Album reviews

Toro Y Moi –Boo Boo: For an artist that has tended to operate on the fringes of big commercial success, Chaz Bear (formerly Bundick) says the genesis of his latest Toro y Moi project was his tussle with the idea of “my position in life as a ‘famous’ person, or at least my version of whatever that is”. The result? Focusing inward and a renewed love for the ambient music that heavily guided his early work. Bear has always subtly danced around various genres but his latest, Boo Boo, sees him eschewing the lo-fi indie of previous LP What For? in place of the kind of spatial, glossy, house-infused R&B that saw him turn heads at the start of the decade. The 12 tracks that follow are thoughtful, soulful and arguably his most complete collection of songs since those breakthrough years. Stephen Jones

Haim – Something to Tell You: Four years after blowing up with their polished yet youthful debut, the trio of LA sisters return with Something To Tell You.Recorded mainly in their parents’ front room, the songs are layered high – sometimes in fact too high, particularly in the case of the final track Night So Long. Heavy handedness in the studio is apparent throughout but there is obvious catchiness, too, with Want You Back and Little Of Your Love. Despite its shortcomings, expect this record - and Danielle Haim’s rich vocals - to further increase their growing influence both here and in the US. But Courteeners’ frontman Liam Fray may have gone too far with his assertion on Twitter earlier this month that Haim are “one of the best and most important bands” of the past two decades. Joe Nerssessian

Little Barrie – Death Express: The fifth album from Nottingham trio Little Barrie. Gamers will recognise the band from track Surfer Hell and fans of Breaking Bad will be happy to find the theme to Better Call Saul nestled at the end of this very album. The songs stick to a great lo-fi aesthetic. The lyrics don’t explicitly refer to the current state of the world but there is some heavy subtext on tracks like Copter and Vulture Swarm. The commentary never overshadows the music, though, and the tunes are enough to get the most reticent toes tapping. The drums on some tracks have a breakbeat quality to them, complemented by Lewis Wharton’s pulsing bass. Little Barrie’s guitar work is on point throughout, running the gamut from wailing solos to juddering rhythms. Recommended. Angus Rae

Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder: Broken Social Scene (BSS) are the original indie/alt rock supergroup. After a seven-year absence they return with a new album – Hug of Thunder. It sticks to their tried and tested formula of slightly melancholic alt rock. It’s wistful and pensive; like we’re reliving memories, both good and bad. The vocals and subsequent harmonies BSS muster up have always been a big draw to this band, but particular credit should go to the imaginative bass work on the album; adding subtle tension to an otherwise light song or stability to more experimental work. Standout songs include Protest Song and Skylight. It would almost be a crime for Broken Social Scene’s importance in shaping both indie and alt rock for the 21st century to be overlooked. Liam Sheasby

Rachmaninov – The Piano Sonatas:The Russian virtuoso pianist, Rustem Hayroudinoff, has been described as ‘today’s foremost performer of Rachmaninov’s solo keyboard works’ and this new release of the two sonatas is among the most magnificent on disc. The many technical demands are swept aside with an awesome power in the tempestuous opening movements, his wide dynamic range then taking us into quiet and lyrical beauty of central movements. For the second and much shorter sonata we return to the composer’s original and more extended version that we seldom hear nowadays. This Onyx disc is completed by the Rachmaninov’s arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s short Lullaby. Sadly the piano sound as recorded here does not match the excellence the playing. David Denton