Venus Hum are heralded as the "New Sound of Nashville", but Big Beautiful Sky's first few tracks take you back to early-'80s Basildon. With Annette Strean's crystalline voice trilling over bouncy synths, you imagine Eddi Reader fronting Vince Clarke's Depeche Mode—it's sweet but unpardonably passé. Thankfully, it changes quickly, the music slowing and swelling to a Björk-style naturalistic ambience that suits Strean's wide-eyed conjuring of delicate flora and sweeping vistas.
The 'ultimate headphones album', having now sold in advance of 25 million copies, is given a comprehensive tune-up (and a smart new sleeve) for its 30th birthday
Echoes of Jean De Florette only add to the charm of Christian Carion's bucolic visit to the Alpine French countryside. A young woman bored with life in the capital decides to become a farmer; cranky old neighbour Michel Serrault doubts whether she can hack it. Pretty scenery, yes, but also a perceptive study of mismatched spirits learning to rub along.
