Artiste: FKA Twigs

Album: Eusexua

Rating: ****

FKA Twigs dabbles in many spaces — singing, songwriting, acting, directing and, of course, dancing. It has allowed her to make Eusexua an album in the conventional sense of the term. It is a danceable record that slides into high-quality electronic production with an experiential element.

For her, Eusexua is a concept that celebrates the dance floor (On the dance floor/ Demigods/ In unconscious flow form/ Wanting what they want more, she sings on Room of Fools) while on the other end of the spectrum, she says the album can be the feeling just before an orgasm (When a girl feels good, it makes the world go ’round/ When the night feels young, you know she feels pretty, she sings on Girl Feels Good).

It is an album that Madonna or Kate Bush would take pride in. Perfect Stranger throws in trip-hop and intelligent dance music into a mix of drum and bass. She pushes the musical experiment on Keep It, Hold It, which offers explicit advice on how to get through hard things.

Her fragile voice merges with the innovative beats from producer Koreless. Room of Fools was reportedly written in the bathroom of a club and Koreless wrote Drums of Death on the way to play a set at the Berghain. The tracks capture the club spirit.

Perhaps the title track perfectly highlights the foundation of the album: Words cannot describe, baby/ This feeling deep inside. Despite all the bangers on Eusexua, the shapeshifter we saw on 2019’s Magdalene plays hide-and-seek here. The movement between techno and house, garage and drum and bass are recognisable. But that shouldn’t stop you from streaming the album.

Artiste: Sam Fender

Album: People Watching

Rating: *****

Think of a young Bruce Springsteen and then listen to Sam Fender. The 30-year-old’s third album is packed with anthemic beats, motorway emotions and howling choruses. Dubbed the Geordie Springsteen, his music celebrates the working class and offers evocative storytelling.

The title track is injected with Springsteen-isms — Seventeen Going Under: Back in the Gasworks, screamin’ the song/ Just the beauty of youth would quell my aching heart.

To a grooving electric guitar on Crumbling Empire, the singer remembers how the system has failed his family: My old man worked on the rail yard/ Getting his trade on the electrical board/ It got privatised, the work degraded. At the same time, he says — on Something Heavy — that pain is everywhere and not just in his town: So many good people falling victim to the dog/ So call me if you’re down, I’ll help you come around/ The kettle on a rolling boil until it’s sorted out.

The relevance of Crumbling Empire cannot be overstated. It’s inspired by the poverty he saw on tour in the US, reminding him of Thatcherism in North Shields: I’m not preaching, I’m just talking/ I don’t wear the shoes I used to walk in/ But I can’t help thinking where they’d take me/ In this crumbling empire.

Memories flood his mind by the time the album closes out with Remember My Name, a tribute to his late grandparents. He sings from the perspective of his grandfather who looked after his grandmother when she suffered from dementia. Crisp lyrics held up by emotions and a memorable vocal style make this one of the must-listen albums of the year so far.

Artistes: Gerry Mulligan and Thelonious Monk

Album: Mulligan Meets Monk

Rating: *****

The remastered album (originally released in 1957) makes for joyous listening this weekend. It was the third edition of a series of collaborations between baritone sax man Gerry Mulligan and jazz giants — previous collaborators were Stan Getz and Paul Desmond. On this album, he collaborated with legendary pianist Thelonious Monk (as well as bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Shadow Wilson).

Round Midnight will put you in a mellow mood and Straight, No Chaser seems custom-made for the baritone sax. The remastered edition features clear audio and several alternate takes.

The musicians were headliners in their own right, going on to release several records as solo artistes and in various group incarnations. The album showcases the degree of ease the two enjoyed when sharing the spotlight. Monk died in 1982 and will be remembered as a jazz great and Mulligan (best known for his work with Miles Davis on Birth of the Cool and later a quartet with Chet Baker) continued performing and writing until his death in 1996.

Artiste: Sly & The Family Stone

Album: Sly Lives! (OST)

Rating: *****

The soundtrack of Sly Lives! — a 2025 American documentary film directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson — captures the career and legacy of Sly and the Family Stone.

At his peak, Sylvester Stewart or Sly Stone burned bright and fast and the songs kept coming from Sly and the Family Stone in the late 1960s and early 1970s. On the personal front, his troubles hit his career badly, as he battled drug addiction, leading to family feuds.

But their music was enjoyed by the Black audience as much as the white audience. The band could conjure up an image of a family, like on Dance to the Music, or deliver rousing anthems, take the example of Stand! The soundtrack is a good way for young folks to discover the legend. Tracks like Hot Fun in the Summertime and Runnin’ Away are classics. Of course, I urge you to watch the documentary and not just stream the OST.