50 CATS IN SPACE
Kickstart The Sun
HARMONY FACTORY
Not an album so much as an explosion in a melodic rock factory, Kickstart The Sun finds these Cats bouncing ideas around as if all nine lives depend on it. Horns parp, choirs wail, guitars soar like roving search beams, and Queen’s A Night At The Opera hears it all and goes home with its tail between its legs. Brilliantly ludicrous and ludicrously brilliant.
FL Killer track: Poke The Witch
49 BUZZCOCKS
Sonics In The Soul CHERRY RED
Introduced at the infamous 1976 Sex Pistols gig that ignited Manchester’s punk scene, Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle’s partnership drove Buzzcocks until Shelley’s passing in 2018. Diggle’s decision to continue the band – considered unconscionable by some – is justified by Sonics In The Soul’s stellar songwriting and fiery performances. Crucially Diggle balances brash bangers with pop smarts (Nothingness World).
RD Killer track: You’ve Changed Everything Now
48 BONNIE RAITT
Just Like That REDWING
Bonnie Raitt’s first new album in over six years, Just Like That offered sumptuous, widereaching proof that she’s not done pushing herself yet. It’s full of swampy, soulful blues swagger and deft guitar touches that served the likes of Little Feat and James Taylor similarly well, plus the sort of sweet and wry tones you can hear in Raitt acolytes like Susan Tedeschi, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Larkin Poe and so many more. Americana at its finest.
PG Killer track: Made Up Mind
47 THE BLACK KEYS
Dropout Boogie NONESUCH
Twenty years after they released their first album, The Black Keys are still walking the fine line between smart and simple. On latest album Dropout Boogie the duo from Akron, Ohio added a refreshing dash of bubblegum soul and pop to their original blues-rock package, while a stellar performance by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on Good Love takes them out of the garage and into the Texas desert. Hot stuff.
DS Killer track: Good Love (feat. Billy F Gibbons)
46 CARDINAL BLACK
Members of Cardiff rock’n’soul quartet Cardinal Black played together in another band more than a decade ago,oozes lifeaffirming depth from top to bottom. is stunning. This is a precious, extraordinarily inspired debut album.
