A Week in Records: Deradoorian, Foals, Dope Body

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Deradoorian – The Expanding Flower Planet [Anticon]

True to its title, the debut LP from ex-Dirty Projectors member Angel Deradoorian is the proverbial grower. Give it time and its slithering creations of entangled percussion and ping-pong vocals will unfurl before your ears, peeling a little further back with each listen to reveal secret pleasures within. <<read more>>

Foals – What Went Down [Transgressive]

What Went Down's title track makes no bones about Foals' intentions for album number four – seething with a thundering, caustic might that makes the distant Cassius feel like candy floss in comparison. The group’s trademark intricate guitar work remains a dominant feature – Birch Tree and Night Swimmers exhibit a characteristic plinking interplay of notes – but elsewhere this is a record fleshed out by a glowering intensity. <<read more>>

Beach House – Depression Cherry [Dust Science]

You have to admire a band that sees dreaming as a matter of principle. Beach House’s fifth album shows the Baltimore duo turning back the clock with a minimalist collection of songs that meditate on transience and loss. Opener Levitation is accurately named, reintroducing the instantly recognisable sound of Alex Scally’s circular guitar arpeggios and Victoria Legrand’s dusky voice over a ticking drum machine. ‘You will grow too quick, then you will get over it,’ Legrand comments over icy keyboards. <<read more>>

Dope Body – Kunk [Drag City]

"I think we're getting more mature as songwriters." That was Dope Body drummer David Jacober late last year, talking to The Skinny shortly after the release of the acclaimed Lifer. Album number six (if you include their cassette debut and a subsequent split release) from the Baltimore four piece offers little reason to argue. Pieced together from songs birthed during the Lifer sessions, Kunk is testament to both their work ethic and their quality control. <<read more>>