DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: THE RISE OF THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - OUR BROTHER HILLEL

4/5

He Was Red Hot

95 Mins. Starring: Anthony Kiedis, Flea & John Frusciante. Director: Ben Feldman. On: Netflix.

Dave Navarro, Josh Klinghoffer, Will Ferrell? California's band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, have had more legendary former members than there are Lakers jerseys in the Los Angeles' rafters. Such is the nature of line-up changes in rock music, that feels like a sport in itself, the Grammy museum being just across the road from the purple and gold home in Figueroa. No past member, mind you, save the returning John Frusciante, was more of an iconic influence than late, great guitarist Hillel Slovak. The man that the great Frusciante based his own freaky styles on. He's here, on record, to tell you as such. One of the great guitar Gods we lost tragically in 1988, when he was just 26-years-young.

Next New Music Friday, Flea will finally give you his own solo project, 'Honora', that we just have to honour and trumpet. Set to be an instant classic like its iconic album artwork of record dedication love in black and white. The first RHCP release we've been peppered with since 2022's double-delight return of 'Love Unlimited' and the 'Return Of The Dream Canteen'. And this documentary, 'The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel', directed definitively by Ben Feldman, is the perfect precursor to this. Even though the band's official Instagram confirmed that this doc was actually unofficial, despite testimonials from Anthony Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante...this was before the great Chad Smith's time to shine on the skins. Streaming on Netflix, for their own big weekend, after hitting a home run with the World Baseball Classic, following their strike-out on the Warner Bros. deal. Giving us not only their long-awaited 'Peaky Blinders' movie, 'The Immortal Man', but 'The Comeback' of South Korean pop juggernaut BTS for 'Arirang'.

Slovak was a sweet, sensitive soul, who was taken far too soon by the influence of drugs. In those LA times he was a rider of the storm, without a shirt, like the murals of the legendary Jim Morrison that open the doors to Venice Beach...wide. Hillel would journal like a beat poet and even scrawl sublime sketches that will remind you of the art of John Lennon...all in his own style, mind you. He had such an inspired impact on others. Especially Anthony and Michael...just wait until you hear the story of how he became "Flea". And why for this rise of the Red Hots is this film the perfect set-up for Balzary's solo set, next week? Because Hillel was the one who told Flea he should pick up a bass and slap it, like Este or Ami. Seeing Flea get emotional will break your heart in an utterly moving and sad story as Kiedis gets candid and compelling, too. Hillel Slovak appeared on four Chili Peppers albums, appearing on one track of the magnificent 'Mother's Milk', and the crosswalk with their sock of c###s out, 'The Abbey Road E.P.', but his memory and impression is still on the strings, punctuating their percussion to this day. The Red Hot Chili Peppers don't rise without their brother. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Devo', 'Keith Richards-Under The Influence', 'Red Hot Chili Peppers: Woodstock '99'.

REVIEW: BTS - ARIRANG

4/5

Back For Love

ARMY, rejoice and stand up, as the military service stands down and discharges. BTS are back in your area, about to cause mass hysteria. Almost a mere month after fellow K-Pop phenomenon BLACKPINK! returned to meet their 'Deadline' with an EP to make you 'GO!' All on the same weekend they will air 'The Comeback' of their 'Arirang' album live on Netflix. Much like the 'One Night In Manchester' Harry Styles and the streaming service gave us to mark his new perfect pop album, 'Kiss All The Time, Disco, Occasionally', a fortnight back. His One Direction were the Backstreet Boys biggest boy band of all-time. That was until BTS became the most fantastic since the fab four of The Beatles. Take that! And now after all members, RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook and V, have finally completed their mandatory military service for the South Korean army, here's proof that they're back for good...and love. 'Arirang' in Korean being a traditional folk song passed down through generations of longing, separation and resilience. Found in translation to the devotion of a "beloved one." In-Yun, 8,000 past lives.

Let it ring out, as the bells of 'No. 29' toll. This album title's folk roots also serve as a symbol of peace between the north and south. These Bangtan Sonyeondan, "bulletproof boy scouts" already know how to bring the watching world they dominate together, from speaking at the United Nations to ones across the world knowing their big hits, word-for-word, like they were learning Korean. Add the sensational single 'SWIM', on a stunning ship, to the streams, as this sweet song is even sung in English. And guess what her name is, as 'Riverdale' and 'Hustlers' actress Lili Reinhart co-stars? "Swim, swim/Water falling off your skin/Swim, swim/I could spend a lifetime watching you", sung by 'Are You Sure?' Disney + travelogue cohorts Jimin and Jung Kook ("cham, cham, CHAM!"), probably written whilst they were taking in the scenes of Switzerland. Solo sets from all members, most notably RM, J-Hope and Suga, have tided us over during their four-year hiatus. But now they return to a crowded calendar that's already given us Labrinth, friend of Hope, J. Cole, Jill Scott, Willow, Mumford & Sons, U2, Bruno Mars and many more, like Red Hot Chili Pepper Flea going at it on his bass own for next week's trumpet solo.

Play the horns for this one though, because the moment the outstanding opening of 'Body To Body' goes skin-to-skin with your speakers, you know it's back on. Instant repeat. All for an American pop inspired left turn for these hardcore 'Hooligan's' calling themselves crazy with Britney Spears shout out respect, no toxicity. These idols brought us back up from a modern-day system of a down, teaching us to love ourselves. Now they return with a much grimier, gutter set, albeit still suited up in trademark garb to go with their new album logo that has already become ARMY member iconic. Sure, you'll miss the smooth sounds of 'Butter' and the hits that exploded on the charts like 'Dynamite'. Maybe the cute, pure pop days left the day they shaved their scalps for another army. The bubblegum has perhaps burst. But they already told us the best was yet to come. And this could be it! It might not be their biggest and best (a new, nuanced 'NORMAL' on their instant hit-making 'Merry Go Round'), but from version '2.0' dialling it up, to the sick sample of 'they don't know 'bout us'', this could be the most compelling and cohesive set that finally garners them the Grammy they should have been granted by now.

All the way grown up, 'Aririang', long-awaited and highly-anticipated, like nothing else, is something else. Something more. More mature. Whether out of this world 'Aliens' or acting 'Like Animals' with feral feeling, these boys who will always be like themselves have become your valentines again, akin to their rose installations in London, Los Angeles, and of course, Seoul. That's all they needed to promote an album that already surpassed four million pre-orders before it even hit shelves and streams. No song snippets of the saccharine 'One More Night', or sincere 'Please', 'FYA' (sublime). No single until 'SWIM' hit shores at the same time. But it barely mattered. The ARMY knew, and in turn we trust this. To follow 'Into The Sun', like Icarus, singing, "Twenty-four, 24/7 feel like twenty-four (Twenty-four)/태양을 향해 뛰어도 (뛰어도), 가까워지진 않아도 (않아도), oh, no/Don't be afraid, 기억해, 그저 잠시뿐인 걸 어두운/밤을 지나/아침이 오는 걸 맞으며 눈을 떠 into the sun" with sugar and hope. And if you miss the anthems, never fear. They're all here until the 'ARMYRANG' last call of dedication. The big hits are back with Hybe hype. The reunion is done. Here is the 30th Korean national treasure. It's time to enlist this. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Body To Body', 'SWIM', 'They Don't Know 'Bout Us'.

Spin This: BTS - 'Proof'

REVIEW: HARRY STYLES - KISS ALL THE TIME. DISCO, OCCASIONALLY

4/5

Kiss

Disco ain't dead, at least not occasionally, on the brand-new album from Harry Styles, 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally', released this New Music Friday. One that you actually will listen to all the time for its pure pop, popping candy of compelling hits. Four years after we're still recovering from the party at 'Harry's House', 'As It Was', and that lead single we still can't get off our minds or playlists. Ever since the One Direction lead star and occasional actor ('Dunkirk', 'Don't Worry Darling' and a Marvel project in the works(?)) gave us the 'Sign O The Times' of his self-titled debut, we knew there was a 'Fine Line' between this young prince's solo sets and the biggest boy band, bordering between The Beatles and BTS, dripping in 'Watermelon Sugar'. Rest peacefully to his band brother, Liam Payne.

Now, this young Jagger (get that biopic ready) proves, with moves, that he really is a movie star, who can dance his way through an all action set-piece, too, with the amazing 'Aperture' single. Singing, "I've no more tricks up my sleeve/Game called review the player/Time codes and Tokyo scenes/Bad boys, it's complicated/It's complicated" to a Hollywood music video. All as he and super-producer Kid Harpoon play Elton John and Bernie Taupin again. 'Harry's House' garnered him a Grammy. This 'Kiss' may just add another trophy to the family cabinet. Complete with sure-fire singles ready to go, as he bobs and weaves under the disco ball, holding his glasses in the middle of a cold countryside. Album art to go alongside the big, BTS like Netflix debut, and the forthcoming 'Together, Together' tour that really brings them out, like the blingy suits that would do Bowie proud. This album from the great Brit, performing at The Brits, taking cues from Ziggy, and of course, the purple one, for this young star's reign. The outstanding success of One Direction may have led to all of this, and rightfully so, but this new one will have you calling the Timothée Chalamet cheeky chappy of music by his own name.

"We belong together", like Mariah Carey, Styles said, on some promotional posters and billboards in New York, Manchester, Palermo, São Paulo, and Berlin that teased this new project, back in January. And now, Harry follows Labrinth, J. Cole, Jill Scott, WILLOW, Mumford & Sons, U2, Bruno Mars and BLACKPINK, with another album marching in to help 2026 GO! A dozen delightful tracks of 'Pop' pleasure from the setting off single to the 'Carla's Song' closing dedication. There are anthems, like 'American Girls' (for all those who can't get enough...get your hands up), on this Erskine and Columbia record, but when it comes to sweet smelling songwriting, it's 'Coming Up Roses' that will be your late Valentine, as Styles sings, "Just for tonight, let's go hangover chasing/And I'll talk your ear off about why it's safe/As I fumble my words and fall flat on my face through the truth/Just say the word and we'll take up the test/Where we flirt with the bad ones and skip all the rest/But we see out the night with your head on my chest, me and you." Lyrics to go from a man whose work mirrors the circular artwork designs on its YouTube videos. Get ready to turn your screen around, like photo taking frustration, and sing-a-long.

Learning all the words, from 'Ready, Steady, Go!', to the moving 'Dance No More', 'Are You Listening Yet'? Because for all those who still write him off as boy band material (but look at all OD made), you don't know your basic facts (in an "oh, oh, oh", Paul Rudd SNL superfan voice). And you're missing out on some of the best music you'll hear, straight out of London (and in Italian) crossing Abbey Road, in pop's golden era. This is anything but 'Paint By Numbers' with subtle powerhouse tracks like that. With the Kid, Harry harpoons songwriter Tyler Johnson, and even beautiful backing vocals from Wolf Alice's Ellie Roswell and the House Gospel Choir. This "life mantra" inspired by LCD Soundsystem and Stardust's own 'Berlin Trilogy' really gets the 'Taste Back' ("must be lonely out in Paris") after a 22-month tour supporting Styles' last two albums. 'The Waiting Game' telling you it was worth it with words that are wise ("You can romanticise your shortcomings, ignore your agency to stop/Write a ballad with the details, while skimming off the top/A personality, considering you've been a little overhonest lately/And you apologise, a dirty clown"). On 'Season 2 Weight Loss', that has nothing to do with The White Lotus, Harry harmonizes, "Aren't you for sale if you're cashin' in cold?/You've got to sit yourself down sometimes/It's hard to tell when the thoughts are my own/And the old hat gets harder to hold." But with his in his hands, he holds on to a style that is uniquely his own. It's a grand occasion sealed with a kiss. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Aperture', 'American Girls', 'Coming Up Roses'.

Spin This: Harry Styles - 'Harry's House'/

REVIEW: BLACKPINK - DEADLINE EP

4/5

Deadline Day

"BLAAAAACKPIIIINK! BLAAAAACKPIIIINK! BLAAAAACKPIIIINK!" 2026 may be the year of 'Arirang', from South Korea to the rest of the watching world it now dominates in entertainment, more than Hollywood right now, thanks to the return and reformation of BTS and their ARMY, after the men have completed their mandatory military service for their country. But look who just came in and spoilt the party...or should we say joined it for K-Pop at its finest! BLΛƆKPIИK ( 블랙핑크) are back in your area, following their own solo sojourns, as Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé reunite for the first time since they were 'Born Pink' in 2022. All on the same New Music Friday that Rosé's 'APT.' anthem partner Bruno Mars returns with his own album, and his first solo set in ten years. Save his Silk Sonic group with the amazing Anderson .Paak. How apt.

This pack are a fantastic four with five famous in an instant tracks to track their progress. Their debut, lifting us out of quarantine in 2020, alongside Lady Gaga's 'Sour Candy' (she also knows Bruno and new music) was called 'The Album'. Call this mini one, The EP, as BLACKPINK have more than just met their 'Deadline' in all black. They've aced the test. Solo wise, just like their BTS brothers tiding us over before they came home, this YG group were nothing to sniff at either. Jennie, headlining Tokyo and Osaka's Summer Sonic festival this Summer with The Strokes and Japan's own Sakanaction and BABYMETAL, and her 'Ruby' red classic. Rosé's 'Rosie' showing she was your 'Number One Girl', Lisa's amazing 'Alter-Ego', and my favourite (just saying) Jisoo's 'Me', not to mention her darling Dior campaign. You can see it on the billboards of history, before they take the chart of the same name for their '뛰어 (JUMP)' single sensation, telling you to bounce in Korean and buy the t-shirt that's sure to be a 'Number One' merch hit from Seoul and a train carrying goods to Busan. Not to mention the rest of the international shipping world. Bruno may have the classic cohesive album, but Blackpink have the best tracks.

The kinetic classic music video is amazing, and something K-Pop legend CL would be proud of as these singers rock and rap. Referencing everyone on this EP from Bruce Springsteen and the Spice Girls (those that paved the way for all wannabes) to Golden State Warriors NBA star and winner Draymond Green (just wait for his next Instagram story with the King in him). Speaking of 'Champion(s)', BLACKPINK are also that, reaffirming this on an instant verse, chorus, hook, line and singer earworm. Burrowing with lines like, "If I ever, ever fall down one time/I'ma keep going on, 'cause I know I'm a champion/And if I take a, take a L, I'll still fight/'Til the bitter end, I'm strong, 'cause I know I'm a champion", and the new PINK chant for your area. All to prolific, powerhouse production from Dr. Luke, attending to the boards. You should really press 'GO' on all these album artworks and singles that now become new BLACKPINK classics, even though this is not an actual album. The confidence and empowerment are now at an epic level. And they can't come down. They won't come down. The comeback is complete.

"When your heart is broken, baby/Darkness on the edge of town (BLACKPINK'll make ya)/Try to keep it open, baby/Try to let your walls come down (BLACKPINK'll make ya)/I know you're frozen, baby/Love can make you turn to stone/You could stop and be alone/Or you could (Ah, ah, ah)." The impossible mission is complete, Tom, as these wonder women row the same boat that Aaliyah rocked for the record. On 'Me and My', they give it up for their boos, like Usher and Alicia Keys, each other. Singing, "Just me and my day ones, pretty girls walkin' (Walkin')/Golden like we Draymond, they pay us for a walk-in (Walk-in)/Step (Step), step (Step), step into some commas/Yeah (Yeah), yeah (Yeah), boys all wanna holla/I'm one-of-one, not two, in my hottie season (Season)/Givin' 'tude to ya, I don't need no reason (Reason)/Daisy dukes make me speak my mind, I'm beamin' (Beamin')/Kinda cute, glistenin', it's in her being (Hahaha)." They can even make a 'Fxxxboy' record sound sweet, taking the power back like, "If my signals mixed and messy/Bet you think it's destiny/Call my ex, send late night texts/'Cause I get off on jealousy/Keep your expectations/Underneath the pavement/Guess karma's a b####/How's it feel? Now I'm the f###boy." Even the National Museum Of Korea is getting in on this 'Path To History'. Forget about the man in the arena. These are the women in your area. Born again. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: '뛰어 (JUMP)', 'GO', 'Champion'.

Spin This: BLACKPINK - 'The Album'

REVIEW: BRUNO MARS - THE ROMANTIC

4/5

The New Romantic

Earth to Mars. It's crazy to believe that it's been ten years since his last album, '24K Magic', and the Sin City anthem of the same name (even longer since he was giving us that 'Uptown Funk' earworm with Mark Ronson in a pink suit and fedora), but Bruno is back, ladies and gentlemen! After what seems like a Presley permanent Vegas residency to pay off some bills, and making more duet hits than Tony Bennett, see 'Die With A Smile' with Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars returns to mark the end of February's lovers and make 2026 his calendar. We already told you about the big-three releases to start this year. Labrinth, J. Cole and Jill Scott. And even the big-three last week (Mumford & Sons, U2 and perhaps the best release of the first quarter from WILLOW). But this New Music Friday may just be monumental. Perhaps one of the biggest hits of the last few years was New Zealand and South Korean singer Rosé's 'APT.' with Bruno Mars. I even use it as a teaching tool for kids in my English lessons for "on, under, next to, in." Aha, aha. But now for the same weekend where we get 'The Romantic' Bruno Mars, Rosé is back in your area with her BLACKPINK army to meet the 'Deadline' of a new EP.

Resisting the temptation to include both of his recent and biggest hits ('Die With A Smile' and 'APT.'), he's about to put them on 'The Collaborations' compilation for Record Store Day, next month, Bruno Mars gives us an amazing album, of nine straight-shooting classics for his fantastic fourth. Returning to his roots and extending the love of South American music given to us by Bad Bunny at his super Superbowl Halftime Show that brought everyone together, for better over worse. It's a shame though, because the man who once headlined the biggest event in the NFL in 2014, bringing out the Red Hot Chili Peppers, for Coldplay to then bring out him AND Beyoncé at their own half-time show, missed a trick not appearing alongside Lady Gaga for her Latin flared version of their signature 'Smile' song. And in turn, putting said version on here. But that's alright. The man with the best backing dancers in the biz, proves that he only really needs himself, like Andre 3000 in 'Hey Ya!' green, for his sensational new single 'I Just Might'. Yet it's the second one, and its absolutely beautiful music video, that's the sweetest as soon as you see red, ready to 'Risk It All'.

"I would run through a fire/Just to be by your side/If your heart's on the line/You could take mine", the man who said he'd "catch a grenade for you" says, when most men will just leave you on red. This is Bruno Mars fourth solo set, and first in a decade, as we said. But it's his fifth if you include 'An Evening With Silk Sonic' and his collaboration with Anderson .Paak back in 2021. And most of this music sounds like Silk Sonic styles flowing on beautifully through your speakers until you 'Cha Cha Cha' with the one you love and hold closer than Rosie Gaines. Mars has been attacking this album for the last two years and gives us the sweetest sketches for this album artwork. Boasting for his girl that 'God Was Showing Off' when he makes lines like "Is it your eyes that light my sky?/I bet in the pourin' rain, you still shine/Is heaven your name (Is heaven your name)/Or is it divine? (Or is it divine?)/Don't matter, girl, it's gonna look good next to mine." Now 'Why You Wanna Fight' that, like this delightful, definitive D'Mile produced album.

Soft-soul has never sounded so sensual and sweet, all the way until the man, who moves like no other, tells you to 'Dance With Me', like 112, clapping your hands because you're sexy and you know it. Searching for the seventies like the sonic sounds of silk, Bruno best himself 'On My Soul'. But it's 'Something Serious' that stirs even more. "I’ll be there (Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah)/Say that you need me, girl (Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah)/Say that you want me, baby (Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah)/Come on, come on, come on, baby, yeah (Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah)/Come on, come on, come on, baby, yeah (Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah)/Let’s talk about me and you (Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah)/Talk about you and me (Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah)." Simply put, like the complications of desire itself, yearning has never been this burning on this outstanding outro. Taylor Swift talked about the new romantics, but even she can't quite make a hit like the man who practically gives them for free. Until there's nothing left in a classic cohesive album. "The fire don't burn like it used to, girl," he says on said song. But for the red planet names singer's style, it's an eternal flame. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'I Just Might', 'Risk It All', 'On My Soul'

Spin This: Silk Sonic - 'An Evening With Silk Sonic'

REVIEW: U2 - DAYS OF ASH EP

4/5

Ash Wednesday

It may not always be a beautiful day, but U2 are back in play. In these times of war and disorder, we need a voice, like the people that are fighting the power that corrupts, and Bono are the boys are offering a helping hand with theirs clasped together in coming together, comeback solidarity. Yeah, yeah, you may cry "f###, U2" (who? me and who?), like Tyler, The Creator, because your iTunes automatically gave you an album ('Songs Of Innocence') that literally felt forced, but I didn't even have a laptop with an internet connection back then. I wanted that. Is this really guilty of being controversy on the same New Music Friday where we get albums from artists no stranger to that? Although I stand firmly behind the man who told Bono to "stop f###ing clapping your hands" when he talked about people dying of AIDS every time he put his hands together.

Self-righteous? Indignation? In this age of virtue signalling online, it's hard to tell what's real and who genuinely wants to help, but you can't deny all that Bono and U2 have done. Even if at times they've hit 'Elevation' insufferable levels like Coldplay. Yet you can't deny either acts amazing anthems. There's always going to be cynical comments, but at least this band on the run against hate is fighting the good fight like friend and E Street neighbour Bruce Springsteen's ICE out anthem 'Streets Of Minneapolis' to go alongside his Philadelphia avenue, that along with the Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington movie it won Academy Awards with, looked to raise awareness for HIV and AIDS without a round of applause. Here, U2 enlist more famous friends for their urgent 'Days of Ash' EP. Their first album of original material since 2017's 'Songs Of Experience' (2023's 'Songs Of Surrender' in their chronology and 'Songs Of' trilogy was a reworked album for the Irish act who always did this on their greatest hits) had to come now. Released on Ash Wednesday, a day after Willow's surprise drop of 'Petal Rock Black', before the New Music Friday of Mumford & Songs and all the other prize-fighters.

Ed Sheeran, until he's seventy, plays on 'Yours Eternally', but it's Ukrainian singer Taras Topolia who has a much more indelible impact on this track. One written as a letter from a soldier, in closing of this six-track extended play, reading, "Dearest friends or whatever/We are callin' ourselves these days/My current location/I cannot disclose/Geographically/It's nowhere that I've been before/But emotionally/We're on the same road", hiding in the plain-sight of fear. The same can be said for the spoken-word track of 'Wildpeace', a poem by Yehuda Amichai, read by Nigerian artist Adeola, telling us, "I know that I know how to kill/That makes me an adult/And my son plays with a toy gun that knows/How to open and close its eyes and say Mama." A stark reality for a band who once opened a live show with a video of a child tentatively taking a handgun out of high-street shopping bag. Produced by Jacknife Lee, and recorded as an "immediate response" to current events, in the Curlews and Universal studios, Bono is ready to write an 'American Obituary' with an incendiary video.

All for the likes of Renee Good, who lost their lives to bad men and the coldest ICE. "I love you more/than hate loves war", Bono sings in this anthem call to arms that embrace instead of disgrace. Holding up a mirror to the current state of America that shows, "930 Minneapolis/To desecrate domestic bliss/Three bullets blast, three babies kissed/Renee, the domestic terrorist???/What you can't kill, can't die/America will rise/Against the people of the lie." The political urgency, and hope amongst the hurt, continuing on the Richard Rohr book based 'The Tears of Things'. Or the 'Song Of The Future' that sings for the Iranian Women, Life, Freedom movement led by Sarina Esmailzadeh. Hoping to change things, 'One Life At A Time', with a dedication to Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist killed in the West Bank. Released to coincide with a special edition of U2 fanzine 'Propaganda', the struggle and resilience is clear to see. This band just being a microphone for the people with the megaphones. We know where the real courage for freedom lies. Hate has no home here in heart. Lend your hand in art. Don't play your part in scars. Ashes to ashes. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'American Obituary', 'The Tears Of Things', 'Yours Eternally (Feat. Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia)'.

Spin This: U2 - 'War'

REVIEW: WILLOW - PETAL ROCK BLACK

4/5

Flowers For Willow

Hands across America, holding in beautiful black and white for the amazing album artwork, reach out to you with love, peace and understanding during these troubling and turbulent times. Look (shout out to my poet, Stock), I know I always call every New Music Friday release the album of the year, although it's only February (and with the latest drops from Labrinth, J. Cole and Jill Scott, can you blame me?), but I may not be over exaggerating here. Besides, at 25, WILLOW Smith is on a tear, and perhaps the best turn of her career. Seemingly releasing an album, of redefining difference, every year in her young Prince genre blend (and check out the 'i would die 4 u' terrific tribute here). Her latest, released on a New Music TUESDAY (?), 'petal rock black', changing the game again with a subtle, beautiful bloom.

More music heads need to whip their way to this willow wisdom at the same time her famous father follows 'Welcome To Earth' with another National Geographic great documentary series, 'Pole To Pole', Will Smith fancying himself as the next Michael Palin. We can't wait for a familiar collaboration, Will, his 'After Earth' and 'The Pursuit Of Happyness' co-star Jaden, or Jada, and her heavy metal outfit. But right now, nobody is making music in the Smith family like Willow, and the parents just DO understand. Compelling collaborations come here with the legends of the game. A Funkadelic George Clinton on the spoken word, album-title introduction, the eclectic Cali outfit Tune-Yards (on the powerhouse 'omnipotent') and new age jazz maestro Kamasi Washington letting it 'Play' like you should press. Because this seventh seal from Smith, following her jazz-infused 'Empathogen' is another epic that might best the rest.

Instantly iconic from the moment the butterfly effect of the artwork hits, looking like a young Willow "is a player" herself. This Three Six Zero and Gamma ray of a record coming two years after her last cut went classic. All for an incredible decade of her twenties as she's roared through ours with albums like the isolation helping 'Lately I Feel Everything' and 'Coping Mechanism' influence. Not to mention 'The Anxiety' she shared with Tyler Cole. This is pop at its most progressive from the 'Ardipithecus' artist, who, ever since 'The 1st' album and her self-titled one, has always been about more than their hair she shaved off in a statement in solidarity with herself, and uniquely her own. Throwing guitars into your MTV or BET. This avant-garde electro-funk is art heard to the 'ear of the cocoon' and her mother's love. A definitive dozen tracks, less than a half-hour, but all power. What more could you expect when this album was produced by Grammy winning, 'Soul' and music man Jon Batiste?

The surprise digital drop of the shortest, but best month of love, WILLOW dubs this "personal offering" as one that "honors the labor of creation" in her "artistic dedication". Recorded in isolation over a calendar and change and garnering critical comparisons to Erykah Badu and Tori Amos (now that's elite, deserved company), after highlights, like 'Vegetation' and 'nothing and everything', you need to hear this out like, "Gate gate pāragate pārasamgate bodhi svāhā" in repeated refrain. Most tracks are quick, like the incredible 'living in the heart' interlude. And there's a beautiful 'holy mystery' with the religion of, "Lay me down on your altar (Uh, ayy, ayy, uh, ooh)/Lay me down on this altar of love (Uh, ayy, ayy, uh, ooh)/I am an offering (Uh, ayy, ayy, uh, ooh)/I am honoring thee (Uh, ayy, ayy, uh, ooh)." Like water, this album is 'not a fantasy' or conditioned love Willow will not vow or bow to. 'Sitting Silently' on her soundboard she says it best, "Sitting silently, sitting alone in my room/Focus on my breathing, try to hear love speaking, keep on." This music and artist reaches for more. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Vegetation', 'Play (Feat. Kamasi Washington)', 'i would die 4 u'.

Spin This: WILLOW - 'Empathogen'.