Review and video: Eight unmissable music releases this November
File photo dated 29/01/09 of a collection of 12" and LP vinyl records as vinyl albums are on track to achieve their biggest sales for almost two decades, expected to pass the million mark by the end of the year. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday October 17, 2014. New figures compiled by the Official Charts Company show that almost 800,000 vinyl albums have been sold in the first nine months of this year, which has already outstripped last year's total of 780,674. The last time vinyl - which once looked close to extinction - hit seven-figure sales was in 1996 when there they shifted 1,083,206 albums and The Score by Fugees was the year's biggest long-player. See PA story SHOWBIZ Vinyl. Photo credit should read: Johnny Green/PA Wire - Credit: PA
Music fanatic Alex Flood looks at the biggest new music releases coming up in November 2014.
• Hookworms – 'The Hum' – 10 November
It has only been a year since the release of their critically acclaimed debut, 'Pearl Mystic', but psychedelic-drone rock group, Hookworms, are set to release record number two this month. The five-piece from Leeds are well known for their impulsive and frenetic live act, and have garnered applause from such rock icons as Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie, Julian Cope, and oddly, Charlotte Church. Although one of the newer acts on this month's list, Hookworms are without doubt, one of the most exciting.
• Pink Floyd – 'The Endless River' – 10 November
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Prog-rock legends, Pink Floyd, haven't released a studio album since 1994s ' The Division Bell', a whole decade ago. 'The Endless River' will be the first Floyd record since the death of keyboardist, Roger Wright, and has been described by the band as 'a swan song' for the founding member. Comprising mostly of electronic and ambient music, the LP is made up of unreleased material from 'The Division Bell' sessions and so features Wright posthumously. A completely unanticipated move from the band, which has featured David Gilmour as the main creative force since Roger Waters' departure in 1985, 'The Endless River' could mark the end of one of the most mercurial stories in all of popular music. Set to be one of the musical events of the year.
• Jon Hopkins – 'Asleep Versions' EP – 10 November
Electronic pioneer and double Mercury Prize-nominee, Jon Hopkins, is to release a short four-track EP this month entitled, 'Asleep Versions'. It follows 2013s immensely well-received full length, 'Immunity', and is intended to bookend Hopkins recent touring activities with some new music. Purveyor of many different styles of dance, Hopkins incorporates a variety of instruments – harmonium, piano etc. – into some of the slickest and most intriguing beats on today's scene. This new EP is a perfect early Christmas present for all music fans.
• Parkey Quarts – 'Content Nausea' – 10 November
Most of the recent 'hype' bands have struggled immensely for consistency in an online world where new and interesting content is not difficult to come by. Parquet Courts seem to have bucked this trend with three successive equally brilliant and progressive records of quick-fire, punk-rock songs. 'Content Nausea', a second album of 2014, is due for release later this month. Packaged under the quirky moniker of 'Parkay Quarts', the record highlights the New York city-quartet's incredible work ethic and passion for their craft. Expect nothing less than their usual top-notch standard.
• Foo Fighters – 'Sonic Highways'
Dave Grohl's unstoppable band of rough-cut, beer-guzzling rock-cowboys, Foo Fighters, are once again on the comeback trail with their latest record of rip-it-up riffs and thumping bass grooves, 'Sonic Highways'. Paired with the band's TV series for HBO, 'Foo Fighters Sonic Highways', the album's eight tracks were each recorded in a different US city – Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington D.C. Hopefully this change in strategy will provide the spark for a better effort than 2011s disappointing 'Wasting Light'.
• Savages & Bo Ningen – 'Words to the Blind' – 17 November
Two of the alternative genre's most acclaimed acts of recent times have joined forces to record the intriguing little record, 'Words to the Blind'. They are, the staunchly feminist, post-punk revival group, Savages, and the psychedelic-rock band from Japan, Bo Ningen. The collaborative effort, product of a close-knit friendship, is in fact only one track long, one 37-minute track that is, and it's out 17 November on Stolen Recordings/ Pop Noire.
• David Bowie – 'Nothing Has Changed' – 17 November
While strictly not a new album, David Bowie's latest release, made up of his greatest hits and some previously unreleased outtakes, does include one completely new track. The seven minute long, 'Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)', is a sprawling post-modern, jazz-influenced epic, complete with sampled sax solo and anything else the Great White Duke could possibly think of to throw in. It is, quite frankly, worth the £10.99 download price all on its own.
