Gloomy Scottish indy rock, dancefloor bangers & Japanese post rock

I'll start with one that I missed last week, just because it was not on the list of releases I work from, but I ended up listening to it most last week, Pour It On, by New Build - electropop from the band that consists of two from Hot Chip, and one from LCD Soundsystem (although one of them was in both bands) so of course, I'm going to like this. This one's a classic case of let it settle in for a bit, it needs a few listens, and you'll find a great album to work/study/run/clean kitchens to, and whatever it is you're doing will be a bit more fun.  The NME gave this album 3/10, so they're obviously dicks.

Remember when Prince released two albums in one week, well it's now a thing. Japanese post rockers, Mono have two new albums out today; The Last Dawn & Rays of Darkness - I'm not sure if there's a difference in style between the two, but you'll probably get lots of soft melodic beginnings, big apocalyptic middles, and either abrupt ends or gentle fade outs. Both will be worth listening to on your best sound equipment. Ideal music for driving through a misty Glencoe and destined to be incidental music in Scandinavian thrillers and David Attenborough documentaries. Personally, I love this stuff.

Then there was The Twilight Sad - Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave. Have you ever heard a more gloomy album name, by a more gloomy sounding band? Jeez - cheer up guys, your music is great, and life's not that bad! Think The National with broad Scottish accents and you'll be there. If you like the sound of that, listen to their first album too, Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters (another gloomy title), it's a genuine all-time great.

All albums to get lost in this week, if that's not your thing there's always Taylor Swift's new album, 1989.