Domino Vinyl & CDs

Review: Beth Gibbons has never saturated the market with her distinctive approach to singing and songwriting, choosing to leave the power of her contributions to Portishead and solo hanging in the air. That makes Lives Outgrown a truly exciting proposition, some 20 years after her last solo outing and simultaneously unique but naturally leading on from the magical Out of Season. The sonic content is layered differently, less folky and more like art rock embellished with electronics, but the melancholic, wistful melodic makeup feels absolutely rooted in Gibbon's approach throughout the years. This is the CD edition of a very welcome return from a truly unique treasure in British alternative music.

Review: Harmonics, the new album from Hot Chip founding member Joe Goddard, is a warm, instinctive, and empathetic journey across 14 tracks of left-of-centre dance music. The album explores UK garage, house, hip-hop, pop, and disco, featuring a diverse array of collaborators. Eno Williams of Ibibio Sound Machine shines on the afro-house groove of 'Progress,' while UK rapper Oranje delivers on the starry-eyed boom-bap track 'When Love's Out of Fashion.' Former Wild Beasts frontman Hayden Thorpe brings his unique vocal to the low-slung house track 'Summon,' and Goddard's Hot Chip bandmates Alexis Taylor and Al Doyle appear on the gleaming half-step ballad 'Heal Your Mind.' Additional guests include Tom McFarland of Jungle, Bronx-raised singer Fiorious on 'New World (Flow),' Guinean vocalist Falle Nioke, and UK jazz musician Alabaster DePlume. Available with a mini gatefold, a 16-page booklet, and a signed Polaroid, 'Harmonics' neatly captures Goddard's inclusive and collaborative spirit.

Review: Jon Hopkins' forthcoming album Ritual spans 41 minutes of uninterrupted sonic exploration, drawing inspiration from ceremony, spiritual liberation and the hero's journey and creating a dense and immersive soundscape that showcases his mastery of depth and contrast. Collaborating with long-term partners like Vylana, 7RAYS, and Ishq, as well as newcomers like Clark and Emma Smith, Hopkins weaves together cavernous subs, hypnotic drumming, and transcendent melodies to craft a sonic experience that is both emotionally and sonically weight. Ritual sees Hopkins' evolution as an artist, building upon themes explored throughout his 22-year career while venturing into new sonic territories. The album's first single, 'Ritual(evocation),' offers a tantalising glimpse into this expansive sonic landscape, with its hypnotic rhythms and darkened soundscapes drawing listeners into a world of introspection and catharsis. With its warm, live feel and seamless blend of softness and intensity, Ritual promises to be a transformative listening experience for fans of electronic music and beyond.

Review: A warm welcome back to perennial genre-benders Hot Chip, who return to stores after three long years with their eighth album, some 21 years after making their debut. Freakout/Release is no dramatic change in direction, but instead a further distillation of what has always made the band so appealing - a trademark fusion of synth-pop, loved-up house sounds, lilting and sometimes melancholic lead vocals, loose-limbed organic drums, nods to Prince and an ability to craft killer hooks. There are highlights aplenty, from the gravelly live hip-hop funk of 'The Evil That Men Do' (where rapper Cadence Weapon delivers a star turn) and the subtly post-punk influenced, saucer-eyed brilliance of 'Hard To Be Funky' (featuring Lou Hayter), to the classic Hot Chip sing-along flex of 'Time' and the krautrock-tinged 'Out of My Depth'.

Review: This collection takes us back to singer/songwriter Cass McCombs formative years, offering up music recorded between 1999 and 2001 while he was living in San Francisco. McCoombs subsequently washed up in New York, on the back of extensive touring of the United States, and bagged a deal with 4AD. Effectively, this is an "origin story" release that showcases material laid to tape in a Bay Area apartment, rather than a professional studio. Atmospheric and naturally lo-fi, the recordings are rooted in a laidback Americana and electric neo-folk, albeit with a woozy, dreamy and meditative, effects-laden finish. Sparse, heady and with a vocal style that leans towards 'Screamadelica' era Bobby Gillespie, it's a fine collection of previously unheard gems.