Phineas: For crying out loud! (Polydor)
Verdict: Siblings' sun-drenched songs
As producer and co-writer, Finneas O'Connell has already played his part in one of the best albums of 2024, his sister Billie Eilish's brilliant Hit Me Hard and Soft, released last month. On that record Billy reached new heights with an elegant set of songs, featuring Phineas on guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.
His new single isn't in the same bracket, but that's no surprise. As one of pop's leading backroom boys, written by Camila Cabello and Justin Bieber, 27-year-old Phineas lacks his sister's star quality. But if you accept him as an underrated actor rather than a flamboyant one, Cry'in Out Loud! Very good.
It's a step up from his 2021 solo debut, Optimist, which was produced alone in lockdown and featured songs like A Concert Six Months From Now that reflected on the bleak isolation of the pandemic.
He's now abandoned his solitary approach in favor of recording 'live' with a band of road-hardened LA rock musicians and co-writers.
Finneas O'Connell's For Cryin' Out Loud! A step up from his 2021 solo debut Optimist
Phineas has already played his part in one of the best albums of 2024 – his sister Billie Eilish's brilliant Hit Me Hard and Soft, which was released in May.
If you accept him as an underrated actor rather than a flamboyant performer, Cry'in Out Loud! Very good
Phineas and Billie Eilish at the LA28 Olympic Games Handover Celebration in August
The result is a sunnier affair all around. There are harmonious throwbacks to Californian pop and finely crafted nods to a variety of British influences, including The Beatles, The Police and New Order. He sings about the ins and outs of modern dating, making sure not to sound too condescending.
Like his sister's recent releases, electronics are on the back burner. Guitarists Aaron Forbes (who toured with One Direction) and Matt Fildy are prominent, but the sound is still light and breezy. 2001, a pop song about a long-distance love affair, would sit well on a Harry Styles album.
Despite his relationship with YouTuber and actress Claudia Sulewski, O'Connell's songs aren't all hearts and flowers. 'Maybe love is a way to kill time,' he thinks, the same old story. On Cleats, a guitar-driven pop track, he sings about his unrequited love for a female soccer player.
Parallels to Hit Me Hard and Soft. Like that record, Cryin' Out Loud! It's a better listen as a whole rather than a pick 'n' mix style, while several songs feature dramatic changes of tempo in the style of Billy's album track L'Amour De Ma Vie. The same old story begins as a piano recital and becomes a full-fledged, ensemble piece; Sweet Cherries opens as indie-pop before transitioning into funky, Latin-tinged electronica.
In Family Feud, there is a ballad in which Phineas, the protective older brother, admires his sister. 'You're only 22 years old, the world is watching you, judging everything you do,' he sings. 'I've made mistakes and so will you… a part of me is a part of you.'
It's a poignant look at a rich partnership leading up to Billy's second single, Six Feet Under, written and produced by Phineas eight years earlier. Eilish, of course, remains the main attraction, but these discovery earworms confirm that his big brother has his own musical identity.
Bridges of Leon: Leon (Colombia)
Verdict: Nostalgic country-soul
Leon Bridges sang the Ray Charles blues classic for Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House in the blink of an eye from washing dishes at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Fort Worth.
Leon Bridges takes the opportunity to take his whirlwind rise on new album Leon, inspired by childhood memories.
Bridges (seen last week at the Austin City Limits Music Festival) went from washing dishes at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Fort Worth to singing the Ray Charles blues classic for Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House.
The Texan's 2015 debut album, Coming Home, hit the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic and established him as a soul man in the tradition of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
Bridges, 35, takes a chance on her whirlwind rise on a new album, Leon, inspired by childhood memories. Although he was born in Atlanta, he grew up in Fort Worth, and Leon references family, friends, ex-lovers and local landmarks. One song, Panther City, takes its title from the nickname of his hometown.
He opens by reasserting his R&B credentials on the mid-tempo ballad When A Man Cries, an echo of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. There's a sense of fun in the quiet place, and that's what I love about a chronicle of summers past. 'Springtime at Trinity River, gold jewellery, black penny loafers,' she recalls.
He evokes many influences in his 'musical combo'. He recently duetted with country star Kacey Musgraves on Deeper Into the Well, and Musgraves' production team Daniel Dashian and Ian Fitchuk are his collaborators here. Nothing on you.
His songs are unabashedly romantic. In Simplify, he laments a forgotten love affair and has suggestions of a whiskey-fueled one-night-stand in the Texan border town of Laredo. 'Play me something downtempo, low key and rock-steady,' he sings. This entry applies to the bill.
Both albums are out now. Phineas kicks off UK tour at Eventim Apollo in London on April 17, 2025 (Live Nation UK)
The best of new releases
Jack Buck: A Modern Day Destruction (RCA)
Rushed to stardom when he topped the albums chart in 2012, Jake Buck later stumbled. He tried to make an album with Rick Rubin in California and another with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys in Nashville. Still only 30, he's now back to basics, and his sixth LP is a guitar-heavy snapshot of Britain. Zombieland is driven by a fiery, Paperback Writer-style riff, and jam-inspired all sorts of people explore the varying fortunes of his friends in Nottingham.
Jake Buck has gone back to basics, his sixth LP a guitar-heavy snapshot of Britain.
Samara Joy: Portrait (Verve)
Crowned Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammy Awards, New Yorker Samara Joy is putting a new spin on traditional jazz. The 24-year-old has been compared to legends such as Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, and she pays homage to the past with vivid covers of swing constant Autumn Nocturne and Tom Jobim bossa nova No More Blues. Backed by a brass, eight-piece orchestra, she also stretched herself, striking a dramatic original hushed silence and soaring high notes and rich low notes now and then.
