This Week's Releases

14 May 2015 | 2:16 pm | Staff Writer

Hermitude Dark Night Sweet Light (Elefant Traks/Inertia)

Earning our Album of The Week with four-and-a-half stars, Sydney's Hermitude have created "a complete work, no obvious flaws and a few moments of genuine magic". With "dancefloor-destroying" numbers like Hijinx which is "a triumph of pacing and drama" to Hazy Love which provides "a little respite for our dancing shoes, a little like finding a nice quiet spot to chat at the house party", our reviewer thought this was a totally "compelling" experience. 

King Parrot — Dead Set (EVP)

Our reviewer thought Dead Set was a great showcase of the band's ability to not only pull together "an infamous live show and hilarious film clips", but to "pen killer tunes". All in all, "Parrot have instead pushed the grindcore genre forward within itself: the record is chock-full of more aggression, more humour and more... more-ness". We gave the record three-and-a-half stars.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

Shamir — Ratchet (XL/Remote Control)

A debut record for the 20-year-old, Shamir has "a reckless, youthful energy that offers listeners a joyously affirming good time". Our reviewer notes that the album works "minimal techno soul, gospel and R&B into a vibrant life-affirming mix", scoring a solid four stars in our book for its "blinding good time". 

Faith No More — Sol Invictus (Reclamation/Ipecac/[PIAS] Australia)

We had high hopes for this album and it did not disappoint, with our reviewer giving Sol Invictus four stars for its "collective thirst for new territory, such as the Spaghetti-Western atmospherics of Rise Of The Fall". We also thought "Faith No More’s jaded cynicism has only deepened over time and fits into today’s economically stagnant, rights trampling, Big Brother Is Watching You (and Reading Your Emails) climate", possibly rendering them more relevant now than in the '90s. 

and the rest of the releases…

Andrew Tuttle — Slowcation (A Guide To Saints/Room40)
Brandon Flowers — The Desired Effect (Island/Universal)
Ceremony — The L-Shaped Man (Matador/Remote Control)
Conchita Wurst — Conchita (Sony)
Dan Cribb & The Isolated — As We Drift Apart (Pee Records)
Darts — Below Empty And Westward Bound (Rice Is Nice)
Dean Brody  Gypsy Road (ABC/Universal)
Eric Clapton — Forever Man (Warner)
Guantanamo Baywatch — Darling… It's Too Late (Smack Face Records/Create Control)
Holly Herndon — Platform (4AD/Remote Control)
Hot Chip — Why Make Sense? (EMI)
Jasmine Rae — Heartbeat (ABC/Universal)
Judith Owen — Ebb & Flow (Twanky Records/The Planet Company)
Leonard Cohen — Can't Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour (Sony)
Lydia Goldthorpe — Simple Local (Independent)
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Loin Des Hommes Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Goliath Enterprises)
Oisima — Nicaragua Nights (Create Control)
Paper Arms — Great Mistakes (Poison City Records)
Paul Weller — Saturns Pattern (Parlophone/Warner)
Rand And Holland — Rand And Holland (A Guide To Saints/Room40)
Saun & Starr — Look Closer (Daptone/Shock)
Silverstein — I Am Alive In Everything I Touch (Rise Records/ADA)
Steve Aoki — Neon Future II (Ultra Recordings/Liberator)
The Casanovas  Terra Casanova (Rubber)
The Eccentronic Research Council — Johnny Rocket, Narcissist And Music Machine…I’m Your Biggest Fan (Without Consent/[PIAS] Australia)
The Helio Sequence — The Helio Sequence (Sub Pop/Inertia)
The Milk Carton Kids — Monterey (Anti-/Warner)
The Vintage Caravan — Arrival (Nuclear Blast)
Total Babes — Heydays (Wichita Recordings/[PIAS] Australia)
Twenty One Pilots — Blurryface (Warner)
Urban Cone — Polaroid Memories (Universal)
Various Artists — Balance Presents Fur Coat (Balance Music/Universal)
Various Artists — Your Shot Volume 1 (Onelove Recordings)
Wire — Wire (Popfrenzy)
Zedd — True Colors (Interscope Records/Universal)