CDs of the week

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Larger-than-life: Ojos de Brujo

Breakthrough: The Enemy

Mellow: The Handsome Family

Late bloomer: Ravi Coltrane

Quality: Bob Dylan

Pop

Bob Dylan
Together Through Life (Columbia)
***

Dylan's 33rd studio album comes packaged with a CD of tracks from his delightful radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour — an appropriate union given that his latest has a similar old-time feel and would fit in perfectly the next time he turns DJ. Together Through Life is characterised by a loose swing and prominent accordion. The lyrics, co-written with Robert Hunter, won't intrigue the academics but the head-nodding grooves of It's All Good and If You Ever Go to Houston will appeal to more basic instincts. Dylan sounds gruffer and less nasal than on his last one, Modern Times, approaching Tom Waits territory on My Wife's Home Town. Quality without being a classic.
David Smyth

The Enemy
Music For the People (Warner Bros)
***

For a band who have risen so quietly, The Enemy make an awesome racket. If the Coventry trio's chart-topping debut We'll Live and Die In These Towns established them as the sound of the suburbs, Music for the People reinvents them as rock gods. There are lighter-waving ballads (Last Goodbye), riff-based monsters (Elephant Song) and attempts to attract American radio (Sing When You're In Love). The whiff of greatness never quite courses through their nostrils — Nation of Checkout Girls has all the leftover appeal of a Jam B-side — but when the songs are worthy of their ambition a major breakthrough seems possible.
John Aizlewood

The Handsome Family
Honey Moon (Loose)
***

Put aside all thoughts of
rock 'n' roll rebellion and have a listen to the mellow outpourings of a couple celebrating 20 years of marriage. Brett and Rennie Sparks have been trawling through the back pages of tragedy-tinged folk/country music for around 15 years, reinventing an old sound for new ears. Brett has the kind of baritone that is often described as hickory-smoked, and the opening Linger, Let Me Linger sets the tone for an album that has nothing else in mind than to make the listener feel a warm glow. These are simple love songs but sometimes a surprise is sprung, as on The Loneliness of Magnets, which Arcade Fire might wish they had written.
Pete Clark

Jazz

Ravi Coltrane
Blending Times (Freeworld)
****

Many doubted Ravi Coltrane's wisdom in following the mighty John's path as a tenor saxophonist. How could those giant footsteps be filled? But like his father, he's a late bloomer and this impressive album, featuring pianist Luis Perdomo, drummer EJ Strickland and bassists Drew Gress or Charlie Haden, is his best yet. The pieces are short but deep, the free sections melodic, and his brisk version of Thelonius Monk's signature-tune, Epistrophy, shows a firm grasp of the jazz back-story. Guest harpist Brandee Younger underlines the influence of Ravi's late mother, the pianist, harpist and composer Alice. Substantial music.
Jack Massarik

World

Ojos de Brujo
Aocaná (Warner Bros)
****

The Barcelona-based Catalan rumba band, Ojos de Brujo, with their fizzing guitars, larger-than-life vocals and DJ scratching, have become hugely popular on the festival circuit. Good as they are live — they play the Roundhouse on Monday — they have also recorded some stunning CDs since their 2002 debut, Bari. Their third studio album, with the arresting vocals of Marina Abad and Xavi Turull, features excellent guest musicians, including Cuba's Los Van Van and pianist Roberto Carcasses. The title, Aocaná, means “now” in the Spanish Gypsy language and their songs deal with serious issues such as Aids and global warming despite the irrepressible party vibes.
Simon Broughton

 

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