Rock (All)

Review: A decade in the making, and then some, Jack Penate's third album is finally ready, with a little help from Paul Epworth, former Spankrock member and jazz percussionist Alex Epton, and Inflo. The canvas painted is both broad and coherent, taking in influences such as disco, folk and classic pop, which may sound disparate but, in this form at least, feels like a bizarrely natural combination. Testament to the artist, tracks like "Murder" - with their bumbling dancefloor rhythm and power synth line - sit comfortably between "Cipralex"'s delicate plucked acoustic guitars, falsetto lyrical delivery and rumbling low end; and the epic piano arpeggiations of heartstring-pulling instrumental "Gemini", with its samples of Penate's grandfather, Mervyn Peake, as read by his uncle Fabian. Elsewhere, "Round and Round" could be labelled lo-fi broken rave balladry, while "Swept To The Sky" closes out on a powerful and uplifting declaration of love.

Review: For a band that have - over the course of their five studio albums - always been known for a level of complexity, Tool's most eagerly awaited record yet, taking no less than 13 years to materialise, is staggering in its depth. Worth the wait, and then some, those looking for wherever progressive rock genius has been hiding can consider the search over. We've found it. There's just so much happening here. "Pneuma" may be the trophy piece, its beautiful chords spiralling into sinister refrains and choruses. "Descending" grows its way from ambient opening to powerhouse guitars. "Chocolate Chip Trip", something of a curveball, introduces noodling improv-sounding sections to the melting pot. An epic in all ways of looking at things, although one that's remarkably easy to consume, "Fear Inoculum" marks the reawakening of giants with a score that will make anyone walk proud.