Albums of the week: Tori Amos, Kneecap, Hiss Golden Messenger, Chiminyo

In Times of Dragons 

Tori Amos

(Universal/Fontana)

Tori Amos has been railing against Gilead since 1992, when she released the hit album Little Earthquakes about her Methodist upbringing and a sexual assault. In a varied career, Amos has frequently explored the intersection of religion, power, patriarchy and American politics; her 2017 album was called Native Invader.

Recent history has given her much new source material to work with. For In Times of Dragons, Amos considers myth and verity, dramatising the battle between tyranny and democracy. Evil billionaire lizard demons feature, as do gay witches. There is an Ode to Minnesota. Amos’s protagonist herself may be turning into a dragon by the end. And yet, even across a perhaps over-generous 17 tracks, these elegant songs bear the weight of both the subject matter and its Game of Thrones treatment.

The ominous opener Shush is a stand-out, decrying the silencing of women from the perspective of “southern girls” (Amos was born in North Carolina) and quoting Palantir founder Peter Thiel’s infamous statement: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” Veins is a duet by Amos and her daughter Natashya about trying to protect children from what they might inherit. As ever with Amos, the political is also personal. Kitty Empire

Fenian

Kneecap

(Heavenly)

Another loud, unruly chapter in Kneecap’s story, Fenian turns scandal into propulsive action. Reuniting with producer Dan Carey, the Belfast trio Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí push deeper into rave chaos and Irish-language polemic, delivering their most ambitious record yet.

The title signals intent, reclaiming the sectarian slur “fenian” as a rallying cry. That spirit drives an album dense with political and cultural references – Keir Starmer, Prince Andrew, James Connolly and Gerry Conlon all feature in Kneecap’s riotous counter-history.

It barrels through conflict, identity and resistance. An Ra is a savage satire of imperial nostalgia, while Occupied 6 revisits the psychological aftershocks of the Troubles. The one-two of Smugglers & Scholars and Carnival recast Mo Chara’s terrorism charges as revolutionary folklore and courtroom farce. And Palestine, featuring the rapper Fawzi, delivers one of the album’s sharpest moments. 

Fenian is crammed with ideas as Kneecap skid from target to target. But that chaotic, edgy energy is exactly what keeps them so engaging. Georgia Evans

I’m People

Hiss Golden Messenger

(Chrysalis)

In 2023, after a difficult few years, MC Taylor, the driving force behind the North Carolina folk band Hiss Golden Messenger, banished the blues by releasing Jump for Joy, his most upbeat record to date. The follow-up – another winning blend of rootsy Americana, country and soul – is a little less euphoric. There are dark undercurrents dotted throughout, and the lyrics to the closing track Depends on the River contain harbingers of doom. After all, the world is a scary place right now.

Unlike other chroniclers of these end times (think Muse’s We Are Fucking Fucked), Taylor does at least offer some comfort to his listeners: “Don’t numb yourself to the ache / And don’t try to understand it,” he sings on the gospel-infused Heavy World. It helps that a sense of warmth permeates the 12 songs here, most notably the brass-assisted swagger of Who You Gonna Run To?, with its chorus: “What makes you feel so alive? / That’s who you’re gonna run to.” There’s beauty, too, in the artfully constructed country soul of Shaky Eyes. A balm for troubling times. Phil Mongredien

NRG 5

Chiminyo

(Self-released)

Tim Doyle is one of the rhythmic anchors of London’s current jazz scene. As a drummer, he co-founded the spiritual jazz group Maisha and has collaborated with stalwarts Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings, but as producer Chiminyo, he leans towards the looser and more dancefloor-oriented side of improvisation, and has released four free-form mixtapes since 2023’s NRG 1.

Recorded live through entirely improvised sessions, Doyle’s NRG releases aim to capture the sound of some of the capital’s most exciting musical hangs. His latest edition, NRG 5, was recorded at Peckham Levels and features the guitarist Oscar Jerome, saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi and bassist Rudi Creswick. Eight high-intensity tracks range from dub to soul and synth fusion, with highlights including the pulsating, house-referencing Transference, the funk inflections of Somnus and sludgy hip-hop swing of Down in My Monitor. 

Doyle’s sextet is a well-oiled machine, reaching explosive peaks in each number. But following this seamless pattern can mean the record feels too consistent. It makes for a party-starting live set, but repeated listens on record call for added nuance. Ammar Kalia 

Silver Gore – the cross-genre project of acclaimed musician and producer Ethan P Flynn and vocalist Ava Gore – have described their process as one of trying to write an emotion. If that sounds like an affectation, the limitless approach of last year’s debut EP, Dogs in Heaven, proves otherwise. Its track Forever shifts from a sweet, sad acoustic duet into a strange combination of baroque-pop falsetto, soaring guitar and scratchy percussion – the multiplicities of yearning distilled into three minutes. 

Meanwhile, the sky-reaching melodies and synth-fuelled abandon of new single Peculiar – out this Friday – turn its tale of lost love into something that sounds like freedom. Like Jockstrap before them, the duo has the rare combination of technical skill and boundless imagination to channel what could end up sounding like everything and the kitchen sink into songs that are smart, whimsical and unexpected. It also helps that Flynn already has a Grammy to his name for his writing work on FKA twigs’s Eusexua (he’s also written for Nia Archives and played in David Byrne’s band). But with an exuberant yet effortless live show that will take them to festivals this summer, including Dot to Dot and End of the Road, it’s the unique outlook shared between them that elevates Silver Gore above the pack. Lisa Wright

Silver Gore tour the UK from 12 May

Photographs by Kasia Wozniak, Tom Beard, Graham Tolbert, Jordan Matyka