The Rumble Strips – Welcome To The Walk Alone

Don’t let this album pass you by. Seriously. It’s probably the best typical British album in a long time – strings, trumpets, piano, bittersweet melodies with the accent. And unexpected, at least judging by how little there is about the band on the web. We’ve been listening a lot to it in the office, and you always feel like you need to play it one more time. Thanks, Strips.

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The Herbaliser – Same As It Never Was

Same as it never was begins as if it’s an instrumental hip-hop album. And hip-hop really is the root of Herbaliser’s music, played by a mini orchestra around Londoners Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba. But only a couple of seconds later it reveals its true kaleidoscopic face, made of glaring elements of funk, jazz, soul and backed by beats that knock on every hip club’s door. By the time catchy Can’t Help This Feeling is over, you’re most likely going to be completely in love with Jessica Darling’s absolutely stunning and timeless voice. Instrumentals though is how Herbaliser lads started, and there’s handful of them here too. They are an intriguing experience, and more than once I thought that the music could end up on a James Bond soundtrack.

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Cat Power – Dark End of the Street EP

Not among her best. These covers are leftovers from Jukebox. Still, it’s Cat Power, so I have to mark it.

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Marvin Gaye – Anthology

I once saw a movie where the main character was planning all the time how he’s gonna take a girl home, put on some Marvin Gaye and then they’ll undoubtly get laid. Well I think he’s onto something.

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