Given Les Claypool’s near ubiquity with his various solo and side projects during the last decade, it’s easy to forget that there hasn’t been an “official” full-length from Primus since 1999’s Antipop. Claypool is so relentlessly front-and-center on Green Naugahyde that for the first third of the album, guitarist Larry...

From Altern-8 to SBTRKT, it is unclear why so many purveyors of electronica are attracted to masks and enigmatic aliases. Perhaps it’s a hangover from the days when being able to play ‘real’ instruments was a mark of pride, whereas playing synths was somehow shameful. New Yorker Chris Glover...

From a remarkably youthful beginning, Will Holland has been startlingly omnivorous in his musical tastes. Operating as Quantic, his talents as a producer, multi-instrumentalist, tunesmith and all-round maven have produced a hugely impressive body of work. Now, after a decade’s output for the Tru Thoughts label, it’s time to...

Right at the start of Black and White America, Lenny Kravitz puts himself into context. "In 1963 my [white] father married a black woman," he sings, on the album’s title-track. "And when they walked down the street they were in danger." This, then, is clearly heartfelt â€" and, indeed...

Over a career spanning nearly 30 years, Red Hot Chili Peppers have weathered many storms. Drug addiction threatened to swallow the band whole at various points: founding member Hilel Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988 while long-serving guitarist John Frusciante and bandleader Anthony Kiedis...

Michael Fitzpatrick and his band, which includes former members of Dilated Peoples and De La Soul, are on a mission: to reclaim the original US R&B, an American invention, remember, even if the dominance of UK soul girls (Adele, Amy, Joss et al) on both...

Remarkably, Innervisions is Stevie Wonder's 16th studio album. It is the album that best celebrates his musical maturity and completes the transition from Little Stevie Wonder to the grown-up artist with an active imagination and burning social conscience. Coming just nine months after Talking Book, Innervisions is Wonder...

In addition to creating thoughtful yet bruising instrumental rock, the players in Garage A Trois â€"drummer Stanton Moore, keyboardist Marco Benevento, vibraphonist Mike Dillon and saxophonist Skerik â€"sure know how to title an album. Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil, the name of Garage A Trois’ fourth proper full-length, perfectly...

The sheer electricity of Galactic’s live shows has earned the jazz/jam/funk collective its rightful place in the dizzying tapestry of New Orleans’ music scene. And the quintet’s most recent release, The Other Side of Midnight: Live in New Orleans, chronicles a sold-out show at The Big Easy’s legendary Tipitina’s nightclub...

Last December rocking Tunbridge Wells five-piece Intraverse achieved a top 5 hit in the iTunes Rock Chart with their debut single 'Please Don't Share Your Kisses'. This summer they made their debut at the world's leading rock event, Download Festival. After such an incredible summer already, they top it off...