MAG — Where Music Lives

Mercury Rev have masterfully re-invented themselves, again. From their days as ’90s avant-garde NY art noiseniks to the luminous intergalactic classicism of Deserters Songs and All is Dream, they’ve arrived at Snowflake/Midnight; a strange and captivating departure into textured electronics. Think Suicide and Spacemen 3, not Dylan or The Band. This is superb – a true album of songs, a rich, atmospheric experience; immersive from first note to last bar. Cherry-picking mp3s would miss the point. This is a trip, so take it. “Your senses are on fire,” intones singer Jonathan Donahue on one track; it could almost be the album’s statement of intent. Eight-minute epic Dream of a Young Girl as a Flower marries a surrealist narrative from Donahue’s imagination to a multi-layered, electronic chorale that explodes into a joyous, futuristic bass-scape of treated beats and dissonant loops. Runaway Raindrop represents a flawless illustration of their strength as an ensemble and their ability to control their new direction. The superbly powerful live drums anchor it perfectly, with everything from dreamy pianos, sitars, a mid-song spoken piece by Donahue, Grasshopper’s superbly controlled guitar, and filtered, woozy keyboards. A determinedly wayward record of cavernous atmospheres and sky-high flights of pure imagination, its innovation towering above all comers.

V2/Shock

Jonathan Alley

Sneaky Sound System – 2

Not surprisingly, Sneaky Sound System have stuck with their multi-platinum formula on this highly anticipated second album. The same mix of dance/pop that helped them sell a billion units is back, polished until it glistens, and backed up by Miss Connie’s distinct vocals. You’ve probably heard the first single by now, Kansas City. If you like that you’ll love the rest of the album – the other nine tracks follow a remarkably similar blueprint. There are two ways to look at that; if you’re a fan then it’s an album packed full of potential hits. Others may not be quite so enthusiastic. Whack Records/MGM

The Verve – Forth

Unlike clichéd and self-important contemporaries who have stolen record sales during the absence of new material (that means you, Coldplay), The Verve have nothing to prove. After more than a decade since Urban Hymns, these new ten tracks still have hunger, wonder and a genuine sense of love and Earthy-coloured comfort seeping through its chords, melodies and genre experimentation. Tracks like Rather Be can trigger the tear ducts, while Numbness combines Pink Floyd sparseness with singer Richard Ashcroft’s swagger. Don’t be surprised to see this album penetrate the psyche for yet another decade to come. EMI

Claudio Abbado/BPO – Beethoven Symphonies 1-9

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra sought the help of great Italian conductor Abbado after the catastrophic final years of conductor Herbert Von Karajan’s tenure, and released their first post-Karajan set of complete Beethoven symphonies with him. These live performances were recorded soon after the CD sessions and are now Abbado’s preferred versions – this release is a highlight of his 75th birthday celebrations. The precision of thoroughly rehearsed studio versions combine with the excitement of live performance. Superb. Deutsche Grammophon/Universal

Odd Nosdam – Pretty Swell Explode

Bay Area artist David Madson is an unsung hero of experimental hip hop and sound-scape production. His gritty, textured low bit-rate beats, mess-strewn analogue tape loops and fascinating, street-side field recordings are some of the most uniquely – and sometimes frighteningly – tactile in modern music. His work as a remix artist is equally as iconoclastic. Over two enhanced discs, Pretty Swell Explode explores some of Madson’s rarer remixes, B-sides and video art. Madson plies his white-noise-drunk craft to works by Boards of Canada, Skyrider, Bracken and others. Another timeless collection by a true iconoclast. Anticon/Stomp