Various, Dubstep Allstars 5 – Mixed By DJ N-Type

For the uninitiated, dubstep is the most recent incarnation of that modern British desire to weld new, innovative sounds onto Jamaican soundsystem culture. Where in the 1970s the best British speaker stacks were employed to roll out imported reggae sevens, … Continue reading →

Hilary Duff, Dignity

It used to be the case that, when a teenpop starlet wanted to signify that she was all grown up, she would abandon frothy dance pop in favour of rocking out. That’s not the case here. Hilary Duff made some … Continue reading →

Cornelius, Sensuous

Sensuous is Keigo Oyamada’s first album since Point in 2002. In the meantime he has exhibited an audio/visual project at the Barbican in London and become a father. Accordingly, this, his fifth album, combines a childlike playfulness with a cerebral … Continue reading →

No rhythm method

Pop music: James Murphy makes great dance music. Shame he can't actually dance, says Killian Fox,

Gabriel Ananda, Bambusbeats

Gabriel Ananda is a man with a knack for taking dancefloor’s pulse – to the point that his club hit of last year, Doppelwhipper, a clattering, nine-minute monster, was composed entirely live as Ananda tinkered around in the studio after … Continue reading →

Preview

Passion, Coalville | Hootenanny, London | Lush! Birthday Weekender, Portrush | Keys Money Lipstick, Manchester | Bounce, London

Mr Hudson and the Library, A Tale of Two Cities

An Oxford education gave Ben Hudson the confidence to think big: the English lit graduate wanted his first album to sound like nothing less than “Dr Dre producing David Bowie”. So saying, he deftly slots together his own effete singing … Continue reading →

!!!, Myth Takes

Coming on like Hot Chip’s older, sleazier brothers, US discopunk collective !!! (pronounced ChkChkChk) ditch the politics and look-at-me profanity from their third album. Its dense layers and grooves take in Krautrock, Afropop, funk, techno and disco, while vocalist Nic … Continue reading →