It’s a storming month of comebacks this March as punk veteran Iggy Pop, indie lynchpin Jeff Buckley and vivacious Scots Primal Scream all release new albums. But they’re not the only ones to challenge the charts: this month features a smorgasbord of pop bangers and indie darlings as One Direction’s Zayn Malik goes solo, bluesman Ray LaMontagne explores uncharted territory and Miike Snow takes to the dancefloor.
Låpsley – Long Way Home
Nineteen-year-old, synth-backed balladeer Holly Lapsley Fletcher has been buzzing around the mainstream for a few months now, her emo electro-confessionals searing enough to garner support from pop’s biggest names (Adele and Sam Smith are reportedly fans). Debut LP Long Way Home is a deft affair, all spectral vocals and cybernated blips, weaved across tales of heartbreak so familiar you’ll be misting up alongside her. In a nutshell: The soundtrack to your summer. Available 4 March, via iTunes, priced £7.99.
Ray LaMontagne – Ouroboros
Anyone hoping the bearded solitarian reproduces the same gut-balling blow as on 2004’s ‘Trouble’ will be sorely disappointed. Inverting his trademark soft-guitars-and-pulsing-vocals MO, on Ouroboros LaMontagne instead unleashes Black Keys-esque blues riffs under breathless melodies on ‘Hey, No Pressure’, and cosmic, psychedelic waking dreams on ‘In My Own Way’. Different, sure. But in a great way. In a nutshell: One for a rainy Sunday afternoon, whiskey cocktail in hand. Available 4 March, via iTunes, priced £7.99.
Miike Snow – iii
The Stockholm-based band are back with the follow-up to 2012’s Happy To You, and it’s as electro-poptastic as you’d expect from a trio with these songwriting chops. Showcasing funk, soul and straight-up pop, iii is gratifyingly complex: the video for foot-tapper ‘Genghis Khan’ is the light-footed and silver-tongued love story of an evil henchmen and his captive, whereas album cut ‘I Feel The Weight’ lends the proceedings some much-needed, and weighty, perspective. Bangers aimed at the brain. In a nutshell: Grown-up pop for the discerning listener. Available 4 March, via iTunes, priced £7.99.
Emmy The Great – Second Love
Always one for a certain amount of introspection, Emma-Lee Moss, AKA Emmy The Great, has spent the last three years away from the spotlight, relocating from London to LA to New York, all the while recording her journey along the way. Second Love, her third album, bears the fruit of her meditations, and it’s suitably ruminative. Look out for previously released eerie chanson ‘Swimming Pool’, and new synth-laced single ‘Dance w Me’. In a nutshell: Sweet-voiced indie goes travelling. Available 11 March, via iTunes, priced £8.99.
Jeff Buckley – You and I
Blending covers and previously unreleased first tracks for Columbia Records (recorded around 1993), You and I is a boon for Buckley fans, desperate for unheard material (who isn’t?). ‘Everyday People’ is elastic and unearthly, whereas ‘I Know It’s Over’ is as lilting and ominously silvery as you’d expect a Buckley cover of The Smiths to be. Look out for the first-ever studio recording of ‘Grace’, and the never-before-released ‘Dream of You and I’. In a nutshell: Set aside some me-time for this record. You’re going to need it. Available 11 March, via iTunes, priced £8.99.
Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression
With Josh Homme on production, and a backing band comprising Queens of the Stone Age’s Dean Fertita and Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, Iggy Pop is not messing around when it comes to new album Post Pop Depression. ‘Gardenia’ is a bassy, funeral march, Iggy’s vocals as potent as ever over distinctly Homme-esque beats, and ‘Break Into Your Heart’ is a doomy, cowboy-tinged menace. In a nutshell: One for the road. Available 18 March, via iTunes, priced £7.99.
Primal Scream – Chaosmosis
Bobby Gillespie and co. seem intent on proving their enduring relevance by collaborating with whichever hot young talent is on everyone’s lips that year. In 2013, the same year they released More Light, the band took to the stage with LA wunderkinds Haim, and for Chaosmosis, their latest LP, they’ve collaborated with goddess Sky Ferreria. If the slinky, distinctly pop ‘Where The Light Gets In’ is anything to go by, it’s a new sound for the band. In a nutshell: Something to kick-start your weekend. Available 18 March, via iTunes, priced £8.99.
Zayn Malik – Mind of Mine
Yes, that Zayn Malik. He of One Direction fame; he of the Little Mix ex-beau; the ever-changing hair; the very public Twitter spat with one-time collaborator Naughty Boy. Whenever one of the pop ranks breaks free to embark on their own creative journey, all eyes are on them. Will his debut solo album be any good? Will he be 1D’s own Robbie Williams? Or will the spectre of Geri Halliwell’s ‘Look At Me’ haunt him forever more? Only time will tell. Single ‘Pillow Talk’ certainly proved he’s got pipes, and its video has already racked up a cool 160 million Youtube views. Mostly from heartbroken directioners, admittedly. Although the fact it co-stars current crush Gigi Hadid doesn’t hurt. In a nutshell: Boy band boy done good. Available 25 March, via iTunes, priced £11.99.
