ALBUM REVIEWS
Actor Billy Porter makes a triumphant return to music with Black Mona Lisa – a lyrical celebration of “recognising your own worth”. These are tunes filled with cheerful brass, funky basslines and boogey-inducing drum beats. Vibrant pop opener Broke a Sweat sets out the agenda: Porter has no time for haters. It is followed by a new version of his equally joyful hit Children, featuring the uber-cool Lady Blackbird. Meanwhile, Stranger Things brings a sultry, bluesy change in pace and showcases Porter’s vocal prowess. Fierce title single Black Mona Lisa embodies the diva energy that makes Porter a star of the stage. He seems to have found comfort in his own skin as a gay black man over the years, declaring “I’m not ashamed any more, feels so good to open up that door” on Not Ashamed.
Lonely The Brave – What We Do To Feel Review by Ellie Iorizzo
The alt-rock band’s fourth studio album serves as a fresh and unique 10-track offering, but with familiar Lonely The Brave hallmarks embossed throughout. The brooding lyrics tease a nuanced set of emotions, with gratitude at the forefront after the group weathered the storm of frontman David Jakes’ exit in 2018. Long Way serves as an upbeat opening number, while Our Sketch Out adds a tenderness to the record alongside In the Well’s deeply emotional lyrics and vocals from new frontman
Jack Bennett. Unseen is the most dramatic track on the album, while grunge punk-rock sound can be heard on Victim. The most heartfelt and deeply affecting track is saved for last on The Bear, with orchestral sounds making an appearance.
Madness – Theatre of the Absurd Introduces C’est La Vie Review by Duncan Seaman
Forty-four years on from their first single, The Prince, the ‘Nutty Boys’ from Camden Town continue to enchant. After a disparate couple of years, the current six-piece line-up reunited with a common purpose: “to let Madness be Madness”, and in so doing they’ve made one of their most satisfying records. Five members contributed towards the songwriting on Theatre of the Absurd… and singer Suggs, in particular, produced a couple of gems in the title track and In My Street, which bookend the album. Mike Barson’s keyboard-driven Hour of Need is another highlight, as is drummer Daniel ‘Woody’ Woodgate’s persuasive Round We Go, Berson and Lee Thompson’s ska number Baby Burglar and Chris Foreman’s rhythmic Run For Your Life. Up with their best.
Smoke Fairies – Carried in Sound Review by Andrew Steel
Spun like spider-silk with ethereal familiarity, alt-folk duo Smoke Fairies’ sixth album arrives just in time to deliver a late-season soundtrack for barren trees and wet weather underfoot, raised in wooded groves with the air of a ghostly hymn. Fans of Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies will find plenty to love here, from the wintery lilt of opener Vague Ideas through the baroque indie landscapes of 2002, with the record’s production in a terraced house key to its hushed hues. But despite emerging from duel periods of personal difficulties and loss, the Chichester pair’s efforts often glide into amorphous territory, losing substance alongside shape. Still, old comforts have their delights too; bluesy centrepiece Sticks and Stones casts a heady spell.