March: 18 albums you need to hear this month

George Fitzgerald 'All That Must Be' (Domino)

Let’s cut to the chase: this album is going to be a game-changer for UK-born, Berlin-based DJ/producer George Fitzgerald. While his previous LP was led by the timeless single ‘Full Circle’ with Boxed In, the album as a whole was somehow less than the sum of its parts. But that’s not the case here. In rock terms, the leap here is not unlike the one Radiohead made between ‘Pablo Honey’ and ‘The Bends’: the music is more emotive, the confidence sharper, the production bolder. Iridescent lead single ‘Burns’ you’ll have already heard: it’s been hammered by everyone from Sasha to 6 Music over the festive season, and it’s just one of 10 rich, melodic highlights here. ‘Frieda’ is an epic instrumental, while the Berlin-inspired ‘Siren Calls’ and ‘The Echo Forgets’ will be getting serious underground DJ support this summer.

Already Number One in Big Tunes, ‘Roll Back’ (with Lil Silva) is arguably his best radio record since ‘Full Circle’. And then there are the guests: any album which can casually feature Bonobo and Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn, as well as Silva, is doing something right, and all three collabs are guaranteed to be doing damage on smarter dancefloors. ‘Half-Light’ with Thorn has the same pop poignancy as her work on ‘Walking Wounded’, while the six-minute Bonobo collab ‘Outgrown’ has KCRW written all over it. But where this really matters is in terms of depth and dexterity, and you’ll be playing this record well into the spring. In an era where albums come and go in a matter of weeks, ‘All That Must Be’ is going to be lodged into key craniums for the rest of 2018. Feel free to remind us of what we wrote here come December, when it will be in everyone’s end-of-year lists. Ralph Moore

9/10

Daniel Avery 'Song For Alpha' (Phantasy Sound)

There’s a lot of anticipation hanging over this album: after all, it’s almost five years since Avery released its beloved predecessor, ‘Drone Logic’. The biggest clue as to where he might have been heading was his 2016 DJ-Kicks mix, which was distinctly Berlin-ish in tone – lots of bare (and even bleak) techno textures which were a stark contrast to ‘Drone Logic’, an LP which, while not exactly the Vengaboys, was full of electro and acid bubble and bounce.

In the event, ‘Song For Alpha’ is a fair bit bleaker, full of icy atmospherics and dissociative shoegaze fuzz, but it’s a long way from techno orthodoxy, too: the clearest reference points here are early-90s Aphex Twin before he got hyper-intricate, the mysterious Detroit electro of Drexciya and the way Richie Hawtin used to make a 303 sing in his more chilled tracks as Plastikman. There are also dark ambient interludes, too, but in the same way that Shed and Bicep have recently managed to find new things to say with the tonalities of different parts of the 90s, so Avery skilfully weaves those references into his own eerie narratives here. There’s some straightforward techno on both ‘Diminuendo’ and the amazing ‘Sensation’, and the more broken rhythms are still structured with a DJ’s ear – perhaps too much so, on occasion (it’d be good to hear those structures get even more disrupted). But maybe that’s all still to come; as it is, this is a strong, sometimes truly beautiful, maturation of Avery’s work as a producer. Joe Muggs

8/10

James Zabiela 'Balance 029' (Balance)

Sixteen years ago, James Zabiela emerged as one of the last big DJs of the old electronic era: a time when mix compilations were still hugely popular, and when DJs had to be DJs rather than just a name behind the latest big tune. Nowadays, of course, SoundCloud, podcasts and online radio have taken over, but we’re pleased to report that Zabiela has not been left behind. The things he does in a club still defy logic, and his mix compilations remain thoroughly essential, as this carefully compiled two-disc effort proves. The first CD is all about layers of melody, creeping beats and seamless transitions between cinematic and immersive moods, while the second disc is a more club-focused affair. But both are epic and adventurous, plotting tricky yet coherent lines between ambient techno, slick electro and dreamy electronica from KiNK, Special Request and Lake People. It’s as timeless and escapist as a mix could possibly be. Kristan J Caryl

9/10

Ripperton 'Sight Seeing' (ESP Institute)

Ripperton is best known for his wintry deep house, but here he offers up an album of gorgeous ambient. Inspired by gazing out of aeroplane windows on his travels, he describes the album as a collection of postcards to himself, and there’s real beauty across its 15 tracks: they’re bright, harmonic affairs that cleanse you as much as a breath of fresh Alpine air, and twinkle like freshly fallen snow. Sometimes, deeply buried rhythmic suggestions gently nudge tracks along, such as on ‘Puente De Los Enamorados’, while the likes of ‘Automatic’ suspend you in a heavenly place of mellow chords and echoing melody; there’s also a joyous innocence to the lullaby-like ‘Gradation 65’, which adds poignancy to the LP. Kristan J Caryl

8/10

Superorganism 'Superorganism' (Domino)

All ears are on the buzziest band of last year – the multinational, London-based eight-piece Superorganism – as they drop their self-titled debut LP, and fans of wacky earworm ‘Something For Your M.I.N.D.’ will be pleased to find that nothing here strays too far from that winning formula. Combining the slacker drawl of Weezer, The Moldy Peaches and Pavement with woozy production reminiscent of MGMT or The Avalanches, it’s a bewitching mix, and all the more so when you consider that frontwoman Orono (responsible for lines such as “I know you think I’m a psychopath/A Democrat lurking in the dark”) is only 17. Millennial inertia is a target – see ‘It’s All Good’ and ‘Nobody Cares’ – but their bite is balanced with blear and bounce in equal measure. A Ross

7/10

Various 'In Death’s Dream Kingdom' (Houndstooth)

For its In Death’s Dream Kingdom comp, Houndstooth asked 25 left-field electronica artists to respond to either the title phrase or the poem it’s from, TS Eliot’s 1925 text The Hollow Men. The results are hardly going to get your party pumping, but this is the absolute cream of available weirdness, with Lanark Artefax, Batu, Gazelle Twin and Peder Mannerfelt incorporating raw noise, grime, claustrophobic techno, abstracted jungle, sci-fi soundtrack vibes and neo-classical, all within a broadly ambient framework. But for all the variety within that, those ambient ticks allow it to form a coherent whole, despite the diversity of approaches and influences. Pretentious? Maybe, but it’s an extraordinary ride. Joe Muggs

8/10

Moby 'Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt' (Little Idiot)

It’s been 23 years since the emotional trip-hoppery of Moby’s ‘Everything Is Wrong’ garnered him global acclaim. Given that he’s touted his new LP as a return to that old aesthetic, its title is surely no coincidence. Moby teased it with a Spotify playlist that included gems by Gil Scott-Heron and Simple Minds, but it’s difficult to see where it translates here. Too often – as on ‘The Last Of Goodbyes’, with its limp rap and doleful Burialisms – it sounds like Moby pastiching his old self. On the flip side, ‘Welcome To Hard Times’, a sunny Balearic soul shuffle, is lovely, and the ghostly piano haunting ‘The Tired And The Hurt’ contains the muscle memory of his masterpiece ‘Porcelain’, but they’re isolated sparkles. Stephen Worthy

6/10

Fiedel 'Berghain 08' (Ostgut Ton)

Although Berghain is now infamous for being hard to get into, its output is rather more accessible, with much of its mix series – this latest release included – available for free online. For its eighth edition, Berghain resident Fiedel steps up to package the Berlin clubbing experience into two hours of home listening: the mix’s occasional crowd cheers add to its authenticity (it was recorded live), and during the first hour of austere techno you can almost smell the sweat. But the second half is where Fiedel really excels, as funky IDM (rRoxymore’s ‘Tropicalcore’) moves into heady breakbeat (Cooly G’s ‘Phat Si’). If you haven’t managed to make it to the middle of Berghain yet, this mix is as close as you’ll ever get without leaving your home. Sam Davies

8/10

E Ruscha V 'Who Are You' (Beats in Space)

Growing up in a household where creativity was as natural as breathing was bound to rub off on Ed Ruscha V. His father, Ed Ruscha IV, is a renowned Pop Art exponent, a contemporary of legends such as Roy Lichtenstein. Ruscha Jnr’s artistic oeuvre, though, is music (including a stint with LA shoegaze überlords Medicine), and his debut as E Ruscha V knits together chintzy Hawaiian Luau sounds, skewed Balearic beats and ambient. ‘Who Are You?’ shuttles between Honolulu and Jamaica as he splices lap steel guitar and rim shots, before spinning off into Chris Brann-style deep house on ‘Endless Sundays’. Things get even more somnambulant on the dubby ‘Gravity Waves’, which threatens to keel over at any minute. Stephen Worthy

7/10

Fischerspooner 'Sir' (Ultra)

Fischerspooner released their last album nine years ago, but ‘Sir’ is a bold and brassy return. Helmed by Beyoncé producer Boots and REM’s Michael Stipe, it is (in the band’s words) an “aggressively homosexual” album. Candid and acrobatic vocals recall doing it in the backroom on ‘Dark Pink’, needing to be saved on ‘Stranger Strange’ and coming together sweetly on ‘Have Fun Tonight’. Tracks range from stomping and libidinous anthems such as ‘Everything Is Just Alright’ to the tortured and sadistic ‘Strut’, and sounds like transmissions from the future throughout. There’s also neon-lit r’n’b, frazzled avant-pop and brooding Depeche Mode updates, and the whole album drips with a palpable sense of lust and intensity. Kristan J Caryl

8/10

Big Miz 'Build/Destroy' (Dixon Avenue Basement Jams)

Few UK labels have done as much recently to take house back to basics as Glasgow-based imprint Dixon Avenue Basement Jams. Not prog, not tech, not minimal, not deep, not neo, not lo-fi, just house. And label stalwart (and fellow Glaswegian) Big Miz does exactly the same. On three EPs and now this LP, he doesn’t waver: drum machines knock out the four-to-the-floor, basslines bump, bare-bones synth riffs and samples loop, bish bosh bash, job’s a goodun. Yet every time it’s different, and every time it’s fresh. Synth-pop, Italo-disco, rap, African music and p-funk are all absorbed into the Chicago template, but never to the detriment of it being just pure, straight-up, rock-solid house. And really, what more do you need? Joe Muggs

8/10

Creep Show 'Mr Dynamite' (Bella Union)

Beware – Creep Show aim to tease and seduce, with the dark, incendiary electronica of ‘Mr Dynamite’ harking back to the anything-goes post-punk aesthetic of the late 70s. The work of Benge, Tuung’s Phil Winter, Cabaret Voltaire frontman Stephen Mallinder and everyone’s favourite mellifluous alt-crooner, John Grant, they ensure the record never stands still, from the slinky ‘Modern Parenting’ to ‘Tokyo Metro’ and its angular, 8-bit electro. The closing diptych, headed by ‘Fall’, is breathtaking: its tumbling synth groove conjures an enchanting Kraftwerkian vision, before ‘Safe And Sound’ arrives. Grant, in that familiar baritone, then ponders love, life and the universe to a shuddering ‘I Feel Love’-style rhythm and beautiful, Eno-esque chords. Stephen Worthy

8/10

D Double E 'Jackuum!' (Bluku Music)

An ebullient, cheeky style and some distinctive Cockney vowels have made D Double E one of the most consistent presences in grime since its outset. For this album, over steadily trap-styled beats, he’s showing next to no attempt to mature. His storytelling and wordplay are never overly complex (they’re even borderline schoolyard in their unreconstructed dirtiness and boasting), with his rhymes piling up one on top of the other in a way that recalls the d’n’b MC he once was. But what he does have in shedloads is personality – even next to high-profile guests such as Wiley and Skepta, he dominates each track – and that’s enough to carry the whole LP. It won’t change the world, but it’s good, dirty fun. Joe Muggs

7/10

Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne 'Nightports w/Matthew Bourne' (The Leaf Label)

The music Matthew Bourne makes lies somewhere between the ambient jazz of Harold Budd, Erik Satie’s classical compositions and Hauschka’s prepared piano pieces. Here, he’s joined by fellow Yorkshire-based musician/producers Adam Martin and Mark Slater: they utilise a legion of pianos, from uprights to grands to pianofortes, and then set about manipulating, screwing and layering them into different shapes. The harsh percussive attack and malevolent rhythms swarming up on ‘Exit’ don’t sound much like pianos, but they are. A different mood haunts ‘Window’, its subtle phrasings fluttering in the air like silk sheets in the breeze, while ‘Annie’ is hewn from fidgety fragments of sound. Stephen Worthy

8/10

Young Echo 'Young Echo LP' (Young Echo Records)

Just one song in to this 24-track epic and there’s a descending tone over kickdrums, a few zaps and gun sounds, and a disinterested, ill-sounding British male voice murmuring about dancing. And it’s amazing. This second album from the sprawling Bristol collective (featuring Kahn, Neek, Jabu, Ishan and a whole bunch of others) is a brilliant re-distillation of everything that makes the city’s deep, smoky musical history. Like a gang of undead Tricky spawn, there’s rap, spoken word, eerie singing and other kinds of muttering over a sludgy crawl with momentary hints of grime, industrial, ambient and a pervasive fug of dub. It’s an unwell, claustrophobic, inward-looking dream of a record – and very addictive. Joe Muggs

8/10

Bon Voyage Organisation 'Jungle? Quelle Jungle?' (Sony Music)

BVO are very, very French: “Soleil, soleil, solei!” they sing sweetly on ‘Soleil Dieu’. And on the Supertramp-meets-French touch banger ‘Si D’Aventure’, they create the kind of cosmic magic that Daft Punk traversed around ‘Discovery’. With the shimmering ‘Second Regard’, they aim even higher; and then, midway through, the sumptuous production starts sounding like Trevor Horn from Art Of Noise has joined them in the studio (it might be the record’s defining musical moment). Elsewhere, the medieval melodies of ‘Goma’ seem like they could burst into Chicago at any point, before Afro-funk sounds glide into earshot and everything is French again, while on ‘Hotel 7’, they sound like Air at their most majestic. Ralph Moore

7/10

Clarian 'Television Days' (Balance Music)

Clarian first came to our attention via his Supplemental Facts releases for Guy Gerber and his excellent work in synth-pop duo Footprintz. But as his new single (remixed by Tiga and Michael Mayer, the latter premiered on Mixmag.net) will attest, this 10-track sonic soundtrack is aiming in a much different direction. ‘Lost Again’ is underpinned by melodies that Todd Terje would be proud of; the dreamy ‘Tulum’ has Sasha-esque keys anyone in Mexico would love to unearth; and ‘Sleepers’ and the title track could be secret Tame Impala singles. ‘Space Zap Forever’ and ‘West Hollywood’, on the other hand, set the controls for the heart of the Hollywood sign. Or should that be the sun instead? Ralph Moore

8/10

Eli Escobar 'Shout' (Classic Music Company)

NYC producer Eli E points his musical and political finger in a particular direction from the start: while previous LP ‘Happiness’ was just that, ‘Shout’ opens with a distorted, disgruntled male voice moaning “ode to America” over keys that Masters At Work would be impressed by (although things get nicely acidic towards the end). After a pretty brief liquid-cool interlude, ‘The People’ is a seven-minute call to arms (“put all the dirty blame on you and me”) which sounds custom-built for The Black Madonna and Artwork alike. There are oodles of great musical moments to savour here, but if we’re going to mention just two more, it’s the deep, after-hour acidic house vibes of ‘Muzik’ and the sun-kissed, 1989-style melodies of ‘Love Inspired’. Ralph Moore

7/10