Five new albums to try this week: Imogen Heap, Benjamin Booker and more

Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker (Rough Trade/ATO)

Why you should listen: This 22-year old singer and guitarist is giving the likes of Jack White and the Black Keys a run for their blues-rock money. For jaunty guitar licks and husky vocals listen to the album on our stream, here.

It might not be for you if… You feel as though reboots of this genre have been done to death. Let’s leave it to Muddy Waters and listen to the old classics, please.

What we said: “Booker masterfully evokes elements of fiery rock’n’roll and teary-eyed blues, summoning up a Sister Rosetta Tharpe-like rawness over soul-inspired organ stabs and thrashy guitar licks,” ran the Guardian’s review. In the Observer New Review, Kitty Empire doled out a three-star review that you can read here.

Score: 4/5

Merchandise – After the End (4AD)

Why you should listen: If you want to hear what a band sound like when they switch from DIY punk to new wave synth sounds, then Tampa Bay’s Merchandise might just be the right guys for you.

It might not be for you if… I’m sorry, did you say a bunch of sell-outs who left their noise-punk days behind in favour of 80s-style indie-pop? Absolutely not.

What we said: “After the End is not just an enjoyable record in its own right, but one that feels like a significant step in Merchandise’s journey,” wrote Tim Jonze in his lead review for the Guardian.

Score: 4/5

Imogen Heap – Sparks (Megaphonic)

Why you should listen: Known for playing with vocoder choirs, digital samples and some fancy gloves that make music based on hand movements, Heap offers up an intriguingly recorded album of electropop.

It might not be for you if… The sum of this album’s intricate parts doesn’t quite measure up to all the effort that must have gone into recording it.

What we said: “It often feels more like a particularly ambitious performance art project than a collection of songs”, wrote Ally Carnwath, in the Observer. Click here for Rebecca Nicholson’s notably less impressed two-star review, from the Guardian.

Score: 4/5

DragonForce – Maximum Overload (earMUSIC)

Why you should listen: The speed-metal five-piece continue to blast through hair metal choruses, almost ludicrously cheesy melodies and face-melting guitar licks like it ain’t no thing. They sound as energetic as ever, on this sixth album.

It might not be for you if… The first time you heard DragonForce, you thought they were a Jack Black-like parody act, and are still not any closer to buying into their schtick.

What we said: “There are more than enough anthemic choruses, startling detours and flashes of ingenuity lurking within the adrenalised bluster of The Game, Tomorrow’s Kings and Symphony of the Night to counter the notion that the London-based crew are a one-trick power-metal pony”, wrote Dom Lawson.

Score: 4/5

Vena Portae – Vena Portae (Humble Soul)

Why you should listen: BAFTA-winning Aussie singer and composer Emily Barker collaborates with songwriter Dom Coyote and producer Ruben Engzell on this lush album of folksy, Americana-tinged pop.

It might not be for you if… You’re not the type to sway to and fro over a quaint harmonica middle eight and “la la la” harmony chorus. Just… no.

What we said: “There is some fine harmony vocal work on the acoustic Magpie’s Carol and the quietly stirring finale, All Will Be Well, but Barker dominates with the bleakly cheerful country-pop of Summer Kills, and the banjo and harmonica-backed Transatlantic”, wrote Robin Denselow, for the Guardian.

Score: 4/5

Last week, we had a few thoughts below the line about the new FKA Twigs, Sinead O’Connor and FaltyDL albums. Which releases are you looking forward to getting stuck into this week? Drop us a line in the comments section, and let us know.