This week's hand-picked preorders

Before Johnny Jewel became famous for his soundtrack work (see Lost River, A Beautiful Now) he was a member of Chromatics. Night Drive was their third album and the on which transformed them from DIY noise rockers to sleek '80s influenced synth soundtrackers keen on Italo disco and leading to tracks from the album appearing on all manner of films and TV shows.  

In calling out Morrissey for racism waaay before it become blindingly obvious he had some pretty unsavoury views, being a multi-ethnic indie band in the white boy dominated '90s, having an actual number one hit with Brimful of Asha, Cornershop have already done it all. Yet 30 years after forming, they still have a commitment to the cause with the release of their ninth studio album England is a Garden. Expect the usual splicing of styles including disco, funk, Indian raga and glam rock. 

If you know ambient music then you'll know Eluvium. Matthew Cooper's project has long been known for its use of electronic minimalism and stark piano-based compositions. Here the artist soundtracks a temporary move into his garage studio which gave him a total different perspective being closer to nature and away from the gadgets of the modern world.  

Human Impact are a band made up from members of Swans, Cop Shoot Cop, Xiu Xiu and Unsane. As you can imagine from that mix of musicians their eponymous debut contains some gritty, post-industrial rock and punk. Whilst the band draw on the artistic successes of their past, they also give a new spin on it with their widescreen sonic assault.

Now apparently feeling 100 years old although he’s only 37, Manchester singer / songwriter Jim Noir releases his first album in 5 years, A.M. Jazz. You may remember Jim, real name Alan Roberts, from his success in the late ‘00s with The Beatles sampling song My Patch, other catchy Beatles-esque pop and for wearing a bowler hat. He’s chucked away the hat now and replaced it with a pair of slippers. You can judge the affect this has on his music by clicking 'add to cart'.

Johnny Jewel is a member of Chromatics and owns the record label Italians Do It Better. Vapor is his fourth solo album and was released in 2018. It is a collection of instrumentals that when strung together as they create a soundtrack for a post-apocalyptic world of barren landscapes and smoky skies.

Jon Hassell is best known for his collaborations with non Western music and traditional African acts in a form of music he called Fourth World. On this his 1987 album Flash of the Spirit he records with Farafina - a percussion voice and dance collective. It was recorded by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois and this is its first ever vinyl remaster.  

French ‘60s influenced indie-pop three-piece Juniore have been described as a cross between Cat Power and Françoise Hardy. Un Deux Trois is the band’s second album. It follows their highly regarded 2017 debut, Ouh là là. The band are led by Anna Jean whose dad just happens to be Nobel Prize winning author, J. M. G. Le Clézio.

Norwegian band Kvelertak have signed with Rise Records for their fourth album, Splid, which translates to Discord in English. The band run the gamut of guitar music from good ol’ rock and roll to black metal via punk rock. Let’s just say hey like to make a racket. The new album explores how stupid and greedy the human race have been and wonders where it will all end. Recorded with Kurt Ballou in Massachusetts. 

Bait is a new film directed by Mark Jenkin about two brothers, one who works hard as a fisherman, and one who uses his father’s old fishing boat to make money from tourists. This causes a rift in the family with progression challenging tradition. Jenkin also composed the score from drones that wasn’t originally intended to be the film’s soundtrack, but he realised it went with it rather well as they matched the movement of the sea.

Just in case it hadn’t clicked, of course Mythic Sunship are a psych-rock band. They play fuzzed-out psych with songs that are as long as the distance between here and their hometown of Copenhagen. On their last album they found themselves in the world of spacerock-meets-free jazz - an undoubtedly difficult place in which to win new fans, but they’ve stuck to their guns and continued in the same vein for their latest LP Changing Shapes. I suggest you climb aboard the Mythic Sunship and enjoy the ride.