Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s Recommendations May 2016

Review: Re-issue of this underground classic for those that know! Originally released in 1983, Lifetones comprised of duo Charles Bullen and Julius Cornelius Samuel. Bullen was previously in short lived but seminal art rock outfit This Heat and drummer Samuel was also known in some circles as Dub Judah. Hailed by many as an influential and innovative project, the band fuses dub, krautrock, middle eastern and post punk aesthetics interestingly on this Zeitgeist/soundtrack for early 80's Thatcherite Britain and the struggles of youth in Brixton in the face of economic adversity.

Review: Having displayed a somewhat wayward and scattershot approach of late, 'Human Performance' is where Parquet Courts go right back to hitting the bullseye in extremis, using their infectious songcraft and rough-hewn charm on this collection of skewed and anthemic ditties to deliver a cocktail of equal parts mischief and malice, pop melody and DIY punk. Wry lyrical insights, incisive guitar hooks and omnipresent joie-de-vivre coalesce to provide further evidence that this Brooklyn outfit - beyond being a Pavement for millennials - are currently about as close as one can get to a new generation of indie-rock royalty.

Review: More than merely an awaybreak for its members Alex Turner and Miles Kane, The Last Shadow Puppets proved themselves on their debut 'Age Of The Understatement' to be masters of a distinctly '60s-styled world of glamour and arresting artifice, their clever wordplay and swooning harmonies combining with ornate arrangements to create a sound as redolent of black-and-white kitchen sink dramas as the trials and tribulations of the twenty-first century everyday. This long-awaited sequel, meanwhile - reuniting them with string arranger Owen Pallett - displays that whereas their careers may have moved in markedly different directions in the interim, their wry and wordily ditties when united display an enviable chemistry and magnetic charm.

Review: Stephen Wilkinson has now made some seven albums under the auspices of Bibio, all the while notably avoiding any kind of genre restrictions in his pursuit of a unique and affecting style that somehow embraces glacial ambience, folk, jazz, reggae and '70s rock along its path. 'A Mineral Love', meanwhile, takes a nature-inclined theme and uses it to create a delicate and seductive record that is as engaging as it is stylistically elusive. At all times though, a flair for melody and texture prevails throughout these ditties, ultimately creating something not unlike an imaginary John Martyn as produced by Four Tet in 1982 - and as strange and beguiling as that sounds.

Review: Whilst Mogwai's scores for Zidane and Les Revenants were diverting enough pieces of work, it's some testimony to the frontier-striding attitude and emotional heft of 'Atomic' - which marks a soundtrack to the movie made by Mark Cousins and shown on BBC4 last year, dealing with the atomic age - that is stands amongst their very best work, Expanding the band's palette to include Kraftwerk-esque electronica and emotive orchestration alongside their trademark six-string melancholy. these powerful and resonant pieces pack a mighty punch, summoning awe and fear in equal, elegiac and singularly appropriate measure.

Review: Wire are approaching their fortieth anniversary working as a band, and frankly no band has any right to still sound as kinetic, skilful and fresh with ideas in the wake of four decades of cultural shifts as they do on this snappy 15th album, collected from the same sessions that wrought last year's self-titled effort yet more experimental and expansive in nature As ever, their sound is spiky yet seductive, malevolent yet melodic, with its pop flourishes burnished by glacial abstraction. Colin Gilbert's vocals remain as mysterious yet playful as ever, whether backed up by textured ambience or motorik groove, resulting in a rare gem from a national treasure in rare form.

Review: The era in which Deftones could be judged as part of the nu-metal herd, dealing out hip-hop influenced riff-ballast with angst to spare, seem like another aeon in light of triumphs like this eight full-lengther, which builds on the brooding and incandescent strains of their most recent work to create a visionary display of art-damaged majesty which veers seamlessly from whisper to scream as only this band can, 'Gore' displays the kind of poise and elan that we've come to expect from this unique band, one who now stand proud alongside the likes of Radiohead and Sigur Ros as an entity whose reach and uncompromising artistry extends beyond genres and generations alike.

Review: This Montreal-based troupe here prove themselves once again one step ahead of the pack, deploying an eerie album that walks a tightrope between chilly and intimidating, intense and stimulating. Hold/Stil's grace and poise is in its understated delivery, cultivating tension and intrigue even whilst its angular guitar curlicues, electronic pulsations and Ben Shemie's emotive vocals result in a tapestry of oblique strategies and stark abstraction. Yet the result, for all that, is a visionary and startling work that only underlines the values of restraint and atmosphere over noise and abandon. II's psych, but not as we know it.