February: 18 albums you need to hear this month

SOHN 'Rennen' (4AD)

Let’s face it, Christopher Taylor works in a crowded field: there are a lot of sensitive guys out there who are a bit Radiohead, a bit blues and a bit r’n’b, and all of them have neat electronic beats and voices ready to jump into a falsetto at the drop of a hat. Taylor’s first album as SOHN in 2014 hit all the familiar spots, but demonstrated a strong voice and songwriting, too. Here he goes a step further: there’s some fairly standard anthemic electronic indie and several swerves into James Blake territory, but as the album goes on he gets starker, weirder, less formulaic and steadily more interesting. It’d be nice to hear voice and production crack and cut loose even more – but he’s heading in the right direction. Joe Muggs

6/10