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In Time The Mavericks 4p332x
Their first album for 10 years is more than a purely perfunctory comeback.
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The Jazz Age The Bryan Ferry Orchestra 646g5l
An album as fascinating as it is perplexing, and one to be applauded.
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A Walk Across the Rooftops: Collector’s Edition The Blue Nile 5e4157
Both everymen and angels, The Blue Nile didn’t sound or function like any normal band.
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Live at the Bowl ‘68 The Doors 456l6g
Love or loathe The Doors, this will polish the windows of your perception.
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Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra 14675i
Jeff Lynne successfully freshens up a spread of ELO classics.
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Dept. of Disappearance Jason Lytle 2p1539
Grandaddy frontman’s second solo LP is a set of impressive depth and scale.
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Jake Bugg Jake Bugg 4f6m15
Ubiquity may beckon for this rising Nottingham singer-songwriter.
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Long Wave Jeff Lynne 2g3j45
The ELO man covers a selection of the songs that inspired him.
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Little Earthquakes Tori Amos 4q105d
A candid, original voice, causing mighty tremors with tender tiptoes.
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Ashes and Roses Mary Chapin Carpenter 3q1yk
Unlikely to woo ers-by, but long-time irers will adore Carpenter’s latest.
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One Day I’m Going to Soar Dexys 5i63a
Dexys are back with wisdom and wings. Some of us never doubted.
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Ram Paul and Linda McCartney 5u122y
Ripe for re-evaluation, Ram is far from the disaster some critics painted it as.
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Mid Air Paul Buchanan 3x5z1i
Nothing short of a solo masterpiece from The Blue Nile’s frontman.
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Strangeland Keane 403b1i
Keane’s fourth LP is best when it stops trying to do ‘epic’, and gets nostalgic.
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The Journey Is Long The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project 2w611o
A quality array of artists fans the still-smouldering ashes of a legend that yet grows.
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Bandwagonesque Teenage Fanclub 424al
They were only reinventing the wheel, but Bandwagonesque keeps on spinning.
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Both Ways Open Jaws The Dø 6v4l2m
The kind of intriguing ‘oddness’ the likes of Florence Welch strain and wheeze for.
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Letters Matt Cardle 2c413
Over-produced to a point where what distinguished Cardle from the pack is lost.
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New Blood Peter Gabriel 3t4g28
A string-driven LP swinging between bravado and bleakness, and always beautiful.
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The Old Magic Nick Lowe 6b5v3f
There’s a resilient cheerfulness here, a very British refusal to take things seriously.
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Extra Playful EP John Cale 422u4l
Even at 69, Cale is one of today’s music world’s most vital artists.
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A Different Kind of Fix Bombay Bicycle Club 5k3nj
A mature mix of jaunty and jaundiced music from the north Londoners.
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Court and Spark Joni Mitchell 4z4u39
On album six, Mitchell achieved a sky-high marriage of serenity and yearning.
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Coastal Grooves Blood Orange q652d
Dev Hynes’ latest guise is better at being Metronomy than Metronomy are.
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Hearts I Break Horses 42215o
Stockholm duo’s debut is a nu-gaze collection which both whispers and shouts.
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Second-hand Springsteen-echoing sounds, but always delivered with heart and soul.
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Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) The Beach Boys 1d1d5c
If Pet Sounds is the critics’ fave, Summer Days is perhaps the people’s day at the beach.
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Road Trip Duane Eddy 72p4
A decent, nostalgic Father’s Day gift, for your dad’s dad
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All Times Through Paradise The Saints 4e4jy
Australian punks’ first three albums, plus live selections: a righteous noise.
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Charm School Roxette 68x5h
An exhilarating, determined effort from the million-selling Swedes.
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Long Player Late Bloomer Ron Sexsmith 65d3l
A cautious release from a songwriter ired by the likes of Elton John.
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The Incredible Machine Sugarland 396y28
Chart-toppers in the US, the country-rock duo now look to break the UK.
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Stand Still Emma’s Imagination 2f1d4z
Talent show winner’s decent voice propels a debut sure to be a big-shifter.
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You can’t fake emotion like this, and this odd couple has it in spades.
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Dreams Neil Diamond 5191a
A splendid showcase for Diamond’s evergreen, emotive voice.
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National Ransom Elvis Costello b1m16
Costello’s Nashville love affair continues, but while enjoyable this is no classic.
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The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall The Fall w2d5u
Every fan of music which breathes fire needs this record.
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Searching For the Young Soul Rebels: 30th Anniversary Special Edition Dexys Midnight Runners 341p36
The first of three Dexys masterpieces and one of the greatest UK debuts ever.
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World Gone Crazy The Doobie Brothers 1j6o7
In the Doobies’ heads, and on this album, it’s forever California 1974.
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Touching You, Touching Me Neil Diamond 2yv5w
You’d need a gnarly heart not to be touched by Diamond’s drive here.
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Stones Neil Diamond 2m5a30
Cornball on top, but pulsating with intensity down below.
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The Jazz Singer Neil Diamond 4u1mh
Diamond’s biggest hit in the States, this soundtrack shifted over six million.
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Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Elton John 1r2g2g
Rarely receives due credit as John’s finest work by a distance.
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Tumbleweed Connection Elton John 3e4u25
A crafted, often imioned work from a pre-pop-chopped Elton and Bernie.
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Honky Château Elton John 3i32p
The singer finds the balance between camp pop-rock and gushing ballads.
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Elton John 2x6b4
Winningly grandiose in places, but it’d have been better as a single LP.
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Light Me Up The Pretty Reckless 3h71
Everything here is a guilty pleasure. You know it’s wrong, but it feels so right.
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Gold Mother James 10474l
For many their defining album, Gold Mother encapsulates the essence of James.
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A confusing release that will appeal little to those beyond Jones’ generation.
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Record Zero 7 4e4a1w
Zero 7’s wispy emissions reveal charm and interest value; even the occasional surprise.
