I came across Mind.In.A.Box a couple of years ago, with their Crossroads album, when they seemingly appeared out of nowhere. They brought a breath of fresh air to the Futurepop genre, standing out with originality that isn’t seen often on the scene.

This new album, Revelations, is the 5th studio album from Mind.In.A.Box, yet it is nearer to their 3rd album Crossroads, than their last concept album, R.E.T.R.O. As much as I enjoyed R.E.T.R.O. I preferred the cleaner vocals, sweeping soundscapes and climatic build ups of Crossroads, all of which appear on Revelations. However this is album is not just more of the same, it stands up well on its own. A definite recommendation to anyone who has enjoyed other work by Mind.In.A.Box and those discovering them a fresh.

One of my fondest memories from my youth, was riding in my parents old three door Range Rover (and later on a Land Rover Defender 90), across the Shropshire and Welsh rural landscape. In the car, we only had one tape that worked. That tape was Paul Simon’s Graceland, a seminal piece of work, that without a doubt moulded my musical tastes at an early age. When a piece of music has such a strong emotional attachment, it can be difficult to be objective and rate it compared to other works. At the same time, everything Paul Simon has done since Graceland, has been compared to it, with little deemed as good.

So with hearing Paul Simon’s latest work: So Beautiful or So What, its inevitable I’ll compare it to Graceland. Now I personally don’t think it comes close, but whether that’s because it doesn’t evoke the same fond memories or because it simply isn’t as good, is a tough call to decide. That said, this is still a great record and will be loved by any fan of Paul Simon.

You may also be interested to know this album is available in hi-res 24bit 96kHz flac format from HDtracks, which sounds top notch and a distinctive step up from Spotify Premium.

With the recent revival of the Tron story in Disney’s Tron Legacy, I’ve recently been enjoying its soundtrack by the French dance duo Daft Punk. Recently the score has been remixed with a more dance slant, as Tron Legacy: Reconfigured. It retains the same classic harmonies throughout, that tie the album together, however this work is destined for the dance floor. There’s some great groups behind the remixes, like Photek, Crystal Method, Moby, Paul Oakenfold. If you enjoyed the original soundtrack, but longed for something harder to get your juices going, this is it.

Not a particularly new disc, but one I’ve been listening to a lot after hearing about their upcoming gigs. An interesting collaborations between members of Fields of Nephilim, Faith and the Muse and All About Eve – a old school goth super group if you will. On this record, the group sound breathtaking, layer upon layer of harmonies, scale and gorgeous vocals. All fans of the female vocal led darkwave, trip-hop and alternative genres should definitely check this lot out. As mentioned, they’re playing London in June and tickets are a bargain at a mere £10!

Anna Calvi is not someone I’ve heard of before, having just appeared out of nowhere at the beginning of the year. I stumbled upon her via some hopping about on Spotify, and a very good find she is too. This is strong female rock at its best, heavily influenced by Siouxsie Sioux, PJ Harvey, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. Her whole album oozes guitar led atmosphere, dripping with seduction. I recommend you all go see her live right now, whilst she’s fresh and playing numerous smaller, intimate gigs. Definitely one to watch over the coming years, she’ll go far.

PJ Harvey is back on form with her latest album, her eighth to date. This is very much a politically inspired work, and the state of politics in the UK in particular. There is not a bad track on this disc, no filler, all very good songs. All catchy and poignant, from the horn pipe in The Glorious Land, the to the brutal imagery in The Words That Maketh Murder; “I’ve seen soldiers fall like lumps of meat… arms and legs in the trees… “. I can see PJ earning several awards for this work, highly recommended.