A triumphant return of bands

Deftones — Gore  (Reprise)  

Notes that has A soul deep within

The multi-platinum selling, Grammy award-winning band made an impact on the music scene and picked up a fan-base almost straight away with their debut album Adrenaline in 1995. Vocalist Chino Moreno’s flexibility has long been one of the most potent weapons in the Deftones armory, and again its front and centre on Gore. Produced by Matt Hyde, the album is an amalgamation of the darker vibes of 2012’s Koi No Yokan and the experimental arrangements of 2010’s Diamond Eyes. Gore is their eighth album, their third since Sergio Vega replaced Cheng, and their first since Cheng passed away in 2013. The opening Prayers/Triangles is evidently Deftones from the word go, with sumptuous ambient melodies and Moreno’s hypnotic swirling ranges dominating the whole affair. Doomed User, the second single from the album, showcases Deftones at their loudest and rawest. The striking Geometric Headdress manages to transform Moreno’s urgent screams into warm guitars and soaring moments, while Pittura Infamante manages to feel frantic yet controlled. The title track, Gore, kicks in with rapid drums and the band’s signature vocal style and leads listeners into a dramatic setting. Phantom Bride is possibly the best song on the album, with guest guitar from Alice In Chains’ Jerry Cantrell. The dark and melancholic outro perfectly suits the album. Hearts/Wires starts off with a delicate melody that soothes the soul before Abe Cunningham’s soft drumming adds to the atmospherics. On the album’s epic closer Rubicon, Moreno seems to address his bandmates from past and present, ‘You cannot face the crowd/all by yourself/embrace the power we have’. Dragging their new wave and post-punk influences to the fore, the band have produced their most dynamic and adventurous album in years.

Best track: Phantom Bride   

Worst track: (L)MIRL

Rating ****

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Radiohead — A Moon Shaped Pool (XL) Nothing short of brilliant

After all the waiting and anticipations, it has finally arrived. Five years after The King of Limbs and within a week of deleting of their internet presence as a marketing gimmick, Radiohead’s 9th album, A Moon Shaped Pool finally releases. A prominent and welcome element of Radiohead’s music here is the orchestral backing provided by Jonny Greenwood, which frequently recurs across headlining tracks. The album starts and finishes on two older songs, material redrafted in the light of new developments. Opener Burn The Witch, with its jutting strings and visionary electro pulse serves as the album’s most pressing effort. While Colin rocks a modest bass pattern, Jonny scores high with help from the London Contemporary Orchestra. Paul Thomas Anderson himself directs the video for the second track, Daydreaming, an extended and ambient piece built on uncanny keyboards and intensely pounding bass with a slow, lingering vocal by Thom Yorke that gently twists and curves through hallucinating effects. The album is at its best when the band takes this delicate template and pushes it further out. The dark Ful Stop builds on misty beats and synths, reminiscent of Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, eventually joined by elegant plucked strings and a sublime electronic ambience. Desert Island Disk is an acoustic track with a serene, meandering feel, while Glass Eyes is a dreamy, almost sweet piano run, as Yorke conveys a narrative of someone going for a walk with no sense of destination or reason. Despite the elusive and ever-changing instrumental music on the album, Yorke’s lyrics seem to be at their most direct and unambiguous in years. The penultimate track, Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief proves to be an epic, built on a slow electro bass, echoing guitars and wild cinematic strings. A Moon Shaped Pool emerges as an album that’s as expansive, complex and arresting as anything in the band's catalogue.

Best track: Daydreaming    

Worst track: Present Tense 

Rating *****

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Car Seat Headrest — Teens of Denial (Matador)

Notes that are raw yet brilliant

The album is the creation of Will Toledo, singer, songwriter, visionary, and is his 13th collection of tunes. It is, however, the second on which Toledo uses a full-band piece and is the first recorded in an actual studio, produced by Steve Fisk. The name of the project was inspired by Toledo recording his first albums in the privacy of the back-seat of his car. The band’s potential is best presented on Vincent, which clocks in at more than seven minutes. Unlike many songs that clock in that late, there is no wasted space. Sparse guitar provides the foundation, slowly building for the first two minutes before distorted guitar takes over the whole tune. On Just What I Needed/ Not Just What I Needed, Toledo yells: ‘I will not settle for lowest common denominator.” The album features clever and empathetic lyricism paired with creative songwriting that gives you plenty to look forward to on every track. On Drunk Drivers / Killer Whales, he candidly sings about the shame and guilt that comes with driving drunk and the voice of reason in his head that tells him, ‘It doesn’t have to be like this.’ 1937 State Park commences with a single guitar and a voice-over then builds-up into a full band with a heavy early Smashing Pumpkins vibe. The flavourful horns on The Ballad of the Costa Concordia take the song to another level and the trumpet that kicks off Cosmic Hero is the most striking moment on the entire record. The soaring harmonies on Joe Gets Kicked Out are destined for concert sing-alongs, while Fill in the Blank is a brawny driving rock song. The collection is the concluding result of all those experimental excursions that Toledo happened upon as he was growing into a mature artist.

Best track: Cosmic Hero    

Worst track: Destroyed By Hippie Powers

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White Lung — Paradise    (Domino)  

An overwhelming, classy punk rock

Having emerged out of the Vancouver music scene in the mid-2000s, White Lung has spent the last few years slowly but surely building a reputation as one of the best punk bands in the industry. Paradise is the follow-up to 2014’s critically acclaimed Deep Fantasy, which was named one of the 40 best punk albums of all-time by Rolling Stone. The album begins with a bang, as Dead Weight is classic White Lung. The track features stellar vocals from singer Mish Barber-Way and escalating guitar that lends the track a sense of drama. The first track, Hungry is a wonderful hint of what was to come. The lead single addresses the struggles of fame and image, ‘I know everyone fakes for you.’ Below, with its striking peppy guitar notes is more restrained and melodic than the group has ever been before. Elsewhere Kiss Me and Demented showcase distinctly nu metal guitar riffs that somehow work quite well. The album is propelled by the aggressive drumming of Anne-Marie Vassiliou and the acrobatics of Kenneth William on guitar. The fast drums and bass of Narcoleptic create some of the darkest material on the album, and I Beg You is a strong showcase for Lindsey Troy’s bass. Mish’s voice is at its best on the album’s title track, which races past you in an enthralling flash of melodic spin. Clocking in at 28 minutes, Paradise is the band’s longest release to date. Still short by most band’s standards, the length reflects the ambitiousness of the project. This is 22nd century punk rock in the making. 

Best track: Hungry

Worst track: Vegas     

Rating ***

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Top 10 Singles

1. One Dance Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla  (CU)

2. Panda Desiigner  (NM)

3. Can’t Stop the Feeling Justin Timberlake  (CU)

4. Work from Home Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla $ign  (FD)

5. This is What You Came For Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna (CU)

6. 7 Years Lucas Graham  (FD)

7. Just Like Fire P!nk  (CU)

8. Cheap Thrills Sia feat. Sean Paul  (NE)

9. Don’t Mind Kent Jones

10. Ride Twenty One Pilots  (CU)  

 Legend: CU): Climbing Up    (FD): Falling own   

 (NM): Non-mover  (NE): New Entry