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Review: Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, the Compton-based rapper's first album since 2012's major label debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, has been receiving rave reviews. In truth, it's not hard to see why. Imaginative, soulful, and blessed with the looseness of live performance (a result of the use of jazz-minded live players as much as anything else), it sounds like the kind of album that may one day be hailed as a hip-hop classic. Sure, there are big name guests - Dre, Snoop, George Clinton and Thundercat included - but the focus remains on Lamar's distinctive flow and almost cinematic tales of life on L.A's streets. Given the quality of his lyrics, that's no bad thing.

Review: Given that Four Tet's recent 0181 LP was comprised of material from Kieran Hebden's archives, and last year's Pink was largely compiled of tracks from the previous 18 months of 12" releases, it seems fair to say that Beautiful Rewind is his first proper album since 2010's There Is Love In You, and as such, it arrives with some degree of expectation. The past few years have seen the producer engage increasingly with the dancefloor, and these rhythms are most definitely present across the LP, particularly in the jungle breaks of "Kool FM", pirate radio-influenced techno of "Buchla" and hesitant dubstep style rhythms of "Parallel Jalebi". For the most part however Beautiful Rewind is as varied as the likes of Rounds and There Is Love In You, with the minimalist kosmische of "Ba Teaches Yoga", analogue gurgles of "Crush" and dawn chorus sounds of closer "Your Body Feels" all as beautiful as his most enduring tracks.

Review: Over the last few weeks, Jazzman's ongoing "Holy Grail" reissue series has focused on obscure but in-demand albums from the Fable Records catalogue. The latest to get the deluxe reissue treatment is Steamheat's "Austin Funk", a 1975 set that's notably harder and funkier than the Texan label's usual jazz-funk fare. Of course, there are still plenty of jazz-funk flourishes to be found amongst the soulful vocals, crunchy clavinet lines, fast-tempo grooves and heady horn lines. Our picks include the low-down deep funk headiness of "Radiator", the fizzing brilliance of "Body Talk", the harmonic jazz guitar, horn and electronic piano solos of "Ghetto Tool" and the eyes-closed, in-the-zone madness of closing cut "Frozen Tundra Lady".

Review: Breaking from their exceptional soundtrack work of late, the infallible Scottish post-rock behemoth Mogwai have returned to the studio for their ninth full-length. 'Every Country's Sun' is a whirlwind album whose sheer impact hinges on its powerful use of contrast, most likely evident of their recent film and television score work. Passages of atmospheric calm give way to loud cascading floods of aggression without sounding trite, forced or clumsy, and a more polished use of electronics further accentuates the band's tonal variety. From the spatial futuristic opener 'Coolverine' to the album's grinding and mechanical climax, 'Every Country's Sun' feels like a score for a film not yet made, following all the highs, lows, twists and turns of narrative told by a band continuing to showcase their deft and controlled writing.

Review: Tony Allen is on record as saying that The Source, his first album on iconic jazz label Blue Note, is the best recording he's made. Given his length of service and vast discography, that's a bold claim. Certainly, it's a fine album, with the legendary drummer and his selected musicians - mostly jazz players from Paris, plus a Cameroonian guitarist and previous Allen collaborator Damon Albarn on one cut - effortlessly blur the boundaries between Afrobeat and the kind of jazz pioneered by Allen's percussion heroes Art Blakey and Max Roach. It's a brilliant hybrid that fits Allen's unique style of drumming like a glove, and there's no doubt that the former Fela Kuti sticks-man is the real star of the show.

Review: The 21st Century has been quiet thus far for New Order, with only two full albums to date, and only an out-takes compilation in the last decade. Moreover, 'Music Complete' marks their first album to date without founding bassist Peter Hook, and the return of Gillian Gilbert to the ranks. Yet from this turbulence and inertia they've somehow managed to create a collection of songs that rank as their strongest set since 'Technique' in 1989. VIbrant, upbeat and colourful, yet driven by the same mix of electronic experimentation and effortless pop suss that characterised their '80s heyday, 'Music Complete' is the sound of a timeless and unique force newly revitalised.