Secretly Canadian US Vinilo y CD

Review: RECOMMENDED
The most surprising thing about this staggering 7" is the fact the artist formerly known as Anthony Hegarty hasn't released 'I Will Survive' before. Gloria Gaynor's testament to the strength of the human spirit, and particularly the resilience people call upon when facing a broken heart, has long been an anthem of global queer and counterculture. Anonhi, either as lead singer of rightly lauded Anthony & The Johnsons, or as latter day soloist, is an icon of those same scenes, laying claim to being the only transgender person ever nominated for an Academy Award ('Manta Ray', from the movie Racing Extinction).

The results are everything we could have hoped for, rethinking the disco anthem as an acoustic number equal parts teary-eyed pride and sorrow, Anonhi's famous baritone crying out over strings and guitars. Backed with the frenzied distorted riffs and rage of 'RNC 2020', it's a formidable release.

Review: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Bay Rose says she makes music for those that are "aimless and heartbroken". Her magnificently rich voice conveys the pain and lament everyone has felt at some point in their life of this new sophomore album Through & Through. There is an honesty to it that has defined all her work to date and a determination to really say something with her music. Unrestricted by genre though couched in hip hop and r&b, lead singles like 'Dance With Me' marry lo-fi beat work with her smoky, raw soul vocals to make for something truly impactful. There is no wonder this one has already had plenty of press praise on both sides of the Atlantic.

Review: Stella Donnelly made a huge impression with her first long-form outing, Beware of the Dogs. One of those records that manages to combine some truly on-point and difficult themes - toxic masculinity, racism, body rights and climate change - with naive hope. Something we could all do with a little of right now. Flood is like that child praying for future happiness skipped the teenage anger and went straight to adult despair.

Hence the reason this album seems to resonate so much more than the highly accomplished (and essential) first. Here the Australian singer-songwriter conjures sexy jazz, distorted brass balladry, and uptempo lite rock to tell us all that she sees things for what they really are - knackered. Opener 'Lungs' is a case in point: marrying breezy guitar and piano work with a story of a landlord ignoring asbestos warnings to leave her and poverty-line parents living in a death trap, with no redemption.

Review: In 2024 urban and club are often interchangeable terms. Both are also painfully reductive, but that's a point for another time. Los Angeles-based vocalist and producer serpentwithfeet is a case in point, an artist who deftly weaves together sexy and seductive with nightlife energy, proving not only the breadth of each canon but also how much ground they can share. While this may not be unfamiliar, it's relatively new ground for the man with the mic in question, whose previous exploits have often been rooted in gospel tones, nodding to his own upbringing in a religious household. GRIP is musically revelatory in that sense, then, and impeccably crafted.

Review: If you remember Whitney - and let's face it, who doesn't considering their last full length was only 2019 and made a huge impression at the time - then prepare to admit you don't really know Whitney. Moving away, with some determination, from their indie folk roots, Spark is a glossy, smooth, sexy, and altogether high-production love affair with a very different side of sounds from the 1970s and 80s.

This is lush, glossy pop with funk and R&B undertones, at times breaking into No.1-worthy balladry, chords and keys cascading to the sounds of hearts breaking across the world. So rare is it in 2022 for a record to tread this unabashedly unifying path, rather than approach the charts with the songwriting talent of tomorrow's EDM chip paper, that's it's almost jarring. Full marks for making us remember what 'popular music' really means.

Review: A long awaited comeback from one of New York's greatly missed rock bands, Karen O returns after over 9 years with a full length LP after single 'Spitting off the Edge of the World' released in June, featuring the one and only Perfume Genius. In what can only be a reference to O's beer-spitting stunt circa 2002 (yes, it's been 20 years), the single preceded what's to come from 'Cool it Down' as O wavered between sorrowful rumination on the fate of the climate to valiant calls to action. Let's be honest, Karen O is just as cool now as she was back then, she makes it look so effortless. Expect a blast from the past from this release, don't think for even a second that they have lost their touch, but also expect something more mature than releases of the past. 'Cool It Down' is set to be one of the biggest releases of the year.

Review: Slowcore and dream pop collide on this latest LP from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Cool It Down' is their fifth studio album and a surprise return almost 10 years on from 2013's 'Mosquito'. Uniquely teased by the whispery lead single 'Spitting Off The Edge Of The World' - a hopeless anthem for those left behind, laying somewhere between the slowcore of Deathcrash and the indie dream dreamt by Band Of Horses - this one is a focused eight-tracker of enormously mournful proportions. It also contains a guest appearance by Perfume Genius.