Nonesuch レコード& CD

Review: Delta Kream is the 10th studio album from now well established Ohio rock outfit The Black Keys. It is one that distinctly looks back to their pre-formation roots as the group play eleven Mississippi hill country blues standards that they have loved since they were teenagers. The songs were recorded at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville with musicians Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton - who played with bands who were involve with many of the original songs - also included in the sessions. Songs by R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others, are included to make this a lovely listen.

Review: 'American Utopia' is the first solo record in 14 years from iconic polymath David Byrne. The album comes as part of a larger project entitled 'Reasons To Be Cheerful' - a series of works that strives to antidote pervasive social and political anxieties. In keeping with this, 'American Utopia' questions realities of contemporary culture with playful writing that shifts perspectives and favours optimism over despairing pessimism. Being the product of working with 25 collaborators, 'American Utopia' feels like something of a sonic patchwork, but doesn't ever feel sprawling, neatly tied together by Byrne's inimitable sense of melody and harmony. 'American Utopia' doesn't offer any transcendental conclusions on how to save the world, but advocates positive and unusual ways of looking at the world around us, and with a career underpinned by a singular and indescribable quirkiness, Byrne is the ideal candidate the job.

Review: Given his length of service and the sheer depth of his catalogue, we'll forgive Pat Metheny for taking his time over this album. It arrives some six years after its predecessor, with Metheny using that time to work with a stripped-back band of traditional jazz musicians (drummer, pianist, bassist) and more striking a symphony orchestra. The results are impressive, with Metheny's distinctively bright and breezy guitar solos rising above backing tracks that mix his usual fusion style with a more old-fashioned take on jazz. Highlights are plentiful, with the epic and emotive "America Undefined" - a lengthy, building workout that recalls some of his most stunning works - and "You Are", which boasts some of his now-standard scat vocals, standing out.