New releases last two weeks: All genres

Review: Donovan's iconic 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' album gets the re-issue treatment here, and what a collection of music it still proves to be after so many years. The mix of folk and psychedelia is almost the epitome of the late 60s spirit of exploration, rebellion, generational dismay and hope. The hyper-memorable title track sets the tone with its swirling melodies, jangly guitars, and Scottish-born Donovan's strangely sinister vocal, which moves between dreamy and intense. Released in 1968, the album reflects the counterculture era, with lyrics that explore themes of mysticism and transformation. The rest of the album drifts between moments of whimsy and introspection, with tracks like 'The Sun is a Very Magic Fellow' and 'Peregrine' showcasing Donovan's ability to blend folk simplicity with psychedelic complexity. 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' remains an important snapshot of its era, holding up as a timeless piece of sonic adventuring.

Review: Producer and guitarist Yutaka Hirasaka enjoyed a peaceful career pitstop with Breath, one of many to top up the beatsmith and cassette artist's now towering discography, and which now comes released on vinyl for the first time. Hirasaka's approach to music covers ambient, beat-driven landscapes, a format which has led him both to immersive live performance work and commercial ends. The homely aesthetic of Hirasaka's sound is heard once more on the wordless, texturally unperturbed Breath, which clears our airways far better than any shop-bought nostrum ever could, be it via the deconstructed guitar pan-plays of 'Orion' or the marzipan piano maunders of 'Amaretto'.

Review: Having long since been making a vital contribution to the drum & bass landscape, On Rhythm marks the first-ever album released on Future Retro London. It was during a 2023 tour in Australia and New Zealand that the label head finally met Kloke in Melbourne after years of online collaboration. Visiting his studio, he discovered a massive folder of thousands of music files and took a large part of it back home, spending months sifting through to select favourites for this album. After much back-and-forth with Kloke, the final version is now pressed to three slabs of wax. They make for a full sale exploration of his sound, from dark and driving drum breaks to more journeying cosmic trips like 'Rebellion', ice cold steppers like 'Tomorrow's World' and melodic mind melters like 'To The Moon'.

Review: Mid 2010s hip-hop heads will be pleased to know that Kendrick Lamar's history-making third LP To Pimp A Butterfly, pet named "TPAB" by fans, is now being given a thorough reissue campaign via Interscope. Riddled with literary and contemporary influences relevant to racism, identity, hood politics and capitalist consumerism - all of which lie curdled but still active in the American psyche - To Pimp A Butterfly took its namesake from Harper Lee's literary staple of similar name, semantically substituting active murder of innocents (killing mockingbirds) for systemic manipulation of fundamentally free and beautiful people (pimping butterflies). The imago that emerges by the end of the record, especially on the penultimate, Isley Brothers-sampling psych-funk hit 'I', attests a resolutely healthy narcissism; a defiant riposte to centuries-long, systemic strangulation of Black selfhood.

Review: Marking the beginning of Austro-Bohemian romantic-era classical composer Mahler's deep engagement with themes of resurrection and transcendence, Symphony No. 2 stands as his first fully personal statement in the form. Claudio Abbado's recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra remains one of the most striking interpretations available; spanning the breadth of Mahler's vision, from the luminous serenity of the softer passages to the thunderous force of its climaxes. This new edition revisits the original four-track tapes, offering a freshly remixed and recut version.

Review: The Band Cover edition of South Korean k-pop star Rose's debut album Rosie offers a unique sonic experience, where fans are provided an alternative take on the album's presentation. Artisianally bundled in with two out of three collectors' edition Polaroid picture, and with exclusive cover art emphasising Rose's rootedness among friends, this edition incurs a state of youthful rebellion, blending punk aesthetics with South Korean heritabilities. Along with the original tracks from Rosie, listeners are treated to stripped-back versions that heighten and home in on Rose's vocal chops.

Review: Rosie is the debut solo album by Rose (Roseanne Park). Reflecing on her New Zealander and South Korean roots, the record hears a hardcore starlet retell her personal journey through heartbreak, fame, and the struggles of her early twenties. Co-written and co-produced by Rose herself alongside collaborators Bruno Mars and Carter Lang, we hear a sweltering 12 tracks spanning pop-punk, r&b, synthpop, and balladry, carefully teasing a rawer vulnerability compared to her previous work. Songs like 'Apt.' and 'Toxic Till The En' explore Rosie's experiences with toxic relationships, while 'Number One Girl' and 'Drinks or Coffee' reveals a complex take on love.

Review: To mark a decade since its original release, Carrie & Lowell returns in expanded double vinyl edition through Asthmatic Kitty, curated and designed by Sufjan Stevens himself. The anniversary release addends 7 unreleased tracks, as well as a full 40-page art book, and a newly unearthed Polaroid cover revealing the album's namesake, handwritten by Sufjan's sister Djamilah. The booklet contains family photos over four generations, as well as Sufjan's own landscape photography taken throughout the American West, all reflecting themes of loss, memory, and place. The second LP compiles forty minutes of bonus material, including demos of 'Death With Dignity' and 'Eugene', atmospheric outtakes of 'Fourth of July' and 'Wallowa Lake Monster', and the original version of 'Mystery of Love', recorded during the album's sessions before its reworking for the infamous Timothee Chalamet actor-debut Call Me By Your Name.

Review: American industrial kings Swans' latest offering unfurls across a sprawling 19-minute journey, building a tension that is as much about space as it is about sound. The first half, marked by 'The Healers' and 'I Am A Tower,' feels like an unyielding force, as if the music itself is evolving into something beyond human comprehension. Gira's voice, thick with grit, clashes with the deep rumble of guitars, creating a rhythm that seems to pulse from a primal core. The journey picks up momentum through 'Red Yellow' and 'Guardian Spirit,' where the sound bends and twists, its drone-like qualities alternately lulling and unsettling. By the time 'Away' takes hold, the track feels less like a song and more like an emotional release, with each successive wave stripping something away, leaving raw, exposed moments in their wake. A visceral experience that demands patience and reflection, with each track revealing layers of complexity.

Review: On the second instalment in his Requests LPs series, veteran jazz pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto leads an iron-clad trio with Hiroshi Kagawa on bass and Toshio Osumi on drums, successfully dispatching yet another recorded magnum made up of well-recognised sheet pieces from his own discography. Made up entirely of Yamamoto standards solicited by fans in advance of the recording, the pianist was solicitous in turn, reeling off each piece with ease: 'For Once In My Life', 'Gentle Blues' and 'The Third Man' all make for headsy selections besides the usual repertoire, cementing Yamamoto's extemporary playing; his ad-libbing, cufflink-flicking talents as a pianist.