Kele - The Hunter EP (2011)

6/10


In spite of his detractors, Kele's newest release has its moments

It’s fair to say that Kele Okereke’s flirtations with dance music have earned a mixed reception. There’s been negativity towards the general sound, the quality of songwriting and of course, there's been pining for another Silent Alarm... well, you can save that one for Bloc Party’s upcoming fourth album. For now, Kele’s out to prove his credibility as a solo artist and happily delves into new territory for this new release.

Radiohead - TKOL RMX 1234567 (2011)

5/10

Too many average remixes spread over two discs becomes hard to enjoy

As perhaps the vaguest, hardest-to-grasp Radiohead album released, The King Of Limbs might seem like a prime candidate to be remixed extensively. And with Thom Yorke’s increasing presence in the electronic music scene, this made perfect sense; a compilation of remixes, hand-picked by the band, of songs from their last release.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (2011)

8/10

The Chief shows them how it’s done

Fans of Oasis, and specifically of Noel Gallagher, will have been eagerly anticipating this moment; when the brains behind Britain’s biggest band of the 1990s would move out of the shadow of his little brother to show the world how he could front a band. Doubts over whether Noel could fulfil a lead role persisted, but a strong solo debut will have silenced most of those voices. 

Björk - Biophilia (2011)

7/10

Björk continues to innovate, sometimes at the cost of listenability

With all the hype around iPad app-songs and a complex live show featuring newly-invented instruments, you could almost forget the simple joy of anticipating a new Björk album. While the apps (designed to relate to the themes and sound of each song on the album) aren’t necessary to enjoy Biophilia, an appreciation for the craft behind the music does help.

Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler - This Is Christmas (2011)

5/10   

I’ll be honest. When it comes to Christmas music, I’m something of a Scrooge. With this year’s main festive entries coming courtesy of the likes of Bieber and Bublé, can you really blame me?

So I was highly surprised to learn that an artist who I’ve keenly followed over the last few years, Emmy The Great, was releasing a Christmas album with her significant other, Tim Wheeler of Ash. Just to add to the romance, they began work on the album last year while trapped inside by snow, aww... As much as you’d like them to succeed with their first (and surely not last) collaborative effort, it doesn’t exactly scream potential masterpiece.

Kito & Reija - Sweet Talk EP (2011)

7/10  

Aussie duo bring some very palatable dub-pop

The dubstep scene isn’t exactly flush with female producers, but Perth-based Kito created such a stir with her early work that she attracted the attention Skream, signing to his Disfigured Dubz label. She teams up with singer Reija Lee to bring us Sweet Talk, a four-track release with as much emphasis on the sweet-as-sugar vocals as the impact of the bass kick.

Kasabian - Velociraptor! (2011)

7/10  

Kasabian can't go wrong with more electronic-tinged madness

Among Kasabian’s claims earlier this year were that this album “will change your life” and be “the greatest ever”. Clearly, they’re not short on confidence, and their bravado happily transcends into their music.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (2011)

Fleet Foxes return with a work of almost unparalleled beauty

9/10 

After the success of their self-titled debut album, Seattle’s Fleet Foxes are back with more of their baroque, old-worldly magic. Once again, the level of craft in the record is astonishing; I’m not even going to try to name all of the instruments they use, or pretend that I immediately got the references to Yeats, but it’s fair to say that the arrangement and lyricism in parts of this album touch upon mastery.

Friendly Fires - Pala (2011)

Too much of Friendly Fires' second effort fails to inspire

6/10  

Pulling out of the shadow of nu-rave, the Friendly Fires come back with the lush-sounding, dancey Pala. But while the band have definitely got a clear vision of what they’re doing, it comes across as a bit predictable and unimaginative.

Various Artists - Inès (2011)

Engaging electronic compilation from up-and-coming trio

Nicolas Jaar is one of the most fascinating talents in electronic music right now. He gives us a short compilation of the works of himself and friends Soul Keita and Nikita Quasim (collectively known as Clown N Sun Collective) in the shape of Inès, a collection of deep, abstract tracks with a smattering of South American flavour, an organic feel to the music and a minimalism so profound that the craft of the producers takes centre stage.