Kneecap
Fenian
(Heavenly)
⭑⭑⭑⭑☆

BELFAST hip-hop trio Kneecap have had an extraordinary couple of years.
Blending fact and fiction, the 2024 film about the band was released to critical acclaim.

And then, last year, member Mo Chara was charged under the 2006 Terrorism Act for allegedly showing support for Hezbollah in November 2024. The charges have since been dropped.

Unsurprisingly, these events course through Kneecap’s third album. Switching between Irish and English, they rap about the court case (Carnival), Keir Starmer’s support for genocide (Liar’s Tale), “MI5 death squads collusion” (Occupied 6) and “guns for the Saudis and war in Yemen” (An Ra).

Incredibly catchy and inventive, there are shades of the Big Beat electronica of The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy, along with the explosive political truth bombs of Asian Dub Foundation.

A scathing shot of rebellion and controversy.

Sam Blasucci
Physical Dream
(Calico Discos/Double Play)
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

I WAS hugely impressed by Los Angeles-born singer-songwriter Sam Blasucci’s 2023 record Off My Stars, but even this didn’t prepare me for just how good his new release is.

Recorded over two weeks on a remote island in British Columbia, Canada, with some obviously talented musicians, this double album is an embarrassment of riches. Echoing the music of Jackson Browne, Simon & Garfunkel and even The Beach Boys, the 28 genre-blurring tracks includes heartfelt love songs, Spanish lyrics, melodic dancey tunes (Volcano), and field recordings of waterfalls and anti-Ice protests (Si Se Puede/Yes We Can).

Most of all it’s Blasucci’s laidback, deeply soulful vocal delivery and songwriting that shines through, the set flowing so effortlessly and organically that I’m guessing he’s a big fan of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.

A sun-bleached career-high masterpiece, summer has come early.

Juni Habel
Evergreen In Your Mind
(Basin Rock)
⭑⭑⭑☆☆

RECORDED in the old wooden house she lives in and the school where she works, the third album from Norwegian singer-songwriter Juni Habel is an intimate set of delicate folk.

While the music was recorded over two years, and includes songs dating back to the start of her career, there’s an impressive cohesiveness of sound. Tracks like I’d Like To See and single Stand So Still bring to mind the quieter work of Laura Marling and Laura Veirs.

What comes through most is the austere elegance of Habel’s voice and the finger-picked guitar. There’s quite a bit of backing instrumentation — organ, strings, synths, electric guitar, bass, saw, ukulele — but feels so understated you barely notice it’s there.

One for the times when you want to curl up at home and escape from the world for a while.