video: Justice - Stress.

Wow.

April in Albums.

The time has come to round up the five best releases of the month gone by. After the amazing set of albums that graced our ears back in March, April was sure to be a quiet month. However, judging from the list below, it's been quite the opposite. Sorry I'm a bit late on this one, but here is April in albums:

The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent

Castle

Imperial Wax Solvent is the 27th studio album from Mark.E Smith's The Fall. I think it's only fair to say that the last couple of Fall LPs have left much to be desired. However, Imperial Wax Solvent is one of the best 21st Century Fall offerings, right up there with 2005's Fall Heads Roll. Mark.E Smiths nonsensical stories and tight musical arrangements are sounding better than ever. Check it. 

mp3: The Fall - Can Can Summer

M83 - Saturdays = Youth

Mute

French musician M83 (Anthony Gonzales) superb new album Saturdays = Youth was apparently inspired by 80's teenage pop culture a-la-John Hughes movies and borrows heavily from shoegaze conventions such as heavy usage of reverb effects and wonderful softly spoken lyrics. Yet it is really refreshing stuff, the first essential summer album of the year.

mp3: M83 - Couleurs

Portishead - Third 

Island

Portishead fans have been waiting for the aptly named Third for over ten years now, and more often that not, anticipations like this always result in an upset. However, not only have Portishead finally delivered, they've created one of this years most exciting, genre-defying records along the way. Check out the mechanical marvel that is Machine Gun, the first single to be lifted from the album. 

mp3: Portishead - Machine Gun

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles 

Last Gang

April too saw the long awaited UK release of Toronto-based Crystal Castles self-titled debut. The duo have never really sat comfortably in the music press created genres of 'blog-house' and 'nu-rave'. This is reflected in the albums 16 tracks, which span disco, house, trance and glitch beats. All of which is topped with textured drums and front-woman Alice Glass oddly compelling vocals, creating something rather great. 

mp3: Crystal Castles - Alice Practice 

ALBUM OF THE MONTH:

Boris - Smile

Southern Lord

Album of the month for me comes in the form of Smile. The 14th full-length from Japanese experimental-dooms band Boris. The album has a slightly altered tracklisting to the Japanese version (released earlier this year) and is apparently the weaker of the two. However, the album is still a sensationally schizophrenic, face-melting mix of psychedelic, metal and noise rock. Highly recommended.

mp3: Boris - Statement