Drake, Loretta Lynn and Thunder deliver the best new music

LORETTA LYNN — STILL WOMAN ENOUGH

For her 50th solo studio album, Loretta Lynn is looking back as well as forward, re-examining her legacy and working with a new generation of country singers. The coal miner’s daughter has recorded new versions of some of her best-known tracks, as well as her takes on American traditional music.

But she kicks off with the incredibly catchy title track, singing “Well I’ve been through some bad times” in true country style on a new song featuring Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood and co-written with her daughter, Patsy Lynn Russell.

The joyous Keep On The Sunny Side, written in 1899, is as upbeat as the title suggests in homage to the very roots of country music and the Carter Family, who popularised it in the 1920s. Other highlights include rising star Margo Price joining Lynn on a new recording of her 1971 satirical hit One On The Way, a powerful version of Hank Williams’s I Saw The Light, and the traditional I Don’t Feel At Home Anymore.

There’s a fresh interpretation of her first single, I’m A Honky Tonk Girl, from 1960, Tanya Tucker joins for a new version of You Ain’t Woman Enough from 1966, and Coal Miner’s Daughter Recitation revisits her signature song.

“Still got what it takes,” Lynn insists on the title track, and more than six decades after starting out, it is impossible not to agree. 7/10 (Review by Matthew George)

BLACK HONEY — WRITTEN AND DIRECTED

Brighton four-piece Black Honey’s new album Written & Directed is a high-energy follow-up to their self-titled debut. Lead singer Izzy B Phillips’s dynamic vocals give their new release plenty of vigour and its tracks draw on a wide variety of influences.

The spirited album seems perfectly suited to live gigs and the indie group will surely be hoping to showcase their punchy new material in front of crowds this summer. Fire, I Do It To Myself and I Like The Way You Die are particular highlights.

While the bulk of the album is made up of high tempo, lively tracks, Gabrielle and Back Of The Bar offer a welcome change of pace to the driving melodies that dominate most of its songs. Written & Directed’s title and album cover draw inspiration from the world of film.

Similarly, the compelling album’s powerful and emotive sound gives it an almost cinematic quality that is sure to delight crowds once the band can get out and perform their new music in front of audiences. 7/10 (Review by Tom Horton)

THUNDER — ALL THE RIGHT NOISES

There is something endearing about a band who plough their own furrow without regard for what is “in”. Thunder are one such band. They formed in London on the cusp of the 90s with voluminous hair and riffs straight out of the Led Zeppelin playbook.

Their appearance, their sound, frankly everything about them, was unsuited to the times, which would soon be dominated by the angular, sardonic riffs of Britpop. But Thunder’s unbending commitment is exactly why they continue to record and release today.

All The Right Noises, their 13th album, is part grunge extravaganza, part riotous rock and roll nostalgia trick. Danny Bowes and his band may be fathers now, but there is some serious hip-swinging going on here, that is before the subject turns to Trump and Brexit. Listen and you might be surprised. 8/10 (Review by Alex Green)

DRAKE — SCARY HOURS 2

In January, Certified Lover Boy, Drake’s sixth album proper, was delayed until late 2021 just a few weeks before its expected release date. To fill this Drake-shaped hole in your life, the Canadian rapper has released a three-song EP that sees him in polished autopilot mode. As an amuse-bouche to keep fans happy, Scary Hours 2 works.

Ostensibly a sequel to his 2018 EP of the same name (notable for featuring the Grammy-winning God’s Plan), it feels like a purposely low stakes affair. Drake recruits the ever-dependable Rick Ross for Lemon Pepper Freestyle, while What’s Next sees him returning to familiar themes: his rise to international top boy, public interest in his colourful private life, and so on. Rising star Lil Baby’s verse on Wants And Needs is a standout and a clear nod towards Drake’s own moodier moments.

These songs offer a promising if insubstantial glimpse at what Certified Lover Boy could sound like. 6/10 (Review by Alex Green)

MIDDLE KIDS — TODAY WE’RE THE GREATEST

In their native Australia, Middle Kids are already a band of some repute, with a top 10 album under their belt and a rock-solid fan base. Outside however, they are yet to make their breakthrough, despite slots supporting Bloc Party, The War On Drugs and Cold War Kids and some primetime US TV appearances.

Today We’re The Greatest, their second album, could be that moment. Lead singer Hannah Joy is a classically trained pianist, and is married to multi-instrumentalist bandmate Tim Fitz, with jazz drummer Harry Day completing the line-up. But despite this, their sound is pure indie.

Today We’re The Greatest is packed full of great songs that draw from a broad sweep of indie and Americana. But the band are still assimilating their influences. There are flashes of melodic brilliance on the brass-featuring single Questions but more often than not, Middle Kids are still sticking too close to their influences. 7/10 (Review by Alex Green)