Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s Recommendations February 2016

Review: Surely not even the most ardent Bowie fan saw any of this coming. Yet to offset the justified grief and mourning at the most otherworldly and mercurial of all musical icons departing our realm, he's left us with one of his greatest albums to date and certainly his best in a full quarter century - one that returns him spiritually to the dizzying collision of bracing experimentation and melodious drama that typified the so-called Berlin trilogy of the '70s yet transplants that ambience to a new more complicated age. Jazzy inflections, electronic filigree and stark soundscapes collide elegantly amidst that stentorian voice, and whether or not Bowie put this together as a farewell, he couldn't have done it better if he'd tried. We'll truly never see his like again, alas.

Review: Savages set a formidable precedent for themselves with their 2013 debut, yet 'Adore Life' wastes very little time in upping the ante with style and passion to spare. Where 'Silence Yourself' was an icy blast of angst and invective, this new opus attacks on all quarters - as raw and righteous as ever yet with a newfound widescreen sweep and beatific power that's intimidating to behold. These luminous and charismatic ditties are confident yet intimate, stark yet seductive, and can make the listener feel ten foot tall even whilst whispering intimately in their ear.

Review: Who knows what Ty Segall's channeling to be quite so prodigiously prolific, yet his rate of creativity hammers powerfully on - it only seems a few months since his T. Rex covers record 'Ty Rex', yet here is another blast of raunch and rapture seemingly time0warped in from the very early '70s. Slightly less grandstanding than his breakthrough 'Redeemer', this is a still more garage-driven, raucous and eternally teenage blast of aggression, supercharged by the pedal-driven intensity that marks his aptly-monickered side-project Fuzz yet showing all the songwriting suss by which he's made his name. Petulant yet impressively potent.

Review: The mercurial, exotic and perplexing psychedelic force that is Sun City Girls have held court over a long and sprawling back catalogue over their thirty plus years of history, yet this 1990 album stands proud as probably the most glittering star in their firmament. A wild and vibrant collection of raga and middle-eastern infused acid-rock wig-outs, fevered guitar exploration and hallucinogenic dream-states, 'Torch Of The Mystics' is simultaneously a record ahead of its time and one that transcends time alogether. Mystical, intoxicating and still every iota as fresh a quarter century on.

Review: A musical polymath like no other, the late Arthur Russell turned his hand to a bewildering variety of different musical styles, from avant-garde torch songs to pounding disco, yet all imbued with his otherworldly songwriting skill and richly emotional voice. This posthumous compilation, however, collects together the more oddly accessible material that he created, in largely acoustic and country styles. The cowboy hat on the sleeve may be strangely appropriate here, but more than this, the blend of plaintive melancholy and freewheeling charm can only leave the listener wondering how Arthur Russell managed to avoid mainstream success in his all-too-brief career. A strange and beguiling transmission from a unique talent.