Destroyer
Poison Season
[Merge Records]
On Poison Season, Destroyer trades in the tinny string section of his MIDI-powered 2004 album Your Blues for the real deal, and doesn’t crack under the increased expectation. This is easily his broadest-ranging release, swerving from heartfelt quietude to boisterous piano rock and back again. The result is as much a compendium of his past successes as it is yet another abrupt and accomplished stylistic shift. There’s simply no knowing where he’ll go from here, nor is there any need to worry. –Leo Devlin
Advance Base
Nephew in the Wild
[PIAPTK]
Advance Base is the latest guise of Owen Ashworth, of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. Though notionally an entity independent of his previous band, and certainly boasting a denser sound in comparison to Casiotone’s dinky aesthetic, the record is still populated with the same character-driven, minutiae-obsessed tales of small-town angst. Ashworth’s reputation is built on his equal parts amusing and heartbreaking lyrical nous, and as a wordsmith he remains at the peak of his powers. Nephew stands up next to his finest moments. Danny Wilson
The Jimmy Cake
Master
[Pilatus]
Master marks not only the return of one of the figureheads of Dublin’s semi-dormant post-rock scene, The Jimmy Cake, but also a sharp right turn in their musical progression. In the six year gap between releases, they have moved away from lush, melancholic string and brass arrangements in favour of a brawnier, kraut-informed direction. Over three mammoth tracks the band luxuriate in heady, propulsive, ever-evolving space rock. Surprisingly taut considering its 72 minute runtime, Master is a homegrown treat for the psychedelically inclined. –Danny Wilson
Cruising
Cruising EP
[Tough Love]
Cruising went for the ear-stab approach on You Made Me Do That last year, employing first Thermals album levels of audio fidelity to produce a garage-rock belter that sounded like it was actually recorded in a garage straight onto the cassette it was released on. On their self-titled EP, it appears a lot classier, all legible and properly recorded, but perhaps missing some of the crude, dumb charm of the original version. This EP’s much more fun when they stray further into noisy chasms as on closer Cutlass. –Ian Lamont
Yo La Tengo
Stuff Like That There
[Matador]
With this cosy-sounding collection of cover versions and semi-acoustic reinterpretations of their previous work, YLT continue their unprecedented two-decade hot streak. That said, they aren’t quite operating at the peak of their powers. Sticking within the same twee mould throughout, they fail to showcase the flair for the eclectic that has kept them so engaging for so long. Though throwaway by their standards and extremely narrow in scope, Stuff Like That There remains a pleasure, though not an instant classic. –Danny Wilson
Deradoorian
Exploding Flower Planet
[Anticon]
Having parted with Dirty Projectors post-Bitte Orca to spread her songwriting wings, Angel Deradoorian’s solo career has been a slow burn so far, with this debut album following up her Mind Raft EP six years ago. Her routinely exquisite vocals and penchant for melismatic melodies (betraying her Armenian-American heritage) are her bolstered by delightfully varied, well-developed arrangements, ranging from Beautiful Woman’s psych-stomp to the throbbing, krauty pulsations of The Eye. Really good. –Ian Lamont
Charlie Haden and Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Tokyo Adagio
[Impulse!]
The great American double-bassist Charlie Haden died a year ago. He played often with Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny and Keith Jarrett. This beautiful recording is the pinnacle of his collaborations with the pianist genius from Cuba, Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Both are Grammy Award-winners. Buy it for the exquisite My Love and I and keep coming back for the winsome When Will the Blues Leave. Want a CD to ease you quietly into this coming change of seasons? Here you go! –Tom Carroll
