The beautiful despair of Cameron Winter, the perfectly imperfect life of Lily Allen, the maximalist R&B of Dijon and more: here’s what our readers have had on heavy rotation
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The production is uniquely rhythmic and layered, the instrumental performances are all pretty bulletproof, and Cameron Winter’s writing is just ridiculously good. He is able to show us beauty and despair, and the beauty in despair and the despair in beauty. The best track to me is Islands of Men, which builds over this hypnotic instrumental while Winter sings about isolation and self-illusion. Other highlights would be the title track and Half Real, which feels like a dizzy, intoxicated folk song. Geese are the next big thing. Freddie, 18, Surrey
I loved the wordplay, delivery and melody. The slightly detached layered vocals really sounded like a person in shock recounting what has happened to them. So good to hear an imperfect person tell their own stories. And I forgot how funny Lily Allen is! More imperfect women, please. Alison 37, Ireland
The Liverpudlian rock outfit’s debut EP was worth the wait. Singer and front-woman Katherine Parlour has such a distinctive voice and guitarist Ella Risi leads the charge with infectious riffs and ripping solos. With an almost baroque and art-rock feel, the album is both uplifting and nostalgic, with plenty of reflection on the journey which has got this under-appreciated duo (and their backing band) to this point. Having seen them in the tiny Windmill in Brixton, I think it is only a matter of time before they are commanding far larger venues. Eddie, London
