Opinionated and informative criticism of all the music that counts
Jump Into Love
Half Japanese continue a run of fine late career albums, with their 20th studio release, Jump Into Love. These tunes wear their hearts on their sleeves, but after almost 50 years of making music Jad Fair's art is more innate and instinctive than naive, finds Sean Kitching
The Ballad Of Darren
In a year that has already seen the releases of a Gorillaz album, a solo record from Dave Rowntree, and the debut from Graham Coxon’s the Waeve, a new Blur album was an unlikely addition to the docket. With so many outlets for their work, what creative impulse drives their ninth album?