The 15 pop and rock albums you have to listen to today (March 2022)

The month of March 2022 will be remembered musically for the edition of

by Rosalía, the album that has provoked the most reactions in many years in Spanish pop, and beyond.

But more work has been published in recent weeks.

There are two mouthwatering 30th anniversary reissues by Keith Richards and The Lemonheads;

the return of the effervescent Charlie XCX;

the good form of the

veterans Scorpions, and much more music that we detail from now on...

- Charlie XCX, 'Crash'

Whom?

The protagonist of this shocking cover where she appears on the hood of a car in a bikini and with blood running down her face is Charlotte Emma Aitchison, alias Charlie XCX, a 29-year-old English pop figure who is publishing her album number five.

Is

It's a great commercial pop record.

Charlie XCX has wanted to prove to herself (and perhaps to her record company, interested in making money) that she can be as much a seller as her compatriot Dua Lipa.

Always from her personality and without giving up that nineties sound that she likes so much, as in irresistible dance pieces like

or

- The Weather Station, 'How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars'

Who are they?

Canadian Tamara Lindeman's band, the height of delicacy when she sings.

Just remember that Joni Mitchell is also Canadian.

Is

Last year The Weather Station released one of the most praised albums in the mature

.

This new work with such a beautiful title (How should I look at the stars?) was recorded at the same time as that one.

Without being

the height of joy, the one that is now published would be its sad version.

The instruments (especially piano) discreetly accompany so that Lindeman's beautiful voice modulates at will and performs pranks aimed at softening the listener's heart.

- Ghost, 'Impera'

Who are they?

Let's not get carried away by those characterizations that they style of satanic priests.

This Swedish group reaches its fifth album making music that is much more accessible than its terrifying image.

Is

Ghost have recorded a set of melodic hard rock hits like no one can remember in recent years.

In the eighties these things were signed by Motley Crüe or Dio, but it had been a long time since a heavy album sounded so full of tremendous choruses and

irresistible guitar

Ghost likes to theme their albums.

If before they traveled to the Middle Ages to tell horror stories, with

they stay in the 19th century with a panorama that is not much better: the ugly side of the industrial revolution, the toxicity of a planet that governments neglect or the appetite of leaders who believe they are redeemers that end in wars.

Does it ring a bell?

- Young Guv, 'Guv III'

Who are they?

The band of a Canadian named Ben Cook.

After being part of punk groups when he was in his twenties, Cook has matured (he is 35 years old) and now composes delicious guitar songs where the melody is what matters.

Is

You can't open a better album than with

the perfect mix between The Byrds and Teenage Fanclub.

In other words, beautiful guitarists and heavenly voices.

That's where the whole album goes.

Sometimes there is some distortion, but the general tone is of songs that you listen to, whether you are in love or not, with the goofy smile drawn on your face.

- The Lemonheads, 'It's The Shame About Ray (30th Anniversary Edition)'

Who are they?

In the early '90s there was no cooler guy than Evan Dando, boss of The Lemonheads.

Tall, pale eyes, lanky, blonde hair and leader of a band that made sticky pop like no other.

Around that time he came to Madrid for promotion, they lost his suitcase and he spent three days wandering around the city in the pajamas they gave him at the hotel.

Was this man cool or not?

Is

The Lemonheads released

in 1992 and the following year

bad milk reigned

.

hasn't lost the essentials it showed us 30 years ago: urgent songs and chewy pop with rock guitars and Dando's helpless voice.

To celebrate these three decades of the album, acoustic versions of most of the pieces of the original and surprises are added, such as a reinterpretation of

, by ABBA.

Because Evan always loved candid pop.

- Stromae, 'Crowd'

Whom?

A Belgian artist who sells thousands of records in France.

When he takes them out, of course.

Because he had almost disappeared for nine years, after his debut in 2010 and another in 2013.

is the third.

Is

The demonstration that it is possible to talk about such serious matters as mental health or suicide from happy rhythms.

Stromae has African blood (Belgian mother and Rwandan father) and it shows when conceiving a music that often has a tribal base.

She sings in French and plays with electronics to enrich her original proposal.

Manu Chao, who has resigned from the music industry, will feel some envy when listening to

.

- Scorpions, 'Rock Believer'

Who are they?

The greatest German heavy metal band of all time.

And perhaps from Europe, if we look at the number of copies dispatched.

For almost ten years they have been announcing their “last tour”.

We enter the game and let ourselves be fooled.

Is

Never leave a heavy band for dead.

They are even capable of becoming a benchmark in things as modern as TiKTok.

They are always there, scratching their guitars.

picks up the formula that the group has exploited since it published that glorious

which by the way marks its 40th anniversary.

Accelerated heavy, mid-tempo with the punchy guitars of Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker, and the ballads, of which they are masters.

And since Klaus Meine's voice is still going strong, here we have a very enjoyable 20th album of his career.

- La Plata, 'Direct Action'

Who are they?

A band of young Valencians who released a promising debut in 2018,

and who now confirm the good feelings with

Is

They seem to come from the eighties, but sounding like today.

La Plata are inevitably reminiscent of Spanish bands like Golpes Bajo, Décima Víctima or Paralisis Permanente.

With worked lyrics and printing funk rhythm to his songs in shades of gray, like the cover of the album.

They also like The Cure, of course, especially the ones on the first albums.

The best of all is that with all these influences they manage to have personality.

Album cover 'Motomami' by RosalíaSONY MUSIC02/04/2022SONY MUSIC (SONY MUSIC)

- Rosalia, 'Motomami'

Whom?

The most relevant Spanish musical phenomenon of recent times.

Since when?

Same since Julio Iglesias.

Is

Yeah, it's a great record.

Risky, fun and groundbreaking.

The artist from Barcelona could have tried an

but she has intelligently moved away from that goal.

In exchange, he has experimented with genres (especially Latin) and although it only includes one strictly flamenco song

everything is strewn with jondo details, such as clapping, percussion, soniquetes... And his voice and way of phrasing, unique, relevant and exciting.

- Band of Horses, 'Things Are Great'

Who are they?

That group from Seattle that debuted in 2006 and positioned itself as a candidate band to transcend beyond

but that lost steam after two hopeful albums.

This is his return after six years of absence.

Is

The leader of the group, Ben Bridwell, has released sentimental ballast (broken relationships) and work (he has fired half of the band).

This volcano is reflected in the lyrics, chronicles of a mature man giving up dreams of greatness to live more in peace with himself.

Music also benefits from this new Bridwell.

It sounds as if Coldplay never had the ambition to fill stadiums: mid-tempo transcendental pop-rock where Bridwell's suggestive voice seems more like a choir that takes you to pleasant places.

- Keith Richards, 'Main Offender (30th Anniversary Edition)'

Whom?

Keith Richards with 49 years, that time (late eighties and early nineties) where he was killed with Mick Jagger.

So much so that it is the stage where the continuity of the group was most endangered.

They fixed it with solo records and getting back on the road with the Stones.

Is

It is a deluxe edition of the album released three decades ago, in 1992. Perhaps

his first solo work, from 1988, is better, but this is above some of the Rolling Stones' eighties and nineties albums.

Without Jagger's presence, Keith freely develops the full range of his

, as personal as they are effective.

Richards sings that way, but it's an endearing way.

There is rock and roll, of course reggae and those ballads that are both tender and rogue, like

.

A good job that in the 30th anniversary edition comes full of extras, such as a live album of the time, a 90-page book, photos, souvenirs.

One more note: this was the record that he brought to Spain for the first time without the Stones.

Those of us who were there (a server on two days in December at the Aqualung club in Madrid) had the opportunity to see Keith's pirate smile from a couple of meters away and, above all, to enjoy his way of playing, an impossible matter in stadiums and with the Stones circus.

-Chip Z'Nuff, 'Perfectly Imperfect'

Whom?

One of the founders of the ragged Chicago rock band Enuff Z'Nuff, with 30 years on the road.

Is

Just for

, a great rocker that is already one of the songs of the year, this album is already worth it.

But it doesn't stop there.

It all sounds like an unlikely mix of the Beatles and Mötley Crüe.

Festive rock and roll, exuberant choirs, memorable melodies.

Tremendous disc.

- Paul Cherry, 'Back On the Music'

Whom?

A musician from Chicago who started out doing introspective

and now prefers to open the windows on sunny days.

This is his second album.

Is

For the music of Paul Cherry, Steely Dan or Stevie Wonder sneak in.

They are elegant songs with a predominance of synthesizers and wind instruments and a voice that transmits calm.

An album with a delicate sound, but at the same time danceable.

Yes, without spoiling.

- Raw Poetic, 'Laminated Skies'

Whom?

A fantastic rapper from Philadelphia, nephew of the great jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp.

Is

It's so good that even those not used to hip hop can enjoy it.

Because

is nourished by instruments such as guitar, bass or percussion, and not just pre-recorded sounds.

And although Raw Poetic basically sings rap, his music is much more varied, with forays into jazz, Caribbean music, psychedelia or funk.

An album with experimental airs, but that fits wonderfully.

- Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, 'External Combustion'

Whom?

Loyal companion of the missed Tom Petty at the head of the Heartbreakers.

But throughout his long career (Campbell is 72) he has also played for Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, Matthew Sweet, Aretha Franklin, Roy Orbison, Stevie Nicks and dozens more.

This is his second album with the Dirty Knobs.

Is

Everything you can expect from Mike Campbell is here: rock and roll, country-rock, mid-tempo bar… And a lot of guitar.

Some of these songs would have been signed by Tom Petty.

One of the best things on the album is his duet on

with another great, Ian Hunter

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