A Week in Music Feat. Jack White, Beach Boys, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Hot Chip & More

Album of the Week... Jack White's debut solo album, 'Blunderbuss'sees this former White Stripes frontman (and let's not forget his stints in The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs) in fine form. Our review of 'Blunderbuss' reckons this is Jack White version 2.0, "the artist in hypercolour." Unshackled from the constraints of band democracies, the idiosyncratic songwriter comes into his own here, with some standout tracks that draw influence from both sides of the Atlantic.

Albums of Note... Hot Chip have returned with their fifth studio album. Since releasing 2010's 'One Life Stand', they've signed to Domino Recordings and whilst it looked for a while as though Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor may have been drifting apart with various side projects, they have come together in an impressive manner for this return. They're a group that "continue to sound how they want to regardless of the myriad fads and trends that rise and fall around them" and 'In Our Heads' is full of the "innocent exuberance" for which they are known and loved.

Another impressive album reviewed last week was Slugabed's 'Time Team.' It's a must-have release for fans of UK dubstep pioneers such as Rustie and Hudson Mohawke. Its quintessentially British 'eccentricity' is what sets it apart, according to our reviewer, who latches onto the track 'Muntains Come Out of the Sky' as a "a trippy space ride through the 9th dimension."
Read more reviews here

This Week's Video Pick... Splicing old school soul with contemporary

social issues, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s cover of the Gil Scott-Heron's track 'We Almost Lost Detroit' is a real winner. A celebration of all that makes Motor City great, the video's crammed with images of the iconic city, as famous for its industry as it is for its music.

Former Gallows front-man Frank Carter makes a bold statement in this monochrome video for 'Bury My Bones,' the new single from his latest collaborative project Pure Love. "I'm so sick of singing about hate," he hollers in the opening lines and Pure Love are certainly a significant departure from his former outfit, with a bigger emphasis on melody and more mainstream rock acts like Queen and Thin Lizzy.

Lianne La Havas' new single 'Lost and Found' is the perfect showcase for her

stunning vocal ability, this sultry video is shot in black and white and focuses on Lianne herself. Her 'Lost and Found' EP, released last year, has been re-released with two new tracks and will no doubt see this talented songwriter proving why she has been tipped for great things this year.
Watch more videos here

Music News... Azealia Banks has cancelled all but a few of her shows in the UK this summer, in order to focus on her forthcoming album. She recently changed both her label and her management team (which she now shares with none other than Lady Gaga) and it looks like Banks is out to impress with her full-length debut.

Great news for fans of the Beach Boys, the band are getting back in the studio to record their first new material in sixteen years. Following a tribute at the Grammys earlier this year, the band decided to reunite and show they've still got what it takes to create great chart-bothering pop music.

Dave Grohl has shrugged off claims that rock music is struggling. In fact, he reckons that the music scene in 2012 isn't all that different to how it was back in 1991

right before Nirvana got big.

TLC are also said to be reuniting this summer, in remembrance of their late band mate Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, who was killed in a car crash ten years ago last week. There's even talk of a Tupac-style hologram being created for her so that she can be a part of the nostalgic performances.