For all the great albums that grab the music media spotlight, there’s many more that slip by the warm glow of recognition. It’s not always for lack of quality either, given the huge array of ways we listen to music these days, both online and off, as well as the speed at which we all consume, it’s little wonder that many great releases slip through the cracks. So much music, so little time.

But here’s the chance to take a little pause for breath and reflect at the month that’s been, picking over the best releases that may have missed the love they deserve when first landing. Maybe they were overshadowed by a major label blockbuster, unnecessarily overlooked or misunderstood, perhaps suffered a case of bad timing. No matter the reason for them slipping under the radar, we’ve switched on our musical sonar to help you discover and explore a raft of releases you may well have missed the first time round.

Jamie T – Carry On The Grudge (EMI/ Virgin)


It’s been five very long years since Jamie Treays, more formally known as Jamie T, released his sophomore record Kings & Queens. After substantial touring, Treays took a well-earned break from the public eye. However, nobody, not even he, had any idea that it would be a half-decade sabbatical.

Carry On The Grudge sees the now 28-year-old Treays dip into a more accessible pop sound through gems like the happy-go-lucky ‘Zombie’ and the brooding ‘Don’t You Find’ whilst ‘Trouble’ and ‘Peter’ still pertain to the original rap-drawl Jamie T fans fell for way back in 2007.

It may seem a little repetitive to note of the five year gap between records, however in this time Treays has grown and matured, and so too has his sound. Best demonstrated on closing tracks ‘Love Is Only A Heartbeat Away’, ‘Murder Of Crows’ and ‘They Told Me It Rained’, the south-Londoner ends his third record on a more morose sentiment, slowing the tempo and introducing string arrangements that leave the listener so damn grateful that Jamie took time to explore new depths of his craft. (Joe Harris)

Jhené Aiko – Souled Out (ARTium / Def Jam)


Whatever PBR&B means, on Jhené Aiko’s long-awaited debut, it means quality tunes that meet right at that bass-happy juncture where R&B, hip-hop, dance music, downbeat, and avant-garde converge. This album comes at you with more than just the tick of approval from No I.D. and, perhaps even more importantly to her growing fan base, Childish Gambino. Bearing more sonic scope than Frank Ocean and a voice that will leave you asking, ‘Weeknd who?’ Souled Out is exciting and refreshing for what it is as much as what it could mean for the young singer’s career.

Though a concept album about heartbreak sounds like a maudlin prospect, tracks like ‘To Love & Die’, which features a defiant interpolation of a 50 Cent classic, and the uplifting ‘W.A.Y.S.’, on which Aiko coos over a sparse, slickly produced beat, ensure the album is consistently engaging, occasionally insightful, and prime for repeat listens. (Greg Moskovitch)

ODESZA – In Return (Inertia/ POD)


This Seattle duo developed a following for their DJ sets, but that following expanded once they began sharing those sets online. Each was a smoothly flowing master class in track selection which helped modern day electronic fans better understand what old-school ravers meant when they talked about a DJ’s “sound”.

Much like their mixes, ODESZA’s debut studio album is marked by hypnotic, hip-hop style beats, and a unique sonic palette that’s indebted as much to Boards of Canada as it is to the early Balearic house DJs who made Ibiza synonymous with electronic music.

But Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight manage to take things a step further on In Return, which proudly drifts leftfield of most modern electronic efforts by eschewing hooks and at times even melodies in favour of tones and grooves. It makes In Return a rewarding listen that’s sure to soundtrack plenty of rainy weekend mornings for the duo’s fans. (GM)

Busdriver – Perfect Hair (Big Dada/ Inertia)


If “alternative hip-hop” means hip-hop that apologises for the excesses of mainstream hip-hop, then Busdriver’s Perfect Hair is in a genre of its own.

Giddily brimming with its own excesses, Regan Farquhar has created the aural equivalent of an Adult Swim cartoon. Armed with an arsenal of quirky beats that sound tailor-made for a voice and cadence as larger-than-life as Farquhar’s, Perfect Hair is virtually overflowing with obscure, creative lyricism, tongue-in-cheek punchlines, and even the occasional hook.

With appearances from such venerable cult peers as Aesop Rock, Open Mike Eagle, and Danny Brown, who continues to distinguish himself as one of the most intelligent rappers in the game, this is an album that may not go down with the ever-coveted “classic” certification, but it’s certainly a highly entertaining listen. (GM)

GOAT – Commune (Sub Pop Records)

On their sophomore record Commune , Swedish group GOAT comfortably cement themselves as one of the premier experimental-psychedelic outfits in the scene as they further push the boundaries of modern music.

Akin to their debut effort World Music , Commune is a record that is enjoyed best when spun cover to cover, and perhaps not understood if opting to cherry-pick tracks at random.

Like peering through a kaleidoscope doused in LSD, the 38-minute release is riddled with tribal beats, scorching guitar work, jungle flutes and sporadic vocal howls to create an ambitious, daring record that when described sounds very niche, however when listened to is surprisingly beautiful and devilishly addictive. (JH)

Tricky – Adrian Thaws (False Idols)


As phantasmagorical as anything that came before it, but with a new focus on squeaky clean production and filled with bouncy tracks like ‘Sun Down’, you can tell the titular Adrian Thaws, known to the crate-digging masses as Tricky, wasn’t just havin’ a laugh when he said that this would be his club slash hip-hop album. Naturally, it’s not a club album the way most would think of one – there’s no trumpety synth leads or guest spots from Ellie Goulding – but it’s everything you’d expect a club album by Tricky to sound like.

A critical record as untouchable as Tricky’s, it’s safe to say many might (and do) think of this one as the trip hop icon’s first slip-up, but Adrian Thaws is a potion that demands to be sipped slowly and repeatedly. Drafting in his usual influences with the mix of club-ready beats, this album is a slinky and accomplished addition to the Tricky discography. (GM)

Witch Mountain – Mobile of Angels (Profound Lore Records)


Though it’s Pallbearer who’ve been hailed as this year’s saviours of metal (handily securing the title previously held by Deafheaven) for the cross-genre appeal and sheer quality of their sophomore effort, Foundations of Burden, the latest full-length trudge from Portland’s Witch Mountain, Mobile of Angels, succeeds precisely because it makes little, if any, effort to appeal to anyone besides people who would already appreciate Witch Mountain’s blend of Sabbathian sludge riffs, epic doomscapes, and soaring, Olympian vocals.

In a genre that appreciates bands more for their individual sound than their ongoing evolution and exploration of novel musical ideas, Witch Mountain are models of sticktoitiveness and that’s part of what makes their latest tome so refreshing. Tracks like ‘Psycho Animundi’, a churning guitar stupor, and ‘Your Corrupt Ways (Sour The Hymn)’, with its creeping rhythms and shadowy vocals, are heavy and infectious. Best of all, just like a good genre film, Mobile of Angels makes no apologies for being quintessential doom metal. (GM) 

July Talk – July Talk (EMI)


July Talk are a gritty blues/rock’n’roll meets silky pop five-piece that hail from Toronto whose self-titled record finally hit Aussie shelves September of this year. Let us warn you: if you’re yet to spin this album, be prepared, their sound is like nothing you’ve ever heard before.

One half of July Talk is reminiscent of the sugar-sweet indie rock sounds of fellow Canadian outfit, Metric, whilst the darker sonics and growling vocals lay in the murky ground of blues-experimental king of kings, Tom Waits. Could never work, right? Wrong!

From the rumbling rockabilly rhythm of opening track ‘The Garden’ to the slow-burning lead single ‘Guns + Ammunition’ to the climactic ‘Don’t Call Home’ and high octane ‘Someone’, this debut release witnesses an intelligent back and forth between such disparate vocal stylings that somehow comes together to create 36-minutes of rockin’ glory. (JH)

Motionless In White – Reincarnate (Unified/ Fearless Records)


On the surface, Reincarnate, Pennsylvanians Motionless In White’s third full-length effort, is overwrought and at times downright saccharine, which is actually pretty surprising for a band whose colour palette rarely drifts outside of various shades of black. But under the requisite facade, Reincarnate is replete with infectious riffs, deftly executed vocals clean, growled, and screamed alike, and is also the latest instalment in the rapidly expanding genre of what we’ll for all intents and purposes call industrial metalcore.

Furthermore, the Scranton natives’ latest dispatch is refreshing in the way it unapologetically tries to corral heavy music fans of all stripes and unite them under one motionless banner. Reincarnate has something for fans of Marilyn Manson, Bring Me The Horizon, and Cradle of Filth alike, with just enough of the band’s own personality to ensure the album doesn’t just sound like another forgettable teen bedroom soundtrack. (GM)

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