Music reviews

Morrissey, Low in High School: Battle lines are drawn early in Morrissey’s 11th solo album. “Teach your kids to recognised and despise the propaganda filtered down by the dead echelons mainstream media,” he sings over thumping drums and glam rock guitars in the opening track My Love, I’d Do Anything for You. The likes of I Wish You Lonely and Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up on the Stage reinforce the view that at 58 Morrissey is largely reaching out to longtime devotees. But from thereon Low in High School becomes more musically adventurous. The frisky Spent The Day in Bed ranks amongst his best solo singles while the piano ballad In Your Lap has a Middle Eastern influence. Only the seven-minute long I Bury The Living outstays its welcome in what is a solid addition to Morrissey’s canon. Duncan Seaman

Paloma Faith, The Architect: One of only two solo British female singers of the past decade to have scored three platinum albums (the other being Adele), Paloma Faith’s songs have until now principally dealt with matters of the heart. In The Architect she spices things up with a fair amount of politics. “Know you can change things,” guest Samuel L Jackson beseeches listeners in the track Evolution, while in Politics of Hope Guardian columnist Owen Jones says “we owe it to our ancestors to continue their struggle for a different sort of society”. Crybaby suggests the world would be a better place if men were more in touch with their emotions and Guilty is sung from the perspective of a Leave voter regretting backing Brexit. Throughout Faith shows she has a strong voice to back up some powerful subject matter. Duncan Seaman

Tokio Myers –Our Generation: Just occasionally TV talent shows uncover a genuine previously unknown sensation. This is what has happened with Britain’s Got Talent champion Tokio Myers.From delicate piano constructs, to full-on electronic sculptures, this album has them all. Whether a Myers original or a cover, his performance is consistently astounding. The vocals, where used, complement the sound without taking over completely, leaving the music itself to shine through.The title track comes over as a contemporary classical piece with its ebb and flow of mixed instrumentation and voice. The single Bloodstream, on the other hand, shows his grasp of pop sensibilities. This album is just the start of what will, in all likelihood, be a stellar career. Steve Grantham

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest: Rest is Charlotte Gainsbourg’s first studio album since 2010. Whispered melodies ooze out of her as naturally as breathing, flitting between English and French seamlessly. After previously collaborating with the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Beck, Rest is the first record fully penned by Gainsbourg. The title track has music by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (better known as one half of Daft Punk), but instead of being upbeat electro pop there is something almost ethereal about the pairing. Lying With You includes a tribute to her late father Serge. Gainsbourg is definitely a storyteller in the form of a spoken word poet, which is evident in her pairing with Sir Paul McCartney on Songbird In A Cage. A gentle and often soothing collection of stories. Rachel Howdle

Voyages – Songs by Debussy, Duparc, Faure, Chabrier and Rollinat: Songs by French composers with words from the great poet Charles Baudelaire is the linking theme in this new release from the soprano, Mary Bevan, who is appearing with her accompanist, Joseph Middleton, next Tuesday at Sheffield’s Firth Hall. She has that very smooth quality, ideally suited to this impressionist era, and was obviously born to sing the music of Henri Duparc, her voice throughout matching the words of the opening track ‘nothing but order and beauty dwell’. The major work is Debussy’s Cinq poemes de Baudelaire, oneof his finest scores, and we have the little known name of Maurice Rollinat to complete a very well-filled CD. Signum Classics’ sound quality reflects the elegance of the performances. David Denton