Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s Recommendations November 2015

Review: Apparently not content with making an album that floored classic rock fans old and young - last year's solo psych-glam masterpiece 'Redeemer', Ty Segall here deals out his second heavy-ass power-trio masterclass with a band who effortlessly transcend any notion of being a 'side-project'. Whilst certain ingredients are audible from Segall's other work, such as his sparky and infectious knack for melody and love for the seamier sonic landscapes of the early '70s, 'II' is no less than a timeless blast of garage-birthed intensity, a double album brimming with gusto and chutzpah, yet with an expansive approach to match their hard-rocking drive, proving there's more to this band than distortion boxes and ruptured eardrums.

Review: The ex-Czars frontman had already set the bar very high on his last two solo platters, mapping out an idiosyncratic style that somehow managed to be confessional and soul-searching yet sardonic and wry, and with memorable and melodious songwriting in abundance. Yet his third, 'Grey Tickles Black Pressure' takes bolder steps onto the dancefloor as well as into '70s FM radio terrain yet without compromising his dramatic and poignant delivery, with stirring and spectacular results. Uncompromisingly emotional in tone yet suffused by hope and positivity even amidst the trademark dark humour, this is the troubadour's greatest triumph yet.

Review: This third album by Neon Indian auteur Alan Palomo was partly inspired by a spell on a cruise ship with his brother, who was playing in the house band at the time. Moreover, something of this experience makes its way onto 'Vega Intl Night School', which boasts not only a cosmopolitan and open-minded approach to the dancefloor but a luxuriant and licentious atmosphere decidedly redolent of vintage Prince. Yet the key to this album's power lies in his ability to balance out sonic experimentation with vibrant pop suss, resulting in a dizzying multi-colour blast of genre-destroying music that's as invigorating as it is disorientating.

Review: For all her otherworldly talents, even hardcore fans of Joanna Newsom will likely be relieved to hear that 'Divers' marks a very slight move back from the artistic brink compared to 2010's 'Have One On Me', an exhausting triple-album embarrassment of riches which few ever made it though in one go. Yet there's no hint of compromise on the deliriously thrilling 'Divers', despite its slightly more concise approach - the elegant yet baroque wordplay, ornate and innovative arrangements and Newsom's unique voice are all present and correct - yet more, these emotive and engaging ditties may mark the most accessible thing this iconoclastic and mercurial artist has thus far summoned from the ether.

Review: The brainchild of Alexander Brettin, Mild High Club explore a sepia-tinted world in which gently psychedelic pastoral sensibilities are married to '70s soft-rock bliss, resulting in a decidedly lackadaisical and charming confection as chemically affected as it is melodically engaging. Whilst Syd Barrett-esque songwriting and chamber-pop aesthetics vie for attention here, 'Timeline' is nonetheless an aural Polaroid whose soft-focus production resembles a soundworld easy for the casual observer to lose themselves in. Fans of Ariel Pink )who guests here) and the more deep-end-diving moments of The Flaming Lips will find much to enjoy here.

Review: Ex-REM axeman Buck has described 'Warzone Earth' as his "magnum opus", and certainly there's a revitalised passion to this album that makes him sound very comfortable outside of the world of his former outfit. Tending towards a vibrant and trashy feel that owes much to the art-garage racket of the Velvets and the plaintive songsmithery of Neil Young, this collection of rough-hewn yet ballsy ditties sound disarmingly confident yet replete with paradoxically youthful swagger, Guests of the caliber of Jeff Tweedy and Krist Novoselic are along for the ride, yet what's most striking about this album is how powerful Buck sounds striking out on his own.

Review: Brandon Cox's post-millennial dreampop troubadours have always rendered themselves peerless in the sphere of effects-pedal-laden euphoria, yet 'Fading Frontier' marks unchartered territory for the band, not to mention possibly their most accessible record to date. Arriving in the wake of some serious personal strife for Cox himself, this collection of sweetly melodious yet otherworldly-hued songs may be the most stripped-back and straightforwardly poppy that he's created, yet his heavy-lidded charm and ear for the ethereal remain unabated, imbuing verses with seductive texture and choruses with radiant hue. Confident and coherent, it's a new horizon for a visionary artist.

Review: After a two-year hiatus, New York's finest purveyors of flash-fried power pop and disco-punk return with their sixth full-length. Despite being 18 years into their career, there are few signs of tiredness on the predictably vibrant As If. While potential sing-along moments are plentiful, it's the looseness of their grooves and the incessant funkiness of tracks such as "All U Writers", "Ooo", and the thrillingly low-slung "All The Way" - in which the Brookyln-based outfit brilliantly fuse springy dub-disco grooves, wild synths and classic house riffs - that catches the ear. Interestingly, the strongest influences this time round appear to be Prince and early Red Hot Chili Peppers, giving the album a particularly kaleidoscopic aural hue.