Second album for Finland’s Freedom Fuel and what a ride this second outing turns out to be! Pumped up and ready to unleash a combined sound of indie rock, garage, pop and swamp blues that made up their debut album ‘Happy People’ as well, Freedom Fuel begin season two (if you like) with the delightfully creative, weird and wonderful epic that is ‘Dancing’. It starts off with an indie rock stomp, before spiralling skywards and seriously loosening up via some bluesy swamp rock and then entering a third phase of mellow electronica and back to where it all began at the indie disco. A truly beguiling start and one that will leave you speechless such is its magnitude. The energy continues with the bristling and bullish rhythm of ‘Planet Away’, which also knows how to have fun judging by its lyrics. ‘DANCE!’ also knows a few moves of its own as there is plenty of room for experimentation during its playback with ‘Suspension Of Disbelief’ providing the strongest example with its static sounding electronica and lone vocal sounding like a direct transmission from space itself. The following ‘Goddageda’ explores this experimental side further by adding more weight to the instrumentation and ends up a combined mix of indie rock and blues rock that trips along another intergalactic space tunnel that is a journey to the other side. A massive leap forward as far as the creativity is concerned when it comes to Freedom Fuel and their latest long player ‘DANCE!’, which almost defies description and will leave you scratching your head in disbelief one minute, and the next grinning in sheer delight. This is down to its overall audacity and, yes, sense of freedom. A remarkable achievement, ‘DANCE!’ deserves to be heard.

Coming from a bleak period in his life, but not without forgetting to raise a smile and exude a belly full of laughs once in a while, is Jamie Hutchings fourth solo album ‘Bedsit’. Despite the initial blueprints of the album being conceived within the surrounds of the humble abode of its title, ’Bedsit’ was fully realised in a former shearing shed in the Australian outback. With the New South Wales environment providing a sense of vigour to the contents of ’Bedsit’, with the general stillness and fresh odours of its vast surrounds aiding a period of creativity and multi-tasking for Jamie Hutchings, with additional company by way of bass player Reuben Wills, resulting in nine songs before returning to the asphalt jungle. Delving deep in to the recess, ‘Bedsit’ has been described by the artist himself as “…a stark record, my starkest yet. It was recorded at a time when I was returned to the world of me, myself and I.” While that may be true of some tracks such as the personal and delicately executed duo of ‘Judas Is A Girl’ and ‘Walking Dream’, the latter reflecting a deep sorrow and likely to leave even the most hardened among us in pieces such is its authenticity, there are attempts to reach beyond the melancholy and offer a sense of optimism whether in songtitle or sound (‘Above The Rain’ and ‘Here Comes The Frost’). The true charm of this album however, is to be found by the stripped back nature of its recordings with minimal instrumentation used, often relying on the acoustic guitar and upright bass for example, where you can hear the odd shuffle of feet or a door being closed and leading out in to ‘December Park’, not to mention the album’s engaging and almost hushed entrance ‘Second Winter’ with its largely spoken word delivery that darts between surrealism and reality as well as providing moments of humour. Just as ‘Bedsit’ reveals numerous details regarding the artist at the centre of this record, it can be debated that such details remain far from clear due to being cloaked in mystery and caught up in the complexities of life itself. This is why ‘Bedsit’ is such a compelling listen, and for the intimate way its contents play out that requires further investigation.

Transmitting a melancholic electro-pop sound from Helsinki, Finland, is the duo MSRBL. With the new single suggesting that all of us are guilty of spinning a fabricated yarn or two, the synth team at the centre of this record set about their task and created a brooding, midtempo slice of electronic pop that’s befitting of a late-night arthouse movie setting and accompanying movie soundtrack. The additional video to the single, ‘Everybody Lies’, suggests the same outlook with its moody settings consisting of shadowy rooms and dimly lit streets where the occasional neon light glows. It’s a very good follow-up since ‘Echo’ for MSRBL, and one that potentially has much promise if they continue in a similar fashion with their next release.

Full of forbidden fruits according to the Mojo Man, and he’s not far off with such an assessment as ‘Wild Life’ piles its way through twenty-eight dancefloor fillers. From top to toe these songs are rockin’ and a-reelin’ beginning with Chuck Cole and ‘My Bonny’, and followed by the perky rhythm that is full of brass instrumentation of excellent Lil Preacher Boy ‘Won’tcha Be My Girl’. There are some notable differences about this particular volume in the Koko Mojo series, and that stirs when Eddie Daniels throws up his rockin’ (roll) ‘Playin’ Hide Go Seek’, to the wonderfully appealing tin can atmosphere secured by ‘Love My Baby’, complete with raw guitar breaks and uncooked vocals of Jesse Allen (Well, it is the blues!). And that’s exactly why the album ‘Wild Life’ is so appealing for its rollercoaster approach that offers a menu of traditional rhythm and blues one minute (Redd Foxx ‘Real Pretty Mama’) and then, staying within the same genre, different takes where darker shades and eccentricities can be heard (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Ronnie Love and The Admiraltones for example). It’s a sublime compilation of well-thought out tracks that may sound on first impressions like a quickly assembled compilation, yet further listens will soon erase any such thoughts as ‘Wild Life’ lives up to its title and in different ways.

It’s all about love as far as this volume is concerned in the Koko Mojo series that largely focuses on blues and rhythm and blues. With twenty-eight tracks to get its message across regarding the subject of love, ‘Love Shock’ is filled with the anticipations of love and any such joys stemming from this. You can hear it in some of the rhythms alone where they’re often light and upbeat such as Carl Matthews’ ‘Big Man’ or swirling on its toes in compelling fashion and providing something altogether quite different, yet still fitting in with this genre, via Stick Evans and ‘You’re The One’. The excitement can hardly be contained once The Devilles get underway with ‘Tell Me So’ where you will find a swinging rhythm complete with doo-wop backing vocals powering this number along. Falling under the spell here though is the wonderfully named Teddy Mr. Bear McRae and, pick of a very good bunch, ‘Hi Fi Baby’ that packs a confident punch of blues/rhythm and blues and matured bourbon-soaked vocals. Full of life and giddy at the prospect of love as well as being in love, the compilation ‘Love Shock’ is yet another strong statement of the quality held by this series.

Originally from Holland but now residing in Poland after a lengthy stint performing in various bands in Belgium, Heyme (Langbroek) releases his first solo album on Jezus Factory Records. With this record being a genuine solo affair where all instruments on all the songs are played by Heyme, and a recording space that consisted of his attic at home with recording sessions pencilled in for every Sunday, the ten songs crafted on this debut solo album are largely built out of improvisation. With Heyme admitting that improvisation largely took place during these recordings, “I just started playing and recording and improvised on top of that, weaving rhythm and melodies into tapestries of sound.” Such words are true once ‘A Day In Life’ unfurls its sounds where you will hear brass instrumentation punctuating at various stations and aiding the direction of this moody opener. It’s a compelling start and continues in similar fashion with ‘Paranoid’ offering vocals to paint a broader picture, before slipping back into a pure instrumental via ‘Hard Times’. The method of work adopted here harks back to Heyme’s days of recording with Kiss My Jazz, and later IH8 Camera, where improvising on the spot was integral to both bands in terms of how they operated. It’s no surprise, therefore, that Heyme has continued with such a formula that functions for him as well as creating such beautiful tender moments as ‘All Time Favourite’, to the stretched out melancholy of ‘Where She Goes (she goes)’ that will linger long in the memory long after this album spins to its conclusion. It’s a formula that has served Heyme well, and continues to do so with the near continual loop of instrumentation and improvised workings added on top that suggest feelings of loneliness and sadness whether informed lyrically or via the instruments that capture your senses from start to finish, thus making ‘Noise From The Attic’ a truly remarkable album considering its humble foundations.