Alice Russell At Juno Download

Review: A sight to cheer for any regular Tru Thoughts follower - a brand new collaboration between veteran producer Will "Quantic" Holland (now bearded and looking very much like a muso version of Eric Cantona) and regular chanteuse Alice Russell. Unlike many of their previous combined outings, Look Around The Corner largely eschews hard-boiled funk and heavy soul in favour of a looser, folksier, more organic sound clearly inspired by Rotary Connection (and in particular the production of Charles Stepney). With Quantic's Cuban backing band, Combo Barbaro, offering solid backing, and Holland himself in the control room, it's an expansive, adventurous and finely crafted album that boasts far more hits than misses.

Review: Taken from the forthcoming album of the same name, Quantic (aka Will Holland), singer and long-term collaborator Alice Russell and Colombian ensemble Combo Barbaro release this elegant taster of sounds to come. A stunning fusion of Charles Stepney's expansive jazz arrangements for Rotary Connection with warm Latin rhythms, it's a simply stunning song even without Russell's gloriously commanding and closely-mic'd vocal. Let's hope the album lives up to this extremely promising first taste.