Great Expectations

Brit vocalist Tasmin Archer maps out some interesting terrain somewhere between Seal and Tracy Chapman on her debut Great Expectations – a layered, well-produced mix of acoustic and synthetic instrumentation overlaid with committed, soulful vocals. Lead track "Sleeping Satellite" was a hit in several parts of Europe, and it's a hypnotic, fashionably retro-psych-soul beauty. That track is backstopped by several more solid contenders, including a sombre-yet-vibrant "In Your Care," an emotionally honest "Ripped Inside," and the uncharacteristically forceful "Somebody's Daughter." While perhaps not living up to the album title, there are enough good ones (and one great one) here to make Great Expectations well worth investigating.

Brit vocalist Tasmin Archer maps out some interesting terrain somewhere between Seal and Tracy Chapman on her debut Great Expectations – a layered, well-produced mix of acoustic and synthetic instrumentation overlaid with committed, soulful vocals. Lead track "Sleeping Satellite" was a hit in several parts of Europe, and it's a hypnotic, fashionably retro-psych-soul beauty. That track is backstopped by several more solid contenders, including a sombre-yet-vibrant "In Your Care," an emotionally honest "Ripped Inside," and the uncharacteristically forceful "Somebody's Daughter." While perhaps not living up to the album title, there are enough good ones (and one great one) here to make Great Expectations well worth investigating.

This is the best record of the year and Minott is the best male vocalist of the decade. The Jolly Boys deserve a best vocalist Grammy, best cover song Grammy, best album Grammy, best all around Grammy and those who value solid music with raw power and hair-raising soulfulness deserve to honor their ears with this one. The Jolly Boys take some great songs on here and make them better as they own them, and they elevate some other mediocre pop songs (that until the Jolly Boys got hold of them were just whiny lyrics and plasticine substance around bubble gum basics) into the bluesy phenomenal stratosphere of hair-raising profound expressions of old school realism.

Having rescheduled their March and April tour dates due to the ongoing Covid-19 emergency, elbow have brought forward the release of ‘Live at The Ritz – An Acoustic Performance’. Recorded in October 2019 in the intimate surroundings of The Ritz in Manchester, the album includes acoustic versions of tracks from ‘Giants of All Sizes’ alongside older favourites.