W/e 04/07/25 - Durand Jones and The Indications, Hot Milk, Lorde, Pleasure Pill, K-Klass

Congrats to Lorde, as our winner this time plus having the TOTW, and she lands just inside our 2025 top 20. This offering is 250 places above Solar Power from 2021.

Most of us didn’t like the taste of Hot Milk so they are into our bottom 10 for the year.

Phil grabs just his 3rd 😀 with his best ever set of scores 🎉 Despite awarding a 1.5, Andy still has to share the ☹️ with Simon.

K-Klass say hi to Morrisey and the Black Keys on the Klassics.

Guy

Durand Jones and the Indications – Smooth grooves for summer days. I enjoyed this slice of soul which perhaps surprised me. Very pleasant even though I’m unlikely to return - 7

Hot Milk – This sounded like a school band trying their best to be cool. In places it even went a bit Eurovision Song Contest. Not my cup of tea at all - 4

Lorde – Definitely one of the best of this genre. This album is packed full of great tunes. Her voice is excellent but it’s backed up with great songwriting – 7.8

Pleasure Pill – Well it’s definitely derivative. It’s as close to an Oasis album as you could get – perhaps with a smattering of Cast in the better songs. He even looks like Liam on the album cover. So, you feel you can’t score it too high. Nonetheless, I love those two bands so really enjoyed this and there are some excellent tunes on here with quality riffage – 7.5

K-Klass – A flashback to University! Plenty of piano screamers on here. The hits are rightly regarded as some of the best dance tunes of all time. – 8.3

TOTW – Get There Soon – Pleasure Pill

Andy

Durand Jones and the Indications - Evocative summery soul grooves 6.5

Hot Milk - I should like these, but they’ve never done it for me, live or on record, it’s all pretty derivative but they might get away with it this week 4.5

Lorde - She’s great isn’t she? A real talent doing her own thing. A definite return to form after the minor disappointment that was Solar Power 8.5

Pleasure Pill - This is very bad. Despite the internet’s claims I’m not totally convinced this isn’t an AI generated sham. Why knock off a 30 year old sound that was already a knockoff? I’m not sure they’d even have got away with this when everyone was doing it back in ‘97. Poor 1.5

TotW - Man of the Year by Lorde

K-Klass - They’ve got a couple of bangers in Rhythm is a Mystery and Let Me Show You but as ever there’s not enough variety for a whole album of this sort of thing 5.5

Phil

Durand Jones and the Indications 7.5

William de Vaughan might soon be “having a word” about Been so long, which bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain smash hit from the early 70s. In fact, this whole album could have been released in 1973. But that’s not a criticism – it is, as has been noted, it’s a perfect slab of sunny summer soul.

Hot Milk 7.25

One of the more surprising discoveries I’ve made as a Hannah is that (shock horror) I quite like metal! As with other genres though, I do tend to lose interest the nearer a band gets to pop. Some of the tracks on here flirt with pop, and there’s even some (aarrggh!) autotune on here. But most of it is pretty basic and there’s some serious throat-shredding going on. Terrible name for a metal band though. What’s wrong with Satan’s Spawn?

Lorde 7.5

I think I’m starting to get Lorde. She’s got a good voice, the songs are strong and, while I’d prefer a live band, the arrangements are more soothing to my ears than Charlie XCX seems able to manage. I’m not ready to sign up to the Girly Pop movement just yet but this is a good record.

Also, my grandchild just poked their head round the door and said “Ooh, grandpa, is that the new Lorde album?” Down with the kids, or what?

Pleasure Pill 7.25

Well, this record certainly seems to have twisted Andy’s melon. I do hear the similarity with Oasis but I’m afraid I can’t get worked up about it. There was no AI in the 70s and yet More than a feeling was put together in a similarly cynical manner. It’s still a good record though and so is this. If it was made with AI then it could well be the end of the world as we know it but, for now, the jury is out.

TOTW – Lorde – Man of the year

Classic

K-Klass 3

No. Just no.

Justin

Durand Jones and the Indications - quality soul music 6.4

Hot Milk - standard metal. All quite bearable. 6.1

Lorde - all very Lorde. Bit too angsty for me for day-to-day listening. 6.8

Pleasure Pill - this sounds like listening to a muffled Oasis album. It seems AI to me. 4

Totw What was that - Lorde

K-Klass - Rhythm is a mystery is an absolute rave classic but in reality the rest of the album (123 aside) does sound like filler to cash in on one big song. 5.9

Sam

Durand Jones and the indications : pretty much the opposite of what I Like . Nice voice tho. 3

Hot Milk : I Liked them before . Top Notch Manchester metal . 8.5

Lorde: decent moody pop needs a lift every now and again ; 7

Pleasure Pill : fuck knows if they are real or not . Sounds fun to me , 99% of music is derivative. 7.5

TOTW : The American Machine : by Hot Milk

K-Klass : fun slice of 90’s nostalgia ! Some of it sounded a bit tinny but it was enjoyable. 7.5

Mark

Durand Jones - everything about this album, from the vocals, lyrics, production and instrumentation suggests it was recorded and released in 1975, and yes one of the tracks is a dead ringer for Just Be Thankful, also goes a bit Barry White on another. I like it, but it's maybe a tad too close to pastiche to be really good - 6.5

Hot Milk - silly over dramatic frenetic noise, just not my kind of thing at all - 4

Lorde - so many layers of shimmering synthetic sounds going on it's kind of hard to make out what the actual song is, and the whole thing has more than a whiff of Taylor Swift about it. But in an ocean of this kind of thing, this does stand out as being towards the top end of the genre - 6.5

Pleasure Pill - this started out more early 90s baggy Roses / Charlatans than Oasis, and I thought it had a few decent tunes, but then it does revert to pretty much straight Gallagher bros copy, right down to the Be Here Now cover photo - 5.5

TOTW - Line Up The Stars by Pleasure Pill

Simon

Durand Jones & the Indications: smooth 70s style soul sounds - difficult to dislike but ultimately nothing to get particularly excited about. 6

Hot Milk: for some reason I thought this lot were more indie than the overblown, nu-metal nonsense on display here. Must do some better research next time. 4

Lorde: she's a cut above most artists of this ilk, and although it's all very nicely done it didn't leave much of an impression. 6

Pleasure Pill: given the vocal style, guitars and shuffling drum patterns this brings a whole new meaning to the word derivative - guess it's not a style you'd normally hear in San Diego but I felt like I was back in Manchester c. 1995. 5

K-Klass: would have lapped this up at the time but of all the different dance genres I think this is one of those which has aged least well - enjoyed Underground Express but some of the rest is definitely starting to sound a bit old hat. 6.5

TotW: Lorde - If She Could See Me Now

Jim

Durand Jones & The Indications 5.5

Acceptable smooth soul, sprinkled with a little Sault. A tad one dimensional, improved when it drifted nearer Motown

Hot Milk 5

Some decent riffage, and no silly screaming so that’s a plus but still a bit meh nu-metal

Lorde 8

The only one this week that felt even vaguely fresh and original. I’m a big fan, and think her and Billie Eilish have nailed, if a little differently, the subtle almost cathartic electro-pop. And she has something interesting to say. The opening 3 could all have been my TOTW and the last couple are also good. Top work.

Pleasure Pill 4

Yeesch. The Madchester cutting room floor numbers are OK, most of the Britpop /Oasis ones are terrible. There’s derivative that takes before and builds on it.. and there’s derivative that is a shit copy, and this is the later.

TOTW: Lorde – What Was That

K-Klass 8.5

Few rave acts of this era managed an album of any sort, let alone one full of chooons, but these chaps just about pull it off. Rhythm is Mystery and Let Me Show still bring a smile to my face and sum up that era and many a Manchester moment.

Annette

Durand Jones & The Indications: 6.5

Hot Milk: 5

Lorde: 8

Pleasure Pill: 5.5

TOTW: What was that by Lorde

Classic: K-Klass : 8

Erol

Durand Jones & the Indications - this touched my soul sweet spot,

with echoes of 70s Motown, Teddy Pendergrass and Roberta Flack. Powerful vocals and lovely backing harmonies. 8

Hot Milk - sounds like a rip off of BMTH and similar bands. Ok to a point but nothing to write home about. 6

Lorde - she has a decent synth based sound but I struggle to warm to it and her at times. Don’t know why. 6.5

Pleasure Pill - judging from their sound I really thought these guys were from Manchester or Liverpool. But no, they’re from San Diego. They clearly listened to a lot of Oasis etc when they were younger (or when they were created by a computer). Some useful sounding tunes here but there’s no originality to speak of. 6

TOTW - Really Wanna be With You, Durand Jones

K-Klass - a great trip down memory lane. Let Me Show You is one of all my all time favourite club tracks. That piano riff still gets me up on my feet. 8.5

Adam

Durand Jones & The Indicators

Very cool. Definitely felt like travelling back in time for some smooth grooves. A ‘slower’ album done well. 7

Hot Milk

Some elements of this rowdy nu-metal angst filled album appealed but not the finest out there. 5

Lorde

Very strong start in the first part of the album. Need to go back to her earlier stuff, not sure if massively progressed in terms of sound. Enjoyed though. 7

Pleasure Pill

Felt like a poor mans DMAs and very poor mans Oasis. 5

TOTW - Lorde - What was that

K-Klass - Old Skool house bangers. Plenty of fun on here. 7

Matt

Durand Jones - 6.8

Hot Milk - 6

Lorde - 7.2

Pleasure Pill - 7

TOTW Favorite Color Gold, Pleasure Pill

K-Klass - 7.2