Album Reviews

Their knack for catchy melodies continues here, on their third studio album. Dance re-mixers Freemasons are present for production duties, while Sophie Ellis-Bextor (wife to bassist Richard Jones) duets on the beautiful Leave Me Out Of It and Roisin Murphy makes a guest appearance on Dance For The Nights. The songs will find a way into your brain especially singles Set The World On Fire and A Hundred Sinners (Come And Get It). This collection retains the band’s familiar sound with some electro pop thrown in, and fans will not be disappointed. LA

Neil Young / International Harvesters – A Treasure (Warner B004VQGGL6) £12.99: The Godfather of Grunge whittled down eight concerts recorded in 1984 and 1985 with country band The International Harvesters to 12 tracks for this live album. Young has said he wanted to capture the spirit of the band – and he has achieved this impeccably. The record takes the listener on a brief journey from the barn dance-soundtrack of opening Amber Jean to Grey Riders, a track peppered with the distorted crunch which earned Young his nickname. An album that offers a short but sweet glimpse into Young’s vast back catalogue. JG

White Arrows – White Arrows (Three Syllables B004USJGNU) £8.99: This self-titled EP offers a glimpse of what’s to come from the Los Angeles five-piece when they release their debut album later this year. The five original tracks have more than a hint of The Strokes about them, especially Everything Scares Me which sounds like it could have come straight from Is This It? Of the two remixes which complete the EP, the RAC version of Coming or Going is much better than KKS’s take on City Boy, which differs only slightly from the original. AC

Richard Thompson – Live At The BBC (Commercial Marketing B004WZ92BM) £34.99: If last year’s curator stint at Meltdown Festival illustrated Richard Thompson’s continuing relevance, this is an enjoyable trip down memory lane. You can hear the BBC developing with him, with the opening tracks drawn from a crackly 1973 John Peel session. He is at his raucous best here during a 1985 Hammersmith Palais show. Throw in material with ex-wife Linda, a 36-page booklet and a DVD of long-unseen performances and you have an outstanding package. TW

Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1 & 4/Paganini Rhapsody (Avie AV2191) £13.99: Two of today’s most charismatic musicians, conductor, Vasily Petrenko, and pianist, Simon Trpceski, combine in a dazzlingly brilliant account of the First Concerto that often throws caution to the wind, and then shows more discretion in a perfectly articulated and stunning account of the Fourth. Lots of charm and sparkling vivacity in the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Trpceski’s technically immaculate playing partnered by Petrenko’s highly detailed response from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Good sound quality. DD

Schubert: Symphony No. 9/Five German Dances (Channel Classics CCS SA 31111) £13.99: Ivan Fischer strips away the Ninth Symphony’s familiar Teutonic density to reveal the joy of a score that dances with the vivacity and happiness that has been entombed by countless recorded performances. His tempos are fleet, textures transparent, dynamics keenly observed but never overweighted, and countless inner details revealed. With his Budapest Festival Orchestra he has a remarkably fine ensemble, the glittering woodwind a constant delight. As an “encore” the Five German Dances continue the disc’s pleasures. DD