ALBUM REVIEWS
Tom Odell – Black Friday
The latest album from British artist Tom Odell packs a punch. Black Friday is a wonderfully produced record, loaded with ballads that will appeal to the broken-hearted. The hauntingly beautiful title track sees Odell pair piano chords with soft-sounding guitar strums, which build into a divine explosion of strings and keys. In between the tracks are orchestral interludes that convey the anxiety outlined in Odell’s lyrics, with ballads like Somebody Else also helping to weave a narrative of heart-wrenching candour. One of the standout tracks is Loving You Will Be The Death Of Me, which features a catchy melody and stripped-back chorus that juxtaposes the percussion-filled verses. All in all, the record is melancholic and brooding and it forms some of Odell’s best work yet.
James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love Review by Abi Hayward
James Arthur is back with his fifth album and it is not for the faint of heart. From the opening title track – Bitter Sweet Love – right up until Homecoming, the former X Factor winner takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, delving into the intricacies of relationships, heartbreak as well as self-discovery. As Arthur offsets the darker elements of his album with upbeat melodies and evocative vocals, such as within the song Comeback Kid where he focuses on a relationship and how much its helped him grow as a person, it’s clear to see how well he has bounced back from his last album, which was less than favourably reviewed. Overall, Bitter Sweet Love demonstrates a huge evolution in his music . This album promises to be one that listeners don’t want to miss out on.
Nigel Wearne – The Reckoning Review by Duncan Seaman
It’s no surprise that Australian singer-songwriter Nigel Wearne cites Nick Cave and Tom Waits among his inspirations as their influence is audible in the 11 songs on this, his third album. In I Don’t Want This Rage Anymore he channels Cave’s latterday reflective streak, while the earlier Choir Done Wrong is all rollicking guitars and sneering demeanour. A Moment Too Soon, featuring Lauren Housley, is reminiscent of Waits’s bleary-eyed duets with Crystal Gayle and Ricki Lee Jones, and the album’s title track is a prowling bluesy number with poetic leanings. The late-night jazzy strains of Sing On Songbird give way to the gentle shuffle of 8 Minutes, which has a hint of Hozier about it and a lovely trumpet figure. Closing ballad Eventide sends Wearne off into the night with a wistful farewell. Well worth a listen.
Ty Segall – Three Bells Review by Janne Oinonen
Ty Segall’s 15th solo album since 2008 defies the filler-prone sprawl of most double albums. Three Bells must rank as Segall’s most focused and satisfying record since 2018’s Freedom’s Goblin. Unlike that album’s smorgasbord of genre-hopping, however, Three Bells is a stylistically cohesive offering, centred on by turns intricate and muscular riffs alongside substantial, profoundly idiosyncratic songcraft that’s severely allergic to sticking in one place for too long. Segall’s music has been described as garage rock, but the richly textured, sleekly surfaced Three Bells is far too ambitiously intricate to fit into gritty three-chord templates. The title track’s sudden convulsions resemble extraterrestrial union between prog and greasy biker rock, whilst the upbeat swagger of Hi Dee Dee nods towards cosmic glam.