Juno Recommends Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s October 2018

Review: Pop duo Josh Lloyd-Watson & Tom McFarland, or simply J & T as they are known, realise their second album for pioneering independent label, XL. Since the pair's debut self-titled release back in 2013 the group has expanded to something around seven members and following a slew of singles and EPs (inclusive of a Soulwax remix) the band are now bursting with fresh life and colour. Take "Heavy, California" for example, a sing-a-long pop number that's bright and cheery enough to make you want to skip through the streets with a dandelion in your hair regardless of the season. "Cherry", the other track thrown around online, sees Jungle live up to their Neo Soul genre tag, and with 11 more tracks to explore, maybe they'll even find hit that second Mercury Prize nomination.

Review: It's been a whopping six years since the last Spiritualized album and Jason Pierce, the founding, spearhead member, behind the group's success honourably lives up to expanding the notion of 'space rock' into 2018, and beyond. On the airwaves it's been "I'm Your Man" that's charted most attention, a sombre-ish, horn-blowing, western number with a touch of the blues. Meanwhile there's also "Here It Comes (The Road) Let's Go", a song that is said to be a list of instructions that leads the listener to Pierce's house. "The route is real," he says, while singing about rusty gates, paraphernalia and radios. Space may be the place, but if not, try over at Spiritualized.

Review: It's been a whopping six years since the last Spiritualized album and Jason Pierce, the founding, spearhead member, behind the group's success honourably lives up to expanding the notion of 'space rock' into 2018, and beyond. On the airwaves it's been "I'm Your Man" that's charted most attention, a sombre-ish, horn-blowing, western number with a touch of the blues. Meanwhile there's also "Here It Comes (The Road) Let's Go", a song that is said to be a list of instructions that leads the listener to Pierce's house. "The route is real," he says, while singing about rusty gates, paraphernalia and radios. Space may be the place, but if not, try over at Spiritualized.

Review: Music to tingle the more spine chilling tendrils of your soul, this latest album by one of London's greatest ever bands, deliver a third and final instalment in a trilogy of LPs. It follows Bloodsport and Night Thoughts of 2013 and 2016 respectively, with this effort drawing on new adventures in field recordings, spoken word elements and choir. Romanticism and classical are abound too, like the dire classic that is "The Invisibles", helping bring the album to a reflective end, while others like "Life Is Golden" tenderly sways in waves of emotional support and melancholy. It is an cinematic listen through and through, with the Blair Witch beginnings of "Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You" just the start.

Review: Moshi Moshi have for a long time now held their place as a trusted source in harbouring fresh, exploratory indie and pop, with the likes of Hercules & Love Affair, the enigmatic Tom Vek, Au Revoir Simone and Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor common names seen across its discography. Another trusted group for the label is Teleman who deliver their third full length, a record that's boasted as freer and more collaborative than anything they've done before. Wayfarer-wearing synth pop is a nice way to thematicise the LP Family Of Aliens though, with hints of UK-indie - in true Moshi Moshi style - intertwining with Frenchy synth pop. The mellow cruise and space vocoders of "Submarine Life" is a sweet dream to listen to alongside the meaner night drive of "Cactus", a number invoking images of a New Mexico desert with Roswell somewhere over in the distance.

Review: Minnesota couple Low have been around the block, lets say roughly 25 times, and it's been the Seattle-based Sub Pop label that's really become home to their music after several drops for the ambient-laced Kranky. I mean, hey, some have even called their music 'dinner party epochal'. Static and noise and other more experimental techniques in production provide a livid colour to this album, take in "Dancing in Blood" for example, with its industrial and subdued goth influences, or the pumping white noise and distortion of album opener "Quorum". Further down the tracklist is "Fly", a naturally melancholic number but far from depressive, with this track in particular hitting a sweet spot in the same way Massive Attack's "Teardrop" does. Very cool LP.

Review: A powerful Stax flashback of two tracks from Arkansas soul don Taylor's 1967 debut album Wanted One Soul Singer. As covered by the likes of Lou Rawls, "Ain't That Loving You" is heartfelt bluesy ballad with a sultry swagger and serious yearning on the choruses while the even rarer "Blues In The Night" closes the B on a super-tight floor-bound riff and gutsy delivery from Taylor. Both bonafide northern soul classics and confirmed rarities with both cuts regularly fetching triple figures, this reissue changes everything. For more reasons than one.

Review: Australian group Retiree: the musical project of Matt Crowley, Tori Holleman and Marco Vella return to Rhythm Section with a new record. The album's songs explore the theme of 'house or home' and what that means in present day Australia for different people. They journey from an aboriginal tent embassy on the south coast of New South Wales, a retirement village, a one room flat in the suburbs of Melbourne and a sleepless 17 hour stop over in Malaysia. From the slo-mo neon-lit pop of "Migrate", the catchy '80s revivalism of "Pumice Stone" or "Line In The Dirt" and even moments of balearic deep house like "Mystery Bay" - Retiree present a cohesive effort here. Definitely ones to keep your eye on in 2018 and beyond.