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= The 1975 Being Funny in a Foreign Language On the 1978's fifth record, the fourpiece look to showcase a beautifully produced amalgam of their previous work. Meandering and hazy melodies, clipped guitars and wailing saxophones are all engulfed by lead singer Matty Healy's half- murmured, half-shouted lyrical work, which is - as always - shamelessly selt-reflective. The 1978's ability to make a record feel like an accidental and free-flowing rehearsal caught on tape is firmly on display here, particularly at the back-end of the album where strings dip and wander alongside Healy's softly ruminating vocals. It's impossible not to remain intrigued by this band, and wonder what. they're going to deliver next. Each album has been an exercise in evolution, leaping away from their last project and into the unknown. Mature, undeniably smooth, and always creative, Being Funny in a Foreign Language is another feather in the cap of one of the most consistently creative pop acts around. (Dirty Hit) Jacqui Dry Cleaning Stumpwork After their triumphant 2021 debut, London post-punk poets Dry Cleaning return with Stumpwork, broadening their musical palette and the scope of their wry observations to reflect on the human condition in insightful new ways. Opening track Anna Calls from the Arctic unfolds gloriously, with a synth line expanding into dissonant guitars while a saxophone makes a brief but memorable appearance. Though songwriter Florence Shaw's prose remains oblique, the album cleverly inserts political commentary, with Conservative Hell a thinly-veiled critique of holidays and Hot Penny Day referencing male violence and the state of finance. Closing the album with Icebergs, Shaw muses ‘on loss as the instrumentation becomes increasingly frenzied, the band reaching their full power before cutting to black. (4AD/Remote Control) Holly Pereira Sorry Anywhere But Here London's purveyors of moody indie-rock Sorry return with their second record, following their breakthrough debut 925 with more poignant heart-on-sleeve angst. Shaped by two years of lockdown, the album's title is all too fitting, with the band's core duo of Louis O'Bryen and Asha Lorenz weaving tales of disappointment against a backdrop of despair. A sense of unease creeps to the surface of each song — driving rhythm sections make way for textured noise and sparse flourishes of horns that create an undeniable atmosphere. Lorenz's typically despondent vocal eventually cracks on | Miss the Fool, while O'Bryen's matter-of-fact delivery on Quit While You're Ahead contrasts beautifully, creating the tension that makes this project so compelling. (Domino) Holly Pereira Pixies Doggerel The genius of the Pixies lies in their ability to harmonise abrasive elements, owing to their pop sensibility and tongue-in-cheek disposition; that magic is replicated on the beloved Boston act's eighth album, Doggerel. Gargantuan surf- rock riffs energise Vault of Heaven, while Haunted House and The Lord Has Come Back Today find their power through sensibility. Who's More Sorry Now? is doused in country-western swagger, and You're Such a Sadducee channels punk rock grit. In the end, title track Doggerel leaves us feeling more perplexed than when we first began, but it is a fitting end to an album whose title translates as ‘a verse composed to irregular rhythm. Pixies continue to write music that is compelling, and resolutely non-conforming, revealing a craft which sounds as vital today as it ever has done. (BMG) Alexander Burgess Tove Lo Dirt Femme Astriking contemplation on multi-faceted femininity and how it can affect the various threads of our relationships, Tove Lo’s fifth record Dirt Femme is an eclectic work of blossoming pop contradictions. Moments of drama and slices of nostalgia-pop define a record full of earworms that takes the Swedish artist off the dirty dancefloor and places her in a more mature and reflective space. As the singer songwriter's first release from her own label Pretty Swede Records, this is an artist firmly in control of her creative direction and surely the start of another intriguing era of Tove Lo. (Pretty Swede Records) Jacqui Picone REVIEWS MUSIC Ocean Alley Low Altitude Living The title suggests a lack of ambition, but though Ocean Alley - from Sydney's Northern Beaches — might still have their feet squarely on the ground, they have deservedly become one of the biggest bands in the land since topping Triple J's Hottest 100 with Confidence at the start of 2019. Their cruisy concoction of modern psychedelic rock continues on their fourth album, a beautifully crafted collection that's supersmooth but never bland — props to producer Callum Howell. This is rock with few rough edges, but it's a record that commands your attention from start to finish. Ocean Alley lock into a groove and don't let go. It's quite a trip. “Won't be long until we touch back down,” Baden Donegal sings. But for now, Ocean Alley are flying high (Unified) Jeff Jenkins ‘ed Hot Chili Peppers Return of the Dream Canteen Just fourand-a-bit months after 12th LP Unlimited Love comes another 17 cuts from the Chili Peppers, recorded during the same sessions. Return of the Dream Canteen is “not a B-sides record” (says drummer Chad Smith), and it doesn't sound like one. While opener Tippa My Tongue embraces all the rubbery technicolour we luvvem for, it's the newly-returned John Frusciante and his supple, sensitive guitar lines which grab our attention across the rest of the tracklist, weaving their tendrils through Anthony Kiedis’ vocal. Witness the blithe and bittersweet Bella; the minimalist, mid-paced My Cigarette with its pondering sax solo; and the crunched choruses versus sparsely glinting verses of Reach Out. The LA veterans still have a lot of soul to squeeze. (Warner) ZKR 21
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