ON THE RECORD

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE, FOLK Everything Harmony

By The Lemon Twigs

The Lemon Twigs are an American rock band formed by brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario. Everything Harmony is their fourth studio album released via Captured Tracks.

The LP offers a variety with slow-paced, melodious numbers and faster beats. However, there’s a certain softness to all the songs, partly rendered by the quality of the vocalists’ voices and partly by the acoustic guitar – a major element; drums and cymbals, tambourines, the electric guitar also feature.

Songs such as Corner of My Eye and Any Time of Day showcase the artists’ vocal range with parts alternating between high and even higher pitches. The opening track When Winter Comes Around features bass vocals – just brilliant!

Exploring a wide range of emotions –melancholia, nostalgia, desire, yearning, hopefulness, love, disbelief, confusion… the lyrics signal possible vulnerability, something listeners can effortlessly resonate with.

On Every Day Is the Worst Day of My Life, the title repeats in a loop, creating a meditative mood. As such it stands out from the other songs.

The title track Everything Harmony features the piano, giving church-choir vibes. Elevated on sections by the crisp and complex violin and the rich and vibrant cello, it’s quite different to the rest of the album. Every creation offers something distinct to enjoy, making it a pleasure to listen to.

DANCE/ELECTRONIC

The Love Invention

By Alison Goldfrapp

Alison Goldfrapp is an English musician and record producer. She is popular as the vocalist of Goldfrapp, the English electronic music duo, and has also collaborated with other artists. Now, she has released her solo album The Love Intention – at the age of 56, proving that age is no bar – through Bertelsmann Music Group. She describes it as her tribute to the dancefloor.

It’s difficult to marry a genre like electronic dance, which is futuristic sounding, even robotic, with the concept of love – an emotion. However, this artist does it with ease and panache. The opener Never Stop, a catchy, foot-tapping number is a repeated reminder to ‘Never stop love, never stop loving’.

Love Invention explores an unprecedented experience. She wonders ‘Is this real or not?/ And I've never had a love/ That felt so good’.

On Digging Deeper Now, she peels off layers to understand the feeling called love, which has changed everything and breathed ‘life back into’ her; she knows she’ll ‘find a way to the heart’.

The album unravels many such nuances of the emotion. It’s worth mentioning that it’s not just the lyrics but also Alison’s voice that lends a dreamy feel to the songs. She is rightly known for her versatile vocals; on this LP, featuring synthpop, trance tunes, drum and bass and electronic elements of all kinds, it shines through.

SATIRE/HUMOROUS FICTION Girlfriend On Mars

By Deborah Willis

A novel very much of our age, this debut offering provides futuristic fun with a satirical look at humanity’s pursuit of fame in the face of environmental crisis, and we love the premise.

Amber Kivinen leaves her humdrum boyfriend of 14 years, Kevin, and joins a reality show where, among an assortment of science nerds, would-be influencers and others, she is competing for the chance to join the first human mission to Mars. Meanwhile Kevin is glued to the telly trying to work out why his one true love is so determined to leave the planet.

CRIME THRILLER Zero Days

By Ruth Ware

Described by the New York Times as the ‘new Agatha Christie’ we’re very excited about this latest offering from Ruth Ware. Security experts Jack and husband Gabe are hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead and she’s the prime suspect. A heart-pounding mystery unfolds as she goes on the run and tries to clear her name while drawing ever closer to the real killer – with all the danger that implies.