Search dance music

Review: The Cowboy Bebop was an anime series that was much loved for its soundtrack albums by Japanese composer and instrumentalist Yoko Kanno and his band the Seatbelts. The sounds were weird and wonderful affairs that made odd connections between seemingly disparate worlds - jazz, rock, J-pop and electronic, often with a curious aesthetic. Just this year, Kanno has returned to soundtracking the series on Netflix so this reissue is sure to connect with fans old and new. It is largely instrumental, with big band pieces next to more ambient passages and extensive alto sax deployment. As far as cult records go, this one is right up there.

Review: As long as there is hip-hop, debate will rage as to which album by A Tribe Called Quest is their finest. Of course, they're all superb, but 1993's "Midnight Marauders" - their third full-length - may well be the best of all. That's a big call, but we'd ask any doubters to give it another listen. The New York crew is in particularly fine form on the mic throughout, while the backing tracks, which make great use of crunchy, head-nodding beats and hundreds of superb, hand-picked samples, are amongst the most intricately produced, groovy and deep ever committed to wax. It's one of those hip-hop sets that should be in the collection of any committed music head, and not just rap fans.

Review: Tyler, the Creator's fifth studio album was produced entirely by the Californian artist himself, but it does feature guests like Solange, Playboi Carti, Kanye West and Lil Uzi Vert. It immediately debuted at number one and it's easy to see why. Rich with a complex fusion of funk, rap and r&b that glides on Cali-synths and neo soul melodies, the whole thing is tethered to the ground with a hefty low end and follows the narrative of a love triangle as told by American comedian Jerrod Carmichael. Arguably his best work to date, the production is next level and storytelling wholly involving.

Review: Just when you thought all hope was lost along come The Strokes to fulfil the promises they made way, way back with their startling debut 'Is This It'. That was 17 years ago, and while the outfit have made plenty worthy of note in the years between then and now, we'd be surprised if we're the only ones thinking this latest is their best effort since that inaugural outing. Confident but also hungry, rather than bloated and lazy, there's plenty here that you won't be able to get away from in a hurry. 'Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus' might define the package best, delivering some powerful pop energy in an all-round homage to and critique of the 1980s, an era revisited again on 'Bad Decisions', which owes plenty to Billy Idol's Generation X classic, 'Dancing With Myself', with tracks like 'Why Are Sundays So Depressing' diverting to a synthdom route and 'Not The Same Anymore' throwing crooner styles into the mix. Exceptional stuff.

Review: Whilst it's now impossible to view Leonard Cohen's final album outside the context of his passing, the fact of the matter is that this lugubrious sage had been ruminating on the nature of endings and goodbyes for much of his near half-century of artistry, and it's hard to think of a figure who's been quite so eloquent and wise in this endeavour. 'You Want It Darker' seem may a fitting way to bow out, but moreso it bears testimony to the fact that Cohen's questing spirit remained undimmed right until the last, and his travails in the exploration of faith, romance and the human condition were never to lose their finesse and bite.

Review: "Father Of The Bride", Vampire Weekend's first album for six long years, has been receiving praise across the board from critics. It's been variously described as a "modern California pop masterpiece", a "scrapbook of brilliant ideas" and "the band's magnum opus". To our ears, it's certainly joyous and celebratory, with the acclaimed New York band wrapping their usual punchy-indie pop in subtle and not so subtle nods towards everything from Flamenco and Country music, to mournful piano ballads, excitable electronic indie-dance and 1960s baroque pop. In other words, it's a giddy collection of inventive, enjoyable songs that boasts the same eclectic, anything-goes swagger as the Beatles "White Album" or other similar wide-ranging sets.

Review: Recent reviews of Spirit, Depeche Mode's first studio set for four years, have remarked at how angry and frustrated the band seems to be throughout. Messers Gore, Gahan and Fletcher are not particularly happy with the way the world is right now, and have laid down an album of rare intensity, seemingly fuelled by a growing desperation at political events on both sides of the Atlantic. Producer James Ford undoubtedly played a role in defining the sound of Sprit, but the combination of raucous, punk style guitars, thrusting electronics and big choruses is what we've come to expect from Depeche Mode.

Review: Quiet revolution seems to be the driving force of this sophomore set from lauded trio London Grammar. Lyricist and vocalist Hannah Reid has expanded her subject matter a little, though angst and love lost are still her major concern. Her delivery, too, is a little gentler, something presumably party inspired by the band's warmer and dreamier musical outlook. There are a few heartfelt sing-alongs, of course, but for the most part Truth is a Beautiful Thing is a more considered and voluptuous excursion.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: RECOMMENDED
It almost (almost) pains us to recommend this one - The White Stripes aren't really a band that should be releasing Greatest Hits albums. We'd much rather them give us a surprise record of typically groundbreaking, brand new theatric and infectious blues-tinged rock 'n' roll. But we are where we are, and after more than a decade without much activity from the siblings beggars can't be choosers.

One of our objections is exactly how you choose what to include on an LP like this. What defines a 'hit' from an outfit that are renowned for packing albums with nothing but stone cold gems, even if they failed to make it onto radio playlists or single format. In this case, though, the challenge has been met - with chart topping fare like Seven Nation Army notably absent, while more wildcard tracks such as 'I Think I Smell A Rat' and 'Dead Leaves On the Dirty Ground' given their deserving dues.

Review: The mercurial and magical Jeff Buckley departed this realm leaving a severe shortage of actual material, thus this collection of early demos - recorded in 1993 in advance of his debut album proper 'Grace' - marks a cherished opportunity to experience his soulful intensity and otherworldly powers as an interpreter of song. The majority of 'You And I' consists of covers, traversing all the way from Sly & The Family Stone to The Smiths, yet all imbued with his uniquely raw, intuitive and captivating approach. The world will never see the like of Jeff Buckley again, which makes 'You And I' a document worth savouring.

Review: "The lyrics are the real thing, tangible, they're not metaphors," Bob Dylan told the New York Times when he was first promoting this, his - drum roll - 39th album. Fittingly to the point, 'Rough & Rowdy Ways', released six decades into his career, deserves a very special place in the heart and minds of everyone who encounters it. Honest and direct, it's easily one of the most personal and open from the legend's oeuvre, and arguably the record most willing to compromise with listeners. Feelings are not hidden, instead they're impossible to miss. Adding to the open-veined impact are the arrangements themselves. Dylan has never shied away from paring back, but here his still-sensational voice is given so much room you almost want to wrap it up in your arms for fear it's too exposed. In short, potentially the closest thing any of us will get to having an actual conversation with this icon.

Review: A new Bruce Springsteen album is always exciting. The Boss' hardworking and hard-done-by fables, touching on the politics and socio-economics tearing America apart, still resonate. If anything, they have become more relevant in an age when class struggles have created deep cultural divides, meaning any reminder of the real enemy is a welcome release.

Save for 2014's collection of covers and alternative versions, High Hopes, Letter To You is Springsteen's first full length since 2012, and will delight die harders - this is what they've been waiting for. Opening with 'One Minute You're Here', gruff rock 'n' roll set among the railroad tracks of Nowheresville, post-industrial decline, sets the tone. This is the artist on full power, an orator of broken dreams and heartfelt promises, a guy who will always be there for us because it feels like he's one of us. The king is back, long live the king.

Review: It's been twenty five years since the last Roger Waters solo album, and given the fractious nature of global affairs of late, it's hardly surprising that the lugubrious 74-year-old rock colossus has had no trouble finding things to get angry about of late. Dishing out songs on drone warfare, terrorism and American nationalism, 'Is This The Life We Really Want?' - which is stylistically very much in the mould of his post-'Dark Side' oeuvre - may be no barrel of laughs, but it's oddly reassuring that his righteous rage remains undiminished, not to mention aided and abetted by the skills of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich in its intensity and relit ire.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Welcome 2 America is the first posthumous album from Prince that is made up entirely of never-before-released material. It follows a state-of-the-union-concept and fide the Purple One espousing blunt views on everything from drugs to religion, the music industry to taxes and technology. The music was discovered by Prince's archivist Michael Howe on a load of CD-Rs and is backed by bassist Tal Wilkenfeld and drummer Chris Coleman. It was recorded in 2010 and had a tour named after it but the album was shelved before we got to hear it. While not all gold, there is plenty here for fans old and new to get excited by.