Latest Pop & Chart Reviews

• Before the Storm Jack Savoretti

  
  Third album of gruffly sensitive strum-pop from tousle-haired Italian-English Londoner.

  reviewed by Paul Lester

  • Janice Long
  • Simon Mayo

• Boys Don’t Cry Rumer

  
  Sarah Joyce covers male songwriters both culty and canonical on album number two.

  reviewed by Paul Lester

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week
  • Bob Harris

• Magic Hour Scissor Sisters

  
  The flamboyant poppers rediscover their magic touch on album four.

  reviewed by Tom Hocknell

  • Nick Grimshaw

• Fall to Grace Paloma Faith

  
  Proof that pop doesn't need to be grey and restrained to feel grown-up.

  reviewed by Nick Levine

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week

• Some Nights fun.

  
  New Yorkers’ second LP is one big, beautiful oxymoron, and really rather special.

  reviewed by Al Fox

  • Fearne Cotton

• Words and Music by Saint Etienne Saint Etienne

  
  The trio looks back on a life lived through music, and the daft things it makes people do.

  reviewed by Ian Wade

  • The Late Show with Stuart Bailie
  • Janice Long
  • 6 Music Album of the Day

• Out of My Hands Morten Harket

  
  The a-ha frontman’s fifth solo LP paints him as a maestro of melancholy.

  reviewed by Nick Levine

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week

• Love Is a Four Letter Word Jason Mraz

  
  Mraz’s easy on the ear material has progressed subtly, without upsetting day-one devotees.

  reviewed by Mike Diver

• Through the Night Ren Harvieu

  
  Salford chanteuse delivers her share of astonishingly mature Big Pop Choruses.

  reviewed by David Sheppard

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week
  • Simon Mayo
  • Chris Hawkins
  • Radcliffe & Maconie

• A Joyful Noise Gossip

  
  A fifth album from the pop-embracing trio that’s geared for maximum chart impact.

  reviewed by Martin Aston

  • Jo Whiley
  • Nick Grimshaw
  • Dermot O'Leary

• Instinct Niki and the Dove

  
  The Swedish pop duo delivers one of the essential debuts of the year so far.

  reviewed by Tom Hocknell

  • Nemone
  • Nick Grimshaw

• Strangeland Keane

  
  Keane’s fourth LP is best when it stops trying to do ‘epic’, and gets nostalgic.

  reviewed by Chris Roberts

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week
  • Jo Whiley

• Electra Heart Marina and the Diamonds

  
  Balances the ironic and the heartfelt, the real and the fake, with remarkable aplomb.

  reviewed by Michael Cragg

  • Fearne Cotton
  • Nick Grimshaw

• Little Broken Hearts Norah Jones

  
  Esteemed songstress makes heartbreak sound good.

  reviewed by Marcus J. Moore

  • Another Country with Ricky Ross

• Matter Fixed Marlon Roudette

  
  A significant success on the continent, this London-born singer is now chasing UK hits.

  reviewed by Mike Diver

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week

• Out of the Game Rufus Wainwright

  
  Canadian songsmith’s Mark Ronson-produced seventh is a heavenly homage to 70s pop.

  reviewed by Rob Hughes

  • Guy Garvey
  • 6 Music Album of the Day
  • Loose Ends

• California 37 Train

  
  Album six sees the US pop-rockers toying with their formula… slightly.

  reviewed by Al Fox

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week

• MTV Unplugged Florence + the Machine

  
  Florence reins in her exuberance in for this stripped-back live set.

  reviewed by Mike Haydock

  • 6 Music Album of the Day

• The Complete Studio Albums (1983 – 2008) Madonna

  
  Evergreen and ever-evolving, this dynamic talent is likely to forever be essential.

  reviewed by Mike Diver

• III Jamie Hartman

  
  Glossy fare from the former Ben’s Brother frontman.

  reviewed by Natalie Shaw

  • Radio 2 Album of the Week