Tom Burrows: I really liked Nymph, the debut album from Shygirl. The array of beats – covering club-ready bangers, R&B, garage and minimalism – combined with her dextrous flows and sexually-charged lyrics makes for one hell of a listening experience.
I also quite enjoyed Mount Kimbie’s MK 3.5 project. It feels like a low-stakes, free-rein exploration of their various interests, and makes for satisfying casual listening.
And in the live stakes, I thought Sudan Archives was great at Manchester’s Band on the Wall. Despite a sparse setup with just her and one other band member on stage, she rocked the hell out of that performance, improvising beats on the spot and performing outrageous violin solos in between working the crowd. Definitely see her if you get the chance.
James Spearing: As usual I have a long list of new music to mention. But there was one stand-out album in November that became an unexpected obsession. That album was Redcar les adorables étoiles from Christine and the Queens. It’s got retro influences but never leans too heavily into them. It’s release was surrounded by grand words like “opera” but the music is never bombastic. It’s almost entirely in French but never seems inaccessible. All in all, it’s extraordinary. I’m pleased to have spent time with it and happy to call myself a Christine and the Queens fan now when I never had thought I would be before. I recommend you spend time with it too. Repeat listens will reward you.
Honourable mentions this month to Daniel Avery, Gold Panda and Ezra Collective
Rick Larson: Panic Shack’s EP Baby Shack came out in April, 2022 but I came to it late. Cardiff women learning their instruments on the fly and delivering. ‘I Don’t Really Like It’ is one of my favorite songs of the year. That drum build-up gets me every time.
Also, The Algiers/Billy woods/Backxwash song ‘Bite Back’ is incredible.
Fran Slater: It came out in late October, but there can be no doubting the album that had me the most enthralled throughout November. For me, Arctic Monkeys started their album career with a bang and have followed up the debut with mixed bag after mixed bag. With The Car, they finally have another masterpiece – engaging, hypnotising songs with all the trademark lyrical highlights we’ve come to expect from Alex Turner over the years. An absolute cracker LP.
Sam Atkins: I’m not going to list a load of albums this month as there’s one record I’ve heard more than anything else this month that has undoubtedly defined my month. I attempted to sum up some thoughts on Redcar les adorables étoiles in my review but my thoughts have managed to develop even more in the weeks since then.
There’s layers to this music that only come into full view once you see Redcar perform these songs live. I wasn’t fortunate enough to be at his only UK show last week, but thanks to filmed performances from the Paris shows we can all see the most powerful and emotive versions of these songs. This is music I can see growing into something much greater in the new year if the journey I feel I’ve been on with these songs this month is anything to go by.
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