same riff as in Casablancas’ solo track I Wish It Was Christmas Today.

Eternal Summer is light and breezy – almost pop-like. It’s a nice change of pace and it’s not wrong: Life is a funny journey. It’s nice to have The Strokes back.

THE RATED LEGEND CADET ★★★★✩

IT’S impossible not to view The Rated Legend through the lens of Cadet’s tragic death. The south London rapper, real name Blaine Cameron Johnson, was killed in a car crash while on his way to a gig last February. He was 28.

The Rated Legend is a portrait of an artist cut down before his time, dredged up from the prolific musician’s hard drives and augmented by a roster of stars working free of charge, among them Wretch 32, Chip and D-Block Europe’s Young Adz. Cadet’s passion and personality shine through, inviting the question: ‘What could have been?’.

MJ COLE PRESENTS MADRUGADA MJ COLE ★★★✩✩

ELEGANT, evocative and ethereal in turn, Madrugada is an unexpected move from a DJ and producer who was at the forefront of UK garage’s late 90s heyday.

His first album in 17 years, it was written on an upright Yamaha piano and recorded with a 14-piece orchestra. It’s a classical album and it’s also a concept album of sorts.

The Madrugada is those hours before sunrise, when night and dark mingle. Across 12 tracks, Cole paints a picture of the people that live and work in the Madrugada.

MJ Cole still inhabits the same world. He is just seeing it with different eyes.