Au, Buraka Som Sistema, Hayden, Bip-Hop Generation

Au – Verbs
By Tom Brumpton
Born from the multi-coloured mind of pop genius in training Luke Wyland, Au’s latest offering into the cheery unknown is about as oddball, yet as charming as you could possibly want. From the intense 20+ vocal harmony of ‘All My Friends’ to the off-the-wall combination of jazz, blues, flamenco and folk of ‘Are Animals’ through to the vaudevillian-esque ‘rr vs. d’; a rousingly upbeat number that mashes a flair for the fairground with beautiful melodies and brass sections, it’s simply impossible not to adore this. While ‘Verbs’ might be a little too odd for the average music lover, those who are willing to give this a chance and take a step on the bizarre side will truly discover an album of wonder, joy and magic.

Buraka Som Sistema – Black Diamond
By Eddie Robson
This electro/hip-hop/African roots crossover record by Portugal’s Buraka Som Sistema kicks off with an interminably repetitive track and a disappointing collaboration with MIA, and initially seems set to be a loooong listen. However, it shifts up a gear with the fourth track, ‘Kalemba’, and is generally good stuff after that point. Oddly, the MIA track is notable for not pulling off MIA’s trick – but the rest of the album does, mixing poppy bits with scraps from other genres to create a beguiling soundscape. The two-part ‘New Africas’ which closes the album is a head-spinner. Certainly an improvement on the last hyped band Portugal sent us, which was The Parkinsons if memory serves.

Various – Bip-Hop Generation Vol 9
By Andrew Dolton
Anyone who has witnessed Bip Hop Generation will know what to expect but to any newcomers (where have you been? This is volume nine!) you are in for a treat. Some genres are mass-market, others like here are more specialized. On show are a collection of artists and their ‘songs’ which indulge the alliance between acoustic instruments and digital technologies in music. Along the way they touch base with such ideals as post rock, electronic, IDM and countless other micro genres to produce soundscapes par excellence. This volume showcases the work of Kammerflimmer Kollektief, Spaceheads. Audrey Kiritchenko, illachime Quartet, Hauschka & Antenna Farm and Adrian Klumpes. Never likely to be household names outside of their inner circle but masters of their art and artistic they definitely are.

Hayden - In Field & Town
By Matt Hell
In Field & Town is Torontoan Hayden Desser’s fifth full-length studio album, having somewhat slipped in under the radar in his early career. But Hayden has matured, refined his sound and gradually built a name for himself as a gifted singer-songwriter. ‘In Field & Town’ is his finest work yet, voice a perfect instrument to deliver the beautiful and charming songs that feel like you’ve known them all your life. A voice that is at times rasping and low and at times delicate and vulnerable tugs at those heart-strings on ‘More Than Alive’, lazily drools and hangs throughout the jauntily laid-back ‘The Van Song’ and wonderfully conveys the ‘Weight of the World’. In a genre that’s filled with generic wannabe folkster singer-songwriters Newton Faulkner, Jack Johnson et al, Hayden is an interesting antidote and In Field and Town is a timeless record that makes an instant impact.