Music Reviews

James Bay

Electric Light It’s been three years since James Bay crashed onto the music scene with his debut album Chaos and the Calm and single Hold Back The River, which seems to have been just about everywhere ever since.

The crooner for the hipster generation has now released his second studio album and has stepped away from the acoustic guitars and into a room of mellow soul and rousing gospel voices.

One thing is certain: Bay is growing as an artist and within the constraints of Electric Light he has embraced his influences, not shying away from a true pop song in In My Head (think Mika, but serious).

8/10 Stephen Malkmus and the Jacks

Sparkle Hard At the age of 51, deep into his career, Stephen Malkmus is still untangling the secrets of songwriting while toying with the listener, unleashing fresh barrages of lyrical non-sequiturs and lexical contortion.

He told the New York Times recently his phraseology is the product of a brain that functions “like a broken computer”.

And on this seventh record since his old band Pavement split in 1999, the Californiaborn Portland resident teases many a cryptic verse, bolstered by ever-catchy hooks, glamrock detours and intricate guitar noodling.

Malkmus is later joined by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon for the countrified stomp of Refute, a playful meeting of incorrigibly creative minds, as this highly rewarding album nears its close.

8/10 Ray Lamontagne

Part of the Light With musicality as rich and elegant as his second name, Ray LaMontagne’s seventh album Part Of The Light is an exciting wander through several genres.

From soul to folk to rock, via a few tracks that sound a little Beatles and Bowieesque, the Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter has produced a small but mighty collection that only gets better as you tick off each track.

LaMontagne’s gravelly vocals stand up against the whining guitar riffs and seductively soul-scouring sounds of standout track As Black As Blood Is Blue.

8/10 Ash

Islands There’s often a trepidation when bands of a certain vintage announce new material, with concerns over a misguided change of direction or an unimaginative regurgitation of the tried and tested old formula.

But there is nothing to fear on Islands, the seventh studio album from Britpop dukes Ash, which grafts a healthy dose of the old onto the new.

Fans of Trailer and 1977-era Ash will have their cockles warmed by the punk-infused Buzzkill, while Confessions In The Pool offers a slice of indie disco.

There are flavours of Weezer and the Arctic Monkeys, but the overall sound is unmistakably Ash out on their own, still making triumphant records.

8/10