The Alchemist & Ohno (Gangrene) - Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

The latest collaboration featuring Alchemist is with Ohno which means a Gangrene reunion. Alchemist features prominantly with his poetry as if he winding back to a previous era and, along with Ohno, they provide a sinister backdrop full of witty but devilish bars. 'The Gates of Hell' is a nifty example of how the minimalist production style blends with clear, precise vocals but there are lighter moments like 'Cloud Surfing' where Ohno shines. Consisting of 13 tracks, this project is full of such examples where Alchemist and Ohno flex their versatility with exquisite poetry on top of abstract poetry. Chuck it on and nod away to the grimey California sounds.

St Vincent – All Born Screaming

Good news folks, we’ve got the bounce-back St Vincent album we’d been waiting for. That Daddy’s Home record got strange, it was far too polished (blame Jack Antonoff for that), trying for the pop charts at the expense of the eccentric weirdness that has always carried Annie Clark’s best work... and ultimately there just weren’t enough hits with it. But she’s solved that problem with All Born Screaming. Described by Clark as “post-plague pop”, ABS sees St Vincent deliver jams for days over ten tracks which Clark sings the hell out of whilst keeping the instrumentals delightfully funky (most notably Big Time Nothing which plays like she’d been hanging in the studio with Prince’s Batman album). The pop/electronic elements are still there, not a lot of guitar shredding, but they’re put to use in art-rock territory that’ll please fans of her old mate David Byrne as well as fans of Nine Inch Nails. This is the spiritual follow-up to 2014’s self-titled classic which we never quite got at the time. Dave Grohl plays drums on Broken Man and album standout Flea, while Cate Le Bon pops up on the final track to lend some impeccable taste. The fact that it’s self-produced probably helps the comeback narrative too. This is St Vincent pushing the needle, rather than trying to chase commerciality. Not sure about the reggae number So Many Planets but other than that it’s a triumphant return to form.

Phosphorescent – Revelator

There are few more consistent artists over the past two decades than this bloke, Matthew Houck. His 2007-2013 run of Pride>To Willie>Here’s To Taking It Easy>Muchacho is a masterclass in raggedly earnest twenty-first century folk rock. He’s not been very prolific since then, with just two studio albums in the past 11 years. This is the second of those and it definitely portrays a more mature and at-ease Houck... though his turn-of-phrase is as sharp as ever. Revelator is an album of mid-tempo jams that is a banger or two short of being a classic but still settles into smoothly efficient territory. Houck’s dusty voice lends them a weary charm. Lots of pedal steel guitar here for any of you aficionados. To Get It Right, the closer, is the one that deserves to crack the greatest hits playlists. That song’s a knockout.

Delaney Davidson – Out Of My Head

Aotearoa’s own Tom Waits slash Kris Kristofferson combination, Mr Delaney Davidson, is back with his tenth studio album... written largely during lockdown which is probably why there’s so much introspective territory being covered. The first song is the title track, Out of My Head. The second song is called Can’t Get You Out Of My Head. The third is Disassociate From Myself. You get the idea (although the theme is less on the nose from that point onwards). Other than that you sorta know what you’re getting here: lots of tightly constructed tunes with old-timey vibes but every now and then slashed through with an unusual rhythm or a sharp guitar line or maybe a string section. Guest appearances from Marlon Williams, Reb Fountain, and Hayley Westenra are scattered amongst. Davidson said he designed it as a Sunday morning listen and so naturally that’s what he achieves. Chilled yet poignant. He was never going to let us down.

Casual Healing - Driftwood

Casual Healing is Nikau Te Huki and his latest project Driftwood is likely to offer goosebumps as soon as the opening track 'Haere Mai' gets underway. Moving between soulful jams, poppy sounds and glorious Aotearoa reggae dub, Driftwood epitomises Aotearoa music in 2024. The thread of kiwi reggae throughout Driftwood, especially in tracks like 'Up and Down' and 'Jesus Reggae' provide ample opportunities for a slow wind singalong but don't overlook the lessons offered in 'Break the Cycle' either. Casual Healing does exactly what the name suggests and Driftwood serves as a celebration of Aotearoa music for all.

Mary Timony – Untame The Tiger

Best known for her 90s stuff with Helium, Mary Timony has never stopped cranking out mad tunes - be that with Ex-Hex, with Wild Flag, or under her own name. No Thirds is the opening track and it lays down the mission statement, with a seeker’s vision built around slapping rhythms and Timony’s wicked lead guitar. She’s very much in the Ex-Hex mode here with strutting rock tunes that sound like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This thing sounds great. It glimmers. It shines. Looking For The Sun and The Guest are also highly recommended tracks. Also Don’t Disappear. Lots of dream imagery in here too, Carl Jung would probably love it.

Castle Rat – Into The Realm

Calling themselves a “Medieval Fantasy Doom Metal band”, Castle Rat are nothing if not committed to the act. The New York group wear costumes on stage with band nicknames (The Rat Queen, The Plague Doctor, et cetera) and recorded their debut album in a haunted church. All of which is a menacing delight... though none of it would be worth much of the tunes didn’t rip. Luckily we can report that the tunes do, in fact, rip. This is only a 32 minute record so it never outstays its welcome, never demands too much of a listener. A couple of those tracks are even shorter instrumental workouts – the bass solo of Resurrector is awesome. Huge early Black Sabbath influence on display. An abundance of style. Great vocals from The Rat Queen too... this lot are really up to something.

Shabaka - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace

First of all, gorgeous album title. Beauty and grace in all things. Shabaka Hutchings is best known as the saxophone player in Birtish jazz ensemble Sons of Kemet... but he barely touches his sax at all on this record, the first under his own name. Instead he’s all about flutes and reeds. This is a different creativity. No less pure, no less inspired. Perhaps even more so. It’s not as funky and upbeat as the Kemet stuff, so you’re probably not gonna be dancing to it... instead it has a meditative quality that vibrates with passion. There’s soul running all the way through this – and the way he uses his guest vocalists is magical. And, sure, I know what you’re wondering: this is a flute album so where’s Andre 3000? Oh he’s here, don’t worry. Gets himself a feature on I’ll Do Whatever You Want just as Shabaka featured on New Blue Sun earlier this year. But this album is much more focussed and song-orientated than 3K’s more ambient flute record was. Kindred spirits but differing visions. As for this album, the best way to listen to it is by following the advice in the title.

ScHoolboy Q – Blue Lips

Before the hip hop world became dominated by a high profile diss-off, there was this groovy and reflective new effort from ScHoolboy Q (who allegedly told J.Cole to back out of the big beef so he’s a humanitarian as well as everything else). Q’s in some wild form here. Ripping and tearing through a bunch of thumping tales mostly about living the big shot lifestyle but with a self-reflectiveness that his lessers all lack. We know this dude’s got bars so no surprises there. What thrills about Blue Lips is how delicately he’s able to strain his tunes right to the point of chaos without tipping over the edge. Then he’ll suddenly drop a bass-heavy party tracks into a lounge jazz chiller. The way he handles those changes of pace. The way he retains an expert’s control across different sounds. Few can do it. Here’s one who can.