Yell Boss – Black Wine – On their sophomore effort, Black Wine, a great live band, seem to have captured where super agro meets pop with some strong melodies to go along with the slowed down punk aesthetic – B
Differentology – Bunji Garlin – Trinidad’s Soca Supeprstar has released an album that begins with a bang and maintains the beat on this Caribbean mix which maybe owes a touch too much to EDM but is therefore extremely lively stuff – B+
Testify – Caleb Johnson – Last year’s American Idol winner plays middling classic rock – C+
Long Road Home – Charlie Simpson – Cutie pie former Busted lead singer grows up on this mainstream effort with UK folk undertones and a strong pop veneer in the production, as it attempts to straddle the fence and manages to do so on the title track – B
Director Of Photography – Dilated Peoples – West Coast art rap which never really moved beyond cult but whose influence is huge on modern R&B, and eight years after their last album, they don’t sound underground any more – B+
FKA Twig – LP 1 – For the past year the buzz surrounding this UK singer has been growing and growing and there is no way it could pay off, right? LP 1 may be one of the best albums of the year, through ten songs of modern ascending trip hop which sounds like Tricky only a different Tricky, a different voice and temperament, or maybe Portishead, FKA Twig lives up to the hype and beyond. In many ways a typical first album, it sounds like a warehouse of great songs she has built up over years, it isn’t weighed down by a single bad move. “Lights Out” is terrific – ALBUM OF THE WEEK- A
Horizons – Kris Allen – Middle brow pop by American Idol alumni which does what it does and does it very well – B-
Get Hurt – The Gaslight anthem – After albums worth of bombastic Springsteen hard rock without the gift, here they show some of the gift people have claimed for them. “Helter Skeleton” is more than a witty song title. But Istill can’t take the lead singer – B-
Live from Atlanta – Lucero – The Memphis rockers are precisely what a great mainstream rock band should be, better live than on record and a hot, sweater, steamy loud party . This double liver is a great place to start – B+
Ultraviolet – Owl City – If he is a one hit wonder, and he may be, I don’t see why. This four song EP is lovely, especially the Lindsey Stirling track – B+
Owl John – Own John – This is Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit, and its atmospheric sonic walliness meets folks is not dissimilar to his popular band. A very consistent piece of work which clocks in just under 35 minutes and maintains a contemplative tone – A-
Worlds – Porter Robinson – An EDM DJ adds pop flourishes to basic tracks and comes up with a winner – B+
The Long O – Peter Escott – It sounds like lo fi singer songwriter stuff only louder – B
I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss – Sinead O’Connor – On her tenth album, Sinead has completely the morph into Van Morisson in the 1990s, releasing an album of extremely good if slightly generic Sinead tracks made even better by that gorgeous voice. Not as good as How About I Be Me (And You Be You), it lacks the ambition of a “V.I.P”, but not off by much. “Where Have You Been” is a great song – A-
Amid The Noise And The Haste – SOJA – If Chronixx isn’t the Reggae album of this year, this child of UB4o is – B+
Stronger – Tank – On the heels of his TGT collab, this is a little bland for a soul album – C+
The Dark Horse – Twista – No, it isn’t all about speed rapping any more. This is a first rate mainstream rap album by a first rate mainstream rapper who should break at least on the Urban contemporary charts with this one – B+
Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium – The Underachievers – Is to acid what Wiz is to weed, but, and here is the point, acid is a more interesting drug then weed – B+
All You Can Do – Watsky – Not bad white has flow, has something to stay and can rhyme – B
