Tom Grennan leads the charge in this week’s new music offering
TIGGS DA AUTHOR — BLAME IT ON THE YOUTS
Blame It On The Youts is like nothing Tiggs Da Author has done before. Previous mixtapes and singles have seen the Tanzania-born, south London-raised singer and rapper stick fairly close to the UK rap norm.
His debut album is something else, a glorious and wide-screen jumble of Afrobeat, soul and jazz that sounds like an aural feast delivered straight from Africa. His reference points include Mali, Nigeria and of course Tanzania but often the gospel rap of Chance The Rapper is the nearest touchstone.
The appearance of Jonathan Quarmby as engineer is notable. Quarmby has worked with a who’s who of artists from bland but successful pop singers to undeniable greats such as Ziggy Marley. Here he adds a glossy sheen to what are already well written, celebratory songs.
Tiggs ruminates about social dislocation and growing up without a father figure, but his conscious lyrics are always offset by the most uplifting sounds. 7/10 (Review by Alex Green)
TOM GRENNAN — EVERING ROAD
Evering Road is a ballad-heavy, melancholy break-up album which sees Tom Grennan reflect on a past relationship. It takes its name from the east London street where he once shared a home with his former partner.
The introspective record, which is a follow-up to the Bedford-born musician’s 2018 debut Lighting Matches, gets off to a lively start with You Matter To Me, Something Better and Amen, which showcase his powerful, anthemic vocals.
However, the album quickly descends into a succession of more downcast songs such as It Hurts and Never Be A Right Time, which all have a similar theme and tone. This means the album is lacking in a bit of variety and becomes slightly repetitive as it progresses.
While Evering Road contains a number of standout tracks which are sure to prove popular with his fans, the album as a whole does not live up to the standards set by its best songs. 7/10 (Review by Tom Horton)
SANANDA MAITREYA — PANDORA’S PLAYHOUSE
Sananda Maitreya, formerly known as Terence Trent D’Arby, has released an album as eccentric, artistic and frankly unbelievable as his own career arc. Emerging in 1987 with a debut album that drew comparisons to Michael Jackson and Prince, his flame burned bright and fast.
He soon fell out of favour and sunk into the life of a recluse. After a breakdown, he cast off Terence Trent D’Arby and regenerated, Doctor Who style, as Sananda Maitreya, legally changing his name in 2001.
At 28 tracks, Pandora’s PlayHouse is a bit of a slog. Few song cycles this length could hold the attention, even when they are this diverse and unpredictable. The measured and funky (The Kings Of Avalon) sit next to the downright strange (Don’t Break My Balls) as Maitreya works his way through every conceivable combination of soul, rock, psychedelia and classic R&B. But while his creativity has not been blunted, the quality control may have slipped. 5/10 (Review by Alex Green)
THE HORRORS — LOUT
The Horrors showcase a dramatic new industrial direction on their new three-track EP Lout, leaving you wondering what lockdown has done to them. The title track features Faris Badwan’s distorted voice over an intense barrage of insistent guitars and sledgehammer drums, while second track Org is an apocalyptic instrumental.
Whiplash is slower, with Badwan intoning “drag me down into dust” over another impossibly heavy collision of guitars, synths and beats. Over five albums The Horrors have developed a soaring widescreen shoegazing sound that has won huge acclaim, so such a radical change is brave, as this is their least commercial music since the first couple of garage rock singles.
There was a hint of what was to come in Machine and the intro to World Below, on the last album V four years ago, but Lout goes far beyond. Lout is a burst of pure adrenaline and will leave fans desperate to hear where The Horrors go on their next album. 7/10 (Review by Matthew George)
ZARA LARSSON — POSTER GIRL
I hope everything’s alright chez Larsson. The Poster Girl cover features the Swedish singer staring wistfully into the distance in a bedroom decorated, strangely, with posters of Larsson herself — hope being in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list hasn’t gone to her head!
And while this is an upbeat affair on the whole, there’s a fair bit on her mind in songs like Stick With You. But would it be a 2020s pop album without a song about the “haters” and how they don’t matter? And she voices perhaps some relatable concerns about a distracted boyfriend (“Two girls in a bed / Wouldn’t even get your attention”) on Right Here.
But then on Look What You’ve Done we get a disco banger with a string part right out of the Clean Bandit playbook. To some, Larsson is the queen of bubblegum pop, and Poster Girl doesn’t disappoint in that regard, with chunky refrains, the trap beats and sassy production that suggests someone’s partial to a bit of K-pop. 8/10 (Review by Rachel Farrow).
