
The best new music of the week: Coldplay, Neko Case, Rancid and more

As music columnist for hellomagazine.ca, each week I’ll bring you my selections for the best and most notable new music, albums you’re going to want to add to your collection plus a five-song playlist to try out. Happy listening!
Scroll down for playlist…
TOP ALBUMS:
Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams
Coldplay’s seventh album is
joyous and uplifting, leaving the gloom of
Ghost Stories
behind and reflecting frontman Chris Martin’s move from marital breakup to a new girlfriend. Suffice to say that the band is having fun
embracing new sounds, teaming up with
Beyoncé on the soulful “Hymn for the Weekend” and delving into
global-style disco on the breezy “Adventure of a Lifetime.” Other guests
include Swedish singer Tove Lo on “Fun” and Oasis’ Noel Gallagher on
“Up&Up.” Full credit to
Coldplay for shuffling the deck.
Neko
Case
- Truckdriver Gladiator Mule
Neko’s extraordinary journey from punk
drummer and country torch singer to avant pop icon is well-documented in this box
set, which gathers her entire discography of eight titles on remastered vinyl
and includes an 80-page book of photography. The collection includes the
American-born, Canadian-bred musician’s 1997 solo debut
The Virginian, on vinyl for the first time, and her excellent 2004
live album
The Tigers Have Spoken,
recorded with Toronto’s the Sadies, plus a wealth of inspired covers.
OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES:
Rancid - …And Out Come the Wolves
This 20th anniversary edition of
the California punk rockers’ classic album sounds as vital as
ever, especially Clash-inspired tracks like “Ruby Soho” and
the hyper ska nugget “Time Bomb.”
The
Punch Brothers
- The Wireless
Chris Thile and his bandmates lace their
American roots music with jazz and classical filigrees as much as folk
and bluegrass, as heard on four originals and a sweet cover of Elliott Smith’s “Clementine.”
Alyssa
Reid
- Songs From the Trees
The Edmonton-born, Toronto-based singer,
who scored a hit as a teenager with her 2010 single “Alone Again,” sounds all
grown up on her third studio album, focusing on sad songs like the angsty
opener “Suffocating.”
Kate
Rusby
- The Frost Is All Over
One of English folk’s finest singers
unearths some old but wonderfully fresh sounding traditional seasonal songs,
including “Bradfield,” “Christmas Goose,” and her title
track, all sung in her shimmering soprano.
Jill
Barber
- Jill Barber Sings the Standards
Switching to jazz was a good move for
Canada’s former folk darling, who has since blossomed into a beguiling torch
singer. Here she lends her voice to classics popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and
Louis Armstrong.