Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

It's over 10 years now since the Red Hot Chili Peppers' revived their career with Californication. They have had a string of hit albums since then, although the last was in 2006 with the bloated double album Stadium Arcadium. Thankfully, I'm With You is a much more focused album than that one and has some decent tunes. Unfortunately, the loss of guitarist John Frusciante, who left the band before the recording of this album, has left a giant hole not properly filled by new man Josh Klinghoffer. The album is full of mid-tempo, middle-of-the-road classic rock tracks that anyone familiar with latter day Chilis will identify with. The difference between I'm With You and Californication or By The Way is the absence on this album of Frusciante; his nuance and melodicism is sorely missed. The tracks pass by in a haze of sameyness, the band knowing which buttons to push but the spark missing. Professionally executed but lacking in inspiration, I'm With You is the sound of a band that has run out of ideas.

Top Tracks: Brendan’s Death Song, Ethiopia
Rating: 6/10
Release Date: 30 August 2011

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV

In the 3 years between Tha Carter III, which turned Lil Wayne into a global superstar, and Tha Carter IV, Lil Wayne has released various mixtapes as well as an ill-advised rap-rock album, guested on numerous other artist's singles, signed Drake and Nicki Minaj to his Young Money label and spent 8 months in jail on weapons charges. So he's been busy - hopefully not too busy to spend enough time making sure Tha Carter IV lives up to the massive expectations that have been heaped on it. Turns out the expectations are just about half met - the album has some fantastic tracks but also some duds, and Wayne doesn't seem to be lyrically on the same level he was on a few years when just about every rhyme he spat was a classic. That said, it's a solid hip hop album, the production is excellent and there are excellent guest spots from the likes of Andre 3000, Busta Rhymes and Rick Ross among others. Still, it's a long time since Wayne has been outshone by his guests on his own album. A disappointing album by Wayne's impossibly high standards, but a very good one by any other benchmark.

Top Tracks: Blunt Blowin’, 6 Foot 7 Foot, She Will, Interlude, Outro
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 29 August 2011

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic

Mirror Traffic is Stephen Malkmus' 5th album since leaving indie-rock heroes Pavement, and it's by far his best effort without that band. The long, meandering jams of his more recent albums have been replaced by a return to more concise songs with the jangly, wonky melodicism that made Pavement the ultimate slacker band for college kids. His gift with a clever lyric remains intact and there is enough here to keep fans mulling over the meanings for a while to come. The band is tight, the songs rock in a typically offbeat Malkmus kind of way and Beck's production adds nicely to the mix. Whilst a Stephen Malkmus album will never be the same as a Pavement album for some people, Mirror Traffic is a well written, well performed set of excellent songs, and it stands up well in the Malkmus cannon.

Top Tracks: Tigers, Senator, Asking Price, Stick Figures In Love
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 23 August 2011

Game - The R.E.D. Album

The R.E.D. Album, Game's first studio release since 2008's disappointing LAX, is the California rapper's attempt to make up ground lost on that album. He needs The R.E.D. album to be a success, and it shows. Game sounds focused, the album comes out of the blocks fast and for the first 12 tracks the indications are that it's going to be a classic. Unfortunately, it is 21 tracks long and the second half tapers off quite badly after that brilliant first half. Game tries his hand at a couple of slow-jam R&B numbers which only serve to prove that he's better off sticking to rugged street hip hop, and some of the other tracks are also of questionable quality. It's a common fault with hip hop albums that they are often too long, and this one could certainly have done with some more stringent quality control. That said, there are probably 12 great tracks on the album, and 12 great tracks out of 17 is not a bad strike rate at all.

Top Tracks: The City, Drug Test, Martians Vs Goblins, Red Nation
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 23 August 2011

Black Lips - Arabia Mountain

Garage punk rockers Black Lips have always had an endearingly ramshackle sound, so it was a bit worrying to hear that Mark Ronson, who has produced Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams and Kaiser Chiefs among others, would be at the helm for their 6th album. Fortunately, Ronson recognised the band's strengths and hasn't polished their rough edges too much. The songs still sound like they might fall down at any moment and were tossed off in one take in the basement of some dingy flat, and this is part of their charm. The other part is that they are catchy, excellently written rock songs performed with gusto by a bunch of guys who clearly enjoy what they are doing. Black Lips have been around for 10 years now and show no signs of growing up; on the basis of this album, let's hope they never do.

Top tracks: Modern Art, Go Out and Get It, New Direction
Rating: 8/10 
Release Date: 7 June 2011

Royce da 5'9" - Success Is Certain

Royce da 5'9" is a Detroit rapper who has been around for a long time but has gotten very little recognition outside of hip hop circles. It's a pity because he is one of the most talented MC's around, as he recently proved on his collaboration album with Eminem, the pair calling themselves Bad Meets Evil. On that album Royce matched Eminem lyric-wise, no easy task. He continues to prove his ability on Success Is Certain, which is a no-frills hip hop album for fans of excellent lyricism rather than just beats you can dance to and pop choruses, which is what much of hip hop is these days. The production is solid but not flashy, and emphasis is placed squarely on Royce and his words. This works well for him as his delivery is spot-on and he is a clever, thoughtful rapper. Although unlikely to set the charts alight, Success Is Certain is a real hip hop album from one of the most underrated rappers working today.

Top Tracks: Merry Go Round, I Ain't Coming Down, Second Place
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 9 August 2011

Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne

When the two biggest rappers on the planet get together for a collaboration album, there is bound to be a whole lot of hype around the release, and so it is the case for Watch the Throne. Since people first heard that Jay-Z and Kanye West were making a whole album together, there has been a huge buzz around this release. So expectations are high. Luckily, Watch the Throne does not disappoint. The production by West is on point throughout, and both him and Jay-Z are on top lyrical form, swapping clever, funny rhymes that veer between braggadocio and introspection, and Jay-Z sounds more energised than he has been since The Blueprint. Watch the Throne achieves something difficult in combining the talents of two massive stars and coming up with something that stands up to the best of either of their solo work. Hopefully there will be a sequel.

Top Tracks: Niggas In Paris, Otis, New Day
Rating: 9/10
Release Date: 8 August 2011

Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes

Fountains of Wayne had a brief brush with stardom a few years ago with the hit "Stacey's Mom" and the accompanying video featuring Rachel Hunter, but they have been releasing reliably excellent power-pop since the mid-nineties. Sky Full of Holes sticks to their formula of insanely catchy bubblegum melodies combined with wry, clever lyrics which document the seemingly insignificant details of everyday life. Where their previous albums have dealt with growing up, having to get a job and single life, Sky Full of Holes finds the band grown up, dealing with the realities of adult life. Children, family holidays and even depression are some of the topics covered, all wrapped up in the bands trademark tunefulness. Fountains of Wayne are a benchmark for consistency, and in Sky Full of Holes they have delivered another fantastic album.

Top Tracks: Acela, A Road Song, Richie and Ruben 
Rating: 8/10 
Release Date: 2 August 2011

Wu-Tang Clan - Legendary Weapons

It's nearly 20 years since Wu-Tang clan revolutionised hip hop with the eerie beats, kung-fu film samples and street raps of their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Since then there have been countless albums of varying quality by the group and it's various individual members and affiliated artists. Quality control has been an issue for the Staten Island collective, with the emphasis seemingly having been on quantity rather than quality. So it's a surprise to find that Legandary Weapons is consistently good. RZA is on good production form, with the tracks more accessible than on previous albums, and star rapper Ghostface Killah spits his rhymes with typical feverishness and imagination. The other MC's play their part too, with Raekwon and Method Man also shining in what is Wu-Tang Clans most enjoyable album since Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

Top Tracks: Laced Cheeba, 225 Rounds, Never Feel This Pain
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 26 July 2011

Kelly Rowland - Here I Am

Despite being an excellent and very successful singer in her own right, Kelly Rowland seems to spend her life in the shadow of her former Destiny's Child bandmate Beyoncé, who has become a megastar since their former band split up. Here I Am could change that. Having had a huge hit with David Guetta on the dance track "When Love Takes Over" a couple of years back, on Here I Am Rowland continues in this direction, with Guetta back on the single "Commander", and several other tracks are in a similar dance-pop vein. There is also space here for some hip-hop and R&B, with Rowland in fine voice throughout and exuding both sexiness and playfulness. After the mild disappointment of Beyoncé's domesticated 4, Kelly Rowland is keeping the flag of the Destiny's Child girls flying high.

Top Tracks: Motivation, Feeling Me Right Now, Commander
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 26 July 2011