Cosmo Jarvis, Chapter 2, EP, Wall Of Sound, May 31, **** Multi talented Cosmo Jarvis breaks out of the bedroom with his second EP - a collection of three songs that look set to stamp his mark on the music scene.
Stand out track is Mel's Song - a dirty, drunken tale of first lust. Honest, cheeky and as catchy as anything you'll hear on radio one, the singer/songwriter/film maker would be a T4 dream if he wasn't quite so filthy and occasionally a teeny bit disturbing.
He Only Goes Out On Tuesday sounds like Eminem fronting Gorillaz - creepy and unsettling but listenable all the same. In total contrast, final track Little Wasted Angel sounds like a down trodden Jamie T, wrapping up three brilliantly different tracks...but this schizophrenic leap between genres could be his downfall. Until he settles down it's hard to imagine who'd make up his fanbase, but he's well worth investigating in the meantime.
Patrick Wolf, The Bachelor, Album, Bloody Chamber Music, June 1 ***
Folk legend Eliza Carthy, Digital Hardcore boss Alec Empire and actress Tilda Swinton all make an appearance on Wolf's fourth album which, after years of battling against record company politics, he chose to fund through Bandstocks, with fans buying shares to fund is release. The bizarre list of contributors reflects a shift in direction for folk's most flamboyant young hope. Apparently written during on tour following a tough break-up, it's darker and more violent than the Wolf we're used to. Single Vulture is particularly gruesome - it's hedonistic, angry and confused. His most theatric record yet - expect more feathers and glitter than ever when he plays at the Electric Ballroom on The Bachelor's release night.
Eels, Hombre Lobo, Album, Vagrant Records, June 1 ****
In his first album for nearly five years Mark Oliver Everett - aka E - has turned all alpha male on us. Lusty and longing, it's his most straight forward collection of love songs to date.
The usual bluesy growls are still there with an added romantic but demanding edge. "I wanted to write a set of songs about desire," he says. "That dreadful, intense want that gets your into all sorts of situations that can change your life in big ways." And that he's done - at times self-loathing and vulnerable, at other times raucous and slobbering - it marks a welcome return from the behind the scenes, production roles he's slipped into of late.
