Albums
December: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Andrew Weatherall, Solange, Roman Flügel and more
Tuff City Kids 'Adolescent' (Permanent Vacation)
It seems appropriate that Tuff City Kids’ debut album begins with the clang of church bells that bookend the eerie analogue synth opener ‘Ophmar’. This project from veteran producers Gerd Janson and Phillip Lauer is a long-standing musical marriage from heaven that plants its feet firmly in the mid-80s. A small but perfectly formed line-up of guests addd extra value: Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard lends his vocals to the strutting electropop of ‘Tell Me’, while Annie’s saccharine tones blithely counterpoint the spiky Vince Clarke-style synths of ‘Labyrinth’. There’s also a welcome sighting of artful violin-playing polymath Kelley Polar on ‘Aska’ which, along with the bumpy, squelchy house of ‘Nordo’, is one of the album’s purest club moments. Stephen Worthy
8/10
