This Week’s Releases

PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project (Island/Universal)

The new record from Polly Jean Harvey sees her look outward for some important and challenging content, and, unlike Let England Shake, focuses on the present rather than the pain of the past past. The tunes on this record are “her own emotional responses, from disgust to despair.” We gave it four stars.

Clairy Browne - Pool (Caroline)

The new album from soul pop singer-songwriter Clairy Browne saw her collaborate with a number of impressive LA big guns, the results of which, as she said early this year, is a collection of songs that are empowering and exhilarating.

Pool sees Browne return to the spotlight with “a whole lot of personality and fierce attitude to deliver her unique brand of razzle dazzle”. We gave it three stars.

Surgical Meth Machine – Surgical Meth Machine (Nuclear Blast/Caroline)

Surgical Meth Machine is another twisted gem from Ministry’s Al Jourgensen and longtime collaborator/producer Sam D'Ambruoso, and sees high-velocity apocalyptic sound, dark electronica, “a pummelling and disorientating blend of brutal psychedelia and cold, synthetic beats and samples”. We gave it four stars.

and the rest of the releases...

Blaqk Audio - Material (Blaqknoise/Kobalt)

Cate Le Bon - Crab Day (Turnstile/Caroline)

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - PersonA (Community Music/Create Control)

Egyptian Lover - Egyptian Lover 1983 – 1988 (Stones Throw/Inertia)

Graham Nash - This Path Tonight (Blue Castle Label/ADA)

Joseph Tawadros – World Music (MGM)

J Dilla – The Diary (Mass Appeal Records/Sony)

Kevin Morby - Singing Saw (Dead Oceans/Inertia)

Lower Spectrum – New Haze (Pilerats Records/Warner)

Lush - Blind Spot (Edamame Records)

Major Leagues – Dream States (Popfrenzy)

Mantar - Ode To The Flame (Nuclear Blast)

Marina Prior & Mark Vincent – Together (Sony)

Otep - Generation Doom (Napalm Records/Rocket)

Prism Tats - Prism Tats (Anti-/Warner)

Phil Collins – Testify reissue (Rhino/Warner)

Phil Collins – No Jacket Required reissue (Rhino/Warner)

Royce 5'9" – Layers (Golden Era Records/Universal)

Sam Beam And Jesca Hoop - Love Letter For Fire (Sub Pop/Inertia)

Santana - Santana IV (Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl)

Stare At The Clouds - This Clear Divide (Independent)

Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide To Earth (Atlantic/Warner)

Suuns - Hold/Still (Secretly Canadian/Inertia)

The Sugarcanes - The Sugarcanes (Cobra Snake Necktie)

Wild Belle - Dreamland (Columbia/Sony)

When Saturday Comes – The Robot EP (Independent)

Various Artists - The Rabbits: Live Original Cast Recording (ABC Classics/Universal)