SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY — MCCARTNEY III IMAGINED
Few artists have the raw pulling power to bring together the kind of celebrity cabal present on McCartney III Imagined. Damon Albarn, Beck, Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age and Massive Attack’s 3D sit alongside talented newcomers Phoebe Bridgers, Blood Orange and worldly Texas rockers Khruangbin on what is essentially a remix album.
But what a remix album Sir Paul McCartney has pulled together. McCartney III, the third in a trilogy of homemade albums stretching back to 1970, won widespread critical acclaim upon release in December.
There are tracks on Imagined that live up to, even exceed, their original versions. The record itself feels uniform in a way remix albums nearly never do, despite each artist bringing their own unique slant to their track.
Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien and superproducer Paul Epworth produce a tough-as-nails rock and roll version of Slidin’, while US indie sensation Bridgers brings new meaning to the lyricism of Seize The Day. Sir Paul shows off his talent for curation on this accomplished compilation. 9/10 (Review by Alex Green)
TAYLOR SWIFT — FEARLESS (TAYLOR’S VERSION)
A re-release that could be considered one of the greatest strategic moves in modern music history, Taylor Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is a 26-track offering born out of bitter rivalry. Complete with a backstory that reads like a work of fiction, the release marks the start of Swift’s journey to reclaim her back catalogue.
After her former label, Big Machine, was bought by music mogul Scooter Braun, her early work found its way into the hands of private equity firm Shamrock Holdings without her prior knowledge. That in mind, there’s something delightfully paradoxical about Swift’s latest move; tactically re-recording her teenage material, whose words on love and loss feel so gloriously pure and untarnished, all in order to outmanoeuvre business minds attempting to line their pockets at her expense.
First released in 2008, Fearless marked the beginning of a country-pop crossover that would propel the 11-time Grammy winner towards international stardom. Thirteen years later, the original 19 tracks are accompanied by six previously unreleased recordings from the Fearless era, alongside the addition of Today Was A Fairytale.
It’s a labour of love that stays true to the original album in every way — including orchestration. Melding acoustic guitars with dancing banjos and pop sensibilities, Swift even went as far as tracking down a number of the original musicians from the 2008 recording in the name of authenticity. The result stands as testament to Swift’s songwriting prowess.
Proving Fearless to be a timeless amalgamation of love, loss and heartbreak, its re-release easily dispels critics who label her early work the naïve and infatuated scribblings of youth. 8/10 (Review by Danielle de Wolfe)
LOW ISLAND — IF YOU COULD HAVE IT ALL AGAIN
If You Could Have It All Again has been a long time coming for Low Island, who have released their debut album after several years of building up a sizable following with a handful of singles and EPs. The Oxford quartet, who formed in 2016, have honed their electronic indie pop sound in a polished and assured new release, which displays a wide range of styles. The band site influences including Talking Heads, Caribou and Glass Animals, all of which can be heard in the album.
For the most part If You Could Have It All Again has a melancholy, reflective feel with tracks such as In Your Arms and Momentary. However, What Do You Stand For and Don’t Let The Light In show off the band’s livelier side with punchy tunes and danceable rhythms.
The overall effect looks sure to please their growing fanbase, who will not want to be kept waiting quite so long for group’s second album. 8/10 (Review by Tom Horton)
ED COSENS — FORTUNES FAVOUR
After 15 years as guitarist in Reverend And The Makers, Ed Cosens is stepping out of the shadow of frontman Jon McClure, one of British music’s more brash and vocal figures (especially when it comes to Twitter).
Despite Cosens’ songwriting contributions, the Sheffield band has always been a vehicle for McClure’s creative impulses, with live sets dotted with his jaunty poetry, delivered in the style of John Cooper Clarke.
So it is a certainly a good thing Cosens is going it alone on this 10-track effort, taking in moody saloon bar ballads (album opener Running On Empty) and soaring bubble-gum choruses (the title track). Cosens is cut from the same cloth as Arctic Monkeys and that sensuous, evocative rock sound is inescapable here.
Little new ground is broken, but Cosens has a soulful voice that more than complements the record’s growling, slow-motion guitar solos and introspective lyrics. For fans of the genre, this will be a fulfilling listen. 6/10 (Review by Alex Green)
IGLOOGHOST — LEI LINE EON
From his roots in deconstructed grime and mind-melting IDM, Dorset electronic producer Seamus Malliagh has evolved into a conceptual artist with an eye for the intensely beautiful. Take his 2017 debut album, the intriguingly titled Neo Wax Bloom. It blew apart the idea of musical genres and told a story of freakish otherworldly creatures trying to recover from an eco-disaster.
Lei Line Eon is rooted in a more recognisable world, combining a lost tradition Malliagh has been researching called Lei Music with the experimentalism of his first album. This is a softer vision, one guided by orchestral soundscapes and chanting voices rather than blasts of white noise.
Big Protector, which forms a centrepiece to the album, combines all these elements — jolts of rhythm, transcendent harp and more — into a surprising and involving product. 7/10 (Review by Alex Green).