Smashing Pumpkins – Monuments to an Elegy (Martha’s/BMG)
Why you should listen: Billy Corgan and his former bandmates will always have to live with the knowledge that they inspired the early 00s emo genre – and this new release, featuring Corgan and an otherwise new band line-up, sounds as morose as their best 90s work.
It might not be for you if… This mopey guy? Again? You thought the Smashing Pumpkins were done and dusted in 2000 and were frankly quite satisfied with that news.
What we said: “If the songs don’t all match the Pumpkins’s early glories, Corgan is still carrying what he once called ‘the infinite sadness’, investing uplifting sounds with an undercurrent of melancholy,” wrote Dave Simpson, in the Guardian. Click here for Kitty Empire’s three-star lead review in the Observer.
Score: 3/5
Einstürzende Neubauten – Lament (Mute)
Why you should listen: The noisy German industrial music act are back, on this first world war commemorative album that they originally staged as a play.
It might not be for you if… You refuse to consider this as music. It’s more like a navel-gazing art project that’s gone on for 24 years.
What we said: “[Lament] variously involves animal impressions, much banging of pipes and abuse of an air compressor, extracts from correspondence between Kaiser Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas II sung through Auto-Tune, ‘statistical dance music’ and ‘gigantic instruments and noise-generating devices that visually evoke the horrors of war’”, wrote Alexis Petridis, in his lead review for the Guardian.
Score: 4/5
Lament isn’t streaming online, but you can buy it via the band’s site and listen to track previews on iTunes, here.
Abdullah Ibrahim – The Song is My Story (Intuition)
Why you should listen: The South African jazz piano virtuoso moves into more tender territory than his earlier material, proving that at 80 years old, he’s still as scintillating as ever.
It might not be for you if… You long for the sprightly nature of his earlier work.
What we said: “Most of this music works in gently blooming harmonies and quiet melodic turns varied by the odd boppish flurry,” wrote John Fordham, in the Guardian.
Score: 4/5
Wild Billy Childish and CTMF – Acorn Man (Damaged Goods)
Why you should listen: Chatham’s Billy Childish doesn’t veer far from his tried-and-true formula of lo-fi garage rock beneath scuzzed-up vocals. If that’s your kind of thing, you’re in luck.
It might not be for you if… You’re easily bored by three-chord rock recorded on what sounds like a clapped-out bedroom studio setup.
What we said: “This latest iteration is above par, as tongue-in-cheek and wise as it is acerbic and frill-free,” wrote Kitty Empire, in the Observer New review.
Score: 4/5
Africa Express – Africa Express Presents… Terry Riley’s in C Mali (Transgressive)
Why you should listen: Blur’s Damon Albarn and his Africa Express project, helped out here by Brian Eno and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, tackle a 40-minute interpretation of Terry Riley’s renowned composition, In C – just don’t call it minimalist to Riley’s face.
It might not be for you if… Repetitive musical phrases of this sort drive you mad, and you’re still benefiting from Africa Express’s Maison des Jeunes album from last year.
What we said: “Wisely, [Africa Express] don’t ape the original, choosing instead to retain its core components while adding snatches of flutes and strings,” wrote Paul Mardles, in the Observer.
Score: 4/5
This week also sees new releases from The Grates, Bastille and Ghostface Killah – as the industry winds down for the year, the Christmas box set and festive carol albums are almost upon us. But which albums are you looking forward to hearing now? Let us know, in the comments section.
