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Our pick of the new music that's coming your way.  1. lee hazlewood and amiina hill (at the top of the world) (ever records) Posthumous duets are almost always a bad idea, which makes this release by the late Lee Hazlewood, out in December, even more remarkable. A collaboration with Iceland’s Amiina (they shared the same manager), it was recorded only a few weeks before he died in July, and debuted at his memorial service. In his cracked, leathery voice, Hazlewood tells a fairytale about an island where the snow tastes of sugar. It’s not quite Johnny Cash’s Hurt, but moving nonetheless. AC  listen 2. slow club me and you/apples and pairs (moshi moshi) Bet on this Sheffield duo making a big splash with their debut album in 2008. For now you can swoon to the skatetastic video for second single Me And You (out 29 October) and hear b-side Apples And Pairs - a gorgeous strummed waltz that builds to a brassy crescendo Arcade Fire wouldn't sniff at - on their MySpace page. CP listen 3. ava leigh burnin’ (virgin) Twenty-one-year-old Ava Leigh, from Chester, is a white singer in the unlikely idiom of roots reggae. Given her age and musical style, the “next Lily Allen” alarm bells might be ringing, but Ava has a fabulous voice (think Amy Winehouse), and the effervescent one-love pop of Burnin’, released next month, announces a star with near-limitless global appeal. AP listen 4. jens lekman the opposite of hallelujah (secretly canadian) Even if you think “twee” is a four-letter word, this smorgasbord of exchange student enunciation, bedsit strings and awkward sentiment will gnaw at you irresistibly. Find more of the same on the Swede’s new album, Night Falls Over Kortedala. BM  listen 5. the young knives terra firma (transgressive) Laying down a spare, grumpy bass groove, Ashby de la Zouche’s finest seem to have dropped the geeky new wave-isms of last year’s debut, Voices Of Animals And Men. Instead, witness a newfound icy swagger on this forthcoming single, the trio coming on like Games Workshop store assistants at a Gary Numan concert. BM listen 6. sharon jones and the dap-kings let them knock (daptone) Behind the scenes, this Brooklyn collective have lent their gritty soul/funk chops to artists as diverse as Lou Reed, Kanye West and Lily Allen. Their own records wonderfully rekindle the sound of vintage Stax and JB’s waxings, as on this raunchy, horn-blasting trailer for their forthcoming album, 100 Days, 100 Nights. AP listen 7. dude ‘n’ nemwatch my feet (tvt) There was a rash of terrible hip-hop dance craze records last year, but don’t let that put you off the brilliant Watch My Feet. Huge in America and set for release here, it’s got a thumping beat and brilliant chorus. But the clue is in the title – this is a tune you need to see.SY watch 8. chromeofree mix Canadian synth-fetishists Chromeo are giving away a free 40-minute mix, featuring the likes of Rick James and Paul Hardcastle. Beware: it is so 80s you should probably serve it with a prawn cocktail and a glass of Blue Nun.PC download 9. skinnymansmokin’ ban British rap’s most dedicated herbman protests the nanny state with a bonfire of flame-fuelled metaphors, suggesting it’ll be a long time before Skinnyman comes quietly. Download only, it’s more grime than hip-hop, but a masterly demonstration of why those distinctions are guidelines and no more. SY listenTips by: Amber Cowan, Ben Machell, Chris Power, Steve Yates.  conversations
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 now hear thislast week  amiinaalbum review  the young knivesvideo session  skinnymanalbum review books  books and comics archive Author interviews and reviews from 2002 to 2008. |
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