ALBUM REVIEW

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: LUX by Rosalía (November 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Tracklist: Sexo, Violencia y Llantas; Reliquia; Divinize; Porcelana; Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti; Berghain; La Perla; Mudo Nuevo; De Madruga; Dios Es Un Stalker; La Yugular; Sauvignon Blanc; La Rumba Del Perdon; Memoria; Magnolias

Music is the original international tongue and Rosalía’s use here of 13 languages appears to be an attempt to maximise its appeal.

  • Read on for reasons including how the need for repeat listening is required to appreciate the ambition, breadth of ideas and astonishing realisation of them here
Read More

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: There’s Always More That I Could Say by Sigrid (week beginning Saturday 8 November 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

TRACKLIST: I’ll Always Be Your Girl; Jellyfish; Do It Again; Kiss The Sky; Two Years; Hush Baby, Hurry Slowly; Fort Knox; There’s Always More That I Could Say; Have You Heard This Song Before?; Eternal Sunshine

Sigrid muses on change, friendship, keeping it all in and experimentation on her 3rd and most musically adventurous album which entered the UK chart at 12 this week, her 1st not to make the top 5.

  • Read on for reasons including how Sigrid’s lyrics are at their most interesting, her performance is front and centre and the pop songs show more musical depth
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Rainy Sunday Afternoon by The Divine Comedy (October 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Achilles; The Last Time I Saw The Old Man; The Man Who Turned Into A Chair; I Want You; Rainy Sunday Afternoon; All The Pretty Lights; Down The Rabbit Hole; Mar-a-Lago By The Sea; The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter; Can’t Let Go; Invisible Thread

The loss of a parent is a universal experience but not 1 which pop music usually troubles itself with.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see the band on tour in the UK and in Europe 2025/6
Read More

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Perimenopop by Sophie Ellis Bextor (week beginning Tuesday 16 September 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Relentless Love; Vertigo; Taste; Stay On Me; Dolce Vita; Time; Glamorous; Freedom Of The Night; Layers; Diamond In The Dark; Heart Sing; Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone

Welcome to Ellis Bextor’s 8th studio album and 1st since Murder On The Dancefloor became an international hit for the 2nd time after its memorable inclusion in Emerald Fennell’s film Saltburn.

  • Read on for reasons including how Only Murders In The Building star Selena Gomez features
Read More

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: International by Saint Etienne (week beginning Tuesday 9 September 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Glad; Dancing Heart; The Go Betweens; Sweet Melodies; Save It For A Rainy Day; Fade; Brand New Me; Take Me To The Pilot; Two Lovers; Why Are You Calling; He’s Gone; The Last Time

What do Haircut 100’s Nick Heyward, Yazoo’s Vince Clarke, Xenomania’s Tim Powell, Erol Alkan, Chemical Brothers and Orbital have in common?

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the final Saint Etienne album
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Antidepressants by Suede (September 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

TRACKLIST: Disintegrate; Dancing With The Europeans; Antidepressants; Sweet Kid; The Sound And The Summer; Somewhere Between An Atom And A Star; Broken Music For Broken People; Criminal Ways; Trance State; June Rain; Life Is Endless, Life Is A Moment

The 2nd in the black and white trilogy rather than the ballet album that the best band in the world currently had planned.

  • Read on for reasons including how ‘broken’ people will save the world
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Little Dreaming by Cian Ducrot (August 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: It’s Cian Bitch; Who’s Making You Feel It?; Little Dreaming; Unfair; What About Love?; Shalalala; Rock Bottom; Kiss And Tell; The Book Of Love; Hallelujah; Break My Heart; No Way To Live; God Only Knows; My Best Friend; Your Eyes; See It To Believe It

Authenticity is the key to Ducrot’s success and while we’ve enjoyed the radio friendliness of the singles released ahead of this 2nd album it’s the rawness of the emotion exposed within this long player that continues to fascinate us about his work.

  • Read on for reasons including the part Hurts frontman Theo Hutchcraft played in creating this album
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Virgin by Lorde (July 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Hammer; What Was That?; Shapeshifter; Man Of The Year; Favourite Daughter; Current Affairs; Clearblue; GRWM; Broken Glass; If She Could See Me …; David

Lorde debuted this new album in its entirety – in tracklist order – on the Woodsies stage as a surprise opening to this year’s Glastonbury Festival and that confidence is reflected in the material.

  • Read on for reasons including why Virgin represents a right turn towards a welcome songwriting maturity and honesty
Read More

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Princess Of Power by Marina (week beginning Tuesday 10 June 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

Tracklist: Princess Of Power; Butterfly; Cuntissimo; Rollercoaster; Cupid’s Girl; Metallic Stallion; Je Ne Sais Quoi; Digital Fantasy; Everybody Knows I’m Sad; Hello Kitty; I >3 You; Adult Girl; Final Boss

How To Be A Heartbreaker is 1 of Marina’s (formerly of And The Diamonds fame) best known hits and now she appears to have come full circle and released a break-up album.

  • Read on for reasons including how there’s plenty of the camp melodrama here that made Marina so popular with a gay audience
Read More

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: More by Pulp (June 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Spike Island; Tina; Grown Ups; Slow Jam; Farmers Market; My Sex; Got To Have Love; Background Noise; Partial Eclipse; The Hymn Of The North; A Sunset

30 years ago we watched Pulp headline Glastonbury and never dreamed that 28 years later at their Eventim Apollo gig we’d be yearning for new material from them.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see them on tour this year including The 02
Read More