June: 18 albums you need to hear this month

The Invisible 'Patience' (Ninja Tune)

Sometimes you can’t help trainspotting. On very first listen to this album, we couldn’t help jotting down a list of acts we heard echoed: Frankie Knuckles, Dr Dre, Lindstrøm, Arthur Russell, Destiny’s Child, Fujiya & Miiyagi, Joy Division, Sade, Talk Talk, Stereolab. And that’s before you get onto the influence of the guest singers: Jessie Ware, Anna Calvi, Connan Mockasin and more. That’s a lot of good stuff, but hardly guaranteed to make a good record. Many artists, after all, just reach for cool reference points or hip guests when devoid of inspiration, and too many flavours stirred into the pot can end up making a nasty dish. Thankfully, none of that applies here. Somehow, among all the good taste, The Invisible have remembered to deliver killer grooves, killer songs and a coherent sound that’s all their own. The band have been around for a while: they’ve released two previous albums, nabbed a Mercury nomination and shared stages with everyone from Adele to Grace Jones. But despite their connectedness, their records have tended towards a certain indie worthiness, and lacked a vital spark. Here, though, that’s all been turned around. The songs are still mostly melancholic in tone, but the guitars are dialled back, the funk is turned up, there’s a Balearic shine to the production and, most importantly, there’s one subtle pop hook after another. From singer Dave Okumu’s semi-whispered funk chant of ‘Best Of Me’ to Mockasin’s distant keening on ‘K Town Sunset’, the multiple vocals aren’t upfront; they’re as elegantly woven into the textures as the snapping drums, rippling synth arpeggios and restrained guitar licks. Yet for all the subtlety they lodge instantly in your memory like the brashest pop hooks. It’s a twilight dream of a record that’s uncompromisingly odd but absolutely direct, and addictive from first listen. The Invisible have made the album of the summer.

9/10

Ryan Elliott 'fabric 88' (fabric London)

There’s no messing around from Ryan Elliott on his fine entry into the hallowed Fabric series. Rather than attempting anything too clever, he simply lays down a compelling club groove that makes you want to dance, right from the immediately punchy kicks and forceful piano stabs of the opener through to the closer’s seductive minimalism. In between, there’s a focus on smooth, unfussy mixing and knowing selections that don’t aim to stand out from the pack. Instead, each cut adds a new layer of percussion or intriguing atmosphere that nails home the underlying groove even further. As a representation of his ability to keep you locked to the dancefloor, it couldn’t be better.

8/10

Mala 'Mirrors' (Brownswood)

Mala doesn’t rush things. This album, built around musical patterns and influences from Peru, has been four years in the making, and it seems like his approach has been evolving during that time. Where previous album ‘Mala In Cuba’ blended the steady-stepping sub-bass and rhythms of DMZ with relatively recognisable Cuban sounds, here he plays on the lesser familiarity of Peruvian music and adapts his own production into far more alien structures. There’s still a monumental dub undertow, but the structures take the percussion, pan-flutes and vocal refrains into spaces simultaneously ancient and futuristic. Sometimes the album’s pacing drifts a little, but that’s a price worth paying for being taken to such mysterious places.

8/10

Sepalcure 'Folding Time' (Hotflush Recordings)

They may have garnered plaudits in their solo careers as, respectively, Machinedrum and Braille, but when Travis Stewart and Praveen Sharma come together as Sepalcure, something magical happens. That ‘Folding Time’ doesn’t veer too wildly from the musical hallmark of their self-titled 2011 debut is a good thing: Stewart and Sharma take the rawness of UK bass and the angular rhythms of footwork and force them through a deep house filter, before painting an emotional wash across it. You can hear it on the dubby ‘Been So True’ and the hyperactive ambient jungle of ‘Ask Me’, although it’s the convulsive percussion and cut-up vocals overwhelming ‘Not Gonna Make It’ that sounds like Machinedrum in microcosm.

7/10

Classixx 'Faraway Reach' (Innovative Leisure)

If summer seems nothing more than a myth, LA-based duo Classixx are sure to change that. Combining pop, electronic, disco, funk and r’n’b, Tyler Blake and Michael David tap up a wishlist of collaborators to soundtrack pool parties and dance tents. How To Dress Well’s emotive vocal lifts ‘Just Let Go’ up into a hands-in-the-air festival high, and auto-tune aficionado T-Pain spreads summery, space-age R&B over ‘Whatever I Want’; elsewhere, Passion Pit deliver some high-pitched nostalgia on ‘Safe Inside’, Alex Frankel exudes MGMT vibes on ‘I Feel Numb’ and ‘The Dissolve’ is the definition of tranquillity. Recorded in Sydney, New York and California, ‘Faraway Reach’ bursts with sun-soaked vibes.

8/10

Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve 'The Soft Bounce' (Phantasy)

Richard Norris and Erol Alkan have been remixing, re-editing and dropping tracks as BTWS for so long – over a decade, in fact – that it feels odd that this is their debut album, but they’ve clearly been perfecting their craft. All the whimsical psych pop, glam rock, Krautrock and freakbeat they’ve always dealt in is here, along with increasing hints of 80s shoegaze, 90s indie-dance and some intense ambient interludes. The whole album is perfectly paced, with hypnotic grooves and simple songwriting: density and space are constantly played off each other, helping to create something that should be taken in as a whole. It’s been well worth the wait.

8/10

Netsky '3' (Hospital Records/Sony)

Fresh off his brilliantly titled Netsky And Chill Tour, the producer’s latest album ‘3’ comes loaded with daytime playlist-friendly d’n’b anthems. ‘High Alert’, with emerging songstress Sara Hartman, could pack a stadium; ‘Higher’, alongside LA-based producer Jauz, is a bass-heavy energy-riser; and ‘Thunder’ is a potential chart topper thanks to Emeli Sandé’s effortless vocal. ‘Work It Out’, a collaboration with rising star Digital Farm Animals, is an uplifting highlight, while ‘Forget What You Look Like’ boasts dubstep drops akin to Magic Man and vulnerable vocals from Canadian singer Lowell. Not since his 2012 smash ‘Love Has Gone’ has the Belgian firecracker delivered so many euphoric hits that’ll have festival crowds bouncing.

8/10

Roísín Murphy 'Take Her Up To Monto' (Play It Again Sam)

Roísín Murphy returns with another reminder of why she has more charm, chutzpah and ideas than most of her peers put together. After last year’s Mercury Prize-nominated ‘Hairless Toys’, Murphy and her musical comrade Eddie Stevens travel to the dark heart of electronic pop with ‘Take Her Up To Monto’. As ever, her lyrics are delivered with rapier precision: scabrous, witty and self-deprecating, you can’t help but smile when she sings “It’s cruel to make you feel guilty when I let my pretty garden grow wild” on the experimental ‘Pretty Gardens’. ‘Mastermind’, meanwhile, is the closest song here to ‘Evil Eyes’, the sparkliest dancefloor moment from ‘Hairless Toys’: a menacing, Moroder-esqye disco monster, it’s studded with arpeggiated trills and a searing laser battle breakdown. As with the lo-fi rhumba of ‘Lip Service’ and demonic house of ‘Nervous Sleep’, there’s a cinematic quality throughout – it’s unsurprising, given that Murphy now directs her own fascinatingly strange promos. Not that she’s getting ahead of herself; the album artwork sees this most glam of performers wearing a hard hat and hi-vis jacket. “Maybe I ain’t got such a funny face after all,” she quips on the jerky ‘Romantic Comedy’. Damn the self-doubt. This is a complex and endlessly enjoyable record.

8/10

Various 'The Wag' (Harmless Records)

For the two decades following its opening in 1981, The Wag in London’s Soho was the beating heart of the capital’s clubland. But it wouldn’t have been so important without great music, with each night of the week given over to a different genre. Curated by its founder, Chris Sullivan, this four-CD set spans five years from 1982, touching upon the last days of disco, the UK jazz-funk explosion and early hip hop and house. There’s the funkily obvious (James Brown’s ‘The Boss’), stone-cold classics (Atmosfear’s ‘Dancing In Outer Space’) and genuine game changers (Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rockit’). A fitting tribute to a special place.

9/10

Dani Siciliano 'Dani Siciliano' (Circus Company)

Parisian label Circus Company Records has a strong reputation for in-depth electronica, releasing material from the likes of Nicolas Jaar, Nôze and dOP. Tricksy diva Dani Siciliano is a comfortable fit with the rest of its catalogue: the American singer first came to prominence via collaborations with her (now ex) husband Matthew Herbert, but is now on her third solo album. The adventurous spirt of Björk springs to mind, but Siciliano’s uniquely jazzy voice makes these songs unmistakeably her own. The breathily folkish ‘Together’ recalls Beth Orton, ‘Why’ sounds like a robot orchestra and ‘So Amazing’ even musters the blues. An album with a desire to try new things, combined with a likeable journey into alternative pop.

7/10

Cassius 'Ibifornia' (Love Justice SARL/Justice SARL/Interscope)

Anyone who’s followed Philipe Zdar’s production career over the past few years will undertand why the band’s new album has been jokingly dubbed “Cassius & the Family Stone”: with cameos from the likes of Pharrell Williams, Cat Power and Beastie Boys’ Mike D, ‘Ibifornia’ is a lush, exotic album with star-studded collabs which sounds as inspired by the jungle as it is by the dancefloor. It’s also not scared of playing pop in the same way that ‘1999’ and ‘Feeling For You Did’ – ndeed, ‘The Missing’ with Ryan Tedder and Jaw sounds like a soulful update of ‘Starlight’ by The Supermen Lovers. Mike D also appears on ‘Love Parade’, too, although ‘Go Up’ with Pharrell and Cat Power is ‘the album’s true jewel in the crown.

8/10

Various 'MadTech Ibiza 2016' (MadTech Records)

MadTech Records’ latest compilation offers up 16 more exclusives that’ll have you pining for the start of the Ibiza summer season. Producer Max Chapman puts in a screamer with ‘Paravana’, while No Artificial Colours follow their stompers for Of Unsound Mind with the pumping, infectious beat of ‘Daze’. It’s the newer artists who demand the most plays, though, from Solardo’s dark ‘Music Saved My Life’ to Truth Be Tolds rumbling ‘Tone Def’.Waitz’ infectious ‘Get Into It’ is made for the main room, going back to back with Lance Morgan’s energetic mover ‘Let Loose’ and Montel’s bumping, tech-house charger ‘Rhythm Of Change’. Ibiza, we’re coming for you!

6/10

Alexis Taylor 'Piano' (Moshi Moshi)

There’s something almost voyeuristic about listening to this poignant album from Hot Chip frontman Alexis Taylor. It’s just him, a piano and a bunch of songs (some original, some standards), and they feel so raw that listening to them borders on the uncomfortable. Taylor’s sweet, fragile voice is centre stage: on a rendition of Elvis favourite ‘Crying In The Chapel’, you can hear him inhaling and exhaling; you can even make out the saliva crackle on his lips. There are overtones of King Creosote, the Scottish folk artist that Jon Hopkins collaborated with in 2011, in the confessional ‘Piano’. But despite its loveliness, a take on Hot Chip’s ‘Just For A Little While’ feels more like a demo to the sultry original.

8/10

Laura Mvula 'The Dreaming Room' (RCA Records)

Written in her producer’s garden shed rather than the confines of a studio, Laura Mvula sounds confident and free throughout her second album. She enlists Nile Rodgers’ funky basslines on lead single ‘Overcome’, while ‘People’, a collaboration with Wretch 32, is inspired by “the crisis of black identity in the west”. Elsewhere, the hymn-like ‘Show Me Love’ reveals Mvula’s captivating vocal like a peacock showing its feathers before grand instruments add a cinematic touch, and ‘Kiss My Feet’ is a mass of disjointed beats, SBTRKT-like synths and stark lyrics about loss. ‘Nan’, meanwhile, forms a brief but inspirational interlude that paves the way for the gospel-funk closer ‘Phenomenal Woman’.

8/10

Grace Jones

'Warm Leatherette' (Deluxe Version) (Island/Universal)

Grace Jones is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only is she still delivering blistering performances at the age of 68, but her albums only seem to get more influential as time goes on. 1980’s ‘Warm Leatherette’ was the record where she broke away from disco and embraced new wave, post punk and reggae, covering the likes of Joy Division and Roxy Music, assembling the legendary Compass Point All Stars and taking on her androgynous look. It still sounds somehow classic and futuristic at the same time, and the rare and unreleased mixes and dubs are worth the price of admission.

9/10

Audion 'Alpha' (!K7)

Has it really been a decade since Audion’s ‘Mouth To Mouth’? The answer, it seems, is absolutely, and while there have been a smattering of releases since then – including seven singles in 2009 and the ‘Audion X’ retrospective in 2013 – this new album is just what the doctor ordered. ‘There Was A Button’ and ‘Napkin’ both seemingly take their cue from ‘Erotic Discourse’ before heading into malevolent Planet E territory, and the creepy robo-vocoder voices permeating ‘Gut Man Cometh’ make it a spooky delight. Trippy instrumental ‘Traanc’ is probably the most quintessential Audion track, while ‘Destroyer’ and ‘Sucker’ scream Circoloco 2016 until their production lungs run out of steam.

8/10

Marquis Hawkes 'Social Housing' (Houndstooth)

Ever since his arrival in 2012, Marquis Hawkes has made sure his house music is always pumping, prickly and served with a big dose of reverence for Chicago. Far from pastiche, though, the still rather mysterious man behind it all manages to lay down bumping beats and scintillating percussion that are off-kilter and ghetto-fried, as well as being hugely fun. His debut LP is fine proof of that: all 13 tracks are club-ready weapons that range from slamming and sleazy to swinging and acid-laced, variously shaded with influences of Derrick Carter, Dance Mania and DJ Sneak. Catnip for DJs and dancers alike, this is as visceral yet charming as house gets.

9/10

DJ Shadow 'The Mountain Will Fall' (Mass Appeal)

Genius clearly isn’t enough sometimes. This album shows that DJ Shadow’s superhuman abilities – in reassembling sounds, samples, textures and melodies into something greater than the sum of their parts – have clearly been undiminished by time. There are ebbing and flowing synths that pluck at the heartstrings, single drum hits that alone can make your synapses tingle and gorgeous hooks and atmospheres agogo. But Shadow clearly wants more: he then tweaks everything here to within an inch of its life, either with quasi-Squarepusher micro-edits, manic trap and crunk drum patterns or over-the-top production bordering on EDM. There are a few tracks (including the two straight-ahead rap tunes and haunting closer ‘Suicide Pact’) where he does actually let the groove unfold naturally, but that just makes even more frustratingly clear how much better the rest of this record could be if only Shadow would just ease off on the tinkering and fidgeting. Sometimes, it seems, more is actually less.

5/10