Damien Morris

London

Writer and Editor at The Guardian

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Articles

Davido: 5ive review - flashes of Afropop excellence

6 days ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

One of the lodestars turning Afrobeats into an international phenomenon, Nigerian supernova David Adedeji Adeleke isn’t as famous in the UK as Burna Boy, Wizkid or Rema – he’s yet to have a hit such as Last Last, One Dance or Calm Down. Also, as his fifth album hints, his appeal may simply not be as global as theirs. Davido’s albums (always 17 tracks) deal in the sort of subtle, luxurious beats that you’d hear anywhere from beachside bars to barbershops.
One to watch: Pozer

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

“I’m from the ’hood but I don’t let it define me,” raps Pozer. That’s kind of a fib. The young south Londoner hasn’t become UK rap’s king-in-waiting by rhyming about pony club and private school. His bars are for those intimately familiar with the postcodes where ATMs dispense fivers – and those who get their thrills from tours of the poor doors.
Black Country, New Road: Forever Howlong review - a subtle transformation

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

Black Country, New Road’s first studio album since singer Isaac Wood’s departure in 2022 finds lead vocals now shared between Tyler Hyde, Georgia Ellery and May Kershaw. It’s refreshing that the baroque rock sextet haven’t tried to replicate Wood’s anguished croon and are no longer performing any of those old songs. His absence transforms the band’s disposition, replacing its emotional austerity with a muscular lightness.
Yukimi: For You review - sweet solo debut for Little Dragon singer

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

It seems barely credible, but next year is Little Dragon’s 30th birthday. Although Yukimi Nagano has fronted the Swedish electronic dance act since she was at school, For You is her first solo album. Strength-through-suffering gem Break Me Down is an excellent lead single – a filigree of a pop song freewheeling on Yukimi’s enticing, airy vocal.
One to watch: Sebastian Schub

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

He has only released a handful of songs, but Sebastian Schub’s talent was obvious from the off. The singer-guitarist-pianist-songwriter’s debut single begins by declaiming “I wanna sing like Madonna/ I wanna dance like a queen” in a gloriously orotund baritone that’s nothing like the queen of pop’s. “Like if Hozier and Jeff Buckley had a slightly German baby!” grins Schub.
Courting: Lust for Life, Or: ‘How to Thread the Needle and Come Out the Other Side to Tell the Story’ review - a giant leap forward

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

Liverpudlian indie rockers Courting can verge on annoying sometimes, with their predilection for Auto-Tuned vocals, various overwrought forays into ill-chosen genres and, frankly, the Fiona Apple-esque title of this LP. However, what was once callow and undercooked is thrilling and fully realised on their third album in three years. Stealth Rollback is pure metallic electronic joy, feral cats fighting on a broken keyboard.
Sasami: Blood on the Silver Screen review - a quirky move to the mainstream

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

Sasami Ashworth’s gentle indie rock debut, Sasami (2019),felt reasonably familiar to fans of her previous band, Cherry Glazerr; the bracingly industrial metal of 2022’s Squeeze less so. Now the California musician has moved into sprightly, shiny pop for her third solo album, picking over matters of the heart. And the groin – apparently, Lana Del Rey-alike Nothing But a Sad Face On is about Eve’s mixed emotions after being “banished from the Garden of Eden for fucking a snake”.
Doves: Constellations for the Lonely review - prog poetry for gloomy days

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

The Universal Want was a satisfying return for the Manchester trio in 2020 after a decade-long hiatus, better than most of their 90s peers’ reunion projects. This time, with Jimi Goodwin still unable to return to his frontman role full time, the Williams brothers are more prominent on vocals. Sensible given an ongoing tour, although not always successful here.
Ider: Late to the World review – the glorious sound of letting go

2 months ago | msn.com | Damien Morris

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Ider: Late to the World review - the glorious sound of letting go

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Damien Morris

Let the sky darken with champagne corks – there’s a new Ider album. Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville have made sharply intelligent synth-pop plucked from the pages of their diaries for more than a decade, and this is a welcome third instalment. The English duo have always been particularly good at pellucid harmonising and piquant lyrics – both in abundance here.