New releases last two weeks: Library/Archive

Review: Parasol is the latest album from The Natural Yogurt Band and again invites you into a lush world of hard-to-define sounds that serve as a nice sonic shield against modern noise. Crafted by the enigmatic Miles Newbold in the rural stillness of Derbyshire, this project fuses psychedelic jazz, neo-library textures and dusty funk with some propulsive raw drums and plenty of vintage warmth. Its name reflects both a literal sunshade and a metaphorical refuge from the chaotic outside world, and is a beautifully strange record that feels timeless while being fiercely personal.

Review: London soul-jazz composer and producer Andrei Nikolsky - formerly of the equal-parts Palace Records favourite The Kanpai Quartet - now broadcasts yet two more heavy-hitters from straight from the label whose logo pulls from the iconographic Crystal Palace Transmitter. 'Botchit & Scarper' is heard far and wide, hijacking the airwaves with what sounds at face value like an unsound moral principle - but on second listen to its slack-shouldered ease, whimsied brass and scaphoid drumming, might function just as well as a principle for free living. Of course, if something's worth doing then it's worth doing "botched", though Nikolsky currently hasn't botched this one. 'Wafty' follows as the blue piano sojourn, replete with plinking ninths and a hiss-hummed rhythms section.