Take a trip back to 1998, to the roots of the psybient movement on the classic Are You Shpongled? , the debut release from the UK electro pioneers Shpongle. Trance innovators Simon Posford and Raja Ram take trance to faraway lands, forging a new branch of the electronic family tree. From dancy beats to hypnotic flute interludes and mindbending atmospheric oddities, Are You Shpongled? will bring you on an otherworldly aural odyssey.
Prog rock fans, take heed. '70s prog darlings Pavlov's Dog are back with the wonderful Wonderlust . These new original songs are epic and grandiose, dark and melancholic, jazzy and cool. There are also moments of rock 'n' roll rambunctiousness, with lovely violins and folksy elements — see lead single "Jet Black Cadillac." This is an inventive and exciting album that'll thrill fans in the market for smart, classic, eclectic progressive rock.
Ostensibly a popstar, Spanish singer Rosalía is so much more. Her new album, Lux , is intellectual, experimental, and one-of-a-kind. Recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, arranged by Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning contemporary classical artist and composer Caroline Shaw, and with a cast of collaborators including Bjork, Yves Tumor, fado singer Carminho, flamenco singer Estrella Morente, Spanish singer/composer Sílvia Pérez Cruz, and American regional Mexican music trio Yahritza y su Esencia, you know this album's going to be special. Rosalía sings of faith and heartbreak, with lyrics in her native Spanish and Catalan, plus Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Portuguese, Sicilian, and Ukrainian. Unexpected, soaring, and stirring, this is the cinematic modern-classical-meets-experimental-pop-with-religious-undertones album of your dreams.
Self-assured and spectacular, Blizzard is the debut from Irish indie folk artist Dove Ellis. This is no understated, slow burn folk album: Dove Ellis traffics in life's big emotions and in suitably big, bold songwriting. He plays with crescendos and moments of stillness, arranges woodwinds and horns to emulate traditional Irish folk sounds, creates tension and release with explosive guitars and brisk piano. Fans of Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley, and grandiose, heartfelt songwriting will dig this one.