November: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Month's listening sorted
DJ Harvey 'The Sound Of Mercury Rising' (Pikes Records)
Given Pikes’ cultural significance, it’s a surprise a Pikes record label hasn’t happened before; perhaps everyone at the famed hotel and hangout for Ibiza’s glitterati has been having too much of a good time. But there’s no more fitting a ringmaster for Pikes Records’ debut than DJ Harvey, who blends sumptuous Balearic, 80s European electronica, crate-digging oddities and, naturally, devastating disco nuggets. Idjut Boys’ glittering ‘One For Kenny’ retains its raw power, but it all really comes together with the disco mix of Eight Wonder’s ‘I’m Not Scared’, a Pet Shop Boys-penned slice of Patsy Kensit-fronted synth-pop. Like Harvey’s personality, it’s a mix full of sunshine. Stephen Worthy
7/10