Lists
January: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Sven Väth, Fever Ray, Nabihah Iqbal, Björk and more
Prins Thomas 'Prins Thomas 5' (Prins Thomas Musikk)
Along with fellow Norwegian sonic traveller Todd Terje and his old mucker Hans-Peter Lindstrøm, Thomas Moen Hermansen has been on a remarkable journey, with all three now elevated to cosmic disco royalty. ‘Prins Thomas 5’, however, feels like a soft launch for Prins Thomas 2.0. You can hear it from the off on the glam-tastic ‘Here Comes The Band’, said to be influenced by the veteran Glasgow melodic indie band, Teenage Fanclub. Elsewhere, it alights on sun-kissed analogue ambience (‘Aske Hermansen’) and brooding, low-slung acid (‘Æ’). He hasn’t entirely flung his future boogie credentials aside – ‘Å’ shimmers in a psychedelic 4x4 haze – but this is still a delicious vision of Thomas’ future. Stephen Worthy
8/10
Björk 'Utopia' (One Little Indian)
Let’s not beat around the proverbial bush: Björk’s last LP, ‘Vulnicura’, was no carefree walk in the park. It was bloody, brutal and covered in bruises, the result of an ill-timed breakup. But ‘Utopia’ is an absolute turn towards the light, and it’s covered in flutes (especially on ‘Courtship’); as a result, it’s an album you’ll want to return to again and again. You’ll already know ‘The Gate’, which is Björk and co-producer Arca at their romantic, wide-eyed best, but it’s also joined by ‘Loss’ and the near career-highlight ‘Body Memory’. The Rabit co-produced ‘Loss’, meanwhile, is an expert exploration of the human condition with some of the finest beats we’ve heard this year, while ‘Future Forever’ finds an optimistic Björk in world-beating form. Ralph Moore
9/10
