Wales On Sunday

sound nt judgeme

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

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CONFLICT OF INTEREST GHETTS

GHETTS has not attained the same celebrity status as fellow grime originator­s Skepta and Wiley. But Conflict Of Interest – his third album proper – may do just that, despite not being as pop crossover as its list of collaborat­ors suggests.

It features Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Emeli Sande and is being released on major label Warner.

But Ghetts manages to illustrate his soul-baring vision of gospel and grime on his own terms, joined by talented newcomers such as Pa Salieu (see left), Backroad Gee and Miraa May.

Each album has seen Ghetts mature his vision a little more and, taken as a whole, Conflict Of Interest portrays an artist at the height of his powers.

OPEN DOOR POLICY THE HOLD STEADY

“IT WAS an early morning meet-up at the mansion on the mountain, the master still had glitter on his face” – the half-spoken opening lines of The Feelers could only be The Hold Steady.

With lyrics that tell short stories about epic parties and lost weekends on the neon-soaked boulevard of broken dreams, Craig Finn has spent much of the past two decades on the road with his band.

They’ll miss touring more than most, but their eighth studio album is full of songs that will one day soundtrack memorable nights out when they can play them live.

Although written and mostly recorded before the pandemic, Open Door Policy’s themes of mental health and medication, technology, consumeris­m and above all survival are all too relevant now.

AS THE LOVE CONTINUES MOGWAI

GORGEOUS soundscape­s and slow-burning epics are a stock in trade for Mogwai, and their 10th record by no means reinvents that formula.

Pat Stains and Midnight Flit bear many of the classic hallmarks of the Scottish veterans, with rousing, soaring, shimmering guitars and strings doing battle on a race through space. But there’s something borrowed too – album highlight F*** Off Money is a glorious, almost balletic anthem.

While the record begins with a razor edge it does start to blunt.

Mogwai’s essence has always been best captured at their live shows, and As The Love Continues evokes that experience better than many of their previous studio recordings – perhaps intentiona­lly, given our current circumstan­ces.

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