Tinariwen – Live in Paris, Oukis N’Asif (Wedge)
Why you should listen: This live album, recorded at a gig in Paris in December 2014, sees the desert-blues band confront asuf – a feeling that loosely translates as “taking away, forgetting or getting over heartache and longing” – for their Tuareg camp home.
It might not be for you if … You don’t often listen to Sahara blues.
What we said: “The masters of desert blues quickly heat up on this performance from late 2014, drawing on numbers from all eras of their repertoire,” wrote Neil Spencer, in the Observer.
Score: 4/5
Freddie Gibbs – Shadow of a Doubt (Empire)
Why you should listen: Drug and street-life references abound on the Indiana rapper’s third album, underpinned by his ever-present lyrical dexterity.
It might not be for you if … You find it hard to listen to songs about slinging crack cocaine, no matter how reflective they may be.
What we said: “Shadow of a Doubt is a wholly modern affair, featuring beats from Blair Norf and Jay Z’s go-to guy, Mike Dean, and on which Gibbs’s dextrous delivery is encased in minor-chord synths,” wrote Lanre Bakare, in the Guardian.
Score: 4/5
Arca – Mutant (Mute)
Why you should listen: The Venezuela-born, London-based producer (FKA twigs, Björk) releases his second album this year, filling it with glitchy, industrial electronic music that barely adheres to the tenets of song structure.
It might not be for you if … You found his work with FKA twigs hard enough to get your head around.
What we said: “Increasingly unaccountable to any kind of rhythmic framework (Arca’s early output centred on corrupted hip-hop beats), this is music that appears completely cacophonous if you let your concentration slip even for a second,” wrote Rachel Aroesti, in the Guardian. Read Kitty Empire’s three-star review from the Observer, here.
Score: 4/5
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Paper Mâché Dream Balloon (Heavenly)
Why you should listen: King Gizzard have traded in their spaced-out psychedelia for tight, sun-dappled psychpop with a distinctly 1960s tilt. It’s all rather acoustic and lovely.
It might not be for you if … You preferred the band when they sounded like a tie-dyed fever dream.
What we said: “For all that it sounds like pastiche – 1968 as reimagined by people looking at a book of colourised photographs, right down to the sitar on NGRI (Bloodstain) – Paper Mâché Dream Balloon is a joy, because King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are terrific songwriters, out of whom melodies tumble incessantly,” wrote Michael Hann, for the Guardian.
Score: 4/5
Ringo Deathstarr – Pure Mood (Club AC30)
Why you should listen: The Austin band prove they’ve got the shoegaze game down pat, weaving dreamy guitar lines beneath bassist Alex Gehring and guitarist Elliott Frazier’s hazy vocals.
It might not be for you if … You’ve never been a fan of shoegaze, no matter how well it’s played.
What we said: “It’s luxuriously heavy, sweetly ghostly and more thoughtful than others who switch on the reverb pedal and hope for the best,” wrote Kate Hutchinson, for the Guardian.
Score: 4/5
Last week also saw the worldwide releases of holiday season albums by dreampop duo Smoke Fairies and R&B-funk group Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, as well as a third album from a fairly well-known singer called Adele. What are you looking forward to hearing this week?
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