Staff Picks 2021

W. H. Lung - Vanities

Released 12th November 2021. “We were raring to go,” says W. H. Lung’s Tom Sharkett of the band’s...

Released 12th November 2021. “We were raring to go,” says W. H. Lung’s Tom Sharkett of the band’s desire to keep the momentum going after the huge success of their debut album. 2019’s Incidental Music - a vivacious concoction of krautrock, synth pop and infectious grooves - topped end of year lists, with the likes of Piccadilly Records, Resident and ourselves here at SK all naming it album of the year. However, it quickly became apparent that a repeat performance was of no interest to the ban...

Snail Mail - Valentine

Released 5th November 2021. On her 2018 debut album Lush, seventeen-year-old Lindsey Jordan sang ...

Released 5th November 2021. On her 2018 debut album Lush, seventeen-year-old Lindsey Jordan sang “I’min full control / I’m not lost / Even when it’s love / Even when it’s not”. Her naturalability to be many things at once resonated with a lot of people. The contradiction ofconfidence and vulnerability, power and delicacy, had the impact of a wrecking ballwhen put to tape. It was an impressive and unequivocal career-making moment forJordan.  On Valentine, her sophomore album out November 5th o...

Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki

Released 26th November 2021. Henki is the epic joint record from Richard Dawson, the diminutive G...

Released 26th November 2021. Henki is the epic joint record from Richard Dawson, the diminutive Geordie troubadour, and Circle, the genre-straddling pioneers of The New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal. Unlike any metal album you have heard before, Henki’s seven tracks deal with special plants throughout history, making it the greatest flora-themed hypno-folk-metal record you’ll hear this year.

Portico Quartet - Terrain

Released 28th May 2021. Portico Quartet announce Terrain, a three-part suite drawing on American ...

Released 28th May 2021. Portico Quartet announce Terrain, a three-part suite drawing on American minimalism and ambient music alongside their own rich heritage as they explore new musical vistas When Duncan Bellamy and Jack Wyllie – the driving force behind Portico Quartet got together in their East London studio in May 2020 and started work on the music that would become their new album, the world, or most of it, was in the midst of the first lockdown. The unique impact of the events of 2020...

BADBADNOTGOOD - Talk Memory

Released 8th October 2021. Memory Catalogue issues 1-3 to give away with purchases of the album....

Released 8th October 2021. Memory Catalogue issues 1-3 to give away with purchases of the album. SK says: 'A first album from BBNG without founder member Matthew Tavares finds them moving away from the instrumental hip-hop sound of their earlier work to a European-flavoured jazz, blending ECM saxes and Portico Quartet textures. Closing track 'Talk Meaning' is a spiritual jazz epic propelled by string charts from the great Arthur Verocai.' BADBADNOTGOOD return with their highly anticipated ne...

The Weather Station - Ignorance

Released 5th February 2021. Tamara Lindeman's fifth outing as The Weather Station see the Canadia...

Released 5th February 2021. Tamara Lindeman's fifth outing as The Weather Station see the Canadian singer reconfigure her folk-influenced sound into sleek art-pop on an album which addresses 'climate grief' with a jazzy theatricality and instant hooks. "Shades of Talk Talk and Sensual World-era Kate Bush glimmer through Tamara Lindeman's comeback, which reinvents the Canadian folk-rock outfit as art-pop aesthetes with a sharply surreal line in political commentary." - The Guardian “sophistica...

Mild High Club - Going Going Gone

Released 17th September 2021. Mild High Club makes a long-awaited comeback with Going Going Gone,...

Released 17th September 2021. Mild High Club makes a long-awaited comeback with Going Going Gone, the band’s first solo album since 2016’s cult favourite Skiptracing. An album that speaks directly to the times we live in, Going Going Gone sees Mild High Club blending the psychedelic pop of earlier albums Skiptracing and Timeline with influences from around the world, especially Brazilian avant-garde music from the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Molly Burch - Romantic Images

Released 23rd July 2021. Romantic Images, Molly Burch’s third album, marks a distinct evolution f...

Released 23rd July 2021. Romantic Images, Molly Burch’s third album, marks a distinct evolution for Burch, both emotionally and sonically. Recorded in Denver with Tennis’ Alaina Moore and Pat Riley producing, the collection celebrates the timeless delights of a well-crafted pop song, flirting with Blondie, Madonna, and even Mariah Carey as it forges a joyful soundtrack to liberation and self-discovery.Burch deliberately worked with more women collaborators than ever before on the album, and t...