April: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Jacques Greene 'Feel Infinite' (LuckyMe)

Admit it: you’ve always had a soft spot for Canadian producer Jacques Greene. Indeed, long before Bonobo was co-opting Brandy on his ‘Migration’ LP, the Montreal-based artist was sampling her track ‘I Wanna Be Down’ on 2010’s ‘The Look’. But there’s so much more to him than that. Ever since he emerged with ‘Another Girl’ back in 2011 and had his re-edit of Drake’s ‘Know Yourself’ endorsed by the megastar himself, the enigmatic producer has nurtured his r’n’b-inflected electronic brand with club cuts such as 2013’s How To Dress Well collab ‘On Your Side’ and remixes for the likes of The xx and Radiohead.

And now, at long last, he’s ready to release his statement album. Fans of Flume and Caribou will find much to savour: the opening ‘Feel Infinite’ is custom-built for an 8PM slot at London’s Alexandra Palace and sets the tone perfectly. ‘To Say’ boasts cascading synths and a looped vocal sample you’ll swear you’ve heard before, while How To Dress Well returns on ‘True’, which comes on like a revved-up The Weeknd on the eve of a huge Friday night in the city.

But there’s beauty among the madness, too: ‘Dundas Collapse’ has a Boards Of Canada quality to it (albeit if they’d been brought up on 90s hip hop rather than classic Warp Recordings), while ‘Real Time’ is a wonderful French Touch track with an infectious disco bassline. ‘You Can’t Deny’ is here too, of course, while the hypnotic ‘Afterglow’ and equally addictive ‘You See All My Light’ both effortlessly weave vocals in and out of glowing synth frameworks and soar towards the sun. Perhaps it’s time for Drake and Brandy to call him in properly: on the strength of ‘Feel Infinite’, the feeling is real. Ralph Moore

8/10