With elements of folk and jazz instrumentation, Lisa Nilsson returns to the spotlight with ‘Sånger om oss’. There is much quality here and rightly so considering Nilsson’s longstanding as a musician and remaining one of Sweden’s top artists. Beginning with brass instrumentation and then proceeded with an acoustic guitar before given the big band treatment that knows how to keep its distance, ‘Var är du min vän’ is reminiscent of the kind of song Paul McCartney was peddling during the latter stages of The Beatles circa ‘Let It Be’ but in this instance Nilsson’s vocal is more in tune with folk than anything pop. The balance is addressed during title track ‘Sånger om oss’ that receives a modern pop sheen and as a result reveals a delightfully uplifting chorus that has hit single written all over it. ‘Tillbaka’ receives similar treatment with occasional dashes of electronica but is more introspective in its outlook and never really threatens to breakout. ‘Kom hem’ continues the introspection further bringing to the fore its folk roots in brooding fashion whereas ‘Dåliga dagar’ overturns such darkened corners, despite its title alluding to such things, as Nilsson is almost on the verge of rockin’ out with one foot on the piano keys à la Jerry Lee Lewis…wishful thinking of course. As it stands, ‘Sånger om oss’ is a triumphant return.

Interesting is definitely the word to use when describing Maria Mena’s latest album ‘Weapon In Mind’. Starting off in trademark fashion with vocals that suggest hope  when pretty much all else has failed, ‘Interesting’ literally takes its moniker to heart and decides to erupt during its chorus in flashes of electronica and a vocal that is abrasive as it hollers behind its sweeter sounding sibling. The honest confessions of ‘F*** You’ is reminiscent of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ lyrically, in the sense that it leaves nothing to the imagination and this remains its undoing despite the beautiful, soaring qualities of the music. Such negativity stretches to the grating vocal delivery during the chorus of ‘All The Love’ before normal service resumes with the introspective and beautiful vocals of ‘I Always Like That’ and darker tones of ‘Madness’ with its moments of wonderful tumbling guitar sounds. ‘I Love You Too’ is skeletal in its arrangements with the faintest hint of piano and Maria softly singing, “It’s not been an easy ride, no count of the tears I’ve cried” that will have you reaching for the nearest box of Kleenex to help stem the tide due to this tearjerker. Things take a slight dip once more with the rather pedestrian ‘You Make Me Feel Good’, only for the head turning curiosity ‘You’re All Telling Stories’ and shadowy ‘Lover Let Me In’ that propels ‘Weapon In Mind’ to the heights of previous glories. As said previously, interesting is definitely the right choice of word because despite its flaws ‘Weapon In Mind’ finds its targets more than it misses.

Being hailed as one of the most impressive debut albums in recent memory, Stallone release ‘Mire’ via Tangled Talk and Enjoyment Records. A seven-track playlist that doesn’t hang around for too long due to its frenetic pace, the working progression was in fact a much longer period and clearly evident with the attention to detail throughout. Look no further than the red hot ‘As A Serpent’ spitting bile and climaxing in heap of blaring guitars. The equally impressive ‘Without A Home’ maintains the intensity yet is slightly more spacious than its predecessor with moments of reflection before giving way to pummelling guitars. The jaw-droppingly good ‘A Chalice’ highlights a range of influences that the band appear to incorporate with ease yet churn out with painstaking attention to detail as evidenced here. Technically astute and screaming from the heart, Stallone is heading for a very bright future indeed.

Not particularly renowned for wild-sounding rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll, but in the instance of Sonny Tucker and The Tornados Switzerland has something to cheer about. Armed with fourteen rockin’ tracks, ‘Wild Wild Lover’ begins in guitar pickin’ fashion and a superb authentic vocal calling for a “rock with the Tornados, rock the whole night long” because there really is no other way once this song gets under your skin. The mood takes a more downbeat turn during the reflective ‘Don’t Hang Around Me Anymore’ with guitars slowing to a mid-tempo rhythm, edges slightly twanging and adding to the melancholy. This sombre tone is enhanced further with the closing refrain held during ‘I Don’t Care’; “Goodbye my sweetheart, see you down in hell” warbled to great effect and sounding as black as ash in its utter contempt. Title track, ‘Wild Wild Lover’ is played out to steady thunderous beats before breaking loose in a fit of despair once the lover in question has departed to pastures new. ‘Did You Mean Jelly Bean’ reveals another facet to Sonny Tucker’s vocals as it delightfully rumbles out to slight exaggeration the chorus and handled by some serious dexterous guitar. If it’s wild rock ‘n’ roll you’re searching for, then the self-explanatory ‘The House Is Rockin’ will leave you gaping in sheer awe before being brought back down to earth with the Hawaiian sway of ‘Lovers Rock’. Not only is ‘Wild Wild Lover’ an exhilarating ride of wild rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll, but it constantly screams out as a reminder that Sonny Tucker and The Tornados is ‘the’ band to experience live during the coming months.

Stripping back the paintwork and splashes of colour, MGMT – aka Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser – return with their third studio album under the same name. While it is difficult to comprehend comments of ‘ground breaking’ and ‘pushing the boundaries’ at various times – Bowie was living a futuristic lifestyle long before ‘Alien Days’ – MGMT is still offering a tad more in the experimentation department when it comes to their contemporaries. What is particularly pleasing about this self-titled collection, however, is the usage of fewer colours and in its place a colder and greyer climate found with the tribal electronic rhythm of ‘Cool Song No. 2’ that will definitely not win any awards for being instantaneous and ditto the cold chamber delivery of ‘Mystery Disease’ sounding far removed from events taking place on planet Earth. ‘Your Life Is A Lie’ seems to inherit the same oddball pop territory of They Might Be Giants but with a more serious demeanour, only to be buried by the following multi-layered electronica of ‘A Good Sadness’ offering a fitting summary overall.

Recalling the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden but closer to Richard Patrick of Filter when it comes to the vocals, Down The Machine gear up for a new album release in 2014 with a brand new single to whet the appetite. ‘Everything I Am Not’ is a very impressive indication of what is to come with a steadily building tempo of industrial electronica via Depeche Mode’s ‘Violator’ that really jolts to life when the realisation sinks in that one’s existence is not quite up to scratch, “You are everything I am not”. If Down The Machine can reproduce this sort of form, then next year’s full-length player promises to be an exciting prospect.