Winter '20 - New Album Reviews

Bruce Springsteen 
Letter To You   Colombia

The Boss is back with the E Street Band for the first time since 2014's High Hopes 

AFTER THE PASSING of former E Street Band member George Theiss and a period of writer's block, Springsteen was inspired to book 5 days of studio time at his before cajoling himself to come up with some brand new songs for his former band. Assembling them again, all recording was completed in just four days, as they rattled through them and they were recorded live, with minimal overdubs.

      These new songs make up nine of the album's 12 songs, whilst the remainder were originally written by Springsteen for his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and have been subsequently released by others since then including The Hollies' Allan Clarke and Warren Zevon. Springsteen stumbled across his original recordings while assembling a compilation album and decided to complete them.

      Opening with One Minute You're Here and closing with I'll See You In My Dreams is no coincidence as Springsteen plays with fire in his belly for the loss of his aforementioned band mate and friend, regrets and their mortality. With this in mind, of the three old songs If I Was A Priest not only fully fits the bill but is musically the strongest of the three and as with his recent releases of held back classics such as The Promise and Tracks, you wonder how on earth he could have sat on such a good song for so long, such is the talent of Springsteen. It all ends magnificently with a short yet mighty Springsteen solo. Sometimes it's just about feeling.

Rating 8

D Double E
Double Or Nothing      Bluku Music

Second album from influential British rapper

YOU COULD BE mistaken for thinking that Dizzee Rascal was the driving force behind the genesis of grime, the UK b******* child of UK Garage that rose up from the underground in the early noughties. But no, if there's a rapper that takes that title I'd argue that a better candidate is Darren Dixon, better known as D Double E, a rapper who can blend smooth, intricate flows with warmth, humour and trademarks scats and who all the big stars have mentioned when discussing influences: Dizzee has said he was one of the artists who inspired him to take up mc-ing whilst Spekta called him "the greatest of all time".

      Unlike most successful rappers - both here and across the pond - D Double E has had to work at his craft, working away of many many years as he moved from crew to crew only being able to release a few singles including the early grime classic Street Fighter Riddim; it wasn't until he was 38 years old that his debut Jackuum! saw the light of day. It's follow up Double Or Nothing (or D.O.N.) is the follow up and boasts a killer selection of fellow grime rappers including Kano, Ms Banks, Skrapz and Giggs. This is my favourite grime album for awhile, D Double E's fantastic rapping, whether it's being up front like 2Pac, stylish like Q-tip or funny like Snoop. If you want one example, witness how he describes his love of fish on Catch of the Day.

Rating 7

Camelphat
Dark Matter      SONY

Liverpudlian duo release debut album after successful run of singles

THREE YEARS IN the making, Dark Matter is the eagerly awaited debut from Camelphat, a duo who focus their House beats on club records and downtempo, with all seven singles released to date offsetting the more melancholic album tracks. Such has been the amassing of tracks, that the running time is almost an hour and a half, making this a double album, a rarity for a debut let alone a debut in Electronica.

      There is no doubt that the album is impeccably produced and its relatively consistent sound allows the album to regain a lot of cohesiveness as it runs through all its twenty tracks. That said, this is ultimately a dance album and you're opinion of this album and indeed Camelphat as a whole will be determined by whether you're a fan of EDM and the de rigeur sound currently prevading a lot of dance music. There are moments that leave you breathless such as Inbetween the Lines, perhaps my favourite Balearic moment of the year but the cold downbeat house that is EDM's calling card prevades a lot of the album, none more so than the decent Panic Room, an old single from 2017 and catchy but too cold for me to want to dance to it. Or is this dance music for the radio?

      If you're a EDM fan there is much to enjoy on this well arranged and produced double dance album, but for me it's too cold, not unlike perhaps a house equivalent of The Weeknd. Talented undoubtedly but not terribly fun in the long run.

Rating 6