Borderlands

While with 2015’s Favourite Worry The Milk produced an enjoyable burst of retro-tinged blue-eyed soul, there weren’t many clues that the Essex four-piece had as remarkable a record as 2025’s Borderlands in them. When not working with the band drummer Mitch Ayling runs his own studio, and his cornucopia of analogue gear and address book of ace session players help realise a grand, widescreen vision filled with reflections of David Axelrod, Curtis Mayfield and Brian Wilson. From the opening Pearl & Dean-cribbing blast of “I Need Your Love” to the Elvis-in-Vegas-styled showstopper of closing track “I Saved My Best for You,” via the Miles Davis-inspired “Wanted Man” and Isleys-like “Pangs of Love,” it’s a record that manages to transcend its touchstones to be a classic in its own right.