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FUNKED UP

2117¬Montreal's foremost exponenents of Prince-inspired dirty funk are back with their new album. Critics so far are impressed, Rave Magazine seeing the album as an affirmation of the band's unique style.¬False¬

Middle of the Trail

2101¬Rootsy folkster Ray Lamontagne continues his career as a Radio 2 botherer with his new album. Critics see it as competent but hardly revolutionary, scores coming it at around 6 or 7.¬False¬

Towering achievement?

2098¬There's a very rare 10/10 from The Skinny for the rapper, pianist and producer's album, released to accompany a feature film also written and produced by the maverick Canadian. Such enthusiasm is not shared by the BBC or music OMH, who regard it as interesting but only partially successful.¬True¬
Peepers

Polar Bear

Peepers

Fourth album of experimental jazz from Mercury nominated London five-piece led by drummer Seb Rochford

Critics average rating

7.8

Label
Leaf
Release date
01/03/2010
  1. 9.0 |  Drowned In Sound

    Even at their most gesticulating or achingly smooth, their music is vivid – there’s rarely a moment that goes by that doesn’t goad you into thought, persuade you to continue on their journey, to their destination by their mode of transport
    Read Review

  2. 8.0 |  The Skinny

    ...this is an atmospheric fifty minutes with similarities (in accessible-yet-challenging-scene-darling attitude, if not necessarily aesthetics) to the likes of Animal Collective or Four Tet
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |  Uncut

    Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |  Mojo

    Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |  Rave Magazine

    This is 21st century jazz, groovy without being cheesy and edgy without being sinister ... an intriguing and rewarding listening experience
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |  The List

    Regard them as a freely improvising rock band, with strong jazz pedigree and a wide-open horizon when it comes to musical direction and it all makes a lot more sense
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |  The Guardian

    Rochford deliberately minimised the studio preparation, and withheld the music from the band up to the last moment, and Peepers certainly reflects that freshness
    Read Review

  8. 8.0 |  The Times

    It amounts to the most convincing “post-jazz” album yet
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |  Independent on Sunday

    There's less open space and more long melody. It sounds less studio-made too, as if it has been captured in the field
    Read Review

  10. 8.0 |  Daily Telegraph

    It’s often gentle, but can just as easily turn obstreperous, and flirts with different styles in a fascinating way
    Read Review

  11. 7.0 |  The Line Of Best Fit

    Working in a genre with improvisation and emotion it’s lifeblood, ‘Peepers’ mischievous, teasing dynamic, and balance of the bold and the beautiful ensures it, and Polar Bear, walk the line in all the right ways
    Read Review

  12. 7.0 |  Tiny Mix Tapes

    Polar Bear are clearly trying new things, ensuring that their brand of jazz-punk remains at the forefront of forward-thinking jazz music with an incessant desire to rebel against current trends
    Read Review

  13. 6.0 |  Q

    Print edition only

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Track preview & download

Polar Bear: Peepers

  • Download full album for just £7.99
  • 1. Happy For You £0.99
  • 2. Bap Bap Bap £0.99
  • 3. Drunken Pharoah £0.99
  • 4. The Love Didn't Go Anywhere £0.99
  • 5. A New Morning Will Come £0.99
  • 6. Peepers £0.99
  • 7. Bump £0.99
  • 8. Scream £0.99
  • 9. Hope Every Day Is A Happy New Year £0.99
  • 10. Want To Believe Everything £0.99
  • 11. Finding Our Feet £0.99
  • 12. All Here £0.99
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Prolific

2120¬These Virginian sludge-rockers find themselves releasing their fifth album in two years, a huge feat by anyone's standards. Critics are unsure whether any degree of quality can be sustained at that rate however, with Tiny Mix Tapes stating that in fleshing out their sound, they have drawn "too much attention to musical aspects [they] never had going for them".¬True¬

Duppy Love

2109¬Critics are falling over themselves to heap praise on this album of dub remixes of classic Roots Manuva tracks. It has managed a very decent showing on our chart, especially given that it is essentially a remix album. It has impressed so much that Culture Deluxe has proclaimed it as "possibly the most perfect reggae album released in the last 30 years". ¬True¬

Back On Top?

2114¬The Manic Street Preachers have had something of a critical rebirth with their last two albums, and that trend looks set to continue with their latest offering. The Line of Best Fit call it a "wonderful album", while The Fly reckon they "are in the form of their life". With only a few reviews in so far, it seems we could have a contender for the higher echelons of our chart.¬True¬

Pain and pleasure

2105¬Can the third of the three Mancunian electro-ish bands which featured in the BBC's Sound of 2010 list emulate the success of their counterparts, Delphic and Everything Everything? The jury's still out so far. NME is a big fan of the duo's 80s-inspired synthpop anthems, but The Guardian is far from convinced, and others find the album stylish but unremarkable. ¬True¬

Compilations & Reissues

They're not in the main chart as they skew things

  1. 8.5

    The Teardrop Explode Kilimanjaro: Deluxe Edition

  2. 8.5

    R.E.M. Fables Of The Reconstruction

  3. See full list