The Black Keys: “El Camino”

Fame has indeed changed Ohio’s most famous bluesy duo, not necessarily for the worst.

Back in the days, you couldn’t find anything but voice, guitar and drums on a Black Keys record. These times are no longer : the bluesiest duo around has changed its game. Of course they can still whip up a dirty blues (‘Lonely Boy’), but it’s not “El Camino’s” main attraction. This is about soulful keyboards (‘Gold On The Ceiling’) and making sure you’ll get their songs stuck in your head forever (‘Run Right Back’). This is, in fact, the best and most contemporary Black music record two white boys have ever made, which is something The Clash used to do pretty well. And they were four.

Florence + The Machine: “Ceremonials”

Variety and quality with a tremendous sense of value: Florence + The Machine are back.

There’s nothing wrong with having a thing for 20 tracks-long records filled with diva pop and a sense for grandiloquence. Knowing that, you’ll have no shame digging through “Ceremonial”. It is lenghty for sure, and yet it manages not to get boring : what makes it work isn’t just Florence’s large registry of vocal performances, it is the keen sense of dynamism and variation the band puts in every song. You’ve got the Aretha Franklin vibe on ‘Lover To Lover’ and just one track later, you feel like Arcade Fire’s just gone another step further with ‘No Light, No Light’. Despite a few understandable let-downs here and there, the whole experience is indeed enthralling.

Portugal. The Man: “In The Montain In The Cloud”

The peak of literate and addictive pshychedelic pop comes from Wasilla, Alaska.

It’s a funny thing to call your band Portugal. The Man, and to come from Alaska. Or maybe I’m the only one seeing the fun in that. It doesn’t translate into any sort of hispanic vibe anyway, at least not in this “In The Mountain In The Cloud”: everything here is as international as it can be. Take lead singer John Baldwin Gourley’s voice. It’s a perfect blend of Bon Iver (‘Share With Me The Sun’), Marc Bolan (‘Floating [Time Isn’t Working My Side]’) and David Bovie’s (‘Senseless’), and it serves a musical blend taking from even more influences. The result is a refreshing and endearing psyche pop frenzy with soul, electro and glam rock accents.

Noel Gallagher’s “High Flying Birds”

Ex-Oasis songwriter and 90s Britpop hero returns, with influences unchanged

Noel Gallagher once was the songwriter who best addressed Britain’s youth with his evocative lyrics and fresh guitar skills. He’s been that during Oasis’ first two records at least. 20 years after his early fame, he is famously recording solo. His “High Flying Birds” haven’t got much surprise in them : think of a heavy dose of the Beatles’ influence with an Oasis twist, and something of a plastic pop polish not unlike Carl Barât’s thing with Dirty Pretty Things. It has its highs (‘The Death of You and Me’) and its lows (‘Stop The Clocks’) but for those in need of good, wordy pop with strumming guitars and echoing lyrics, Gallagher has crafted an appropriate shot of nostalgia.

Gary Clark Jr.: Bright Lights EP

“The (Black) Saviour of Blues” comes for Texas, and he knows his classics.

There’s nothing new about Gary Clark Jr. since his latest release. “The Bright Lights EP” only has one track you couldn’t find on the 2010 self-titled debut (the excellent ‘When My Train Pulls In’). The rest are remasters or live versions of past songs. Still, there is a little treasure sealed in these four tracks, crafted by a 27 years old Texas Bluesman, a 21st century guy whose best friend is a guitar. This isn’t 20 minutes straight of John Lee Hooker wannabe. Clark’s influences draw on Marvin Gaye, Hendrix or even on the pop-er side of Mayer’s take on the Blues. It is truly captivating and just like he sings on ‘Bright Lights’, you’ll remember his name…

The Horrors: Skying

Misfits turned idols, the post-punk sensation from England returns. Now with added disco.

The Horrors receive so much lusty attention from the British press, it’s almost too much. But such is their life since “Primary Colours”, their 2009 record, revealed them as a highly knowledgeable and musically crafty band. “Skying” builds up on their dark, intricate post-punk in some ways – guitars still as noisy as you’d expect (hypnotising on ‘Endless Blue’), a step forward into shoegazing even, but there is a little bit less “dark” and a little more disco-pop. Think Primal Scream meets MBV. Or Joy Division meets Pulp. You’ve just stepped into the weirdest disco, they are playing ‘Moving Further Away’, and you might be strangely enjoying it.

Incubus: If Not Now, When?

One-time rockers return with a harmless pop record, aim for sons-in-law of the year award

Incubus once dabbled with Metal and Hard Rock, and yet… The opening eponymous track ‘If Not Now, When?’ lets you think you’ve stumbled upon a new Death Cab for Cuties EP. Cue fragile power-pop with a main focus on the singer’s vocal talents, and little more. It is tremendously American, not in an Americana way, but with that College Radio pop kind of inspiration. It is filled with would-be edgy songs, speaking to the rebel inside of you with easy-to-catch choruses (‘Thieves’, ‘Defiance’), but bereft of a single threatening moment (except maybe ‘Switchblade’, but that chorus is awful). In short, this is as feeble and dull as it gets.

The Black Lips: Arabia Mountain

Unruly, provocative and quite productive, the Black Lips enjoy making music and they do it well

Sounding like a joyous lo-fi crossover between the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Hives and the Kinks hardly hurt anyone. The Black Lips therefore enjoy a rather pleasant pool of influences, skillfully oscillating between fist-pumping punk-pop (‘Modern Art’) and hypnotic psyche-punk (‘Mr Driver’). As you might have guessed, the idea is that punk is always somewhere to be found in their little musical cuisine but isn’t strong enough to be just that. Does it work though? Mostly, yes. It is euphoric enough for anyone to enjoy, and this multicultural homage has such glorious moments (as in ‘Time’) it can’t really be seen as a failure.

The Leisure Society: Into The Murky Waters

British opera-pop band’s second doesn’t quite have its predecessor’s charisma.

The Leisure Society’s universe is built on rich melodies and inspiring lyrics. It makes one travel through soundscapes of melancholy or puts them in a state of sheer relaxation: you only need to be receptive to what you’d call British opera-pop, or the result of The National suddenly making music for Soho musicals. “Into The Murky Water” has the same diverse riches, from country-inspired ballads (‘Better Written Off (Than Written Down)’) to standard pop songs (‘Dust On The Dancefloor’) and remains very pleasant, with its trademark autumnal melancholy. Still, frontman Nick Hemming’s continuous verbose lessens the impact of an otherwise promising record.

Tedeschi Trucks Band: Revelator

Unsurprising but tremendously good record from Blues’ most talented couple.

When Derek Trucks, one of the most critically acclaimed guitarists of the last 20 years, married the unchallenged blues goddess Susan Tedeschi in 2001, things looked promising. After some remarked live performances spread over the past 10 years, they have finally focused on recording together. “Revelator” is therefore the Tedeschi Trucks Band debut, and is exactly what you’d expect from such a collaboration. Trucks’ mastery of various guitar styles and Tedeschi’s superb voice have made it an inspired masterpiece, from slow-burning soulful ballads (‘Until Your Remember’) to funky numbers (‘Love Has Something Else to Say’). It might be this year’s best Blues record.