A God-awful Small Affair

Looking over the list of the potential recipients of the same award that launched Sam Smith into the unstoppable chart force that he is (although terrible album sales all around mean that basically anyone with a strong marketing campaign can remain in the top 40 for a month or three), I sort of feel sorry for them. Years and Years (probably the most likely, considering the award's not gone to a group before) ( news just in informs me I was wrong ) , James Bay ( this is why ) and George the Poet are all of the hallmarks of what you'd usually hear about a Critics Choice winner: safe, carved for the mainstream and about as soulful as a cup of tea (with milk, obviously). A telling interview near the start of the year in the build up to his album's launch told us that Sam Smith had never actually been in love: "On Latch I was singing about love... but I've never physically experienced it. And I'm kind of sick of listening to albums about the turmoils of re

OK can we all look away and pretend I'm not jumping straight in on an artist's seventh album because it was on Pitchfork's best new music feature? Please? That would be lovely. Some albums are difficult to put into words. Clark is one of those albums. So, let me summarise by saying that I massively enjoy: the way 'Banjo' sounds like Alice Practice's happier little sister. how 'Petroleum Tinged' is basically the entirety of the movie Drive ground into one quick nutshell. The entirety of 'The Grit in the Pearl'. Says Mr. Clark: " I hypnotised myse lf with it, couldn't stop listening to it. Part of me sort of wishes the whole album was just this improvised loop." the bouncy bounce bounce.. ... And so, in the first of four hundred reviews to actually dare to use bullet points, please let's all retire and listen to Clark in silence. Rating: 8/10 Highlights: The Grit in the Pearl; Winter Linn; Unfurla; Silv

The very moment that our eyes and ears stumbled across the video for Water Me - which I am assuming is your same introduction to FKA Twigs that I had - there was the immediate connection in our heads that this bug-eyed girl was going to be pretty big. The problem with such eye-watering, word-of-mouth debut videos from alt-pop artists is that, more often than not, they turn out to be pretty contrived gimmicks . With LP1 , the creatively titled debut from Tahliah Barnett, that's thankfully not the case. Whilst she's not without controversy in her personal life , the first full-length glimpse into her talents and direction expose no such flaws and bullshit. A favourable and kind comparison would be that same feeling I got listening to my first Grimes album ( Visions - I've still yet to trace further back in that particular history): right down to the bewitching little intro of 'Preface'. That shaky, angelic voice will go on to flesh out the album in more b