The long stretches between albums that had become standard for indie pop heroes Belle and Sebastian made their 11th studio LP, Late Developers, even more of a surprise, as it was released without much lead-up just eight months after 2022's A Bit of Previous. Recorded during the same self-produced sessions, Late Developers feels like a companion piece to its predecessor, reaching just as inspired heights and continuing the band's inspection of aging and existential dread that always comes wrapped in soft, reassuring melodies. These songs also flit playfully between styles and delivery, turning in more of the band's Motown-fixated sunshine soul on tracks like the swaying "The Evening Star" or "Give a Little Time," which finds them sneaking in another of their long-term musical fascinations with some very subtle Thin Lizzy-style lead guitar harmonies.

It's encouraging that nearly four decades into one of the most impressive careers in indie rock, Yo La Tengo are still finding new ways of doing things. On 2018's There's A Riot Going On, the band upended their usual process of writing material and then re-creating it in the studio by setting up recording gear in their rehearsal space and capturing their music in a freer and more spontaneous manner. For that album, YLT handed the tracks over to John McEntire (of Tortoise and the Sea and Cake) for mixing, but 2023's This Stupid World sees them cutting out the last middleman in their process – this time, the band mixed the tracks themselves, and for the first time they've made an album with essentially no outside input.

‘Rediscovered Love Songs’ is the new album from Chris Norman - the legendary voice behind Smokie's greatest hits. The album contains new interpretations of 12 of the greatest ballads and love songs ever written, by a diverse range of artists such as The Temptations, Roy Orbison, Bruno Mars and Lady A. It was recorded and produced in Nashville, Tennessee with a team of local Nashville legends and it can be heard! Chris Norman on ‘Rediscovered Love Songs’: "I have long wanted to record an album with these lovely romantic numbers, as they are songs that I myself love and think are lovely to perform. I have selected the songs that are close to my heart and that I can "find myself in" and sing with personal nerve and soul".

Although later generations would judge otherwise, Georg Philipp Telemann was considered the most important German composer of the first half of the 18th century in the eyes of his contemporaries. After his appointment as musical director of the 5 most important churches in Hamburg, Telemann managed to establish his fame as a composer both nationally and internationally. An example of his influence is, for example, Telemann's so-called Musique de table from 1733, consisting of various orchestral and chamber music works. Handel was one of the subscribers for this series, and so it came about that a theme from the Suite in D by Telemann eventually ended up in the organ concert op. 7, No. 4 of Handel. This suite is played together with another suite and a concerto in a performance by The English Concert conducted by Trevor Pinnock.

Hyperion’s Record of the Month for April is the fourth volume in the burgeoning ‘Romantic Violin Concerto’ series. The central work on the disc is Moritz Moszkowski’s C major Violin Concerto, a full-blooded Romantic work which demands exceptional virtuosity. An increasing number of recordings, many on the Hyperion label, of this composer’s music have done much to lift his reputation beyond that of the ‘trifling miniaturist’, and the Ballade in G minor amply demonstrates how even a small canvas can aspire to advanced heights of pyrotechnic wizardry.

The Suite on Words of Michelangelo (1974) is one of Shostakovich’s most moving late works, its spare orchestration perfectly adjusted to the mood of the texts. Preoccupation with death also haunts the Six Romances, setting of English poets composed in 1942 but not orchestrated with 1971 and characteristic of his bitter humour. Both cycles are superbly sung by the Russian-born bass Ildar Abdrazakov.

Edward Vesala is one of those rare treasures whose every recorded move seems to ooze with profundity. Flanked by an all-star cast of mostly Scandinavian talent, he and his collective visions have produced some of the most inestimable highpoints of the ECM discography. On Satu, it’s as if he has stumbled into an old radio program, the signal of which has only now reached us. As in a community of mystics squinting into the morning sun, it brightens with the golden light of selfless realization. The thrumming bass of Palle Danielsson vibrates like an inner voice in the title cut, an earthen call to wordless action.

L'Emprise (English: Control) is the twelfth studio album by French recording artist Mylène Farmer, released on 25 November 2022 by Stuffed Monkey. The album was produced by Yoann Lemoine, AaRON and Moby, among others. Described as a return to the darker instrumentation of her earlier records, L'Emprise is a concept album which deals with a person who is under psychological manipulation and breaks free from it. L'Emprise received positive reviews from music critics, with many noting it as a return to form for Farmer. Commercially, the album was successful, achieving the gold status in France within the first week of its release. The album also peaked at number one in France, Wallonia, and Switzerland, making it Farmer's first release to do so.

Making sure that country-blues starts the 21st century off on the right foot, Guy Davis' Butt Naked Free, whose title was inspired by the comments of Davis' young son, is one of the most accomplished statements the genre has offered in a few years. Picking up where 1998's You Don't Know My Mind left off, Davis once again has decided to fill out his sound, but this time adding touches of mandolin, organ and accordion, with the results being altogether more satisfying and never sounding even slightly overproduced. Where Davis on his previous album sounded, at times, unsure of his new direction, Butt Naked Free rocks with a loose liveliness, still allowing Davis' derivative yet idiosyncratic sound to shine through. "Waiting on the Cards to Fall" and "Never Met No Woman Treats Me Like You Do," the latter with Levon Helm contributing drums and mandolin, showcase how well Davis' sound fills out and offers the unique experience of hearing what it might have sounded like if Mance Lipscomb or Reverend Gary Davis had ever recorded with full-band accompaniment.

Electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre releases his 22nd studio album, and one of his most ambitious projects to date. The album has been conceived as an immersive work in a multi-channel and 3D binaural version. Multi-channel binaural sound will revolutionize how music is composed, mixed and produced, placing sounds and textures in space in 360 degrees, and can be easily experienced by any listeners with headphones. Oxymore is the first commercial release of this stature which pushes the future of musical audio and sound to this new level. The album's campaign will see remixes for the track as well as the launch of 'Oxyville', a VR world which accompanies the album release.

Singer Barbara Lea often recalls her idol and friend Lee Wiley on this set of love songs. The backup is uniformly tasteful but changes from song to song with such impressive stylists as trumpeter Johnny Windhurst, baritonist Ernie Caceres, Garvin Bushell (on oboe and bassoon), Dick Cary (the arranger on piano and alto horn), guitarist Jimmy Raney and (on a beautiful version of "True Love") harpist Adele Girard making memorable appearances. Lea's straightforward and heartfelt delivery is heard at its best on such songs as "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," "Mountain Greenery," "More than You Know" and "Autumn Leaves" (which is partly taken in French). These interpretations are often touching.

Samsara Blues Experiment are a Berlin based band, founded in Summer 2007 by leadguitarist/singer Christian Peters. They went through several changes in the first period but are in constant line-up since September 2008 featuring Hans Eiselt (guitar), drummer Thomas Vedder and Richard Behrens (bass). As the band name implies three elemental aspects are to notice - the blues as the fundament where it all comes from, the inclusion of spiritual influences accompanied by Indian/raga music and the experimental approach to mix up varied elements in a convincing manner.
The band's songs are dominated by a playful dual guitar work as well as a passionate blend of heavy psych, stoner and space rock. This is provided with several nuances and transitions in between - quite retro styled, jamming, even sometimes worked out with a repetitive hypnotic touch in the tradition of krautrock.