Back catalogue: Pop

Review: Kali Uchis has always had a gift for building dreamy, insular worlds, but her fifth studio album feels like a quiet reckoning. She channels existential uncertainty into lush, open-hearted pop i a mix of glittery r&b, woozy soul, and downcast slow jams that seem to float between time zones. Written in the aftermath of what she's described as a "life-altering" experience, there's a newfound stillness here. 'Sunshine & Rain...' is all candlelight and quiet yearning, its soft-focus production the perfect backdrop for a voice that's more hushed and inward than ever. 'ILYSMIH' (short for "I love you so much it hurts") doubles down on vulnerability, with lyrics that feel read straight from a diary, tangled up in delay-drenched strings and pillowy keys. There's punchier stuff too i 'Territorial' and 'Daggers!' lean towards funk and psychedelia, but the tempo never really rises. Instead, the energy folds inwards. 'Silk Lingerie,' 'Lose My Cool,' and 'It's Just Us' feel like whispered confessions, suspended between dream and memory. Across all 14 tracks, there's a strong sense of intimacy and solitude: of letters written and maybe never sent, of a person quietly finding the strength to stay soft in a world that rarely offers the same back.

Review: Since appearing on Gorillaz fifth album, Humanz, in 2017, Kali Uchis has been on an upward trajectory. Now a major international star with a quartet of major label backed solo albums to her name, the Colombian American rapper and singer arrives at album number five, Sincerely, at the peak of her powers. Inspired in part by an unexplained "life-altering event", the set's lyrics explore "the complexities of life" and her desire to "find joy in life despite of the world". In truth, it's more joy than pain, with Uchis gravitating towards head-nodding, string-laden grooves, r&b-influenced pop, guitar-laden trip-hop torch songs, and immersive, dream-like soundscapes.

Review: The extensive reissue campaign for Japanese pop icon Hikaru Utada continues apace with the repress of their second album, 2001's Distance. Utada notched up the biggest selling record in Japanese history with their debut First Love, so there was already a huge anticipation for their follow-up, and they didn't disappoint. It sold 3 million copies in the first week of release alone. Utada worked with American producers on this record, including RnB maestro Rodney Jerkins (of Toni Braxton fame) and the unstoppable force of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, surely two of the most important producers in RnB from that time. The results are as high-end as you would expect, and finally after more than 20 years Distance is back on vinyl.

Review: Hikaru Utada is one of Japan's biggest stars, regularly selling records by the millions since they began their career in the late 90s. Their third album Deep River became one of Japan's top-selling records of all time after its release in 2002, helped no end by the success of singles 'Hikari' 'Travelling' and 'Sakura Drops'. Not only the singer, Utada also wrote and produced much of the album, drawing on a sleek pop-folk sound which is now synonymous with modern J-pop. It's been nearly 20 years since the album was available on vinyl, so this repress is long overdue, not to mention hotly anticipated by Utada's fans worldwide.

Review: Straight from the renegade minds of Italy's DUB (District Underground Bastards) - whose parties deal exclusively in untrodden, alternative locations not normally inhabited by DJs and crowds - comes 'Bersekr', the newest collab cut from Vadim Oslov and Denis Andreev. Together, the dark, minimal techno powerhouse deliver two back-to-back cuts of only the purest cleanliness and snap. 'Toltec Snippet' and 'Alexandra Snippet' expose themselves minimally but confidently, as Minilogue jerks and dub echoes unfurl across as dancefloor-taming 6 minutes.