Tom Burrows: September has been a bumper month, with long-awaited new releases from some of my favourites (Nala Sinephro, Floating Points, Jamie xx). So inevitably my favourite new release was one I was anticipating slightly less.
I’ve followed Nilüfer Yanya’s career for quite a while now, since being charmed by her 2017 Plant Feed EP. But I felt somewhat lukewarm about her first two studio albums, and this meant I approached My Method Actor with indifference.
But boy, oh boy, did this boy underestimate this one. This record is the sound of an artist who has well and truly found their voice. The product of an intimate recording process with producer Wilma Archer, My Method Actor is a simply gorgeous affair. The highlight is a beautiful middle section of longer songs. ‘Ready For Sun’, ‘Call It Love’ and ‘Faith’s Late’ have these acoustic guitars backed by sweeping strings which give them a cinematic feel, as if Yanya is reflecting on the landscape of her life. It’s a really glorious record. I have listened to it so many times this month, and I’m sure this will continue in the months ahead.
Rick Larson: I ran across a Belgian punk band called Maria Iskariot, which, to begin with, is a great band name. All the lyrics are in Flemish (I’m assuming; I’m not a linguist) so I have no idea what they are saying. But, I have people jabbering at me in English all day, every day so it’s refreshing. The single ‘Bedankt’ is not just a simple punk tune, but has layers, including a chorus that sounds continental to me in tune, a Belgian resistance drinking song buried in there somewhere. I may just be getting carried away. In any event, a little vacation to the Low Countries in music.
Do I keep talking about illuminati hotties? Perhaps. The new
album, Power, came out in September and I finally saw Sarah
Tudzin and her collaborators live last week and it was fantastic.
I unconditionally love everything Sarah does. Good vibes for
bad times.
Sam Atkins: An absolutely stacked month for new albums, the return of Blossoms, Fred again.., Jamie xx and Miranda Lambert lived up to my expectations while two new albums from personal favourites way surpassed them.
Hearing Pale Waves reach a new high with their album Smitten has been a joy, especially after seeing lead singer Heather perform a solo acoustic set including some of these new tracks. ‘Thinking About You’, ‘Imagination’ and ‘Hate To Hurt You’ have all become huge songs for me this month.
I’d be a fool to not mention the return of Nelly Furtado with the genuinely brilliant 7. Genre agnostic in the best way the confidence and musicality on show throughout the album is amazing to hear.
James Spearing: Great covers don’t come along that often so I was very pleased to hear Mieke Miami’s super chilled version of ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ by chance. It soundtracked the final sunny days of summer beautifully.
FKA twigs has always been an artist I’ve admired from afar, rather than someone who I’ve particularly connected with. ‘Eusexua’ made me sit up and listen though. In the best possible way, you could almost imagine the same music with lyrics in [insert eastern European language of your choice] appearing at Eurovision. Maybe that’s why I like it. Of course it’s much better than some silly competition song. It’s definitely got me interested in what might come next.
My final pick is ‘Neptunes’ from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Joe Goddard. Plenty of exciting squelchy and percussive sounds that remind me of early Simian Mobile Disco.
And with all of that to listen to, I nearly forgot the best new album around: Nilufer Yanya‘s My Method Actor. So quietly brilliant.
Picky Bastards 