The five best albums from July 2014
If you’re heading off on holiday this month… well, first of all, lucky you. But also, make sure you pack appropriately. Sun cream? Check. Trunks? Check. Some great new music to listen to on the beach? No? Okay, here you go. These five albums all came out in July, and they’re all worth plenty of repeat spins. Download them, stream them, go into an old-school record shop and buy them – just make sure you hear them.
1. La Roux – ‘Trouble in Paradise’
Elly Jackson is back, and she’s made one hell of a summer soundtrack: funky, fabulous and packed with perfect pop melodies. Make this your holiday romance… ★★★★★
Read more and buy the album| Read our interview with La Roux
2. King Creosote – ‘From Scotland with Love’
Whatever you think of the whole Scottish independence thing, Kenny Anderson’s new album (accompanying a film of Caledonian archive footage) is a heart-stirring listen… ★★★★☆
Ignore the hype and the hackneyed anonymity schtick: the best thing about the debut album by London duo Jungle is its sweet, funked-up match of underground cool with hooky pop… ★★★★☆
Sia is one of the pop world’s most successful songwriters, and her solo comeback shows off those chops – but it’s also confessional, occasionally brutal and much less obvious than you might expect… ★★★★☆
This hip Glaswegian duo have come out of nowhere to deliver a stellar debut of sweet but sharp grunge-pop, taking the guitar-and-drums set-up into cool new territory… ★★★★☆
Head to timeout.com/albums to check out more great music from the past month, and catch up on the best albums of 2014 so far.