Rock

Beth Gibbons
Lives Outgrown
Domino Wigcd287; Lp: Wiglp287

Beth Gibbons has always been an enigma. A press-shy singer in Portishead, who pioneered trip hop in the '90s, she has generally kept a low profile in the 2000s, although she made an eyebrow-raising stab at Gorecki's Third Symphony in 2014. Lives Outgrown, her debut solo album, was recorded over ten years. The mood is bittersweet and Gibbons' singing is wonderful, ranging from a slightly cracked delivery to sweet overdubbed chorales. The songs develop organically, often shaped by her acoustic guitar and include some dazzling arrangements, particularly 'Rewind', with its Eastern strings and percussion flurries, while 'Oceans' features double-bass, keyboards and synthetic brass dancing through space. MB

Sound Quality: 90%

John Cale
Poptical Illusion
Domino Ds178Cd; Lp: Lp Ds178Lp

POPtical Illusion is an extraordinary example of late flowering creativity. Faced with the pandemic in his late '70s, Cale wrote ideas for over 80 songs in a year, and these 13 see him stepping out from 'the shadow of decline'. Since leaving The Velvet Underground he has enjoyed a multifaceted song-based solo career and here his voice - less severe now but retaining its gravity - is bedded into a mix of keyboards and electronics. There's a hint of his beloved Brian Wilson on 'Davies And Wales' and 'How We See The Light' is invigoratingly optimistic as Cale vows to be 'more decisive in the future'. So it's clearly never too late for a wake-up call. MB

Sound Quality: 85%

Dirty Three
Love Changes Everything
Bella Union Bella1597Cd; Lp: Bella1597V

The Melbourne instrumental trio - Jim White on drums, guitarist Mick Turner, and Warren Ellis on violin and viola and keyboards - were formed in 1992 and explore the boundaries between structure and improvisation, dissonance and melody. On their first album in 12 years, some pieces begin with ruminative guitars and freeform drums that become more rhythmically focused and lead on to searing outbursts of violin. Others are centred on lyrical minor key piano figures and electronic looping. The musicians' empathy is impressive. Even when they play across each other in different metres their music has a remarkable coherence. MB

Sound Quality: 85%

La Luz
News Of The Universe
Sub Pop Spcd1610; Lp: Sp1610X

The album opens with a multi-tracked a cappella miniature, 'Reaching Up To The Sun', then on 'Strange World', the Seattle band explore a groovy vein of retro-futurism via fuzz guitar lines, vocal harmonies and bleeping synths. Many of these songs feel like candidates for singles, but this upbeat, sun-kissed sound has its darker side: Shana Cleveland sings 'I thought I'd disappear under the weight of troubles stacking end to end', on 'Poppies', a reference to her recent health problems. But positivity prevails on 'Always In Love', and peaks on the instrumental, 'Close Your Eyes', with wordless voices and chiming keyboards adding to its panoramic sound. MB

Sound Quality: 80%