So, we have a new album from JJ Lovegrove called History Is The Struggle of Becoming and is a loose concept on the life and works of D.H. Lawrence.

Confession time – I’m know nothing about D.H. Lawrence, so I’ll not comment about how that and the concept (I also have no idea who the apparently renowned producer Ed Harcourt is. That could just be my age or my musical preferences but I apologise for my ignorance.

 The last album from Judi, (Unravelled: The Elegies) was brilliant but so raw and personal, it was hard to listen to at times. This time it’s still lyrically vulnerable and intimate but with more than just voice and piano it feels more of a comfortable share.

Lament is an opening instrumental full of brass before we hit the single Celandine which is one of the album highlights. A slow burn, opening up with piano but with a menacing guitar lurking at the back. Slowly drums are added to the mix and then Judi’s vocals go stratospheric with a succession of astonishing high notes.

The Rainbow is more downbeat, featuring snippets of a home recording while detailing a difficult home life.

Lyrically Lost Girl is gut wrenching in its depiction of a sexual assault before depressingly listing ‘rules’ for young women – “Don’t smile too much, or wear the wrong dress. Cover your glass with your hand, don’t walk home alone.” 

The title track features big booming piano chords while the guitar weaves some glorious noise around them.

Hunger Codes is about sex and throbs with sensuous desire, the vocals a lusty purr. The low deliberate piano notes reminiscent of Talk Talk’s seminal Life’s What You Make It. Another album highlight.

Throughout, the song writing is exceptional, and Judi’s voice is stunning, full of emotion, yet never forced.

Yet another artist who should be applauded from the rafters, rather than being cherished by those of us lucky enough to have discovered her.

 Looks like end of May / start of June is going to be an amazing month for new releases.

First up is the debut album from Abrasive Trees called Light Remaining. This is a band I’ve been following since hearing the debut single in 2020. From those early days only Matthew Rochford on guitar and vocals remains and I have been really looking forward to this.

No Solace opens with a solemn spoken word section before exploding around 90 seconds in a wall of drums and guitar.

There is a slow, glacial tempo to a lot of the tracks with a dense almost claustrophobic atmosphere which the spoken vocals accentuate.

However, the first of two instrumentals, Star Sapphire, positively bounces along on a pulsing bass line before slowing down for some monolithic riffing and then picking up the tempo again.

The first single, Carved Skull, welcomes back former band member Ben Roberts and his electric cello to stunning effect. “Are we divided?” asks the band as the music fades out before the voices. The backing vocals of Yunala Songweaver are a great addition to both this track and Flickering Flame.

The final album track I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You is an 11-minute instrumental epic in three parts. It starts at a stately pace with mournful cello to the fore. A staggering change of pace takes the track into an absolute post-rock maelstrom sweeping you up in a clattering crescendo with thunderous drumming. Pausing to take breath, the final third  tempo allows Matthew to weave some extraordinary guitar virtuosity. 

There is a bonus track, Megadrone, but I’m not sure there is a need for another largely spoken word track, and I would have left I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You to end the album.

Just to say the artwork for the album and the two singles from Grebo Gray is also perfect, giving the band a strong visual identity. 

A brilliant album to start a run of new releases this month.