Long Distance
Ivy

Ahh, the "difficult third album", the pothole that has sunk the likes of Hooverphonic and Morcheeba recently, both of whom fell prey to a slick professionalism that drowned the quirky charm of their earlier work. Unfortunately it seems that Ivy have driven their shiny sportscar straight into this hole and are up to their necks in lukewarm water. They get off to a great start with the rich and dramatic 'Undertow' but a lot of what follows is so polished that the edges of their usually sparkling Capri-pants pop sound have been worn off and it all gets a bit too suave for it's own good. Not that I'm against a little suaveness you understand, in many ways this is a perfectly fine pop record – it has tunes aplenty and the sound of Dominique Durand's sexy Franglais voice makes it worth spending your pocket money all on its own – but I don’t think I’ll be clutching this to my bosom in adoration the way I did their previous album. [Official Site]

Club 8
Club 8

If Abba were the Ikea of Swedish pop – bright, cheap and easy to assemble – then Club 8 must be some groovy little store in Stockholm selling beautiful knick-knacks and housewares crafted by the finest designers and artisans. Their graceful and gorgeous Europop sounds as crisp and clean as fresh white snow with a pastoral melancholy that is almost Kierkergaardian (well sort of, I just wanted to use the word “Kierkergaardian” in this review). Vocalist Karolina Komstedt has a lovely natural-blonde voice that rarely rises above a whisper as if she was sitting in a dark room having a furtive telephone conversation and, like some pop Greta Garbo, she just wants to be alone. As they say in the designer glossies: Classic but modern, simple yet refined. [Hidden Agenda]
Deeper
Various Artists

What makes the dance music compilations put out by Hed Kandi records so desirable – apart from the sexy packaging – is that the tunes aren't mixed together, call me old-fashioned (go on) but personally I couldn't give a toss about some celebrity DJ's mixing skills, I want the best new dance music delivered exactly as nature intended with no mucking about and that's just what Hed Kandi give you. Their latest collection finds them packing up their espadrilles for an excursion across a stormy ocean of some darkly soulful Deep House before dropping anchor in more trippy Progressive House waters. As is usual with Hed Kandi this is a trip that's First Class all the way with well-appointed tunes from the likes of MJ Cole, The Rurals, Lisa Shaw and Deep Dish, by the end you'll feel like you've taken a long soak in a warm bath of House heaven while some dusky maiden rubs coconut oil over your sunburnt flesh. Deeply fabulous. [Hed Kandi.com]

Under Your Sky
The Underwolves

Starting life as a drum & bass act, Underwolves spread their musical wings by inviting some outside collaborators to join their gang (or is it called a posse these days?) and help create an album that serves up a whole record store of modern urban sounds with drum & bass, soul, acid jazz, reggae, and hip-hop all blending together into a mostly satisfying whole. The downtempo tracks are the real treat with a laid back soulful smoothness highlighted by the rich coffee and cream vocals of Madeleine Edgehill and Jeb Loy Nichols. They overcook things a bit on the dancier stuff, especially 'Prema Redator' which is a drum & bass epic of Cecil B. DeMille proportions with orchestra, sitars and African chanting, but overall this is a fresh and multi-coloured streetsoul record with the easy vibe of an afternoon in the sun drinking cold cans of Red Stripe.

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