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KINGS OF LEON Walls (RCA)
Kings of Leon’s last outing, 2013’s forgettable ‘Mechanical Bull’, had the band on autopilot, the imagined result of pressing some kind of denim-clad Stadium Rock button. ‘WALLS’ is an odd one. It lacks the immediate bombast of either that last LP or 2010’s ‘Come Around Sundown’, but neither is it straight-up boring. There’s a tiny hint of the irresistible garage rock that broke them back in the early 00s with ‘Eyes on You’. Closer ‘WALLS’ broods prettily in its nighttime melancholy. Driving anthems in the making, these are not. Then again opener ‘Waste A Moment’ sounds tired, and ‘Wild’ nothing more than filler. Refreshing as their attempts to break the monotony may be, what are Kings of Leon with no lighter moments, after all? (Emma Swann) LISTEN: ‘Eyes On You’
, SIR le UITS YOnU S have had quite the ‘sty Scruffy chaps Kings of Leo evolution’. Let’s take a
closer look .
Taking a leaf out of Anna Wintour’s. book, the band work block colours
eeee GOAT
Requiem (Sub Pop)
Masters of secrecy, Swedish experimentalists Goat have remained a uniquely unidentifiable prospect across two records, allowing their music to be a solitary voice. While their eccentrically engaging live show has frequently been the forefront of acclaim, their recorded output can perhaps be considered outshadowed. But with new record ‘Requiem’, these oddballs have delivered an album worthy of the same status. (Ross Jones) LISTEN: ‘Temple Rhythms’, ‘Try My Robe’
ee JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN & BENJAMIN LAZAR DAVIS Let It Be You (Reveal Records)
As musicians, Joan Wasser - or Joan As Police Woman - and Benjamin Lazar Davis have always sought out unique individuals to collaborate with. Joan has worked with everyone from Antony and the Johnsons to David Sylvian, while Benjamin still performs with Okkervil River and Cuddle Magic. But it was an unlikely source that brought the pair together: the musical patterns of Central African Republic Pygmies. On the surface, the pair’s collaborative album ‘Let It Be You’ doesn’t have too much to do with tribal rhythms and is more a blend of what the pair are accustomed to creating. It’s a curiously unbalanced album, however, frontloaded by the brilliant ‘Broke Me In Two’, which is never matched across the rest. (Eugenie Johnson) LISTEN: ‘Broke Me In Two’
eee WAREHOUSE
Super Low (Bayonet Records)
Only one Followill got the ‘coordinate. with the backdrop’ memo..
even Kings of Leo jacket shorta n need to deal with ges from tim e to time
As Elaine Edenfield launches into her guttural snarl on opener ‘Oscillator’, Warehouse make it clear they’re a unique proposition. Their music juxtaposes the sort of vocals that could be expected from a grizzled 40-a-day punk veteran, with bright jangling post-punk guitars and the lo-fi production of garage rock. The Deerhunter-approved Atlanta group’s second record is far more coherent than its disparate parts might otherwise suggest, and ‘Super Low’ requires several listens to fully appreciate the strange blend of jangly guitar rock, mixed with spit and sawdust punk. (Stuart Knapman) LISTEN: ‘Audrey Home’
eee DOUGLAS DARE Aforger (Erased Tapes)
The dodgy car
die phase .
In the couple of years leading up to this second record, London-based Douglas Dare has gone through ‘a bit’ (coming out to his father; breaking up with his long-term partner). ‘Aforger’ could easily have been cast as a break-up album. Instead, Douglas’ new record plays with the idea of forgery, with a dizzying impact. There is at least one moment of clarity. ‘Oh Father’ is simply heartbreaking, a sombre examination of his strained relationship with his dad. These fleeting moments of transparency help give something to grasp onto within an album that’s sometimes a little too abstract to truly connect. (Eugenie Johnson) LISTEN: ‘Oh Father’ 69