14 days

Review: The Allergies' debut album introduced the world to the way they effortlessly fuse funk, soul, disco, hip-hop and breaks into dancefloor-ready nuggets of ear candy. Taking classic sounds and reshaping them for the modern age is the signature that won them plaudits across the globe. Not ones to rest on their laurels, it hasn't taken long for them to deliver more of the goods on their second full-length album. As well as taking the successful formula of the first record and expanding on their sound, the band enlisted two giants of underground hip-hop to bless mics on the album as well. After a hugely successful collaboration on their debut LP, once again the dynamic lyricism and production skills of the inimitable Andy Cooper (Ugly Duckling) are present and correct in this new collection.

Review: Yes! Styles Upon Styles step it up and drop their very first album length project and do so in their own inimitable style with this conceptual long player from the superb (and superbly named) Gut Nose. The NYC label have swiftly built a rep for introducing the unheralded or the lesser known (Clay Wilson, Certain Creatures, White Visitation and Kloke) and it's great to see them maintain that approach with Filthy City. Aside from one cassette release and a prior SUS 12", there is little to form an opinion on Gut Nose out there, and that works in his favour on this album. The traditional LP format has been thrown out completely in favour of two extended pieces made up of movements with the A Side, sub-titled Filthy City, a dizzying array of paranoid stuttering instrumental beats reminiscent to the late 90s work of El P and Cannibal Ox. Gut Nose flips it completely with the B-side's Filthnoid Mixx which ups the tempo markedly to a queasy fairground ride through a nightmarish techno landscape. You won't hear another LP like Filthy City this year.

Review: As part of his Gondwana label's 10th anniversary, masterful Manchester trumpeter and contemporary jazz trendsetter Matthew Halsall has put together a special deluxe edition of his beautiful "Colour Yes" album with thick reverse board sleeves, silver block letter foiling and two printed inner sleeves. First released in 2009, the album showcases Halsall's deeply emotive style across the 8 achingly good, supremely spiritual tracks that glow with gorgeous piano playing, gently lilting drums and his own fantastic leads.

Review: Unstoppable house machine Javonntte is the second signing for Ten Lovers Music, and he's changing tack and bringing forth a mini-album of luscious jazz inflected grooves to be savoured as an album as much as a collection of DJ cuts. The vision and scope on this record is impressive to say the least - just cop the advanced chord progressions powering the wide-open vistas of "78 Universe", or the wild expression of every instrument coursing through "Galaxies". This is Javonntte going full-flight on his artistry and it sounds impeccable - not one to be missed.

Review: Since the success of his breathlessly good debut album 99.9% in 2016, Kaytranada has become one of the most in-demand producers on the future R&B and leftfield hip-hop scenes. Here he takes a break from remixing Robert Glasper and producing Craig David records to drop three high-grade instrumental versions of tracks included on last year's U.S-only "Nothin Like U" EP. "Chances", a gorgeous mix of spacey chords, crunchy MPC beats, intergalactic synths and lilting melodies, sets the tone, before he reaches for the pianos on the low-down fusion of twinkling pianos, rolling beats and raw bass that is "It Was Meant 2 B". Closer "Track 3", meanwhile, is a sparkling slab of unfussy positivity.

Review: Everything about Birmingham-based singer/musician/producer Laura Mvula is striking; her appearance, voice, lyrics and adventurous musical approach all suggest a star in the making. This major label backed debut album, Sing To The Moon, is pretty special, too. It touches on a myriad of styles, from the Charles Stepney/Rotary Connection-ish gospeldelia of "Diamonds" and grandiose "Like The Morning Dew", to the twinkling soul-jazz of "That's Alright" (like Emile Sande, only 100 times better) and mournful strings of the beautiful "She". Throughout, Mvula's voice provides a constant reminder of her immense talents. Atmospheric, entertaining and immaculately produced, it's some debut.

Review: If you've not yet got your ears around Roger 'Chip' Wickham's sensationally sunny, jazz-fired "Shamal Wind" mini-album, we suggest you check it out post-haste. In the meantime, Lovemonk has reminded us of its magnificence via a new set of reworks from some seriously hot producers. Max Graef handles side A, first serving up a chugging, mind altering and heavily percussive "Bongo Mix" of "Soho Strut", before reaching for the sub-bass and fizzing, juke-tempo jazz rhythms on the bonkers but brilliant "Bass Mix" of the very same song. Over on the flipside, Peckham beat-maker Reginald Omas Mamode IV serves up a dusty, Rhodes-laden take on "(Soul) Rebel 23" featuring his own soulful vocals, before Gilles Peterson favourites Ishmael Ensemble mix live jazz instrumentation with rolling house beats on a sublime revision of "Snake Eyes".

Review: Best known for their 2000 dancefloor flash "Come Party" - a jazz-wise, bass-heavy romp that still gets heavy rotation - Zero DB had a moderately successful career before disappearing from view in the late 2000s. Here they return with "Party Girl", a fresh revision of their most famous cut that adds a little more percussive heaviness and a touch of dubbiness to an already killer jazz-house cut. There are two additional remixes to enjoy, too: a superb, synth bass-propelled broken beat revision by 4 Hero man Marc Mac and a raucous Fixate rework that re-imagines the cut as a sub-heavy slab of jazzy jungle brilliance. It's worth picking up the record for that remix alone.