On Rotation: Our pick of April album releases

April has been an absolute belter for album releases and a tough one to pick and choose. Here are just some of the great albums we’ve had on rotation this month…and a host of bands self-releasing albums and EPs.

Cold Water Swimmers
Holiday At The Secret Lake
(DIY or Die)
None of these songs are new to the initiated, yet if you’ve followed the band from the early days you’ll notice a massive difference in sound, style and production. Everything has been scrutinised down to fine detail including the tracklisting and the excellent album cover by Paul Husband. Album of the year contender anyone? I’ve not heard one as good yet. As debuts go, this is perfection.
READ MORE           BUY HERE

Mad Daddy
S/T
(Self-release)
High-octane Punk Rock ‘n’ Roll Blues from the Isle of Man. A ten-song powerhouse of a debut album. The wheel isn’t re-invented, but do you know why? Because it’s going too god-damn fast. What they lack in originality they make up for ten times over – and this is a perfect, dumb, authentically ass-kickin’ punk rock’n’blues explosion, coming straight out of the past, blasting into the future.
READ MORE           BUY HERE

Amigo The Devil
Born Against
(Liars Club)
Born Against is another magnificent journey through the dark and mysterious world of Amigo The Devil, combining his poetic and macabre sense of storytelling with haunting and epic soundscapes. It explores such a wide range of emotions from heartbreak to humour and beyond with such thought-provoking narratives, all backed by such expansive musical arrangements and unconventional sounds. Rarely does an album contain so much soul, emotion and mastery of the art of storytelling, conveyed through such warmth, passion and sincerity, but this one has it in spades.
READ MORE           BUY HERE

The Coral
Coral Island
(Run On Records/Modern Sky)
The Coral return with a double concept album that pulls you into their rose-tinted world of wonder. On Coral Island, the band have created what could well be their opus. It sprawls across 24 tracks, of which the 15 songs are amongst some of their best work. It’s a whole world within a world, an escape from reality that resonates deeply, fantastical yet altogether real. This could be their best album to date.
READ MORE          BUY HERE

Du Blonde
Homecoming
(Daemon T.V.)
Although glam-punk aesthetics still echo on the new LP, this record is again an unintentional step aside from the marked course. These songs, of experience if not innocence, draw on influences during Houghton’s formative years at the beginning of her creative career. Homecoming communicates the necessity to embrace one’s younger self and recall things that have shaped his or her personality. Still, with the poppier vibes, Houghton stays true to her garage and glam-punk oeuvre.
READ MORE           BUY HERE

Radio Silence
Isolation EP
(Self-released)
Newcastle garage-psych berserkers unleash their red-hot debut EP, Isolation with echoes of The Cramps, The Gun Club and The Birthday Party. The best no-holds-barred rock & roll group to come out of Newcastle since The Animals. There’s never been a better time for Radio Silence to emerge. This is the start of something special.
READ MORE           BUY HERE

Pink Suits
Political Child
(Self-released)
This is entertainment, this is fun, this is angry shouty sweary (divisive) basic guitar and drums punk rock made by two people who seem to know how to entertain and shout about the stuff that needs shouting about. These are the good guys and there’s always room in this world for nonsense such as this. Have a listen and Object, refuse, reject or abuse it at your will.
READ MORE           BUY HERE
Why Pink Suits are the most vital new punk band in the UK

And this month has also seen the release of two fantastic posthumous albums.

Tony Allen
There Is No End
(Blue Note)
Tony Allen has left an incredible and fitting legacy with There Is No End. It is an album that is a musical triumph, one that is groundbreaking and thrilling. Furthermore, it will do what Tony Allen’s work has been doing for decades – influence and inspire the musicians of tomorrow. The beat goes on. I play yours, you play mine. Quite literally, there is no end.
READ MORE           BUY HERE

Alan Vega
Mutator
(Sacred Bones)
An album recorded by Suicide’s Alan Vega at his mid-Nineties creative peak finally sees the light of day. Whenever a legendary artist dies and a posthumous album arrives a few years later, you can usually hear the sound of barrels being scraped in a bid to squeeze every last cent out of their legacy. Happily, nothing could be further from that with Mutator, a genuine “lost” album by Suicide’s late great Alan Vega, recorded in the mid-1990s and shelved only because he was producing such prolific art and music at that time.
READ MORE           BUY HERE

For all our album reviews, head over here.

Source: louderthanwar.com