Album Reviews April 29th

The Dodos – No Color (Frenchkiss B004MGTMDE) £10.99: This fourth album from American indie duo The Dodos arrives with a certain amount of baggage after their previous release, Time To Die, was met with underwhelming reviews. That they have something to prove is apparent. Opening track Black Night, an infectious mix of acoustic guitar, crisp hooks and huge, pounding drums, bursts out of the speakers with incredible energy. The pace doesn’t let up and the choruses of Sleep and Don’t Try And Hide It lodge deep in the brain. Things begin to slow down towards the end but as an upbeat indie record for the coming summer months, this is a first class comeback. JR

The Leisure Society – Into The Murky Water (Full Time Hobby B004PKO5DO) £11.99: The second album from The Leisure Society plots a familiar albeit proven path. Think Fleet Foxes, Sufjan Stevens and Mull Historical Society and you get the drift. After repeated listens its true beauty reveals itself, particularly on the opening title track. Other notable highlights include the strangely entitled Our Hearts Burn Like Damp Matches and I Shall Remain Forever An Amateur. Band leader Nick Hemming should be proud of this sophomore offering. It has significant promise written all over it. The next one could provide the big breakthrough. KM

Leighton – Missa de Gloria/Et Resurrexit/Six Fantasies (Naxos 8.572601) £8.99: Intended for Easter, the Missa de Gloria was composed by Wakefield-born, Kernneth Leighton in 1980 using an ancient plainchant from the Serum rite. The result is an extended score with its roots in the big virtuoso works from 20th century French organist-composers. Greg Morris’s performance at the organ in Blackburn Cathedral is magnificent in its imposing weight and clarity. The brilliant Et Resurrexit and Six Fantasies on Hymn Tunes completes a disc of stunning sound quality. DD

Bax – Winter Legends/ Morning Song/Saga Fragment (Naxos 8.572597) £8.99: Ashley Wass, one of the great younger generation pianists, adds another invaluable disc to his series of English music. Bax’s Winter Legends invites us to think of heroic deeds in the far Nordic lands, the dramatic opening setting the scene for a pianistic showcase. Morning Song, “Maytime in Sussex”, composed for Princess Elizabeth’s 21st birthday, and Saga Fragment, an orchestration of his one-movement Piano Quartet, completes the release featuring the Bournemouth Symphony with James Judd conducting. DD